Star Wars painting finished!

It’s taken me three years to finally have all of my Star Wars boxed figure sets painted. (3 boxes of 10) I started with Stormtroopers back in June 2017. Of course, I’ve owned these figures for just over thirty years! This weekend I decided to just get the last few finished, regardless of anything else happening. They have been on my desk/painting tray for way too long.

From the 1988/89 25mm figure sets released by West End Games (sculpted and cast by Grenadier) here are:

SW25 Zardra (Bounty Hunter from ‘Tatooine Manhunt’ adventure)

SW28 Boushh (Leia in disguise from ‘Return of the Jedi’)

SW29 Rebel Merc

SW80 Kid

and…. I have absolutely no idea who the male with a blaster is. He’s not actually meant to be in any of my boxed sets! His base says Ral Parth 1988. He fits in perfectly with all my Star Wars figures and I hadn’t realised until today he wasn’t one. I guess someone gave him to me at some point. My best guess is shadowrun. If anyone has an idea, I’d like to know!

EDIT: A friend helped find him! #20-963 Battletech, Dropship Crewman – Marik.

Most of these sat around because I didn’t have an idea of how to paint them. Boushh was easy and finished back in July, but I couldn’t come up with a colour scheme for the others. In the end I went with simple stuff and haven’t fussed about detail. They aren’t aliens, and if they are used in any of my games it’s likely to be as NPCs standing around in the background. So, no fuss, no highlighting, no eye detail, done. I did enjoy doing the female rebel merc, once I decided to paint her in camouflage. Hers is the only figure I spent a lot of time on.

This leaves seven figures on my tray, but I expect to double that once something arrives in the mail this week. This will also mean the tray is full of stuff I want to paint.

April Challenge Painting

I started the month with good intentions, but the last few weeks (and sudden cold and wet weather) have found me preparing stuff for Shadowrun and not painting. As well as finishing off a nearly done figure, I got four more (that were only undercoated) completed, and started a sixth.

This is only five figures done out of the ten I hoped to complete for Ann’s April painting challenge, but it is more painting than I’ve achieved any other month this year!

From left to right:

Reaper 03893 “Mal” Catfolk Warrior, SW76 Mon Calamari, SW26 Bossk (trandoshan bounty hunter), SW77 Engineer, & SW27 Weequay

The Reaper figure was a recent purchase (by comparison) to be used in my d20 Gamma World game as one of the player characters. The four Star Wars figures are by West End Games/Grenadier 1988/89 from boxed sets I bought way back then. I chose colours for the Mon Cal based on typical images available online for the race, and while I checked images of Bossk himself, I decided to go with something different for his scaly skin and jumpsuit. The others were whatever appealed to me when I sat down. The “frill” around the engineers neck is a light metallic silver-blue and his face is more even in RL. My camera has lightened/darkened the front/side in the image inaccurately.

I put a lot of work into the catfolk mini – lots of dry-brushing fur to bring out the texture and detail that the figure has. The others I wasn’t as concerned with, and I’m happy with the way they look.

April Challenge: “Paint the crap you already own!”

While I have made a considerable effort over the last few years to paint the figures I own, there’s always more unpainted. I’ve done more writing over the last 12 months than painting. With my gaming on hold (due to Covid-19), and some more free time at home I decided to get painting again as well as write. I’m not working from home (not possible with my position), but by the end of the month my work may close down regardless. It’s nice being a bit lazier than usual and catching up on some computer games, but I can paint as well as do all the other things.

 

 

Ann (Ann’s Immaterium) has just announced an April painting challenge that’s perfect for this. I have 9 Star Wars figures (West End Games/Grenadier 1988/89) that have been on my desk since some time in 2017. (That’s when I painted the storm troopers – it’s really been too long.)

Last week I started to look at these again – and dusted them off. The cat man in the picture hasn’t been on the desk for years (only months, I think), and he just qualifies. I did a lot of painting on him over the last week and he’s almost but not quite finished.

There is absolutely no reason I can’t finish painting ten miniatures in one month. Let’s see how I go!

Star Wars – Painting Stormtroopers

Star Wars 40307 “Stormtroopers” (Lucasfilm, West End Games)

10 Stormtroopers SW61 – SW70.

 

When my Gamma World game got going this year, I dug out my Star Wars minatures thinking that they would be of more use than most of my fantasy figures, since most of these figures held guns! The Stormtrooper set has been particularly useful, since we’ve been playing GW1 “The Legion of Gold”. They have been perfect to represent the many golden-armored warriors that are fought in groups of generally five or more.

They were unpainted in the first session I used them, then got a spray white undercoat soon after. I’ve spent the last week finishing the set as well as the main Rebels/Bounty Hunter figures that I’d picked out to represent the player characters. (The PC’s should be my next post.)

A squad of ready Stormtroopers!

The best part about this ten piece set of one-piece metal figures is that each one is unique. While a couple have similar poses, this variety isn’t common now unless you buy a large set of multi-part figures.

Nearly all the Star Wars figures I purchased at this time (3 sets back about 1989) have been well produced figures, nicely posed, well detailed, not much flash to clean up, and few mold lines. I’m quite sure they came in a neat cardboard box at the time. I’ve still got the insert sheet with names, images and film/RPG detail that came with each set.

I decided to try something different with my last lot of painting: These got an extra spray of white undercoat, then a very good coat of black ink. It really picked out the detail and while looking more grey than the typical bright white, they looked good. I put them all onto 25mm round bases, and started going over each one with more white paint. Black for the “body-glove” and on helmets, black and gun metal on weapons. I’d painted the bases with a mid/dark grey then realized I needed more contrast, so went over them with a blotchy coat of black, then gun-metal. It can vary slightly with lighting, but the bases now appear to be black with a shiny silvery sheen.

These troopers don’t look like they just walked out of the clone factory! I could have gone back over them with another coat of white paint, but I like current appearance. They aren’t bright and shiny – they look like they actually been out and wearing the armor for some time.