 |
||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||
 |
||||||
HellboyMantic Boardgame KS brought us a lot of very nice Hellboy minis. The pic below shows the Mantic frog minis and Hellboy from the Monolith metal range.
The Heroes
The creature which would become known as Hellboy first appeared the night of December 23, 1944, when the evil mystic Grigori Rasputin summoned Hellboy to Earth with the help of the Third Reich.
The Villains
In March 1964, Hellboy first encountered Baba Yaga while investigating a string of children disappearing. The disappearances were Baba Yaga's doing as she kidnapped the children to satisfy her cannibalistic hunger. When Baba Yaga was counting the fingers of the dead in a cemetery, she attempted to use a skull (that once belonged to someone called Katayev) to lead her to the Sabbath. Then she was ambushed by Hellboy who leaped onto her in a sudden attack. During the scuffle, Baba Yaga's left eye was shot out and she retaliated by attacking Hellboy with the graveyard's tombstones. As a result of her defeat at Hellboy's hands, placing a curse the village of Bereznik with no spring for that year while every baby in born would be blind in one eye, Baba Yaga's diminished power causes her to disappear from the world and reside in a pocket dimension created in the image of her Russia as it appeared long ago. But on occasion, if needed to, Baba Yaga can briefly return to the real world.
Grigori Rasputin was born on January 21 1869. As a young man he frequently had visions, and was aware of great power inside him, the ability to heal sick people and see the future. These powers convinced him he was destined for greatness. He used his power to gain a place in the court of Tsar Nicholas II, using his powers to cure prince Alexei's hemophilia. In 1902 he had an affair with Zoya, who later came to him with the news that she was expecting his child. Sensing something about the girl Zoya was carrying, Rasputin sent her away. Zoya would once again visit Rasputin in January 1913, accompanied by her husband Yuri and her daughter, whom she had named Varvara after his legitimate child to spite him. He killed Yuri and left Varvara and a sickly Zoya in the cold. Zoya died by the following sunrise, and Varvara was possessed by the demon Yomyael shortly afterwards.
Imprisoned on Earth so that the Ogdru Jahad would "always have a foothold in the world from which they were banished", Sadu-Hem was discovered by Grigori Rasputin in the Gorinium temple at the top of the Arctic circle. Rasputin remained in a trance near the statue until the arrival of Professor Trevor Bruttenholm and the Cavendish exploration party. The newly-awakened Rasputin and Sadu-Hem devoured most of Bruttenholm's exploration party. Bruttenholm was allowed, under heavy psychological compulsion, to return to America, where Rasputin and Sadu-Hem installed themselves below Cavendish Hall. Physically, Sadu-Hem appeared as a gruesome mass of tentacles and snapping claws, with a cluster of eyes and feelers serving as its head. Sadu-Hem was to act as the conduit between Rasputin and the Ogdru Jahad, but was destroyed after Abe Sapien speared Rasputin to death and Liz Sherman set the entire place on fire.
As the Ogdru Jahad advance their plans on Earth, it becomes evident that they intend to introduce a new "final" race of man, in the form of the frog-monsters. The monsters are extremely powerful, both physically and psychically. A single creature was able to overpower Hellboy, though this specific frog monster appeared to be stronger and more powerful than the general population. The frogmen are able to shift between their human and frog forms, allowing them to pass unnoticed in populated areas. Moreover, the frogmen can exert a degree of telepathic influence over their victims, confusing them with illusions and mind-tricks. Finally, the touch of one's tongue is extremely painful and leaves pock marks on a victim's skin.
The bases are ultra simple dark grey, similar to Mignolas simplistic paint style. ;) Only the base of the Frog monster got some extra care. The Kickstarter provides some nice 3D game counter that are normally simple card board marker. The Right Hand of Doom token, the Information Gathered and the Insight marker. Some people complained that these are not really standing out, IMO they are great and even better when given a VERY simple paintjob:
For the real 3D marker I applied a greenish pigment and sealed it with MIG pigment fixer before the varnish. Same technique was used on the 3D busts:
Older Minis...
US Infantry painted by Tom Weiß |
||||||
Hellboy is the child of the demon Azzael and the witch Sarah Hughes, a former B.P.R.D. agent and the unwilling Harbinger of the Apocalypse, Anung Un Rama.
Elizabeth "Liz" Sherman is a pyrokinetic human woman, and a field agent of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. At age 11, she destroyed an entire city block, killing thirty-two people—including her parents and younger brother. Since then, she has been a ward of the Bureau, fighting evil forces and learning to live with her abilities.
Abraham "Abe" Sapien (born Langdon Everett Caul) is a member of the B.P.R.D.. Abe is a humanoid amphibious man, discovered in a Washington, D.C. basement in November of 1978. Abe has been with the Bureau ever since, as he endeavors to discover the truth about his identity. First appearing in Seed of Destruction, he is one of the longest running main characters alongside Hellboy and Liz Sherman, and has featured in several offshoot comics under his own name.
Johann Kraus was born in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1946. He began to be aware of his psychic abilities when he was ten years old, when he started to see people that others could not and slowly realized that these were ghosts. Johann was frustrated that he could not communicate with the ghosts and this frustration eventually led to him studying spiritualism under an elderly German woman named Anneliese Stiener. 
Roger the Homunculus was discovered in 1996 in a medieval alchemist's lab beneath the ruins of Czege Castle, Romania by BPRD agents Liz Sherman, Bud Waller, and Sidney Leach during the Wake the Devil affair. Waller explained that a homunculus is created from blood and herbs, stewed in a jar, and then incubated in horse manure. Although lifeless upon discovery, the as-yet nameless Roger was activated when Liz touched the socket on his chest, absorbing her pyrokinesis as she was subconsciously looking to rid herself of it. 
Baba Yaga - I took paints to paint her in the limited palette Mignola uses.
Grigori Rasputin was a prominent agent of the Ogdru Jahad and the archenemy of Hellboy. (full name: Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin) is a fictional antagonist in the comic book series Hellboy. He is based on the real life Russian mystic that was connected to the late Romanov family of imperial Russia.
The tentacles of Sadu Hem from “Seed of Destruction” and more frogs.
The Frog Monster from “Seed of Destruction”, one of my all time favourite Hellboy boss enemies.
The whole Frog Monster group. I am very happy with these minis. Some mold lines had to be removed, and some bases are warped, otherwise all fine. Since these minis are just the enemy cannon fodder for the BPRD, I used some serious speed painting, just bases colours and washes plus one or two dry brushes. After that some glossy varnish for the frog skin and - done!
The secret formula is this: Prime the minis black, then gold (GWs Retributor Gold is just fine), apply the gold from above that leaves some darker spots below and creates already some depth. Then give all a brown wash (I used GW Agrax Earthshade). Glossy clear varnish - done! You can see the effect on the Insight marker.
Neat enough for me...
