'Myth' from JamieM - 'Genie & Mermaid'

When I saw this round, I knew there were two miniatures that I had to enter for it. Why two? Well, I immediately thought of two miniatures I bought about 7 years ago when my group was playing pirate games. One was rescued from an "everything £1" bucket at a show and appears to be a Genie by Grenadier in 1985 and I thought he'd make a smashing water elemental. The other is a fun little mermaid from Black Cat Bases.

I've based them in the water, with the water roiling frantically underneath the elemental. I figure the jewellery he has is from sunken ships..... Perhaps ones he had a hand in sinking.

Thank you to the Challenge for nudging me to get these two done!

'Myth' from BrendonW - 'Valkyrie and Norn'

Two metal figures from Northstar's myth and legends range. Made for 28mm games but the Valkyrie is taller. The Valkyrie came with a large shield but I felt it hid too much nice detail so I left it off. In Viking culture the Norn is one of three females who control the fate of Gods and Mortals. 

Here she holds a pair of scissors as she cuts someone's life thread.

'Myth' from MarkO - 'Pestigor Champion'

Out of production Pestigor champion from GW. Rather disgusting, but fun to paint!

'Myth' from MartinC - 'Kraken Hunter'

She is” Myth Victoria Darling – Kraken Hunter” and she has a lisp (sorry for the pun but the figure I ordered for this round hasn’t arrived). The 28mm figure is by Ax Faction and I bought her in the North Star sale. She is the 1st figure of this type I have ever bought both in terms of a resin model and just as a stand alone art piece, and it’s all the fault of the challenge. The figure was missing the back of her skirt which is why she has her arse out, although there was a spare hat!

I painted her to match the design on the box and genrally she’s ok in violet with Prussian blue shading and oxford blue highlights. It would have been better if I’d thinked the paints down a little more. There is also an annoying stripe on her stockings that I couldn’t get straight (need a 90o paint brush).

Anyway I think her heroic sister Grace Darling would be ashamed of the brazen hussy.

'Myth' from MartinN - 'Merlin'

Not very imaginative this round I went for the only slightly mythical figure I could find in my mountain of shame.

This Footsore Miniatures figure (former Musketeer Miniatures) is meant to represent a random druid but as I needed a mythological figure he was promoted to Merlin, probably the best known warlock of all times.

'Myth' from MichaelA - 'Jabberwocky'

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!

      The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun

      The frumious Bandersnatch!”

First seen in Lewis Carroll’s, ‘Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There’, published in 1872, the Jabberwocky is, in essence, a nonsense poem, but one with a rhythm and suggestiveness that owes much to ancient Anglo-Saxon poetry.  What starts as a father’s warning to his son of a mythical beast that prowls over the land ultimately, becomes a fierce battle before the boy returns, triumphant, to his father and all is returned to normality.

For me the works of the illustrator Sir John Tenniel are synonymous with Lewis Carroll’s writing and it is his depiction of the Jabberwocky, lumbering out of a dark forest to attack its latest victim, that have stayed with me into adult life.  Imagine, then, how thrilled I was then to find this Reaper Pathfinder Miniature, sculpted by J. Weibe; a clear homage to those splendid Victorian Gentlemen.

Now it is worth mentioning at this point that this sculpt was a beast in itself to put together!  By no means a small model there was quite a lot of cleaning up to do; I guess the moulds are not in the first flush of youth?  Once prepared there was substantial pinning and filling required and the decision not to use the metal ‘slotta’ base provided in favour of a ‘Warbases’ 70mm MDF disc, brought with it some concerns regarding structurally integrity and balance.  These were duly overcome with the carefully positioning of small pebbles, a modicum of luck and the occasional harsh word!  

Once primed it was time to fire up the shiny new airbrush and set about the base layers, affording me an opportunity to experiment with the blending of colours in a bid to achieve a leathery, almost prehistoric look to the creature’s wings.  The rest of the painting involved steadily building up the layers of paint and picking out the relevant details.  When it came to the basing, I was planning to have a fairly standard woodland base, but a chance comment from the ‘Provost Marshal’ saw me adding evidence of previous victims in the shape of various skulls and bones – a chilling reminder of the ferociousness of the Jabberwocky!

Finally then, to complete the scene, I put together a suitably naïve and youthful looking squire from the ‘Perry Miniatures’ War of the Roses Command Sprue to represent the hero of the piece.  My ‘Challenge’ may have been derailed somewhat by the pressures of ‘real life’, but through the bonus rounds and I am finding plenty of new challenges in both modeling and painting that give me that perfect escape.  That and the continued sense of community, good will and mutual support that pervade this cosy corner of the blog-o-sphere are truly cherished – I thank you all. 

'Myth' from Millsy - 'Pegasus'

My entry for this bonus round is something outside my usual military type subjects and required a little bit of thinking and creativity which was a good challenge. On top of that I can see opportunities to use it to bribe my wife at some point, so all good!

I bought this Pegasus miniature early in the year at MOAB. I had absolutely no idea what to do with it until Curt announced the bonus rounds so thanks Curt! It's a lovely sculpt with lots of detail and a wonderfully active pose. It went together very well and required little clean up either. Perhaps the best bit is how strong and well cast the wing joints are which are always a point of weakness something like this.

I have no idea who sculpted it or who the makes them so if anyone knows I'd be grateful for the info. Kudos to whoever they are, it's a beaut!

'Myth' from MilesR - 'Red Martian'

The RED Martian

The most terrifying aspect of the Martian invaders was their seeming lack of emotion - their unflinching response to losses and mechanical purpose made them terrifying opponents meant that victory could only come from complete annihilation of the enemy - there would be not retreats, no surrenders by the invaders but at least their behavior could be predictable - attack the most apparent threat to their Tripods.

 

That belief has been shaken by the recent rumors, perhaps even Myth of the Red Martian along the Mississippi Valley.  No photos or first hand accounts have been available as any area where reports of this phantom emirate from are scenes of complete devastation.

Here’s what we do know, The Red Martian get’s it’s name from the blood red coloring that is said to adorn the tripod unlike all of the other Tripod which have uniform colors designating which brood they are from.  The Red Martian also displays “trophies” of scorched human bodies a top the tripod and is said to play the screams of it’s human victims over unseen loudspeakers.  Perhaps the most terrifying aspect of this “Phantom Menace” is it’s behavior - unlike other Tripods which will attack the most direct threat, the Red Martian seems bent on causing as many human causalities as possible and will ignore more likely targets such as Steam Tanks or fortifications if easier human prey is to be had.

There are no confirmed reports as to why the Red Martian behaves the way it does or which Martian drop pod it emerged from.  There are some reports the first encounter with the dreaded Red martian occurred a 5 days after the Land Ironclad Nashville reported a Tripod actually withdrawing from combat after one of her main guns grazed the left side of the Tripods head.  Some scientist theorize that Red Martian was created as a result of the glancing blow and has developed an irrational hatred of it’s human foes given it’s disgrace by retreating from combat.

The model is from the All Quiet on the Martian Front line (18mm scale) and stands almost 6 inches tall.