From the painting desk #81 – Average people
March 22, 2026I am currently on a three month research visit to Bergen, Norway, at the University of Bergen’s Center for Digital Narrative, and decided to bring my paints with me. It has turned out to be a great idea, as I’ve actually gotten things painted! I’m continuing work on Containment, my ruleset for raging infected vs. mercenaries, and as part of the project I have been painting up scifi civilians – colonists for Alien-style blue collar scifi.
The models pictured here (and photographed in very non-ideal conditions) are 3d printed ones from David Sheff Models and The Makers Cult, with the mechanic having a head from Station Forge. I’ve really enjoyed painting these and I think they turned out nice! I went for quite muted, down to earth colours to suggest that these are very much everyday people, such as those shown in the deleted Aliens scenes depicting the Hadley’s Hope colony prior to xenomorph shenanigans.
In the game, civilians will serve a key role in some scenarios. They will need to be escorted and protected, whether as part of reclaiming colonies or panicked evacuation. They will also quite easily fall to infected attacks, obviously then turning into more infected, hopefully providing players with fun, tense moments and difficult choices.
A lovely part of my visit here was organising a miniature painting workshop for my colleagues, most of who were complete newbies to painting! The reception was really enthusiastic, so I think there’s a volume 2 on the way…
Finally, as per usual around this time of the year, I’m getting geared up for Salute! Let me know if you’ll be there if you fancy catching up.
Dawn of the Lead 
Brilliant, on several levels, Mikko – very nice minis you’ve got painted, painting while being away and setting up a painting workshop! When I was first married (a while ago, to say the least) I had to spend quite a bit of time away from home. In the evenings I’d be on my own in a hotel somewhere so I geared myself up to paint while I was away. The net result was that I painted the bulk of my 25mm (as it was then) Ming Chinese army away from home and I still have it now!
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Thanks John! I’ve definitely been congratulating myself for the idea of bringing my paints with me, it’s been a lovely way to while away the evenings and cutting ever so slightly into the backlog. Emmi was visiting me for three weeks and headed back home today, so I’m certain painting will pick up again!
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