Tuesday 13 September 2022

The Red Guardian



Last year was not a particularly good year for me. Professionally, things went well, but I had some major struggles with anxiety. I won’t go into that here or now, but thankfully, I am doing much better at present, and generally feeling a lot more positive about life!

During those rougher times, one of the things that helped get me through was a return to the Marvel Comics I had loved as a teenager. I got a subscription to Marvel Unlimited and read something like a thousand comics during the year. (That’s getting my money’s worth!). I also started painting Marvel Crisis Protocol figures.

I think MCP is a pretty cool game, with some very neat and interesting mechanics that really simulate the feel of super battles. If that is your thing, it is definitely worth a look. It is, however, a very tactical, competitive game with lots of intricacies and rules interactions, which isn't what I’m usually looking for when I play miniatures games. So really, I have just been collecting and painting the figures, more as modelling/painting projects than as gaming pieces. I love getting to paint with brighter colours than I usually use on my fantasy/sci-fi figures! Plus, the figures are larger, which is nice on my slowly fading eyesight!

I haven’t posted any of that work to my blog because I was trying to stay offline more, and to keep one bit of the hobby to myself. These days though, as I am feeling better, I have started to have the desire to show off some of my work. So, here is the latest MCP figure I have painted: The Red Guardian.

In truth, I’m not overly familiar with the character. I have come across his team, the Winter Guard, a few times, but they never made much impression on me. That said, I really love the four figures they have released for the team. What I really like about Red Guardian is how generic he is. I mean, aside from his colours, he’s just about a ‘typical superhero’ at least in my mind. I painted him mostly by the book, except for his shield, which I made all red and white because I thought it more striking and fitting.

For the red body suit, I tried something new, in that I layered the red up by adding yellow to it. It’s subtle, but I think it worked well without making him go orange. Thankfully, I was able to use an ink to pick out the little hammer and sickle on his belt buckle, because that is some tiny detail!

I will likely go back and show off some of the other figures I have painted over the last year and a half.

8 comments:

  1. Joe, glad to hear you are in a better place. I've had a similar experience in the past, and it was actually discovering you and your games that helped me dig out. Funny how things like games and comics have that power. Sometimes timing is everything. So.. thank you. And PS. Nice painting.

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    1. Many thanks. I'm glad my games could help! I got enough messages during the pandemic to realize that there is definitely some value to my job!

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  2. I'm sorry to hear you've been suffering, but am gladdened to hear you are feeling better currently. Will we be getting a Superherograve set of rules? ๐Ÿค”๐Ÿ˜

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  3. Good to see you picked up the brush. The hobby is a great one....so many facets that we can indulge in. Nice brushwork, Your red is a pip!

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  4. Try Super Mission Force (2nd Edition)by Scott Pyle - you can get a Hard Copy from Lulu or a pdf from Drivethru. You can construct any 'official' super in about two minutes, or construct your own. There's also a solo variant (it is a variant - not exactly the same) on Drivethru called Slugfest.

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  5. Also a fan of Marvel comics from my youth. It's a delight to see a mini of him nicely painted in his classic costume by one of my favorite game designers! It's like triple cake day! Glad to hear you're doing better, and that things are turning in a more positive direction.

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  6. I enjoyed painting the Crisis Protocol figures from the core set but I found them soooo much of a pain to put together that it put me off buying any more! They just seemed needlessly complicated. Your Red Guardian looks cool.

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