Masters of the Universe - into Eternia once again

Whilst at Salute last month I had to pay a visit to the stand of Archon Studios. You will recall I go on and on about how great their plastic kits are and my collection of Masters of the Universe Battleground seems to continuously expand. When I bought the starter box set I also received a limited edition He-man with Battlecat and I was sure I would not be able to obtain the Skeletor equivalent as it was listed as a tournament exclusive model. I did however have my fingers crossed when I got the Archon stand just in case they had one or two floating about.  

Turns out they did, Archon had decided to make the available at shows as well, so I was super excited to grab a Skeletor and also Hordak astride his Mantisaur.

Tremble at the mighty Mantisaur

The base is a metallic artificial floor rather than the usual rocky outcrop.

My only issue was you had to place him in the saddle before adding the mantisaur legs, so I couldn't paint the separately.

What a great pose(r)

Replicating the colour of his saddle to match the original toy colour was tricky.

I drew the line at replicating the purple flock look of the original

When I first painted these two chaps I had mixed some of their colours on a wet pallette to try and match their toy colours, so when it came to painting them again, I had to try and repeat the exercise from memory. I don't think I got Skeletors blue skin to match properly, but I prefer the new look.

 

 

 

So, what else have I been painting? Surely that is not all I bought from Salute? Well, I did buy some more plastic cowboys from Great Escape Games and a box of Fireforge zombies and I have been kitbashing some zombie cowboys for a future project. I had wonderful fun throwing bits together, you only get to see three of them at the moment though as that is all I have painted. 

The chap on the right is actually made up all from the cowboys sprues. I wanted to see if I could make a 'fresh' zombie, so the pose and the pallid flesh are the only clues to his recent resurrection. (Or is he about to kick an invisible football?). Youngest and I have been making a medieval style army from Fireforge Knights plastic kits (mounted and on foot) as well, so the home has been foggy with the stench of polystyrene cement. Only future posts will tell whether I end up painting them for him or they remain grey for a while.

On the gaming side of things, I recently decided to venture to a game night of the Newbury and Reading Wargames Society. I have been a patron of their yearly show for more years than I can remember now, so I decided to go and say hello. They were super welcoming, I got to join in and roll some dice on my first visit. So, I shall be popping back next week and signing up for full membership. I, of course will be armed with a handful of Osprey games books to try and convert them all to the way of the Rampant series....

Salute 2023 Preparation

 It's crept up on us again. Although there was no Salute last year, instead the last time I went to the Excel centre with the Distinguished Opponent (Brother in Law) was in November 2021 for what was officially Salute 2020. I am currently drinking from a mug I bought whilst there that says Salute 2019 (they are reduced to clear the next year) so I wonder sometimes if I even know what year it is now. Are you still with me?

So, anyway what I am trying to say is blimey, it's time to go to London again already. Distinguished Opponent will be coming, but Illustrious Opponent unfortunately has another engagement that day. Previous years for Salute I have traveled in quite a group, but it will probably just be the two of us. I will hopefully bump into some fellow bloggers and Analogue Hobby challengers on the day though and see some familiar faces. I have also bravely taken the step of changing my Facebook profile picture to a shot of myself rather than something I have painted for that one in a million chance that one of my social media followers might recognise me. (It all feels a little uncomfortable all this self promotion, but you have to push yourself sometimes don't you?)

 

 

Showing the full results of my painting during the Analogue Hobby Challenge

 Regular readers will know I like to go through the list of traders in advance of attending a show (see here ) here are some of my highlights I am looking forward to.

https://archon-studio.com/

They make great plastic kits that look nice and fit together lovely. I am addicted to painting their Masters of the Universe range so I will probably pick up some more from them.

They are just a joy to paint

 

 

https://www.blackscorpionminiatures.com/

They always have excellent quality sculpts, my particular favourite being their Old West range. They are slightly heroic in style rather than realistic, but they look good.

https://www.bluegiantstudios.co.uk/

Blue Giant sell Atlantis miniatures, the most stunning being the range of dwarfs. They do fall within the category of "that looks cool but wouldn't fit in with anything else I have" but as I am painting more now just for the love of painting, why not.

https://www.crocodilegames.com/

Back in the annuls of time at one my early visits to Salute I picked up some Spartans from Crocodile Games. I had probably recently seen the film 300 and they seemed cool. I have recently started expanding them into more of an army for something like Dragon Rampant or Gods and Mortals. Therefore it might be worth another visit to maybe grab some of their Amazons.

https://hfminis.co.uk/

I love Hasslefree Miniatures. They have beautiful sculpts. I know they have had some issues, bad luck and illnesses. I am sure they will have some great new models I haven't seen that I will need to grab though.

https://www.mitchesmilitarymodels.co.uk

Lastly, not really for myself but for the Distinguished Opponent to visit. He doesn't know it yet but when he reads this he will. This company does some great looking 75mm scale models and the Father in Law will probably want us to pick something up from these guys once he has read this too. 

 

Previous years we have had a go at speed painting and that is now a must. It will be the third time so that makes it tradition, right? I am also sticking my neck out and entering something in the show painting competition (caveat, I may still chicken out so don't take this as a definite decision.) I fully don't expect to win anything or even place, but I'm embracing the adventure of it all. Some people go bungie jumping or white water rafting, this is my level of adrenaline kick.

So, if you are attending Salute too, I hope you have a great day, if not, have a great day anyway. I will try and remember to take some photos, I can't promise I won't forget half way through the day from having too much fun. I'll let you know how my day went when I get back.