Atomic Mass Games – Grimmleigh's Lab

Marvel Crisis Protocol, Miniatures, Workbench

Marvel Crisis Protocol: Jean Grey Proxy

I am back after a seven month battle with my pancreas that saw two hospitalizations, a major surgery, and an inability to eat food due to the cessation of my digestive tract. The surgery was undertaken to fix that issue, and I am happily able to eat now! I apologize for the absence, although my pancreas has informed me that it will happen again.

With that out of the way, though, let’s look at some minis! I love the X-Men, and, while I was a fan of the Jim Lee costumes that debuted 33 years ago, I don’t think they’re the end-all, especially when it comes to the original five students of Charles Xavier. Jean’s costume in particular never really gelled for me.

When the Krakoa storyline started a few years ago, I was really happy to see Jean’s first non-school uniform show up again, and spent some time looking for a suitable proxy model to use.

Before anyone rattle a pitchfork too mightily in my direction, I have a staunch take on proxy use! I always strive to own the original model, since I am playing a game that someone spent a lot of time and resources on, I want to support that. I also make sure that my opponent is cool with me using a proxy before we play. This allows cool battles like X-Men VS X-Men, with an obvious time travel element thrown in because of the costume variations!

I found this file of Jean in her Hickman era costume, and here’s how she looks painted up!

While I’m not 100% sold on the pose, I think the sculpt is actually pretty good!

I really do hope that Atomic Mass Games are able to branch out and explore more costume designs in future minis, because there’s a vast and wondrous world of X-Threads beyond Jim Lee, but let’s face it; those costumes were iconic, immortalized in the ’90s cartoon, and nostalgia sells war dollies better than any other marketing tool!

Another proxy is coming next!

Marvel Crisis Protocol, Miniatures

MCP: The Juggernaut

I am blaming my friend Randon for this. I just fell helplessly back in love with Marvel Crisis Protocol. It’s not entirely his fault, the models are incredible, fun to paint, and really easy to collect… but I’m blaming him, primarily because he’s a fun guy to pal around with, but he’s also an incredible painter, which can get the inspiration juices flowing pretty easily!

The first model off the workbench is Cain Marko, half-brother of Charles Xavier and the wielder of the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak… but you probably know him as the Juggernaut!

This model is incredible! He’s so dynamic, and the base alone conveys the brutal stompiness of the character in such a huge way! I also love that Cain just grabbed a stoplight to hit someone with on his way to the fight!

Juggernaut is one of those characters that I’ve loved since I was a kid. He’s a bad guy most of the time, but he seems to have some redeemable qualities. There was a run in the early 2000’s when he was a member of the X-Men that I loved, especially his friendship with Sammy the Squidboy. Good stuff, and it still hits me like a ton of bricks 20 years later!

There’s a bunch more MCP on the way, but Juggernaut is a great way to kick off this year’s projects! He also lets me check off a hobby bingo square, since he’s been sitting partially finished on a shelf for almost two years! Woohoo!

Miniatures, Workbench

Marvel Crisis Protocol: Green and Mean in Asgard

There is something about the color green that inspired Jack Kirby to make his more evil-inclined Asgardians follow a jade hue. Or, perhaps it’s because they the green of Enchantress, Hela, and Loki contrast the overwhelming pop of Thor’s red cape so well. Regardless, it seems like the three primary Asgardian baddies really dig their green duds!

So far, Loki and Hela are the only “evil” Asgardians that Atomic Mass Games has released, and I finally got a chance to get them painted up!

Hela is a lot of fun, with a sculpt that kind of hints at the casual immensity of her power. I have been experimenting with a new speed paint technique, which came together pretty well with her.

Loki is pulling the inspiration for his look from the more recent comics, with a pretty nice coat and a smirk that speaks volumes.

The magic effect for both was created by layering thinned inks over silver, which looks pretty cool in person. In photos, it’s really hard to see the effect working!

I used the same effect on the stone in Loki’s scepter, with a little plasma blue painted over silver. It’s not perfect, and I’ll probably play with it a lot more before I get it to where I want it!

There’s another pack coming soon with Enchantress and Angela, which is cool, but I would rather have Sif packed in with Enchantress if I’m being completely honest. Angela may be a Marvel character now, but she really feels like an eternal Spawn character to me. Still, I’ll be happy to see them in the collection!

Miniatures, Workbench

Marvel Crisis Protocol: The Incredible Hulk

Nothing like being all smug about all your newly-finished Marvel Crisis Protocol figures, except maybe when you realize you never photographed all of the original release figures back when you finished them!

So, here’s the first of the OG MCP figs, Doc Banner’s altered ego…

Mean Green was a lot of fun to paint, but I really haven’t found an MCP mini that I didn’t have fun with!

One of these days I’ll remember to putty in that wrist seam, there’s no excuse really. But I’m still happy with the finished result!

Miniatures, Workbench

Marvel Crisis Protocol: The Winter Soldier

The story of the Winter Soldier is not only one of my favorites from the MCU movies, I really loved the comics version as well.

Ed Brubaker did the unthinkable when he brought Bucky back from the dead. The running logic in the late ’90s was that pretty much any character death at Marvel could be un-done, except Uncle Ben Parker and Bucky Barnes.

After Bucky came back, I spent a bit of time wondering if Uncle Ben was going to stroll back through the door and scold Peter for making him wait at the library.

I wasn’t initially thrilled with the Winter Soldier sculpt for Marvel Crisis Protocol, but once I got it put together and painted up, my mind changed pretty quick. He’s a great looking figure, and I can’t wait to see how he plays!

Miniatures, Workbench

Marvel Crisis Protocol: Shuri

I am slowly working my way through the backlog of MCP figs that have been growing in number since the pandemic began. I was also a little nervous about painting the Wakandan figures, since it’s easy to make a ton of mistakes with darker skin tones that end up making a mockery of your subject.

Shuri also has some facial markings that took a very steady hand and a super tiny brush, but the end results are exactly what I was hoping for!

So many more minis to show off, I’ll have more from Wakanda this weekend!

Miniatures, Workbench

Marvel Crisis Protocol: Hawkeye

One of my favorite story arcs ever has to be Matt Fraction‘s fantastic run on Hawkeye a few years back, and I am so happy that Atomic Mass Games went with this version of the archer for MCP.

Clint looks pretty capable, and the Hydra logo on the rubble tells me everything I want to know about this encounter!

I’m thinking of putting together a team of street-level heroes for my next game, with Hawkeye, Winter Soldier, Black Widow, and Suri to round things out. Probably get my butt handed to me, but it will be fun!

Miniatures, Workbench

Marvel Crisis Protocol: Valkyrie

I just realized today that I haven’t actually posted pics of most of the Marvel Crisis Protocol miniatures that I have painted up, so I’m going to have to make a change to that!

Valkyrie, though, is a newer mini that I finished up this week. The box art shows her in her classic comics version, all Nordic and blonde. Nope. I’m a big fan of Tessa Thompson’s portrayal in the Marvel movies, so I opted for a darker skin tone and black hair.

I kept everything else pretty straightforward from Valkyrie’s classic comic look, with the purples and vibrant blues.

Workbench

Thor from Marvel: Crisis Protocol

Gotta love Atomic Mass Games right now. Marvel Crisis Protocol hasn’t even been out 6 months yet, and the line up past the initial boxed set is impressive to say the least!

The Asgardians hit stores about a month ago, and as you can see, a certain Odinson isn’t messing around!

I spent a little extra time layering in some richness to the cape, and I’m still thinking of some lightning effects that I can work in. Other than that, Thor is another solid winner from Atomic Mass!

Miniatures, Workbench

Marvel Crisis Protocol, Part One

We got our demo copy of Marvel Crisis Protocol at Shiv Games Games today, and I wasted no time at all diving in to the box. It’s a pretty impressive affair, with ten Marvel characters, rules, tokens, and terrain crammed into the box;

I’ll have more on the minis after I get them painted, but I can honestly say I am really happy with the look and quality of the miniatures. The hard plastic looks great, and they are pretty easy to put together with the included instructions.

I would say the quality of the sculpts is a bit higher than Fantasy Flight Games’ Star Wars: Legion, but not quite as crisp as Wyrd’s Malifaux line. You also don’t need an engineering degree to put them together, so take that, Malifaux!