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| Alien hunting in rural, Southern Ohio with 'Critter Control' -- my team for Majestic 13 |
A week or so ago, I needed another batch of figures to paint. I was finished with the
orcs and goblins of the Bonefish Band for
Dragon Rampant, and was still waiting on the
Warhost elves to arrive from
Badger Games. So, I pulled out my "bonus pack" from the
Crucible Crush order I made last year for my 28mm Vietnam miniatures. It is called
Children of Hastur #2, and consists of five modern figures armed with various types of guns. Well, it was supposed to be five, but a mistake in packaging gave me two of the same pose and shorted me one of the five varieties. I didn't notice it till I pulled them out to paint. I sent a message to Bob Murch of
Pulp Figures, but haven't heard back from him, yet.
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| Investigating some suspicious burnt circles of undergrowth are my Children of Hastur figures |
The plan is to use these as my "team" of alien hunters for solo/coop games of
Majestic 13 from
Snarling Badger Studios. Since I was short one, I had to sort through my various unpainted minis to find a replacement for the missing figure. I picked out one that looked like he belonged. In the game, there are 13 different factions working to defend Earth from alien invasion. The one I picked is called the Agricultural League. You know about crop circles and all that? The aliens have apparently been messing with the farmers of the world for decades! My team of five has nicknamed themselves "Critter Control," and hail from southern Ohio (why not?). I like basing my games in my area, if possible.
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| Group leader & local farmer Boone MacDonald has gathered a team of alien hunters for Ohio |
As I began painting them, I picked out the cleanest cut one as the leader of the group, naming him Boone MacDonald. His family has owned their farm in the Chillicothe, OH, area for generations. He has seen unexplainable lights in the skies above his farm himself, and had to deal with odd, unexplained damage to crops in isolated, roadless areas for decades. He was tempted to blame government agencies testing fancy new aircraft over less populous areas, but the more of his fellow farmers he talked to, the more he began to believe it was something even more sinister. It was Mabel Washington, the quiet, unassuming small farm owner who suggested that he reach out to the Agricultural League. She even gave him a contact name and number. How she had heard about them he has no idea -- the Majestic 13 pride themselves on remaining secret. The contact bore fruit, though, and MacDonald joined them. Later, he volunteered to form an Ohio team for the league. I painted the figure in jeans and decided to try a classic red and black flannel shirt. I did the base coat red brown and then dry brushed it with Howard Hues Middle East Flesh. The black stripes were done with a micron pen. I am pretty happy with how Boone turned out.
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| Very cool Crucible Crush figure -- Waylon, in shorts, shirtless, but with a military style backpack |
One of Boone's first recruits was Waylon Jenkins, or "Wildman Waylon" as some called him locally. A moonshine distiller, as well as a garden farmer who sells produce at roadside stands, Wildman is known for his very wild stories. His most famous, of course, is being abducted by aliens, which he swears by to this day. Most locals consider him whacked out, his mind too burnt out by consuming his own moonshine. However, Boone thought that if there was a chance some of Waylon's stories were true, his experience might prove invaluable. I love the Wildman miniature -- in shorts and shirtless with an army style backpack. The Children of Hastur figures from Crucible Crush figures are meant for their Weird War Vietnam "Black Sun" rules. If I remember right, in the game they are drugged out cultists worshiping a Cthulhu like alien being. I updated Wildman's backpack to a modern U.S. desert pattern, assuming he served his minimum time in the Army only to separate at the earliest possible moment. Conforming to what people expect of him is not in Wildman's nature!
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| Taciturn army vet Buck is not as flamboyant as 'Wildman Waylon', but has "seen things" in his days |
Another Army veteran, Buck Smithers, is one of the local area's resident gun enthusiasts. Of course, in rural southern Ohio, there are quite a few of those! Smithers is much more stoic and level headed than Wildman. However, when approached by Boone, who thought Buck's military experience would prove helpful, Smithers quietly stared at Boone for several minutes. Boone held his tongue, and the two taciturn men silently took each other's measure. Finally, Smithers lowered his gaze. "I've seen some shit you can't explain, Boone." He chuckled, looking up and catching the older man's eyes. "There's bad critters out there. I know it -- I've hunted them." He reached across the table where the two were sitting and shook Boone's hand. "I'll help with your critter control..." Of course, that was where Boone got his idea for the team's name. I gave Buck an olive drab, army "PT" t-shirt and jeans. The word "Army" was also written in with micron pen.
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| Not sure where this fig comes from, but Silas Horton looked like he fit right in with Critter Control |
I honestly don't know where the miniature for Silas Horton comes from. It was simply in my unpainted drawer of modern minis, so if anyone knows, please add it in the Comments. However, it seemed his hat and cigarette dangling from his lips made him fit right in. Another of the gun enthusiasts of rural southern Ohio, Silas is the oldest of the crew. Like Waylon, he is known for bending folks' ears with stories of aliens and strange creatures he's encountered while hunting in the woods. He even keeps a collection of skulls of bizarre creatures he claims to have shot while hunting. Some who have examined his collection claim they can tell they are cleverly created fakes. Silas doesn't take offense, though. He knew from the moment he came home one night to find his home broken into and some of his skulls missing, that he was on the right track. When Boone sat him down to pitch Critter Control to him, he just smiled. "Well, I was wondering what took you so long to find me and ask me to join your team, Boone...!" After finishing their drinks, he took Boone to his skull collection and the pair had a long talk about aliens, hunting tactics, and what they might encounter as one of the Agricultural League's teams in the field. I painted Silas with Carhartt brown pants and an urban camo shirt. I love the cigarette dangling from his lips as he stalks forward!
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| Buck may have seen things, but Mabel knows things -- more than a small time farmer should! |
One evening, Boone was in his study racking his brain on who he should choose to be his fifth team member. The doorbell rang. He answered to find Mabel Washington on his porch staring at him with a sardonic look. "Y'all going to ask me to join your club, Mr. Boone? Or is that for white folks only...?" Boone gestured to the porch with several rockers and the two sat down. When asked how she first heard about the Agricultural League, the older black woman shook her head. "Now, y'all don't worry about that. My daddy gave us kids more of an education than the inside of any classroom." Boone knew Mabel's father had owned their tiny farm off Rt. 772 for decades -- probably almost as long as his family owned theirs. She promised to fill Boone in on what she knew about "critters" once he officially asked her to join his team. Here, she stopped and chuckled. Boone looked her over. She didn't look like much, physically. If she did farm work, though, she couldn't be too much of a burden. Her knowledge could add a whole new dimension. After all, she was the one who told him about the league in the first place! I painted Mabel in bright colors, probably more typical of what people might consider an "urban" black woman rather than rural one. However, the figure certainly has that look. I love the sunglasses and Afro hair style -- very iconic. However, her story works better with her being from a small family farm, so apparently Mabel just likes to get all gussied up when she goes off the farm!
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| Eye in the sky view of Critter Control investigating in the field...but whose eyes...and how many?? |
Speaking of miniatures, probably the most difficult thing about running solo games of Majestic 13 for me (or coop with Jenny?), will be figures for the aliens. I have a few alien-looking robot or droid types in my Sci-Fi collection. However, I have a shortage of big ugly alien monsters for Critter Control to fight. Luckily, one of my team's advantages of having a "Remote Intelligence Base" is that they get to roll twice to see what type of alien monster they encounter on missions, and then select which one to fight. So, that will let me skip ones that I have no miniatures for...ha, ha! Anyway, now that Boone has assembled his team, I am looking forward to playing my first game of Majestic 13 soon...! Stay tuned.
What else is on my painting desk? My very first batch of Warhost Elves has its flesh tone on them. Also crowding the desktop are two medieval town buildings that I purchased from Sword & Scabbard Games. I am thinking that I am going to alternate batches of elves with things for other projects rather than barreling through the Warhost figures like I did for the orcs. I'd like to start reducing the "Lead Mountain" in size a bit this year. So, I'm hoping early 2026 will see more variety of miniatures painted than I did last year. Stay tuned and see if I achieve that goal!
MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026
- Miniatures acquired in 2026: 95
- Miniatures painted in 2026: 34
TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026
- Terrain acquired in 2026: 0
- Terrain painted in 2026: 17
SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026
- Scatter acquired in 2026: 2
- Scatter painted in 2026: 24
