"The Feathered Hopper Is A Native Of The Colony’s Southern Rainforests."

"The luminous feathers of this adorable amphibian are worn by the dilettantes of the Spires."

This 28mm scale metal model of a Feathered Hopper is produced by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” and can be bought as part of their Alien Pets deal. The creature is only 15mm tall and is designed to be used with the company's other "Colony 87" sci-fi civilian miniatures "for any RPGs and tabletop wargames."

The animal was initially primed with two coats of "Vallejo" Turquoise, before being drenched in "Citadel" Asurmen Blue. It was then vigorously dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Turquoise before having its feathers pigmented using a combination of Heavy Red and "Citadel" Carrouburg Crimson.

The Liberator's Crew face Robo-Rodents and Mutated Scientists

I 'picked out' the tiny extra-terrestrial's eyes with some "Vallejo" Sun Yellow, and then thought I'd make the critter look even more 'alien' by spotting the two bumps in between them with the same colour - thus giving the impression that the cute pet has four eyes, similar to those of a spider. These areas were all later shaded using some "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade.

Alongside finishing my first model from the "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" range of "Colony 87" miniatures, I have also managed to make another visit to the LVL Up Gaming Store in Bournemouth. Once again this was so I could continue to play-test some cooperative rules I am writing for my homemade brew entitled "M.I.S.S.", which uses some of the cardboard sections found inside the original version of the Alien Versus Predator Board Game by "Prodos Games" for its layouts.

Blake and Avon battle giant mutant monsters

Unlike last time though, the "Blake's Seven" scenarios we played predominantly involved Roj Blake, Kerr Avon, Jenna Stannis and Vila Restal investigating a derelict Terran Federation Science Station, rather than Supreme Commander Servalan and Space Commander Travis. Although, Section Leader Klegg and his Federation Death Squad were still on hand when the facility's viral infection got particularly out-of-hand and needed some fodder...

We actually managed to get in a good handful of games during the afternoon, and actually encountered all of the new mutated scientists and robotic drones I had incorporated into the game. The Liberator's crew provided some particularly thematic moments, such as a cowardly Vila being run down by a pack of cute robo-rodents, and Avon outthinking an enormous mutant tank in a confined communications room just long enough for Blake to replace a broken databank and teleport the team out of danger.