Told You They'd be Fast! A Critical Hit Pieces Ready for the Table

    Colorful 3-D printed crystals from A Critical Hit are checked out by a couple of my Sci-Fi figures

As I mentioned in my last post, I picked up $50 worth of $1, $2, and $3 pieces of 3-D printed scatter terrain at Cincycon this past weekend from A Critical Hit. I wanted to get some of them ready for the tabletop because I knew they'd take next to zero time. A few hours on one day and 21 pieces from my "unpainted" pile moved to my drawers organizing my finished scatter. Of course, none of them required actual painting, being printed in a filament of the appropriate color. Most required at least some drybrushing highlights and washing, though.

First up, seven crystals printed in various colors of filament, some using the "color shift" technique of three different colors bound together into a spiral (or so I understood store owner Blair say). The four largest don't have a base, so actually required no work at all. The three smallest have bases, which I painted Charcoal Gray and then flocked with a coal ballast from I picked up at a model railroad supply store. I really like the bright burst of colors they provide and need to find a way to get them onto the tabletop! Most of the crystals change color as you rotate them, which is really cool to see.

    3 round bases of Sci-Fi crates also needed only flocking to be table ready - perfect objective markers!

Staying with the Sci-Fi setting, here are three objective markers with stacks of futuristic crates. One of them is in color shift material while the other two are done in a metallic silver color. For the the silver ones, I did a black vehicle wash on them to dirty them up a little and give some shadows. I should probably have done a second application of it, looking at this picture, as you can't really see the darker shadows and recesses. The blue fabric over the crates on the left I did nothing to -- I really liked the satiny sheen the material had. The cloth drape on the one in the middle came printed in a bright red. I washed it with Middle East Flesh and probably went overboard with that making it look more orange, now. Still, you can see some variations in color in the folds, now, which didn't exist before. I also gave it a black wash. Then, I applied the same coal flocking material and "Deadlands" tufts.

    Two 3-D printed tables and 4 chairs from A Critical Hit -- great generic scatter terrain for miniatures

I had a feeling that the wooden tables and chairs would respond well to some drybrush and wash, and I think they did. They are printed in one color of brown, but I highlighted them Khaki and gave them both a brown and black wash. I think they look a lot more three dimensional now than straight off the shelf. I can see using these for my modern, zombie, or post-apocalyptic games. They'll fit right into the vibe of my trailers, too! I think their size is perfect for 28mm figures, though Blair was wondering if they were too large and more of 32mm in size. I think that once you add in a figure's base, the height comes out right.

    These capitals (or tops) of Greek or Roman columns were the easiest of all to prep for the table

I didn't necessarily have a use for three capitals (or tops) of Greek or Roman columns, but hey -- ruins are ruins! I could end up using them as scatter for a historical or even fantasy miniatures game. A Critical Hit also carries the round "drum" sections of the columns, but I didn't like how they looked. Too perfect and not ruined, like these. All I had to do to get these ready was a couple layers of black wash and then, once that was dry, a brush-on clear mat. The filament material comes out with a slight sheen and I wanted to remove that. I use Vallejo's brush-on Matte and it does a good job of taking out any shine.

    Four fire hydrants that can be placed randomly along my streets in modern & post-apoc games

I probably should have done more work on these four fire hydrants, now that I look at them in retrospect. They come printed in a bright red color, which I tried to dull down with a heavy Salmon dry brush. Now that I look at the pictures closer, I probably should have given them some rust effects, too. We've all seen rusty fire hydrants on the streets. The black wash didn't really do a good enough job of dirtying them up. In fact, the filament material must be somewhat absorbent, because I ended up needing a second application (and probably should have done a third) on some of the items. One coat is plenty on my miniatures (and sometimes too much!). I will remember that as I prepare more of their scatter pieces for the tabletop.

    A close up of the fire hydrants - was I in too much of a hurry to get them ready? Need more details?

What else is on my tabletop? Yes, the same 8 mounted Welsh Dark Age warriors are still there, moving along gradually. Eight is a bigger batch than I usually paint (especially mounted), but that was how many were in the Gripping Beast "reinforcements" box they came from. My shipping container buildings are primed, as are a new piece of scatter I decided to get ready for the tabletop. My friend Jason from SC had suggested that I do clothes lines for my trailer park, and I just happened to have three sets from Miniature Building Authority. Those are built and primed, so expect them soon, too!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 100
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 15 

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 10
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 9

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 51
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 26