I've Got Worms, n' They're Multiplying.

It's that time again, dear Reader. More miniatures painted and ready to be posted for your perusal.

Again I have a pretty strange and eclectic mix. Some new, some old, some large, some tiny. All are destined for the fantasy wargaming arena and, even if I don't get to use them straight away, they will see the table-top in the near future. So, with no further ado here are today's specimens!

First: my worm problem. One of these big chaps seems pretty threatening so, I thought, why not get two. So I did. They stand about 3 inches high and they look like they're capable of swallowing a character with one bite. They're from Reaper Bones so they're an inexpensive investment for some fearsome looking monsters.

Next up is this fine fellow. I think he's a troll or maybe an ogre (I don't really know). Whatever... I like him. Like much of what I'm painting at the moment, I don't really have much idea of where he sits in the scheme of things. But I'm sure it involves bashing things and eating people.

And then there's this little lady. This is another figure that I've had sitting on my desk for a long time (since at least 2010). I can't remember why I got it in the first place and she's been sitting half painted and dusty for ages & almost got thrown out a couple of times too. I don't recall who makes this figure. If I did I'd probably get more because I do remember that they made a range of these fairies.

But now her time had come and she's part of the Army of Faerie. In what roll, I don't yet know. I like that the figure looks nasty and spiteful. I like the idea of fairies being that way. Like Tinker Bell in the original story of Peter Pan, they should hate humans and try to vex them and visit spite on them at every opportunity.

This is a mix of figures - I made the pixie years ago when I was running Fiendish Fabrications. The figure itself is actually the little guy and the mushroom he's standing on. He's pretty tiny ~ about 10mm, The hare is from Eureka from their range of samurai rabbits. They fit well together & I think they make a good team.

And last is another figure sculpted by me. for Eureka a few years back. This is a character from the Runestaff stories by Michael Moorcock. He's the commander of the Vulture Legion ~ Astrovak Mikosovar. I'll use him for my own Vulture Legion when I finally get enough figures painted (they take a while to do). This one is just a re-basing. I painted him a few years ago. But, he'll be leading part of my army so he deserves some new photo's.

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And that's it for today. I'm not sure what will be next. I'll just pick something. Paint it and then move onto the next thing. I think I have a hobbit almost finished. Thanks for looking.

How to Blow Your Own Horn and Enjoy It.

The second month of the year and I'm still going strong on my fantasy ride. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm really enjoying painting this stuff after such a long time away from the fantasy genera. There is so much variety and so many opportunities for interesting conversions. As I see it, most of these can be used for skirmish games and as part of my Army of Faerie.

Today is another eclectic group of figures. They're all fantasy but other than that most have very little in common with each other. Some creepy crawlies, a She-Elf, some strange chaotic denizens, and a little blue fisherman on a really big base. Here's a group pic to give you some idea:

So, where to start?

The creepy crawlies and the she-elf are both Reaper Bones figures. The elf maiden  is a nice figure. She didn't come out quite as I wanted but she's okay. The finished result looks a bit too "anime" for my liking but I do like the very vibrant green I managed to achieve. The scorpions took no time to paint (about 20 minutes) and they'll come in useful for a variety of things.

Then there's another couple of weird and wonderful figures from the Eureka Miniatures Chaos Army range. There's this little fellow with big bitey teeth and another vignette that is going to be the herald of my army - Miles de la Pyles and Sachmo Flatulata his helper. In the Eureka catalog this vignette is actually mounted on the same barrel as King Big Head, but I mounted him on another of the figures in the range for a bit of variety.

I think I've painted more tongues in the past few weeks than I've painted in the last 10 years.

Yes... Your eyes do not deceive and your worst fears are revealed.  This is figure does use a
somewhat bohemian style of tooting his horn. You can never trust which orifice these kool-kat,
bee-bop playing, beatniks are going to use. It's those drugs and hard liquor, I tells ya!

And then there's this imp with a fishing rod. He came with the Moon Headed ogre woman I painted last week. He's supposed to sit on her head. But I decided to paint him blue put him on this really big base that I made about 10 years ago.

All joking aside, I found the ent/treeman in a box, in a draw, in several pieces and he was feeling a bit neglected. I originally made him when I was running Fiendish Fabrications. I made him and cast him and sold resin copies so there will be more than one of these treemen out there in the big wild world. But this is the original put back together and in all his ferocious glory. He stands about 6" tall.

And some "in progress" pics of him:

The Club of Herakles & Other Oddities

Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends...
(As ELP once sung)

Another day and another bunch of weird and wonderful figures. I'm getting these figures painted at a pretty good pace and really enjoying it. My new painting routine (listening to audio books) is working well. I've finished listening to Imajica and moved onto another Clive Barker tale: The Great and Secret Show - an old favorite.

Anyway, before you go on I should issue a WARNING!!!
One of the figures on display is displaying something a little bit naughty and may not be suitable for work or in the vicinity of kiddies. I'll give you another warning before he comes in to view.

Today's figures are a bit of a mixed bag. The majority are, once again, from Eureka Miniatures with a Bones figure, a conversion, and a the inclusion of an original sculpted figure.

First are these little creatures: I don't know what they're called on the Eureka website but I'm calling the Sidhe (pronounced "she" - As in: "She has a funny shaped head."). These look great. They are about 18mm and they're pretty delicate. I like them and I think I'll get a few more.

This is another figure from Reaper Bones. It's some sort of demon or devil, I don't know which and I don't know it's exact name. It looks nice, was easy to paint and it will be versatile so that's 3 points in it's favour! It's a little taller than an average 28mm, but it is a supernatural entity to that's okay.

This pair are from Eureka's Chaos Army range. I don't know what either of them are supposed to be but their sheer weirdness is good enough for me. I don't know what they're called - They could be named Stumpy Joe and Slug Head as far as I'm concerned.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WARNING! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WARNING! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Club Of Herakles is a mighty symbol. It is a weapon of legend and is the emblem of the Greek city of Thebes. It is a symbol of great power. He who bares the Club of Herakles must be mighty in battle and mighty in deed for the Club of Herakles is the weapon of a demi-god! 

The family friendly version.

And there it is - Clearly visible: The mighty Club of Herakles.

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The Not family friendly version.

And a mighty club it is.

The figure was a conversion of a naked 18mm Spartan hoplite from AB Figures. He has a Warlord Miniatures plastic Gaul head and a cloak from a plastic viking set. His "club" was painted by me. And I made his massive knob too. I am the guilty party. Mea culpa.

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And finally, something sculpted long ago.

I made this tree guy a long time ago out of copper wire, putty and greenstuff. He was originally made for a treeman kit, so he was made, cut into sections, put into molds and cast in resin. I sold a few of him over several years. He has been sitting in a box in several pieces for the past 10 years or more. But now his time has come and he's getting ready to stomp onto the wargaming table sometime in the future. 

And that's January. I've made quite a lot of posts this month and, with one day left, I don't think I'll be posting anymore before February comes along. Painting individual figures is very different to painting massed battalions or other military formations. For me painting these type of detailed individual figures is a much quicker process and it's easier to get things painted and ready for the world to see.

A Little Bit Weird & Wonderful.

This post is a bit of a mixed bag: A few more figures for Frostgrave/Rangers of Shadowdeep and a few more additions to my growing Army of Faerie. I don't know what set of rules I'm making this army for because I haven't yet found a set of rules that is flexible enough to allow me to field an army of anything sort of faeriefolk that I want to.

I'll start today with a group shot:

Okay everybody. Say Cheese!

Most of these figures are from Eureka and every single one of them is really nice. Well sculpted, well cast and easy to paint. The only exception is the Beastman. He's another Reaper Bones figure. 

This archer will work equally well for Frostgrave of RoSD. I can see him being used as either a main character in RoSD or a soldier/captain in Frostgrave. Have to wait and see who he ends up being.

The dwarf will also fit with just about anything. I really like this figure. It has great detail and looks just as I expect a dwarf character to look. Initially the figure looked pretty boring but when painted it really came to life.

Mr Beastman from Reaper ~ I got him because he looks like a good generic beastly monster. I wouldn't say the figure is exciting but it came up okay with a very basic paint job. Nothing to write home about but I'm sure he'll prove to be versatile.

Mr Beaky ~ This figure is from Eureka's Chaos Army range. An unusul figure (it has no eyes) and I don't know what it's supposed to be. That doesn't matter. He'll fit in as a foot soldier for the Army of Faerie. I may get a couple more of him to fill out the ranks. I painted him in monkish brown because of the Brugel/Bosche influence.

Notice his spike is bronze... Faerie folk don't like iron!

Ms Moonface ~ Is she a giantess or an orgress? Hard to say. 

I've wanted this figure for a while but I had no real use for it, but I'm glad I did find a place for it and a reason to buy it. The figure has great detail and really looks as if it comes from some strange twilight world just a morning mist away from our own. She comes with a little imp that you can sit on her head. I chose not to include it. I'll use it elsewhere.