UP THE IRONS!!
I believe it was late 2022 when CMON Games, the company known for various table top/board games such as Zombicide, announced a collaboration with the legendary English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. The announced models would depict various iterations of the band’s mascot, Eddie. As a major fan of the band, I pre-ordered the complete set as soon as I saw the listing without so much as a second thought.
I began painting them within 24 hours of their delivery. Which was a great feeling, as these models broke a hobby rut that had been killing me for quite some time. Fittingly, I used the Iron Maiden discography as my soundtrack for these hobby sessions. With that, this crossover of the Table Ready and Background Noise series’ was born!
The Eddie Project.
Table Ready: Eddie
Iron Maiden (1980)
When I received the Iron Maiden miniatures, I immediately inspected all of the models. When I bought them I was a little worried about their quality and details, but they are really faithfully designed miniatures that have a lot of detail. Each model also comes with rules for various games in the CMON catalog. Though, their use appears to be mainly within the Zombicide spectrum of games. Usually as either protagonist or antagonist. Having never played these games, nor had the inclination to do so, I concentrated on creating a plan for hobbying. In doing this, I decided early on that I would paint the miniatures in the chronological order of the albums that they are tied to. So OG Eddie would be first up.
I had never seen a whole depiction of the original version of Eddie before I picked up this model. The cover of the Iron Maiden self-titled album only depicts the character from the chest up in a portrait style. His ghoulish features, scowl, and rather-punk hair are iconic. The model captures all of this, and adds a little something extra. A broken beer bottle in his right hand and bare feet. Very nice additions that help to capture his psychotic image.
Along with deciding to paint these models in chronological order, I also decided that I would primarily use the Duncan Rhodes: Two Thin Coats paint line, which I had just received my second wave set of. I had been in possession of the first wave for about a year, and now had the complete catalog. However, I had yet to really test them out. So seeing as my painting drive had been at least somewhat restored, this project was the perfect opportunity to put them through their paces. The goal was to stick to these paints as much as possible. But I would not rule out falling back on some Citadel or other paints like Vallejo.
For color selection purposes, OG Eddie, his hair aside, doesn’t have much going in terms of special colors. I wanted to stay as close to the original artwork as possible, while bringing in a little bit of creativity. In the original artwork he is bathed in the light of a streetlight, but I opted to skip that aspect and paint him under neutral lighting. This meant a normal blue for his jeans and a simple off white for his shirt. For his hair I used some reds and oranges, followed by an orange wash.
Usually not being one for highlighting, I actually did do a bit on this model. The Two Thin Coats painting system is built around a three paint procedure. First is a shadow coat(base coat), second a mid tone, third is a highlight. The system even comes with a handy color wheel for easy selection, and the bottles are all labeled by their role. Very convenient.
I also added some Citadel Blood for the Blood God one the feet, hand and the broken bottle. Completely forgetting that I had received some new blood effects paint with the second wave Duncan paint set. Oops. I am sure this will get remedied, right? Spoiler alert. Nope.
Regardless, I think my foray into painting 15 Eddie’s started off rather well with the original Eddie.
Background Noise: Iron Maiden – Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden’s self-titled album was released in 1980, and it arrived during the height of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. An iconic period of time that was spawned off the backs of popular bands like: Black Sabbath and Deep Purple. Music was getting heavier and faster in the UK, and as a result of this movement more of these bands were coming to the forefront.
When you think about the sound that Iron Maiden produces, it is easy to think about a big drum sound, 3 great guitarists, Steve Harris’ downright insane plucking on the bass, and of course… The Bruce Dickinson belting out lyrics and running around on stage and yelling his signature, “Scream for me [insert city name here]”. But in the early days of the band, specifically through the first two albums, Iron Maiden had a completely different lineup. In fact only two current members of the band were involved with Iron Maiden at that time. Those two were Steve Harris and Dave Murray.
That’s right, the front-man for the first two albums was Paul Di’Anno, not Dickinson. And while the building blocks for the Steve Harris(the bands long time music writer) style and sound that we all know today were there, Di’Anno had a very different style as compared to that of Dickinson. He has an incredible voice, to be sure, and in the first 4 songs of the album you explore his range. You also hear some awesome riffs and a true late-seventies/early-eighties British heavy metal sound.
That early 80’s British heavy metal sound is on full display with Prowler, which is the opening track of the album. And it really is a perfect first track for this album. It’s driving Is carried by the drums and bass, has a great rhythm guitar and lead guitar part, and Di’Anno’s vocals accompany it all so well. Yeah, Prowler introduces what Iron Maiden are bringing to the table with this album perfectly.
I have been a big fan of heavy metal instrumentals ever since the mid-80’s when I heard Metallica’s ‘Orion’ for the first time. And it carries on today with my love of bands like Pelican, who primarily make instrumentals. (Ex: Pelican – Ephemeral) Iron Maiden has only done a handful of instrumentals in their career, and Transylvania is my favorite. It’s fast, driving, and a downright great interlude after Phantom of the Opera. Transylvania also manages to lead into the following track Strange World very well.
Oh Well, wherever, wherever you are,
Iron Maiden – Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden’s gonna get you, no matter how far.
See the blood flow watching it shed up above my head.
Iron Maiden wants you for dead
Along with Eddie’s iconic introduction on the cover of this album, it also introduces the world to a staple Iron Maiden song. With its distinct guitar introduction, ‘Iron Maiden’ is a song every single fan of the band knows well. Though, no matter how many times I have seen Bruce sing this live, the Di’Anno version is probably my favorite.
Eddie will return!
Up next: Killer Eddie and Killers
Robert
All of the following are true, except for one:
Robert is: a Hobbyist with too many hobbies to list, a Music Lover, an RPG/JRPG Gamer, a Mustard Lover, Chaotic Neutral, a Japanese Speaker, a Veteran, an Otaku, an Aviation Professional, a New York Rangers Fan, a Chaos Lover With Loyalist Tendencies, in a toxic relationship with spicy foods..
