Brain in a Jar

While we're watching the current Reaper Bones Kickstarter, here's an item from the previous Kickstarter that I painted up.

Just like it says on the label, a mechanically animated jar wired to the brain therein. Dig that translucent plastic for the jar.

The metal parts of the jar were painted with silver paint, then drybrushed with medium brown and dark red for a rusted look before getting my standard blackwash. The result is a little more steampunk than I anticipated, but I quite like it.

The brain is attached to the lid, and both can be removed for closer biological inspection. This piece is a gift for someone who is, let's say, in the brain business, so I got some pointers for proper anatomical coloration. Any liberties observed should be interpreted as creative license by the artist.

Rear view of the yellowish cerebellum and medulla, as distinct from the somewhat pink cortex. The wet look was achieved with a layer a Future shine.

Sven and the very big brain. It's too big for any gaming I'd do, but it'll make for a fun trinket in some brainiac's office.

Cheap Scifi Miniatures! (Star Wars Micro Machines)

Ron had a post on his blog a few years ago that turned me on to these. Remember those Micro Machines figures that came with all those cool Star Wars playsets back in the '90s? Turns out they are in 1/76 scale, just a scoach shy of the favored scale of this blog. Of course they're out of production, but they are readily available on eBay, and while some sellers seem to have a tenuous idea of what the market will bear for these collectibles, some patience can yield some excellent deals, well under the 50-cent/mini rule I try to follow. I just lucked into a huge lot of these figures for a steal myself, so I thought I'd share.

Some humans. They're quite a bit smaller than Sven, though it's worth remembering that Sven is a bit big for his scale, as this post shows (maybe I need a better comparison mascot?). For the most part these figures will only look a bit smaller than 1/72 minis.

Aren't you a little short for storm troopers? Fittingly, these guys are superabundant on the secondary market.

Other masked humanoids, some of whom should seem familiar.

Aliens! I think the Gamorrean on the right makes an excellent fantasy mini. Too bad Galoob never made a Gamorrean set! 

Various pipsqueaks. The Ewoks have a lot of potential for fantasy, and I've already used a Jawa figure for conversions (more here).

Finally some droids(TM). The 2000's era Trade Federation Droids are kind of hard to find cheap, which is too bad, as they make excellent generic robo-soldiers.

This gallery is great for checking out more of these figures. I think the Gungans and Tusken Raiders also have some potential for fantasy gaming.

Again, when shopping for these, don't imagine that the prices you see most on eBay are what you have to pay. My sense is that even all these years after they were produced, the supply of Star Wars Micro Machines is fairly saturated, and that it's basically a buyers market. Just save a search, be patient, and the deals will become apparent.

Zinkies!

It sounds like something Velma from Scoobie Doo would say, but it's actually an apparently failed toy line that I found on clearance at Target. They seemed like something that could work for my peculiar purposes, so I took a chance and bought a couple packs.

The Alien Zinkies in their original package. For under 3 bucks, I figured 36 minis and other paraphernalia could be worth the money.

In addition to the minis shown, the set comes with a magnifier, a storage capsule, a vehicle, a pair of plastic tweezers (shown above), and a capsule for the "Top Secret" figure included in the set.

The "Top Secret" figure, revealed. I'm not sure if this guy is in every pack, or if he is one of many chase figures.

All the Zinkies I bought. The bottom rows are the minis from the Robots set I purchased, which came with similar extras as the Aliens set. There is also a green Soldiers set available that is similarly outfitted.

Zinkies compared to Sven. As you can see, they would probably be more suitable for 6-10 mm gaming, if it weren't for their squat proportions. As it is, I imagine I can come up with some use for an army of squat little xenomorphs or mechanoids.

Zinkies are made from a very squishy, rubbery material, and they aren't terribly detailed. I have no idea how they'd look if painted, or if they'd even be able to hold paint without cracking. I wonder if there's a way to make them less squishy somehow. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd be glad to hear them!