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: Asylum Eddie
From Piece of Mind(1983)
Growing up, the first Iron Maiden album I was exposed to was Piece of Mind, and I vividly remembered it because of this version of Eddie. This was well before I had any concept of what padded rooms or straight-jackets were. So I used to always silently question why he had no arms. I also used to conclude that I would be pissed off too if I didn’t have any arms. But as I got a little older I understood the scene a lot better. The padded room. The straight-jacket. The lobotomy scar. Hell, even the album name made more sense. It isn’t PEACE of mind.
This Eddie model, while great looking, is the first that I have a small gripe about. And that gripe has to do with the chain attached to his neck. In the cover art, Eddie has three chains attached to the collar around his neck. Two going to the walls, and one attached to the floor. He’s an angry boy. For this model there is a chain hanging from his neck, and a chain lying on the floor. I just do not see why they couldn’t have modeled the chain attached to the floor. Though, I do get it. Maybe he broke free from his bonds for the purposes of the game. Personally, I would have preferred the album version. It is a small and very trivial gripe, mind you, definitely not a deal breaker.
In terms of painting, Asylum Eddie didn’t take long to paint, seeing as it only really required a few colors. A simple medium grey for the hospital pants, a tan color washed with a flesh wash for the straight-jacket, and the same colors for his skin as the last models. Like OG Eddie, in the cover art he is bathed in moonlight. So I once again decided to paint him in regular lighting.
Table Ready: The Trooper
From The Trooper Single(1983)
I have used the word iconic a few times already when talking about various versions of Eddie. But I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that I think The Trooper is his most iconic form. In the 80’s, this image was everywhere in the metal scene. Posters, patches, t-shirts, stickers. The artwork for The Trooper’s single is British Metal as fuck. I wanted this poster so bad as a kid, but wasn’t allowed to. Now I have its likeness in multiple forms. Hell, at one point I even had an unopened can of The Trooper beer hanging around. Well, before I got thirsty one night.
Yeah, this is hands down my favorite mini in the set. It is also the one model that I had the most reservations about painting. Because it is my favorite version of Eddie, it came with a lot of anxiety. I did not want to fuck it up. Unfortunately, because of my decision to paint them all chronologically, The Trooper’s turn came sooner rather than later.
Compared to the previous models painted thus far, The Trooper is really the first to use any dynamic colors dominantly. I had to color test a few red paints for the historically iconic British “red coat” he is wearing. Then there is the Union Jack. That flag nearly gave me an aneurism. I have a problem when it comes to painting lines. Which is evident with my Iron Warriors hazard stripes. Luckily, the flag is in tatters, so… yeah.
Stemming from my foray into painting White Scars, I adopted a “good enough” philosophy when it comes to painting. This entails; if I get to a point where I keep making mistakes that require touch ups, resulting in me falling into an endless cycle of paint >> touch up >> paint >> touch up, then I just say “good enough”, and move on. I faced this cycle with the “red coat” and its reds with white straps. Also with the Union Jack. It’s better to wave the white flag and stop the monotony before you make the situation really bad.
In the end, I’m happy with how he came out. I used my Trooper bobble head as a subject model while painting. I also gave him a little more blood splatter on his face. STILL forgetting to try the new blood paint from the Duncan paint line…
Background Noise: Iron Maiden- Piece of Mind
The band’s fourth album was the first with their new drummer Nicko McBrain, who for various reasons, had replaced Clive Burr. Iron Maiden was now more or less the band you can hear to this very day. Minus guitarist Janick Gers, who wouldn’t join the band until 1990.
Like many of the Dickinson-era Maiden songs, The Trooper is heavily historic. It is based on a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson chronicling the suicidal charge of the Light Brigade on a Russian artillery line at the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War(1854). From the opening salvo to the repeated main theme, the guitar riffs from The Trooper are nothing short of legendary in the metal-scene. As soon as you hear the first note, you know which song it is. The whole song really does give you a feeling of charging into battle. Particularly with Harris’ galloping bass line.
Something that I did not know until I did some research about the album, was that most of the songs on Piece of Mind were written based on various literary works. For example: Sun and Steel was written about a samurai named Miyamoto Musashi. And the source material was from an essay written about him. As stated above, The Trooper is based on a poem. Even The Flight of Icarus is loosely based on Greek Mythology.
To Tame A Land was originally titled ‘Dune’, after the book of the same name. But the band was forced to change it. At over seven minutes long, the song itself is long, technical, and largely instrumental. It is a great cap to the album. The middle of the song is my highlight. At around the 3:00 minute mark, Steve Harris starts to set the pace, and Bruce starts building with his vocals. Then the drums start to pick up. It is a great piece of work.
Many of Iron Maiden’s songs have been covered by various bands. I always approach cover songs carefully. Having been let down many times. But one of my favorite Maiden covers is the prog-magicians Dream Theater cover of To Tame A Land. The bassist of Dream Theater, John Myung, is one of my all time favorite bassists. Hearing him play Steve Harris’ bass lines, particularly the ones in this song, is a treat. The cover itself has a very prog sound.
Eddie will return!
Up next: Undead Eddie / Iron Maiden – Live After Death
Robert
All of these are true except for one:
Robert is: a Hobbyist, a Music Lover, an RPG Gamer, a Mustard Lover, Chaotic Neutral, a Japanese Speaker, a Veteran, an Otaku, a Table Tennis Player, an Anime Fan, an Aviation Professional, a New York Rangers Fan, a Chaos Lover With Loyalist Tendencies.