Blax The Kleric’s Top Ten of 2023

Unluckily, for those painters and wargamers eagerly looking forward to another of Dick Garrison’s well-penned postings, this particular piece will probably prove rather disconcerting as it maintains the annual tradition of Roger writing a piece for my wargaming website “Fantorical”, and me once again temporarily taking the helm of the good ship “Rantings From under The Wargames Table”. The past twelve months have certainly caused Roger to focus upon an eclectic range of subjects, such as his model motor boats and regular Advent Challenge entries, so as always it’s taken some time to whittle his ‘best of the year’ down to just ten figures…

 

[10] Robo Rally (Wizards Of The Coast) 27^th January 2023

Whilst I have never played this board game myself, these robotic-themed gaming pieces certainly captured my imagination by tapping into my love of the old “Robot Wars” television series. In addition, some of cartoony faces on these characterful automatons reminded me of V.I.N.C.E.N.T. and B.O.B. from the classic Disney science-fiction film “The Black Hole”. Resultantly, I adored all of Roger’s paint-jobs for these little guys, and felt they are a worthy inclusion into this Top Ten.

Having a rally round

 

[9] Liberators (Wargames Terrain Workshop) 18^th March 2023

It’s hard not to be impressed with Roger’s handling of white on this double-dose of nostalgic BBC science-fiction. I own this particular model myself, and it can be a bit of a handful with all its spikey points. So was I suitably impressed that both resin spacecraft were not only so well painted, but that one recovered from a significant tumble – requiring Zen to make some extensive repairs.

Disaster and double liberation

 

[8] Cylons (Nexus Miniatures) 30^th April 2023

I’m possibly a little bit bias with this selection as I was the one who sent these figures to Roger in the first place. However, I thought he did a fantastic job on some sculpts which, whilst far better than I could ever produce, certainly showed signs of being hand-made. Of course, I’m also a huge fan of the original series of “Battlestar Galactica”, so that’s another reason for my liking these (not) Cylons so much.

Old red eye, and friends

 

[7] Blacktooth Suppressor (Reaper Miniatures) 12^th March 2023

As Roger himself states in his posting for this well-pigmented piece – “It’s a T’Rex with a laser gun! How cool is that?” Furthermore, the palette choices are first-rate, with the red costume and dinosaur’s green-hue working very well together. The white kneepads and attachments also do a marvellous job in helping break-up the different areas. Just a terrific ensemble of colour.

Lizards, large and small

 

[6] Trainee Agent (Copplestone Castings) 10^th April 2023

Considering just how much I adore the old “Carry On” movies, it will doubtless come as no surprise to some that this Charles Hawtrey-lookalike made my Top Ten. A corking sculpt by Mark Copplestone, Roger has done a first-rate job in bringing the figure to life. I particularly love the bow-tie and the shading on the spy’s jacket. Splendid brushwork.

 

Oh hello

 

[5] Farrah (Reaper Miniatures) 8^th January 2023

There’s a palpable “Danger Girl” vibe to this paint-job, which just smacks of comic book capers. The colour combination of green and black is excellent, as is the decision to give Farrah a wonderfully vibrant orange-red hair. Roger’s highlighting, especially on the black areas of her costume, are also well worthy of note. Terrific model.

 

As Farrah’s I can see, they’re a safe Bett!

 

[4] Nemesis (Copplestone Castings) 25^th March 2023

It’s hard to fault this cracking female incarnation Frank Castle’s Punisher. A great paint-job is raised to another whole level by Roger carefully ‘picking out’ some white stripes in the lady’s hair, and free-handing the awesome skull emblem across her chest. An eye-catching pose matched by a strong colour contrast – top notch pigmentation, in my humble opinion.

 

Not danger girl and not danger girl

 

[3] Double Agent (Crooked Dice Game Design Studio) 11th February 2023

There can surely be little doubt that this (not) Bond girl is one of the all-time favourites, and Roger’s captured the haughty naughtiness of actress Barbara Bach’s Russian spy with this model. Great work on the dark dress and packed with plenty of femininity too, courtesy of a superlight touch around the miniature’s face – which isn’t easily done in my experience.

 

Don’t be posey, be a real starr

 

[2] Betty (Reaper Miniatures) 8^th January 2023

Not only do I like this space heroine because of Roger’s terrific work on her. But he also went to some extra effort to pigment the lady’s marvellously cartoony extra-terrestrial side-kick too. Together, the pair form a wonderfully humorous, and intriguing partnership. Terrific colour choices, which mark out the squid-like alien on the base too.

 

As Farrah’s I can see, they’re a safe Bett!

 

[1] Captain Griffon (Reaper Miniatures) 26^th November 2023

Perhaps unsurprisingly destined to be my favourite of Roger’s paint-jobs for 2023 just as soon as I saw him, this figure is just brilliantly done. The freehand patterns and stripes are top-notch, with the decision to present Captain Griffon as the younger, fitter form of elderly super-hero The Zimmer, being the icing on the cake for me. First-class stuff.

Better Late Than Never

 

And with that, I sadly come to the end for another year. I heartily recommend that you go back and spend some time pouring over Roger’s other postings, as there’s plenty of wonderful paint-jobs which I haven’t mentioned in this Top Ten. Have a Happy New Year.

Simon

As is customary I’ll stick my oar in here at the end just to thank Simon for all his efforts picking out the ten figures above, and in a rather usual twist I actually agree with pretty much all his choices this year (well perhaps not one or two 🙄) but perhaps that is more a reflection of the lack of figures he had to choose from than a meeting of minds! I have been giving my humble opinion of Simons (much more prolific) output of the year too, and you can read my illiterate ramblings here.

All that remains now is to wish both you and him the very best of New Year’s, it’s a pleasure to share my little blog with all of you, I’m sure I can include Simon in this when I say, we both hope you have a wonderful and productive 2024.

Cheers Roger.