They Did The Mash...

MONSTERS!

Monsters, monsters, monsters... They're not something that I'm very good with. In my early years of D&D it was difficult to find them and always a sacrifice to buy them (every monster bought was one less character figure that I could spend my money on). So monster figures were subbed for others on many, many occasions. One minute it's a troll, half an hour later the same figure is an orgre... Next week it's a frost giant...

So I never did have a lot of monsters which means that I have less experience when it comes to painting them. I tend to put less effort into painting monstrous creatures because I want them to look a bit rough and frightening. Or, in the case of orcs and those sort of folk, I don't want them to look nice and tidy. The Minotaur I recently painted is an example of this. So for me, painting monsters necessitates a different approach.

So what have I got?

A Yeti (I think) from Reaper Bones. This was an easy paint job. It looks okay. The eyes look much better in the flesh as does the white dry-brushing. Not a bad for a $6.00 investment.

Some toads. Because I'm currently enthralled with Frostgrave I made them Ice Toads. They are Reaper Black Bones and they look suitably icy and toady. I like this material. it's a bit easier to work with , although I am impressed with the way the regular Bones material holds paint. I'm not sure about the snow. I used baking soda but I think a dedicated "snow effect" from some company like Woodland Scenic's would work better.

 A friendly little orc for scale.

Ohhh... Boney Skeletons from Bones. I got two different types. The Spears are regular Reaper Bones and the swords are Black Bones. No matter what I tried I just couldn't get those spears straight. Heat lamp, hot water immersion, clamping... Nothing. So they remain bendy. I got the verdigris effect by using a verdigris glaze from Vallejo. I put it on thick and wipe it off with my finger. It makes the bronze look pretty old which is a nice effect for these ancient dead warriors.

This thing... I'm going to call this an Earth Elemental (because I don't know what it is). I do know that it is/was a Malifaux figure and I got it about 7 or 8 years ago. It's a big hunk of metal and it looks okay. Come to think of it, maybe it's a Shambling Mound!

And last but not least... Well maybe they are least... Some orc folk from Oathmark. For me these were more difficult to paint than you may think. I really had to stop myself from trying to paint them well and make them detailed. I didn't want that. I wanted them to look rough as I mentioned above. I got the effect in the end but I actually had to give them a few coats of wash to ruin the initial brushwork I did on them.

First Frostgrave & Necromancers

I played my first game of Frostgrave last night. It was quick and easy and I really enjoyed it. I was introduced to the game by Piotyr at my club, and even though my little company of "explorers" took a bit of a beating, most of them did manage to survive and grab some valuable treasure.

I had Astrapi, an Elementalist Wizard who I took partly due to the models I had on hand and also because it seemed like a pretty easy character to run as a newbie. You know, cast a few lightning bolts here and there. Blow things up... They were pitted against a thrown together beginner Necromancer group who gave them a run for their money. I guess you'd call that experience v's a novice.

Anyway, I enjoyed the game and it really had the feel of old school D&D. The only monsters on the table were skeletons (and evil necromancers) but they gave me enough to worry about.

All the terrain you see below was provided by Neil who was playing a game against Tom on the other side of the mat (both of whom have appeared in other posts on this blog - Mainly ECW). Their game was full of giant ice worms erupting out of the earth and trying to kill their wizards. It was a very nice table and I feel luck to have been able to use it. Very atmospheric and with plenty of multi-layer depth. It was very nice to play on and has inspired me to make some of my own.

So here's a few pics. I got caught up in the game and pretty much forgot to take many shots:

And I also have some new figures (one of whom, fresh off the painting desk, too part in the game above). All of these ones are official Frostgrave figures from, I think, Northstar. They are very nice and very well sculpted and cast. Not cheap, but not really expensive and very much worth it.

A thief/rogue. He survived the game above so he has earned the name Bonzo:

And a Necromancer of my own. He doesn't have a name as yet, but one day he'll get one. This was a difficult figure to paint. Not because of the detail but because of the colours. All black would have been easy but too obvious. So colour selection wasn't easy but I think the palette looks okay.

And every sorcerer needs an apprentice. This one doesn't even have Mick Mouse ears although he does have a weird hair style. I'm happy with how he came out. I tried to keep his palette close but a little different to the wizard.

P.S. In the pic above you can see some damage to the paint on the arm/elbow holding the book. I don't know how this happened but I fixed it pretty easily and gave it two good coats of varnish.

Barbarians & Something Piggly

Well this post is going to be a little different. I've finished 3 more figures. two of them are pretty straight forward to the average Fantasy enthusiast but the third is... Different. Significantly different.

So first up is a northern barbarian type from Frostgrave. This is a nice figure and conforms perfectly to everyone's favorite fantasy barbarian ideal. I really enjoyed painting this figure. He's big and hefty and perfect for a player character.

And then there's this one. Another from Reaper Bones. I got this with my trial bulk purchase. It's a bit odd and I'm not sure what's going on with his back. It did have a small spot of glue on the back that needed trimming off. But the back looks as though he was flogged sometime in that past. I don't know if that's intentional or just my crappy painting. He also needed a bit of work on his hands due to some miscasting. This is a very basic figure and I didn't bother with much detail. He looks okay in a brutal sort of way. Maybe he could do with some blood splatter.

And now we come to the significantly different?

Just what this is I can't tell you. It's from Eureka Miniatures' Chaos Army range. I like it. It definitely has a very Bosch/Bruegel feel to it and perfectly captures my idea of what I want in a chaos or faerie army (which is something I aim to build some day soon). Also, if I had thought about it before I started painting, I would have sculpted him a mighty todger because he's looking a bit bereft down below. I could have and nailed it to the barrel to keep him steady.

Whatever this chap may be: here he is. In my army he will be someone of significance - a general or a standard bearer or something. I am going to call him Lord Pugsley ~ Duke of Gruntelton and his trusty steed: Duobus Capitibus.

Big Un's, Little Un's and Little Big Un's

I'm still painting and getting things done one by one. Painting these type of figures is much different to painting massed troops. But I have a group of Oathmark plastic goblins made up and ready for the brush, and I expect that painting them should be a pretty quick procedure.

But for now I've finished a couple of new additions to my small, but growing, fantasy collection. All of these figures are Reaper Bones. I bought a variety of them all at once to see how they worked out. I'm getting to like them the more I paint them. They're easy on my brushes compared to metal.

First the Little

A hobbit. For a Reaper Bones figure it's not bad and the detail is much better than the Wizkid's (official D&D) figures. I don't know why he has armour on one leg but other than that he's a fine figure.

A Big Un:
My first large Bones figure. It's quite nice and it was inexpensive. I want more creatures although I'm not very good at painting them. I guess practice will improve my skills. I wasn't sure whether to put it on a round or square base. His axe is a little bit bent but I can live with that.

A Little Big Un:

Draco-Viridi!. This was a fun little guy to paint but I have no idea how it will be used in a game. I'm sure it will come in useful some time in the future but I don't know how. Maybe it'll grow into a full sized dragon one of these days and save me a big paint job.

Goblins & Ghoulies and Their Friends

I'm still painting some of the fantasy figures that I've had sitting around for several years as well as some new ones. I know where most of these figures came from but I have no idea where others originated. These are a bit of a mix and some are a bit experimental.

The Old

I got this figure a couple of years ago. I'm not really sure but seem to think he came from Artizan Designs and it was mistakenly added to an order. They didn't want him back so he sat in a tray until a few days ago. I really like him.  He strikes me as very goblinish.

I have zero memory regarding this figure. I've had it for a long time and it's been sitting around, based and undercoated for years. I don't know what she's supposed to be but she does look good (in a strange kind of way). I have no idea what her hat is supposed to be.

This one is from the Eureka Chaos Army range. I added the spear. Again, he's been sitting in a tray for the past few years. I'm thinking about creating a very weird chaos/faerie army and I think this figure would make a great champion or general.

The New

This is the other "Official D&D" dwarf that came in the pack with the other one I posted a few days back. I prefer the other (unarmoured) dwarf. This one is okay but I think it's a bit boring. I added the shield. The original figure had some sort of bendy noodle-knife thing in it's left hand that looked about as dangerous as a handful of spaghetti.

I didn't enjoy painting this next figure. It's another of those Official D&D figures with indistinct/fuzzy detail and bendy weapons. They all seem to have bloody big cloaks too (I guess that's a D&D thing - All my characters had big cloaks back in the day). It looks okay but, all in all, he's a pretty boring figure

The Ugly

This is my experiment. I ordered a box of Oathmark Goblins but before they arrived I got a 3-pack of Reaper orc/goblin/googabaggers to do a green-skin experiment. The Oathmark figures arrived today and I'm still not sure if I should go for the green skin or a darker leathery skin colour. I like the green. It looks goblinish. But...?

Elfs and Dwarfes and Dark Lords. Oh My!

Fantasy is still grabbing my imagination. It's been a long while between drinks with me and fantasy and I have to say: I'm enjoying painting these figures.

For a long time now I've been interested in quantity. Painting mass armies takes a very different style that requires a lesser level of detail. Or, should I say, a different type of detail. As far as I'm concerned I don't bother with shading, adding eyes or other such stuff when doing huge armies. To me it's more about clean lines and making the uniforms (especially historical uniforms) look good and clear in a formation of 300 odd figures.

Fantasy figures are different. Like figures for other skirmish games they're very individual and as such each one requires thought and consideration. There was a time when I painted fantasy figures exclusively and I did a lot of them. A LOT!

But those were my D&D days and they fell by the wayside as my group of D&D partners, and I, all grew up and had families to take care of. When I got back into wargaming it was all about Napoleonic's and since then it's involved a shit load of other projects too.

Now that my interest in fantasy has been rekindled it's been easy to get back into painting the figures again. As I alluded to above, it's a matter of quantity v's quality. These figures require a lot more thought and a lot more intricate brushwork and techniques. So, it's a matter of painting less figures but adding a lot more detail to individualize them. And... I'm really enjoying it.

So, today I have some figures that, for me, are unusual. They're unusual because they're a mix of official plastic D&D figures, a Reaper Bones figure, A figure by Black Scorpion and a very old Citadel figure that I've had for a long, long, long time.

These first ones are official D&D figures. I'm not sure what to think of these yet. They look okay but I found them difficult to paint due to their mix of sharp detail and fuzzy detail (on the same figure).

One plus for these is that there's a new games shop in town that has a big 

selection of these and it's only 2 minutes down the road.

This one is a Reaper Bones figure. I think this is the first Bones figure I've ever painted. I bought a bunch to see how they go. I do like this figure but I'm not 100% convinced by them at this stage.

The Mad Hatter by Black Scorpion. This one has been sitting half painted on my desk for a few years. I guess it's okay but I'm not sure what I can use it for. I really just wanted it off the desk and I didn't want to throw it out.

And this chap is (apparently) Saouron the Dark Lord by Citadel Miniatures. He's old. I think he was made in the mid 80's. I've had him for a long time and decided that his day had finally come and that he needed some paint.

Get Ready For The Whistler

I've been painting a bunch of different figures lately. This is partly for a change of pace and to paint something more colourful than drab WWII uniforms. It's also an excuse to practice my finer painting skills which can start to lapse when painting figures that need less detailed attention.

So I've dredged up a bunch of single figures, small sets and other odd things that I'll post as I finish them. Some have been on my painting desk for years and some are fairly new acquisitions.

This pair are fairly new purchases from a few months back. They are Frostgrave figures - I'm looking to get into Frosgrave this year so I thought I'd paint up the figures I have (only a handful). These guys are a set: Some sort of Sonic Wizard and apprentice. I bought them because they looked nice and they were interesting to paint. I like them. They could also be used for any sort of bard character or whatever.

I hope you like them dear reader
(And I make no apology for the bad Jethro Tull reference!)

This one is the apprentice so I thought I'd paint him up as if he's wearing a sort of jesters' motley. Lots of colour and less sober that the wizard.