30/07/2015

Colony 87

It's not that common that a crowdfunding project ends with the delivery of the goods when they are supposed to be delivered and with the final product being what was really promised, if not even better. Well, this was the case of the Colony 87 Kickstarter campaign!

Axiom form Magpie and Old Lead (why the frak aren't you following that blog? It has some unnaturally good stuff!) is the mastermind behind this gorgeous project. The lack of sci-fi unarmed civilians was something really annoying, and many people were asking around the forums for suppliers or good ideas for conversions. Well, Axiom was the hero of the day, he just took the responsibility of actually doing something about it!

Let me show the six models from his first quite successful campaign.

First of all, Lord Manduc Greiss:
 
In his perfect Lobster Uniform

I really love the charm of this one. Not overdone at all and yet with all the attitude you could expect from a planetary Governor or high nobility of the Imperium. Ideas of scenarios using this mini just come to mind naturally. I bet the Arbites are gonna have some interesting times trying to protect the big fish...

His consort, Lady Greiss, was quite a challenge. My first idea was going into a dark palette, full of purple and black. But I changed my mind in the last minute, as I thought that her bodysuit was asking for a lighter palette. Then, the combination colour for that would be red, mating Lord Greiss own palette.

However, the results were disappointing. I didn't like where I was going to...
 
She was looking too Adepta Sororita
 
Sooo, back to the original idea...
Now she looks properly dark, gloomy... Imperial

She had to look distant, cold; I thought that was going to work better here. Well, she looks imposing and the perfect match for Lord Greiss...

Next one, Wandering Alexei, space pilgrim:
 
Raggedy pilgrim

This sculpt is sweet. Simple but charming. Though being in green, I believe the tunic kinda resembles an Adeptus Mechanicus vibe. Hmm, there may be a nice background there to be exploited...

Next one is Barcoon Krobosh, emmissary of the Amphirans:
 
Alien colour combination. Fashionnable among the Amphirans this season

It looks like some kind of diplomatic merchant to me, ready to trade alien goods to anyone who dares to interact with xenos. Some kind of alien Rogue Trader or its equivalent. So it had to look opulent, not just wearing some space fatigues. That drove me to paint some trimming on the cape:
 
Travelling cape. I believe I could have added more colour

I can perfectly imagine him with his Piscean escort (wink, wink), so maybe this is just the beginning oa warband of his own!
Ahem, but for the moment, let's go on with these. Kay Dee, the porter, is an inspired design:
 
No, it's not a life vest
 
 I had never thought of a porter, and the idea is great. That's the kind of variety in characters that made me jump into this kickstarter, the stuff that really adds life to your table.

But of course he is the porter to someone, in this case Pash Grolin, wandering merchant. I personally love this model, it's pure Blanchitsu. I begun to paint the vest in blue, I thought it could work. But as soon as I applied the first brush stroke I totally regretted. What was I doing? Blue? Seriously? I couldn't use blue on a such a Blanchesque mini! :D
 
Red. It had to be red, of course
 
 Ahh, much better :P

The whole group looks this way:
 
What a band of such different guys. What's not to love?

 I'm really satisfied with this kickstarter. The minis are quite impressive, both in design and good casting quality, and all the campaign run really smooth. Whenever a wave 2 of Colony 87 is released, I'm falling for it again!

26 comments:

  1. You're quite gifted with the freehand designs on their cloak's Suber :)

    Well done!

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    1. Thank you! I tried to mimic a pseudo-Mayan style, I thought it would be proper for the mini. But now the guy needs a pet, I have to look for a hypnotoad! :D

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  2. Wow! You've knocked these out of the park. The paint jobs really do justice to the great sculpts. I'm eagerly awaiting mine - they seem to be taking the scenic route to Auustralia!

    My favourite from what you've done here is Lady Greiss. I admire that you reprinted her - I get really annoyed when I have to do that, so sometimes I can't be bothered. But it was certainly worth it in this case. Her dress looks great.

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    1. Thank you! You won't be disappointed, the minis are fabulous! I still may repaint Lady Greiss' dress, as the trimming looks too crude. My old brush is coming to the end of its life cycle, I'm afraid. I would try just the same effect, but with thinner embroidery. I believe it would be worth of the effort.

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  3. Wow, really fantastic. I also really like the freehand patterns on the cloaks and robes. Barcoon Krobosh is my favorite.

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    1. Thanks! I feel the urge to develop that particular character and give him a decent background, escorts and stuff :)

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  4. Great job Suber. ^_^ It never ceases to amaze me how you can put out such quality work in such a short space of time. It takes me forever to finish even one.

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    1. Thanks! But woah, there is quite a quality leap between your works and mine! You regularly achieve effects I can barely dream of! I'm way too impatient and I need to constantly divert from one project to another. My production rate is acceptable for my scattered mind but my quality suffers from that! :D

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  5. Stunning job Suber! I think yours is the first fully painted set, but not only that, your paint jobs are wonderful! All the freehand really elevates them. I can't decide which is my favourite...Barcoon's cloak is inspired, the red checks on Pash are perfect. If you had to push me, I think the restrained paint job on Lady Greiss is the one I love. She has a real richness, in spite of the limited palette!

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    1. Wow, thank you very much!! (Ladies and gents, this is the man! He is the one who made this possible!!). I'm truly glad that you like my interpretation of the characters, but they are such inspired sculpts that it's really difficult to go wrong with them!
      Please be served and use the pics if you want :)

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  6. Awesome job on these models. I wish I had backed it too!

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    1. Thank you! Oh, you should have backed this one. Most definitely. Don't know about the plans for general release, but get them whenever you can, you won't be disappointed.

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  7. Lovely as always, and your second take on Lady Greiss is spot on. Good call!

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    1. Thank you! As you can see I had some doubts about that particular mini, but I believe the final result turned out better than the first approach :)

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  8. Brilliant work! Pash looks great but Lady Greiss is my favourite too - excellent work all round. Looking forward to getting some paint on mine now....

    W

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    1. Thank you! The minis are so good that whatever you do will work on them. Looking forward to seeing yours too :)

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  9. Wonderful miniatures, wonderfully painted!

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    1. Thanks! The minis are lovely, painting them is such an enjoyable experience!

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  10. Fabulous they are excellent miniatures. I shall have to get some with my re doing Necromunda.

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    1. Thanks! You won't regret, that's for sure. Their charm is way too irresistible!

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  11. I was in two minds about backing the KS as I don't really play any 40k at the moment. But they are lovely...

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    1. But you can really use them for a number of settings! I'm of course more RT oriented, but the good thing about this kind of design is that it makes them useable for many sci-fi settings :D
      Come on, you want them...

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    2. Mate, excellent work as ever!! Loving the freehand patterns! Sci fi civilians are definitely something that have been lacking for too long!

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    3. Thank you! That's right, I found the lack of civilians distrurbing, hehe. I can think of a number of scenarios just for these. Now I need to play them!

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  12. Fantastic Suber, loads to like. The purple on Lady Greiss is lovely.

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    1. Thank you! They are truly lovely sculpts, it was a real pleasure painting all of them!!

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