When it comes to converting the Gray Tide (or White or Black Tide, depending on your choice of primer), my biggest obstacle is figuring out how I should paint the miniature. Except for certain historical miniatures, I have avoided painting ‘box standard’ color schemes for years. I suppose there’s nothing actually wrong with following the box, if that’s what you like, I suffer from a personal character defect that demands I be “more creative than thou.” The problem, of course, is that I simply don’t have a head for colors. I know a thing or two about color theory that I always forget. I have color wheels which seem too limited, and then I can always rely on my artist wife to make recommendations, but even she needs a starting point.

But on Christmas, as my son was building the new model Lego Galaxy Explorer, I was hit by a burst of inspiration. Toys are good for that, you see. The great toy lines often have excellent color schemes, and Lego’s Space theme had a plethora of them. But none were more thrilling to the eye than 1993’s “Ice Planet 2002” theme, with its mix of blue, white, and translucent popsicle orange.

It occurred to me that this would be absolutely perfect for my Wargames Atlantic Einherjar (that is to say, sci-fi dwarves), particularly the ‘squat’ mercenaries operating on the wartorn world of Xiandao. These minis even have optional fur collars to clip around their necks, just like the astronauts of Ice Planet Krystos.

The figure pictured here was painted almost effortlessly, relying on a solid white primer coat to do most of the work, and RushTheWash’s layering of washes and contrast/speed paints to get the layered, bright blues and oranges.

Here are some more angles to enjoy:

I really love how these turned out, but maybe more than that I love how easy they were. I’ll post more pictures when I finish the rest of the squad and a couple of their custom vehicles.

If you suffer from color palette paralysis like me, then here is a solution for you. Even restricting yourself to inspiration from Lego’s old Space theme, there are many great color schemes that would pop on the tabletop: M-Tron, Blacktron I, any of the Space Police themes, and Galaxy Squad to name just a few. If you try it out, I would love to see the results.