As promised here are some of the miniatures I've been working on. Nothing here has been finalized, aka DIPped, and a few of them need eyes as well. There are about 50 miniatures sitting in a box right now in need of the eye treatment and the DIP, I'm hoping to knock some of that out this Saturday, but time & my better half will dictate whether or not that actually occurs. So without further ado, here is my pretty mediocre miniature painting!
First up is the Reaper Bones 'Warforged'. Overall a pretty simple piece to paint, not as easy to finish. I went with a rusted copper wash to finish and went a bit overboard the first time and had to do a LOT of touch up work. The piece doesn't look great here, as most of my photos, but in hand looks really solid. The real head turner though is the magical green glowing sword. I went black, then three colored up an ever lighter color of green in a series of dry brushings. It really gave the sword a stand out visual, and to me just makes me feel like there is a story to tell there.
What do you say about a piece of furniture? Seriously, what the HELL do you say about painting something where you used two colors with the three color up in grey? It was an easy piece to complete, looks pretty decent, and will most likely see a LOT of play in my games as we go along. I think it'll look even better once it gets the DIP. Oh by the by, this is a Reaper Bones piece.
This is the Reaper Bones bookshelf. This one was again easy to paint, as most furniture is (I'm looking at you Dungeon Saga!), but had enough going on that it still hasn't turned out quite the way I want it to. I need to do a bit more touch up in spots, although the DIP might take care of that for me. I think this one turned out pretty well.
Oh Reaper Bones, you bend so strangely. These Candelabra's turned out decently with the tarnished bronze looking good, I also like the color the candles took as well as the flames. I'm really excited to see how the DIP brings out the details.
Every dungeon needs dressing. More Reaper Bones items here. Pretty much I went with the same brown/burgundy three color up with dry bushing and they turned out pretty solid. I really went through a few nights where I hammered out furniture at a nice pace. I need to hurry up and get them DIPped so I can start using them in game.
Yup, those are Stalagmites. Reaper Bones Stalagmites. I'm not overly satisfied with these. The browns with some light reds really has left them far to 'bright'. I am hoping VERY much that the DIP makes a big difference. These weren't difficult to paint, but also didn't turn out the way I wanted just yet. Hrm.
A Reaper Bones caryatid column, or in the case of my games, an ancient adventure horribly frozen as a statue for CENTURIES! I like painting these statues. I think it is mainly because they turn out looking really good, and I like doing the three color up dry brushing. They always turn out solid. It'll look even BETTER once the DIP is on.
To go along with the caryatid column we get the Reaper Bones Weeping Angel statue. I painted the other version of this and the above miniature awhile ago. I like the way they turned out. I'm trying to figure out if I want to steal the whole Weeping Angel shtick for my own D&D games. That would necessitate buying some more of these miniatures something I am NOT opposed to. Again, these are a joy to paint.
Another great Reaper Bones miniature here, I believe it's just listed as 'The Cairn'. The multiple dry brushing really made the underlying carvings pop. It also gives it a VERY weathered look and feel. The only thing that I really don't care for in my painting was that I couldn't figure out anything better to do with the torn clothe in the hole. Oh well, I still like it.
TERRIBLE photo! These are Yugioh Heroclix 'Dark Assailants'. I LOVE the sculpt and the design, but most especially the cheap price. However, I LOATHE not only the paint job, which is sort par for the Heroclix course, but also the color choices. These guys look like bad ass assassins, so I re-painted them in dark colors, and made their skull masks look like gawd damn skulls! I have another like 7 of these to knock out and look forward to them seeing some action on the table VERY soon!
I've been working on different ideas for more Frostgrave Wizards and Apprentices, and these two might be my next two to stat out and play. This month actually. Seriously. I might do it! They are two Plague Doctors. One is a Reaper Pathfinder metal, and the other I can't remember for the life of me where I got. I didn't want to go with the same aggressive paint job I did for the 'Fighter' version so I went far more drab.
So instead I kept the drab blacks and grays with the dry brushing in order to really give them depth. At the same time I just used a dark, I believe milk chocolate and darker brown, as the other color in order differentiate them. I'm thinking the other 'Fighter' Plague Doctor will be just that, a Fighter. While the one with the bottle, which I really like the paint job I pulled off, will be the Wizard and the one with the ball and chain will be his reluctant Apprentice. I think it can work!
This is the first in my series of homages to the Evil Masters Of The Universe characters. I went with Beastman first, because DUH! I used a Reaper Bones Bugbear, and was really happy with the way it worked. I've gone with a redder fur and skin to meet the pre-requisites of the character. I went a bit overboard with the white on the face, and in the final version you'll see in the group shot later I've done some adjustments to it. I LOVE the pose of this miniature and it really was easy to paint. I didn't do any modification to it, as I felt it didn't need it. I sort of did this as a lark and once it started to turn out I decided to run with the premise and as you'll see in the following pictures I think I have something here. I'm going to use them in my D&D campaigns at some point as sort of a strange Legion of Doom, and maybe even sooner in Frostgrave as a potential warband! Oh and on a side note, I TOTALLY painted those eyes and they are BOSS!
Next up is Evil Lynn. I used a Reaper Pathfinder metal. This lady was a pain. She's tiny, there are a lot of crevasses, there are many details that are light in the sculpt, and her eyes are virtually non-existent. Well at least for someone whose painting skills are as shoddy as mine. ALL that being said, I really like the way she turned out. I always felt that Evil Lynn was a really awesomely designed character, especially the Master Of The Universe 2002 animated series re-vamp. I tried to keep the paint job simple to reflex that and let the dry brushing let the parts of the miniature I really like stand out. She's almost done, but alas Cassandra has to knock out the eyes. Which may be REALLY difficult to pull off.
If you're going to have a Evil Masters team you NEED Skeletor. I used a Reaper Bones miniature that, to me, really fit the vibe. This isn't the best photo, but I think gets across the broad steps of how I tried to stick to the general aesthetic of the reference materials, but also went in my own direction when I could. Overall, I think this one turned out rock solid.
Here's a group shot. This also has the Beastman final face and again shows off my really suspect photographing skills. I do think it also might give you a better look at Skeletor. BUT overall, I think it really shows how when you put them together they don't just meet the standards of an homage to the source material, but they also look rock solid together as a potential group in a homebrew D&D Campaign world! As I stated earlier this ever expanding Evil Masters/Legion Of Doom group will start to make themselves known as we progress past 10th level. Skeletor will, of course, be a Drow Lich who is gathering together followers in a mad plot to get into Elora's Arcanum and pillage the knowledge to again Godhood. Evil Lynn will be from the lands of the Jade Dominion, outcast from her previous master, she is now serving as Skeletor's Apprentice! Well until she can find a way to steal his mystical might and kill him. Last, but not least in this run, is Beastman who is a Bugbear who has an affinity for raising monsters. He has scarred his face to try and meet the visage of his 'Master'. So I obviously wont' be using the names of Skeletor, Evil Lynn, & Beastman, nor their direct origins. I'll most likely call Skeletor by his actual name, Kaldor. I'll add some Drow influences. Evil Lynn will be Waru Rin which is the Google translate of Evil Lynn to Japanese. Beastman will be the most difficult, but I'm thinking he'll be a Beast Master Ranger named Buggen Targ. As you can see I still have some mental spit-balling to do...
Last but not least is the figure I've had to modify the most, Trapjaw. I LOVE the visual of Trapjaw and I wanted desperately to do it justice. In order to do that I needed a good base, so I went with the Reaper Bones Flesh Golem. It's a solid miniature, but was easy to modify. Next up I needed to find the other parts to make it work. I went with a Warhammer pauldron, mostly to cover up the amputation of the arm. I used a Warhammer 40K Ork head, power claw, and a Space Marine tabard piece to just break up the waist line. In addition I went with a
Warhammer Orc hand with bone handle dagger to give his other hand something 'to do'. So the modification was a bit of a beast, but the paint job had me intimidated. Not to toot my own horn, but I CRUSHED it! I really love how this miniature turned out. It has a ton of personality, and while it looks more like the original mini-comic Trapjaw and not the one we got a bit later, it still homages it well AND keeps the D&D aesthetic. In my game I'm thinking I'll just riff off the Cronus/Trapjaw relationship with Skeletor. In my story, Kronos will have been an underlying of Kaldor (insert Drow name) attempted to usurp him and in the process was decimated. Decimated to the point that Kaldor (insert Drow name) raised him as a Wight. A Wight with crazy Steampunk parts.
So there you have what is 85% done. I have picked up a (another) Reaper Bones Tiik Baron that will be my
Merman. It is a bit of a departure from him visual, but meets the weapon requirement, and to me feels far more threatening than a lot of my other potential options. I think the colors will be easy, but I'll have to use a lot of the same technics I used on the Warforged Sword to get the really different Yellow and Green that are his body and armor to transition and make it look FAR more biological in nature. This is something that will be a HUGE leap in both visual thinking and skill level for me. I just hope I can pull it off.
Next up is the Reaper Bones Ettin, Nor'Okk. If you can't guess this one will be my
Two Bad, who is one of my favorite Evil Masters. This one is going to require some heavy modification, potentially some serious attempts at Green Stuff work. I don't really feel confident in doing that, so I most likely will just do some facial work, cut off some hair, and just go with a far more savage feel. Then again I might see what it would cost me to have
Diamond Dave Wheeler do the sculpting on a chest plate and some head adjustments. As always it is GOOD to know an insanely talented artist if for no other reason than suggestions and directions. And of course in a pinch to just pay that
Man his money Labowski and beg him to do it.
Last up is the Reaper Bones Marsh Troll who is going to need an Ankylosaurus tail in order be morphed into
Whiplash. I'm also going to be taking the end of a Reaper Bones Gnoll Warrior's morning star as the end of the tail. I really think that the modification shouldn't be difficult to complete, and I've picked up the parts, but if it goes incorrect it'll be REALLY bad. I like the look a LOT, and Diamond Dave Wheeler already painted one up at a painting day, in like 20 minutes no less, and it looks fantastic. I think with the tail on the back end he really does have the facial look of Whiplash. If only I can find something to substitute for Clawful....Hrm...
So there you have it. That's what I've gotten to the point of needing the DIP, and what I've got on my horizon as far as the Evil Masters 'Project' goes. I've got a few wizards, including my really sweat Half-Orc Steampunk, almost Old West, Alchemist half painted as well as another Wizard and Apprentice for Frostgrave with a VERY aboriginal feel. I blame that on the Last Crack episode of the Shuffle Sounds - Podcast. *Sigh* I also picked up like 42 assorted miniatures off of Ebay for $14 from Russia. On the Facebook Frostgrave group there was a LOT of hemming and hawing over the scale, but I thought they were solid and for the price they were perfect. I've just them primed now. Next week, we are starting our monthly Painting Get Together with Eclectic Edgar, where I hope to knock out at least five pieces. So that's all I really have for this lengthy post. So in order to celebrate the end of this post, here is an AMAZING rendition by
Dan Brereton, one of my favorite artists. Enjoy AND PAINT MORE MINIS!
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