 |
| Freeman Liste and his navigator, Zee |
I put these posts together around themed sets, but today's set consists of a single miniature: Freeman Liste.
From the third Crooked Dice kickstarter, Liste is supposedly a slave species of last week's off-brand Space Slann, but when transferring him to 40K he just becomes a minor xenos species from beyond the edges of Imperial space. There are thousands of these species, of course, and not all of them are unfathomable #grimdark horrors beyond human comprehension. Some are just a chill brown dude with his lion-analogue pal.
Liste has scruffy ceramite tech gear over fairly neutral yellowish space suit. This mimicks certain sorts of retro art without exactly matching the human pilots. Unfortunately, it wound up being a bit too close to the golden fur of Zee, but... I think it's okay.
His skin is nicked from a recent post on an #oldhammer forum. Someone painted some grimy orcs in service to a Chaos renegade with brown skin; once I saw it, I knew that was what I wanted for Liste instead of a Tau-ish blue or a too-lizardy green. I think it contrasts nicely with his simple gear and the bright colours of Zee.
 |
| Navigator Zee and his pilot, Freeman Liste |
Speaking of Zee, his is another colour scheme partially nicked from Jon. It's broadly similar to the golden snub-nosed monkey of Terra, meaning that it's surprisingly realistic for a blue-faced golden lion. Like I said above, the two tones are unfortunately close to each other, but I think the distinction is still clear enough - certainly enough that I'm not going to repaint them.
As for their exact relationship - that's ambiguous. Is Zee a sentient being? Some kind of psychic space cat? Or is he just a regular pet? Or even a stuffed animal that Liste likes to carry around? If you wanted to go full #grimdark, it's also possible that Zee is the actual sapient, while Liste is some kind of blank-brained humanoid carrier...
As posted on Facebook; I wrote ‘he’s got a lovely muted palette that frames the head very nicely – and sets off the vibrant blue pet (co-pilot? Mascot? Handbag?) beautifully. It’s got a great 70s sci-fi vibe.’
ReplyDeletePopping over here and reading the rundown, looks like that’s what you were aiming for – so bravo! 🙂 The Colony87 figures are so wonderfully characterful. I hope they see further expansions; particularly minor alien species. I’d love to see a not-fishmen figure, or something more unusual, like a squid- or octopus-like model.
Do you have many more of the sets to work through?
Hey, thanks. Your work is a constant deep well of inspiration, as I've said before, so I appreciate the kind words.
DeleteI'd love to see more non-combatant xenos from Crooked Dice as part of this range. I don't know how many of Jon's original briefs they bought/have left as part of the deal, but they have a strong aesthetic of their own that should still hit the mark.
In terms of sets, I have three planned 'sets' left, one of which is also a single miniature. Only one of them features Colony 87 sculpts, while another is a different kind of 'minor xenos'...
Really nice rendition of this chunky guy! Love that blue face and the dust and grime on his boots. I think you're right, the yellow flight suit and fur work fine together.
ReplyDeleteHe's SO CHUNKY. As a result, he was so much fun to paint.
DeleteAnd thanks again!
Speaking of blue psychic space cats: https://sagacomic.fandom.com/wiki/Lying_Cat
ReplyDeleteLying Cat is the (second) best cat.
Delete