Friday, January 1, 2016

A New Year! The Invaders have arrived.

2016!  I still can't get over how fast the last year flew by.   I'll kick of the New Year by sharing one of my resolutions.  I resolve to spend more time painting and modelling, shrinking that unpainted pile of lead and blogging about my efforts.

So, right to it.

Back in the 70's Marvel put out a series of comics called The Invaders.   It was based in the 1940's, during World War II, and featured Captain America, The Human Torch, and Submariner.

It was only a series for a couple of years, but I fondly remember it as one of my favorites from my youth.  Recently, they've been compiled in a two volume set by Marvel:

The art is wonderful, and the stories...well, comics have come a long way.  Don't get me wrong, there is a certain charm to the stories, but they are pretty cringy bad. Hacky writing, and a bit of stereotypical sexist and insensitive cultural awareness.   Regardless, the characters and situations are awesome, and inspiring enough for me to want to spend some time representing the characters in miniature form.

My first effort in this account was a couple of the World War Two Captain America's I've posted in earlier posts.



I've gathered a bunch of miniatures that will fit in well with these guys, and the first up is a figure from the very cool table top game INCURSION, by Grindhouse Games.  I used a character from the game, as the basis for my first Union Jack.  Union Jack is also known as Lord James Montgomery Falsworth, and we learn in his first comic appearance, that he is a retired English gentleman.  It is revealed that during World War I, in his guise as Union Jack, he fought for the British, and raised hope and spirits among his comrades.  Succeeded by his son, Brian, the second version of the character,  joins the formidable Invaders and vows to stop the Super Axis.


Although not a perfect facsimile for the character, I thought this model worked well, especially with that action pose and no nonsense gunwork.  I've got a few other miniatures lined up to represent different versions of Union Jack, and his sister Jacqueline, who becomes an Invader as well, known as Spitfire.

I think I'll also want to do a version of the Original Union Jack.

It should be a fun project to work on, and I'll keep it fresh by rotating between my Batman Miniature games minis, and my Monster Hunter International project.

Thanks for checking it out, and hope to see you again soon!

OK AXIS, HERE WE COME!