Here's Looking At You, Bub

It's been a minute since my last Marvel Crisis Protocol, but I have not been idle... 

So far, my New Year's Resolution to paint X-Men seems to be stranded on a cargo ship in the middle of the Atlantic. But I was determined to paint Wolverine one way or another.

Casual Friday Wolverine (aka Logan, the Wolverine) is part of a short-lived 'Rival Panels' series of releases by Atomic Mass Games. These were a way of releasing new sculpts of narratively-opposed characters, with a big piece of scenery to act as a diorama/playable terrain.

This worthy endeavour had a few snags:

• The Spider-Man / Doc Ock didn't feature new characters (so you were paying a premium for figures that came in the core set)
• The Black Panther / Killmonger set did have new (and pretty good) characters, but came with an expensive waterfall set that wasn't really playable
• The Wolverine / Sabretooth split the difference, giving us two new characters and a really good bunker terrain that has a lot of utility (what bad guy doesn't love a bunker?)

Considerably beefier than his leotard version, Sabretooth, Apex Predator is sneaking up on his old sparring partner, disguised as a 1970s football manager.

And going all the way back to his origins: Underpants Wolverine (aka Weapon X) shows Logan at the stage of being an experimental subject of the program. This being the pre-internet age, that enormous helmet is is VR headset, and the bricks tied to his waist are the battery packs.

As the second-hairiest X-Man (sorry, Beast), I had to freehand a lot of hair onto that blank canvas.

One of the less-celebrated team members of Weapon X is Maverick, who was created in the 90s (if the code-name, metallic armour and enormous guns didn't give it away). 

He's proved quite useful on the table, so I'm glad I gave my best attempt as NMM effects - first on his silver bodysuit, then his golden armour. It's nothing that a trusty pot of Retributor and Leadbelcher couldn't achieve, but it feels more comic book.

Rounding out the affiliation is the Merc with a Mouth himself. I liked this 3D print of Deadpool stomping over the Fox logo, but the right hand sword was really warped (that no amount of heat could correct). 

That's all good, though, since Deadpool also has a shooting attack, so I swapped in a Necromunda pistol. Even the smallest 40k gun looks hopelessly outsized, but that's Rob Liefeld for you (note that you can't see Deadpool's feet...)

The reason for racing through this affiliation was because I wanted to take them to an event. And when I found myself unexpectedly one week ahead of schedule, I opted to spend the time making a display base (instead of, I don't know, learning tactics).

I used a piece of foamboard as the base. It's lighter than hardboard, and I could cut it with a knife, rather than having to drill. It also has the advantage of being exactly as deep as a model's base, so they will slot right in.

I then glued strips of cardboard to form the floor panels. Primed and drybrushed, then a sturdy piece of cardboard (with magnetic paper, so every model would stay in place) was glued underneath and clamped in place. Some more flock and scattered pieces added, a strip of tape around the edges and all I needed to do was add the back panel. 

The panel was just a cereal packet cut to shape, then squeezed into thin groove cut into the foamboard (I wanted it removable, for transport). The comic panels are from the first appearance of Omega Red and Maverick (a flashback from when Wolverine, Sabretooth and Maverick were Cold War agents).

I'm rather happy with how it turned out and, ominously, I can fit three along one shelf in my cupboard, so there's room for more.

Rounding out the selection are a couple of 3D prints that made the journey with Deadpool. The first is Jessica Drew Spider-Woman - a very versatile character that has a fantastic design. Even cooler the little wings are printed semi-transparent (lucky I noticed them and taped them up before priming).

And finally, Iron Fist, the other half of Luke Cage's duo. It's a nice costume design, but I'm not convinced by the print (and we lost one of his belt straps in transit), so I may be seeking the official model to replace him.

Until next time!