Well welcome back to “Cleavage Month” (and no that isn’t a real thing), I do however seem to have spent the majority of this month painting ladies with “their bits hanging out”, as my mother used to say. This I assure you is purely by coincidence, but it does raise the question, are we as figure collectors inherently sexist? Or is it the manufacturers who are to blame? As they say “sex sells, but who’s buying?”, Just something to ponder. Anyway on to this week’s figures, as I said I have one scantily clad Bar”bare”ian (sorry couldn’t resist), as I want to be able to field her in my Christmas “Dungeon Saga” game, and to make up the numbers for a decent weeks painting and keep it moving forward I’ve added in a couple “Scavvies” from my “Wasteland” project. All three figures are by sculpting virtuoso Mark Copplestone, so I 
could have called this post “Mark Three”, but I went more cryptic than that, so the title of this post of course refers to the coins I base my figures on (and not a cockney rhyming slang reference, you and your dirty minds, honestly I despair!).
So after they were based on said coins they went outside for a coat of matt black, and it was at this point that I realized I hadn’t taken a photo of the unpainted miniatures and that is why the photo above is so…well black (sorry). Anyway then the painting could begin!
My Barbarian princess (well she is wearing a lot of gold) was begun in the usual way with all the bits that would end up silver being dry-brushed with some chainmail, then her boots, belt and the back of her shield were painted in chocolate brown before the boots and belt were highlighted with leather brown and the shield with butternut. Her halter top was then added in leather brown highlighted with khaki. Her fur pelts and boot accoutrements were undercoated in dark grey then highlighted with subsequent 
coats of mid grey and white. All her various pieces of jewelry were then undercoated in bronze before highlights of shinning gold were added over this and the stones themselves were dotted in using metallic blue. Turning to her fleshy bits next a base of flesh tone seven (dark flesh) was applied first and after her eyes and mouth were added this was highlighted with European flesh. Deep turquoise is a new colour I picked up the other day so I thought I’d give it a try on her shield, now I thought I’d try and paint a snake running around the face of her shield, but I made a right hash of this and it quite frankly looked awful! So after another coat of deep turquoise I added the “swooping” cross in coffee and cream (adding the skull on her belt in the same at the same time) and highlighted the deep turquoise segments in the same mixed with a little aquamarine, much better! Lastly I turned to the vast quantity of flowing hair she has, so after mixing some chocolate brown with a little black and using this as an undercoat I highlighted with chestnut, a couple of gold beads in her hair and she was finished.
Goggles, my unimaginatively named “Scavvy”, was begun with a dry-brush was chainmail too, and this was also followed up with chocolate brown and leather brown on his various leathery areas. His top jacket (he appears to have two on) was then 
added in a mix of dark grey and blue grey and this was then highlighted in just blue grey. The second “under coat” was then added in navy blue with royal blue highlights. His rope belt, pouch and his trousers (what you can see of them) were then done in coffee and cream. The grips on his guns came next chocolate brown with butternut highlights taking care of these, and his holster was repainted black and given highlights of dark grey. European flesh was painted over of all the exposed flesh areas and after his eyes were added more of the same mixed with some pale flesh was used to highlight, I did notice that the figure has what looks like a scar on his right cheek (radiation burn?) so I used a bit of dark red and pink burgundy to add this. He has a bedroll slung at his back as well so I added this in olive green with stone green highlights, that just left his earring and necklace to add and a touch of copper took care of this.
Wilf Grimshaw, my final “Scavvy” of the week is named after… well points to anyone 
who can remember who he’s named after, and why he has fallen so far out of favor! Anyhoo, Wilf was begun as were the above, but then I turned my attention to his over(under?)coat so after a coat of deep bronze green, squiggles of olive, khaki and coffee were painted over this to form the camouflage pattern. Then in a fit of silliness I thought it would be a good idea to have him wearing the remnants of a bright orange “cagoule” (remember these from when we were kids!), so after this painting orange I mixed more orange with some citrus orange and highlighted with this. His belt and the bottoms of his trousers were then added in coffee and cream, before his shoes were repainted in black and highlighted with some dark grey. The tiny bits of flesh exposed about his person were added as above, and his rucksack and pouches were added in my two shades of sand (dark with light highlights). Finally his hat was added in chocolate brown with successive dry-brushes of khaki and coffee.
All three figures were of course then given a coat of Quickshade strong tone, before having their bases finished in my own inimitable fashion, and a coat of spray matt varnish dulled down the sheen on them. So there you are, still a bit late, but at least it’s still Saturday this time, so I am catching up. Three really nice figures this week, from one of my favorite sculptors, the barbarian is a cracking figure (with a cracking figure, if you’ll pardon the pun), and “Wilf” is one of those figures I’ve always really liked but never got around to buying first time round (when I was buying these figures from Grenadier back in the eighties), so it’s great to finally have him painted and in my collection.
Lastly before I sign off this week just a quick mention that Dave Stone of “Wargames Terrain Workshop” is trying to organize a “Bloggers Meet Up”, I hope to be able to attend myself, but please go and check out more and perhaps offer to attend here…
http://thegamerscupbard.blogspot.com/2018/07/bloggers-day.html
So till next time, Cheers Roger.
Rantings from under the Wargames table 
What a marvellous trio, Roger, and well worth the effort you’ve put into them I’d say. A bit of rust, camo and even a shield design – wow”” 🙂
Thanks Simon, the shield design was actually pretty simple, but looks so much better than the “snake” I cocked up!
Cheers Roger.
You can’t go wrong with Mark Copplestone sculpts. He does have a very distinctive style. I do have those two Scavvies but not the Barbarian Princess, which given my love of scantily clad ladies is unusual. Smashing paint jobs on all of them. There is a definitive Red Sonja vibe going on with the Barbarian Princess, or even a Ghita of Alizarr, which is no bad thing!
Thanks Bryan, the barbarian is one of Marks “Specials” but would look fantastic as a centre piece in a barbarian army, actually Moonraker have the old Grenadier barbarians, now that’s got me thinking….
I deliberately didn’t go “red” for her hair as I was trying to play down the “Red Sonia” vibe, I guess I failed.
Cheers Roger.
Great work man. Love these, especially Goggle.
Thanks IRO, glad you like them, as we were only talking about them on your Blog the other day (I don’t just throw these things together you know!). Strangely “Goggles” was the least complicated of the three to do.
Cheers Roger.
Is that actually his name or did you name him?
No sorry I named him, don’t think he has an official name. Nobody has guessed where Wilf’s name came from yet.
Cheers Roger.
Fantastic painting as always Roger, thanks for the share as well.
It’s an interesting point on scantily clad females, when I make female models I don’t make them all super models as women come in all shapes and sizes, also I feel that the outfit has to have a purpose, so depending on their role depends on how much clothes they have. This means I probably sell a lot less of my female figures, but as a husband and father of three daughters I can practice what I preach to them about media over sexualising the female form, this decision will never make me rich but I’ll sleep better with a clear conscience
Ha ha, you make a good point Dave about the media, and this is a debate that could run and run, it is a sad fact that men do like to look at pretty girl (me included), The whole thing over the Darts “walk on girls” being an off shoot of this, do they really hurt? I don’t know, I think it’s a thin line, and there is always the argument that if you don’t like it turn off/away, but is it right top take away someone livelihood because they are pretty rather than smart? This is all getting too deep for me, I just remember my wife being shocked that we saw “nude” sunbather figures to adorn your remote control cabin cruiser boat, at a local model boat show!
No problem with the shout out by the way, cheers Roger.
Have no problem with pretty women, or how they choose to earn their money more power to them if their happy in what their doing and not being exploited .
This subject will always cause a lot of debate, and everyone is entitled to their opinion, just for me the over sexualisation in models is a step too far, waists too small to house internal organs, every female with a boob job, and oversized hips.
If you think the nude sunbather for remote control boats is strange, you should see the X- rated stuff for model railways ! Certainly an eye opener
Ha ha, well I always knew model railway enthusiasts were odd 😉 I went off them when in a series on TV (cant remember the title), they were building a large layout for an exhibition somewhere and the idiot they had presenting it was coming up with this ridiculous backstory with WW2 female spy’s ands giant ducks in a nuclear power plant (continuity and timelines were obviously not his strong point!), anyway in one episode he went to a wargames club and had the nerve to look down his nose at us and call us childish wierdo’s!!
I assume these X-rated models are for the “Continental railroader” 😉 bit chilly over here for that sort of thing!
Cheers Roger.
They actually cover a vary wide range including couples having sex and BDSM ! I remember having a conversation with a railway modeller, telling me how his hobby was proper modelling, at which point I asked him how many locomotives and carriages he built from scratch, his reply was none, I then showed him my fire breathing dragon ! end of conversation ! LOL
It does make me laugh how railway modellers do often consider themselves above us wargamers, because we just “play with little toy soldiers” whereas they re-create in miniature locomotive history, even though the majority of then just buy pre-painted sets off of the shelf, and never even pick up a paintbrush let alone a soldering iron!
Having said that, some of the top display layouts are truly awesome.
Cheers Roger.
I’ve got several books on scenery making aimed at Railway enthusiasts, has some great ideas and techniques in it, it would be great if all modellers could appreciate what each other does, and get on with each other, after all we are all modellers in one form or another
Very true Dave, some of the model railway techniques are also useful to the wargaming fraternity, all be it with a little tweaking to make them more modular and portable.
Cheers Roger.
Great job on the minis mate. As most of my female figures are sculpted by Kev White, there is a tendency for them to be a bit more scantily clad in his medieval/fantasy ranges. But in his modern and sci-fi ranges he tends to be a bit more practical.
Thanks Andy, ahhh Kev White, another man with a young daughter, but apparently much less conscience than Dave!!
Cheers Roger.
Nice trio Roger, hope someone gets your subtlety references, I’m always open to learning. In this case I think it’s a UK thing? Still like the three and thanks for sharing your highlights and process. Gotta say I like the Barbarian Princess the most, count me as a typical male! Best, Mark
Thanks Mark, the title reference is a Cockney rhyming slang thing (think of something that rhymes wit “bit’s” and starts with “T” and you wont be far off! Though the actual correct term is “Thrup’enny bit’s” or Three pence pieces (an old pre-decimal coin).
The Wilf reference is really only going to be got by UK based people of a certain age, as it refers to an 70/80s popular comedy group known as the “Grumbleweeds”, who had a character called “Wilf Gasmask Grimshaw”, who wore a gas mask (strangely enough), and would do interview with one of the other group member’s who would be doing an impersonation of DJ and children’s TV presenter “Jimmy Savile” who is never mentioned over here these days after it was discovered after his death that he was a paedophile, which I quite understand. A shame though as I used to roll around laughing at Wilf when I was a child. here is a link to one of Wilf’s clips from the Grumbleweeds radio show…
Cheers Roger.
Thanks for the translation Roger. I tried listening to the post, but I think my American ears caught about half. I remember seeing Quadrophenia and having the same issue – two countries separated by a common language? Still, I had heard of the Savile dude in the news, but without much context. I do love reading your stuff though, and sometime I plan on adding “whilst” to my repertoire (though is there a difference with using “while”?).
Always a good read Roger!
Yes it is a bit of an acquired taste (and one that a lot of Brit’s never acquired either!), and very childish TBH. Never really got Quadrophenia myself, it was entertaining but not worth all the fuss it got. As you say two nations separated by a common language, I think it’s easier for us in “Blighty” as we grew up watching all the US shows than it is for you ()did you get “Open all hours”, “Porridge” and “Last of the summer wine” over there? Still I have the same problem with the Jamaican lady “Calypso” in Pirates of the Caribbean, I’m lucky if I understand one word in three!
Yep as far as I know While and Whilst are basically the same word and can be used in the same context, I know Jez or at “Carrion Crows Buffet”, is trying to get “Catspaw” back into the general usage.
Cheers Roger.
You had me at cleavage month! What a fabulous set, the Barbarian Princess is particularly charming.
Thanks Michael, I had you at cleavage month! you sir are obviously less “saintly” than Mrs Awdry then! 😉
Cheers Roger.
Very nice, Roger. I think the opinion regardung semi-clad female figures will argue back and forth. I’m of the opinion that if the figure is appropriate for the setting, then it’s mostly okay. If you’re playing John Carter or Conan, then it’s part of the setting – both male AND female tend to be lacking in clothing. If doing Star Trek, Star Wars or Doctor Who, then no. Whilst scantily-clad female figures appear to be a part of the hobby, the choice to buy them is down to the individual and those that predominantly buy, paint and showcase such figures will be judged accordingly.
And whilst I got the ‘tu’penny bits’ reference, the Wilf Grimshaw one, although familiar, was a little lost on me until you explained. I deliberately didn’t resort to Google, as I always think that’s kind of cheating.
Thanks Jez, I have to agree with you on the setting front, though Dr Who, Star Wars and Star Trek have all have their “eye candy” moments. I must admit I do like painting attractive female figures (last weeks being a particular case in point), so feel free to judge me accordingly (though I feel this comment might not have been specifically targeted at me 😉 ).
I thought most of me UK readers would have got the “tu’penny” reference I thought I’d better explain i8t for a couple of overseas chaps. The Grumbleweeds thing I would many would struggle with unless you were a fan (with I was), having had a look on the net myself I was shocked to discover that the “Grumbleweeds” radio 2 show ran for fourteen years!!
As for Google, we listen to a local radio station at work, and they are forever saying stuff like “Who can tell me the first hit for the Bangles?” to which we always have a chorus of “Anyone who can use a smartphone!! “. We are very childish you see.
Cheers Roger.
I think the genre and context are important factors in regards to ‘eye candy’. True, Star Trek had the Orion slave girl and Star Wars had the infamous ‘gold bikini’, but generally speaking, these were in context for the setting. If I’m playing a game set during a 50’s beach party, I have no objection in having ‘beach bunnies’ running about, but in the middle of a gritty future war? Nope. I just think it should make sense, rather than being gratuitous. Just my tuppence worth.
That very much depends Jez, if you are playing a game set in a future gritty war based on a straight to video 80’s post apocalypse film setting then chances are all the women will be wearing chainmail bikini’s 😉
But yes I agree with you that the setting requires the appropriate clothing, however I always thought it a little odd that Jabba the Hutt would require his slave girls to wear gold bikini’s as A, his race don’t wear clothes at all and B, Leia is not even the same species, a bit like having your dog or cat in sexy underwear (and I don’t even want to think about that!!).
Cheers Roger.
Roger, lovely work as always. I have always had a fondness for the Future Warriors, and that Barbarian Princess is quite the thing! Bravo!
Thanks Gisby, and welcome back, I have always loved the “Future Warriors” range this is my second time around with them, as I still have a lot of my original figures up in the loft from when I bought them from Grenadier back in the day, in my opinion they are still about the best post apocalyptic figures out there.
Mark has also done a cracking job sculpting the Barbarian as well, though I don’t know if she’d appreciate being called a “thing”, she’s made men into eunuchs for less! 😉
Cheers Roger.
Great painting work as always, Roger. I must admit I’m a big fan of Goggles, both the sculpt and your paint job. Copplestone is a legend, no doubt; he and Bob Murch pretty much defined the Pulp sculpting genre, IMO, in addition to all their other great work over the decades. You never hear many negative comments about either one; they’re both masters of their craft.
I’m also a big fan of Kev White, in part because he tends to sculpt women of generous (but proportionate) proportions. There’s no dearth of “chicks in chainmail” sculpts out there, but few of them look like Kev White’s Libby, for example.
Unfortunately for me, all these sculptors are based outside the US, so shipping is always an investment on the infrequent times I place orders. Copplestone’s stuff has a US distributor, but I don’t think I’m as lucky with Pulp Figures and Hasslefree.
Thanks Keith, Have to agree with you regards Mark and Bob as you say both are masters of their craft and though I’ve never spoken to Bob Murch, I can vouch that Mark is also a really nice chap. Fromm a personal standpoint I would also add Bob Olley to that list, as he is (imho) the absolute master of the Fantasy Monster be it Orc or Troll he has a way of producing beautiful, intricate, classic fairy-tale creatures brought to life, he is also another chap who it is a absolute pleasure to deal with.
I know a lot of people rave about Kev White, but he just doesn’t “do it” for me, though this might have as much to do with my dealings with the man himself, as his with his sculpting ability.
Each to his own as they say. Cheers Roger.
I don’t know Kev White personally, I just like his stuff. Regarding Bob Olley, I love love love his Dwarfs. I’m totally a giddy fanboy for Bob Olley, and I think Bob Olley is the best Dwarf sculptor ever.
Obviously, I mean he’s the best sculptor of Dwarfs. I don’t mean to imply, nor do I actually believe, that Mr. Olley is a Dwarf himself, although I have never met the gentleman in person.
That being said, his Dwarf World line RULES!!
Bob is a complete gentleman, with a wicked sense of humour, we still trade Christmas cards, and as you say is the King of the traditional Dwarf.
Sorry didn’t mean to come across as a Kev White hater, he is probably a really nice man if you are a customer of his, I’m still not keen on some of his “unusual” poses though.
Cheers Roger.
Great work, as usual Roger. Not much to add to the lengthy debate on scantily clad models other than I don’t buy them. Kinda weirded out by Dave’s references to x-rayed rail models. Must be a Europe thing. Never seen anything like that and I’ve been planning a rail layout for 20 years and collecting bits and bobs for the day I break ground.
Thanks Harry, well you know us Europeans with our free and easy attitude to sex! (yeah right, this for an up tight, puritanical Brit!!), the way I look at these things is if you want to do a “50 shades of grey” trainset of wargame for that matter, then go for it. It’s not my thing but hey “Your world your rules”. Though perhaps this isn’t really the hobby for you.
By “breaking ground” are you implying that you are after making a outdoor “garden railway”, that would be so cool, I would love one of those myself, either way best of luck once you do finally start. 🙂
Cheers Roger.