Painting Marvel Crisis Protocol With 144Artist

I’ve finished and sealed the 1st edition Iron Man miniature, also known simply as Iron Man.  It is not the best mini AMG has produced and like some other early sculpts, it lacks sharp detail.  Not a bad sculpt but not a great tone either.  I got sort of uninspired part way through and just wanted him done.  Looking at the photos, it is clear I need to add more of the bright highlights.  I’ve got a few minis now I want to go back and work on their  details some more but that will be for a future post.

Well, maybe not actual occupation as it is just an empty box with no bottom but it does look like Doctor Strange lives there.  It was really easy to assemble though I wish I had painted it in sub-assemblies.  Despite the night scene in the sky light I painted the rest of the building in daylight.  I just had a few details to touch up last night before spray sealing it.  I might give it one more coat tonight for extra protection and to cut the shine a little.

I worked on a number of things over my three day weekend.  I have just about finished the Sanctum Santorum though I want to look at it in daylight when I get home.  If I still like it I will seal it and photograph it.  Right now my focus has been on the signature skylight.  Looking at the work Sorastro did in his tutorial, I wanted to really work on the Non-Metalic Metal look as well as the reflections of the night sky.

I haven’t read contemporary comics for a while now but I am aware of Ms Marvel and the show is on my “list of must watch soon”.  I will confess to having the problem of not being able to give my full attention to a movie or show because I am painting or building.  I will get to it because I do find the character interesting.  In game she is even more so with this sort of reverse Wasp thing going on.  She doesn’t grow big and stay big but rather bounces back and forth between sizes.

I finished all the window frames and cleaned up a number of the details last night.  Again, roughly following Sorastro’s technique for Non-Metalic Metal on the roof railing I got that done as well.  Again, wish I had left the building partially assembled like he does for ease of painting.  Maybe if I ever get an X-Mansion I will do that.

I’ve been spending what little hobby time I have lately on the Sanctum Santorum.  It is such a nice piece it deserves a little extra attention.  Of course this means I am not working on the apartment building I primed but it isn’t going anywhere.  I love Sorastro’s painting videos and just wish I had watched this one before I assembled and primed my building.  He works on his by floor and glues the fine details on after, like I do with windows in the apartment buildings.  I really like the technique he employs on the roof so I did a version of that on mine.  So far I have to say it is looking pretty good. I will have to focus on all the windows next.

If you haven’t discovered Sorastro’s tutorials yet I can’t recommend his work enough.

So back in the day, way back in the day, I ran a comic book shop and worked weekend comic conventions. I was one of those that read everything because I liked knowing what was in my inventory and it was there.  For a long time Thor wasn’t in my list of favorites. I mean I liked it but didn’t love it, not like X-Men and Spider-Man.  Then Beta Ray Bill came along, blasting through all initial doubts to be an intriguing and very entertaining character. So of course I had to have him in my collection.  Big bonus that he is in multiple affiliations.  From what I can tell, he’s going to be a headache for any team facing him.

…Catches thieves, just like flies.  Look Out!  Here comes the Spider Man!

So with Black Cat comes the Amazing Spider Man.  He is obviously the older, more experienced Spidy as he is not only a Five Threat but also has a Leadership Ability for leading Web Warriors.  That is a team that despite looking subtle and tricky to run also looks fun. It has a lot of movement and pushes for contesting objectives.

I’ve assembled the Sanctum Santorum and primed it black.  I used a range of colors in craft paints to dry brush the bricks in layers.  I dip the drybrush (I use a big make up brush for this) into a couple of the colors and wipe it on the textured pallet.  I will then use that bit several times before refreshing it and I get a different mix every time I wipe the brush across the surface.  I don’t just blend to lighter colors but rather shift tones as bricks can be so varied.

I think I encountered this character in comic pages 3-4 times and, to be honest, she left no real memory.  Cool costume though and talk about a wide range of allies or employers.  In game that means she’s in three affiliations; two good guys one bad guys.  She is a mercenary after all.  I don’t care, she looks like a lethal, helpful character to have on one’s side.  Besides, she was fun to paint.

When my TerrainFest Warehouse project was done and the Mantic fungus trees were soaking in dish soap I had a clear table and 48 hours before I would need it that way again so dove into one of the MCP NYC Apartment Buildings I’ve been able to get my hands on.  I had the parts for a spare floor and some extra roof scatter from a “bits” collection I picked up.  So this baby would be four stories high with Josie’s Bar on the ground floor.  Very cool.

Shang Chi is a great character made all the better by the MCU’s treatment of him. His comics never interested me and his guest shots always seemed forced and the character more of a caricature but he always had so much potential.  The film gave him a great back story that I related to all too well and I don’t even have super powers.  The mini from AMG is very well done with all kinds of Bruce Lee vibes.  The rubble on the base even looks like a broken Temple Dog statue.

I have finished the last miniature I need for my Wakanda Affiliation, M’Baku.  Great figure who looks quite imposing.  I loved him in the MCU movies though have little to no memory of him in any comic books.  In game he seems like a tough character who push opponents off Objectives while protecting allies from the same.  That he is in Wakanda AND Criminal Syndicate shows the diversity of his motives.

I spent Friday night and part of Saturday assembling the Sanctum Sanctorum kit from Atomic Mass Games. I got it primed black Sunday so I should be able to start painting it tonight after work.  Afraid that was all I accomplished with my MCP work as I was focused on a 4Ground Warehouse kit most of the weekend.

Talk about a classic, Silver Age, Jack Kirby created villain.  One of my first comics was an oversized reprint treasure of Thor stories and this fellow was right on the cover, he and Thor getting ready to bash each other.  He was “Mightiest of the Trolls” and while I really didn’t know what that meant and was astounded that trolls could be mentioned in a superhero story.  Tiny me was very much into compartmentalization already.  This guy was big, scary, and releasing an even bigger monster on Asgard (some guy called Mangog).  I was hooked.  When I saw AMG’s sculpt I was beside myself.  It looks like a 3D Jack Kirby drawing.  I swear ol’ King Kirby could have sculpted it.  They even got those big chunky teeth right.

In game this guy throws really big terrain and has a very nasty punch that can even cause the target to lose their Activation.  Ouch, stomped on and no actions.  He is just the start of my current push to build up my Asgardian Affiliation.

I’ve been finishing up the heroes from the first core box and have gotten to Captain America, not to be confused with Captain America: Steve Rogers or Captain America: First Avenger or even Captain America: Sam Wilson.  This is the first version and he only got beefier after this.  I mean, First Avenger looks like a weight lifter though not as bad as the Rob Leifeld’s attempts. I really don’t know how someone who has no understanding of anatomy was so successful drawing comics but then that was also when I stopped reading them.

This is the classic look, helmet strap showing, looks like the whole costume is made of blue leather.  I like how the shield came out but not how it photographed.  Regardless, finishing this one greatly appeals to my OCD and collectors gene.

I don’t recall more than a couple appearances of Strucker during my comic reading days. I’ve got to like a guy who has a burning hand and clearly didn’t skip Leg Day.  In game he seems quite formidable.  He throws conditions onto enemy and can cure wounds and conditions with his allies.

…and by finished I mean his paint job is completed.  This one took a lot more thought and pre-planning what with the tiny face that has to be painted before it’s even glued in and the entire front torso being transparent.  All that aside, it is a good looking mini and I feel I did a pretty good job on the walking computer that is Armin Zola.  I’m really going to have to play a Hydra list some time as I have a decent collection of them painted.

Now I can get back to the Sanctum Sanctorum assembly and priming.

I continued working on Zola once he was primed.  I applied base coats being careful not to get any on the transparent part.  I then highlighted everything, going with a NMM technique for the metal legs and belt.  He and Strucker are finished (you can see both of them in the final photo) and round out the tray waiting for Sealant.  When I get home from work I will take care of that task and try to get everything photographed.

Zola always looked like a fun figure to work on, especially once I found out there is a clear shield over the face in his chest.  I figured I would get him assembled and painted before popping the clear shield piece into place.  I mean a separate transparent piece just big enough to cover the spot where the face is would make sense, right?  Not to AMG apparently because the entire front chest piece is cast in clear plastic AND the face is one of the very first pieces to be glued in.  That meant I had to paint it before I could attach it to the back of the torso.  Once assembly was done I used Blu-Tac to mask the part of the chest I needed to keep clear before spray priming over the added rubble.