When I was a child watching Doctor Who, I was fascinated by the idea that in the future the Doctor would undergo his twelfth and final regeneration into the thirteenth Doctor, and I would be there to watch it. THAT FUTURE IS HERE! NOW!

This is Warlord Games’ rendition of the Thirteenth Doctor, in miniature form. Technically Jodie Whittaker is the fifteenth regeneration, or infinity-eth regeneration, but whatever the canon is she represents that magical point I imagined with wide-eyed wonder when I was a child.

The Thirteenth Doctor is a very much an incarnation of the current trend for realistic proportions and subtle details. Compare the head-to-body ratios or the chunkiness of the clothing folds with the earlier licensed Doctor Who ranges above and you can see how the times they are a-changin’.

The details are too subtle at points on the Thirteenth Doctor, with areas like the shirt’s neckline just one coat of paint away from disappearing entirely, or her hands ending up cast as amorphous stumps you have to freehand the fingers onto. Some of the more recent unofficial Doctor Who-inspired ranges, (like Crooked Dice’s or Heresy Miniatures’ shown below) have a better grasp of how to design a modern miniature with detail that cast well and is fun to paint.

But enough dwelling in the past and back to the present day – let’s talk about the TARDIS!

This TARDIS is a single piece resin casting that comes moulded in a fetching blue colour. It’s an iconic British spaceship that connected with something really deep down in my childhood. I painted it with a subtle woodgrain effect on the doors (similar to the wooden Trebuchet featured in the recent Patreon tutorial), using Vallejo Model Colour Heavy Blue as the starting colour.

The TARDIS miniatures suffers from visible build lines in the roof that betray the fact that the master was designed in a computer. And, like the Doctor, the sculpted detail is dangerously subtle – the “FREE FOR USE OF PUBLIC” notice is scarcely there, and won’t pick up a shading wash. Worse yet, the entire piece has undergone the moulding process at an angle which means the castings are skewed into a parallelogram shape.

Despite the flaws, I am really pleased to have painted these icons of British science fiction and have them available for games.

Coming soon! More heroes that ride around in blue boxes. Ninjabread out!

Hobby goal: paint a complete Ghar Empire scout force.

Now, normally I don’t play with unpainted miniatures.  It eats at my soul.  But Warlord Games have just started doing a Beyond the Gates of Antares gaming club on alternate Wednesdays and I wanted to join in without having to spend three months beforehand acrylicking them.

Painting process as advanced as my Antares rules knowledge.

On the inaugural games night I “played” against Concord and Algoryn – I say “played” as I was largely being spoon-fed the rules by my patient opponents.  I’ve now got a basic enough grasp to be able to digest and retain the contents of the rulebook.  And, importantly, the gaming has given me the enthusiasm to paint the first unit – Flitters.

RrRrRrRrRrRr.  Flitting.  RrRrRrRr.  Flit flit flit.

Flitters are the Ghar’s targeting drones, scouting ahead of the main battleline to relay back targeting data and generally be a nuisance.  Drawn to the enemy like tiny birds are drawn to tasty cookie crumbs.  RrRrRrRrRrRr.

RrRrRrRrRrRr. RrRrRrRr.

I’ve gone for dark teal armour and light orange bases, which contrast with each other nicely.  The teal is available as a spray paint so battlesuits and large vehicles like the command crawler can be painted quickly and smoothly.

Flitters flocking around Andy Hobday’s Concord. RrRrRrRrRrRr.  RrRrRrRr.

Additionally the Flitters are small enough miniatures that I can fire them out and feel like I’ve made serious inroads into the army.  Wahey!  One unit done with only two evenings of painting – that means 25% of the army finished!

Flitters marking Matt Adlard’s Concord behind their energy line defences. RrRrRrRrRrRr.  RrRrRrRr.

Next off, seeing if the colour scheme and painting method translate up to the larger Ghar battlesuits.