Dungeon Tile Goodness to Ring in the New Year

A small bit of painting has taken place over the last two months.

Off and on over the last few months, I have been painting my Dwarven Forge Game Tiles.  I have four small boxes of these things amounting to quite a few pieces.  At first I was too overwhelmed to even start on them, then I took some advice from Ed Allen on G+ and just began with a few.  That soon led to momentum and now I have done over 20 which is better than nothing.

They look very nice, and there are a thousand ways to paint these things.  I find that dry brushing these pieces is kind of relaxing to do while watching a movie or hanging out in the living room.

This first picture shows them off along with another Reaper Bones goblin archer I managed to do in early December (green hat). I think Reaper Bones minis and these Game tiles go together like peanut butter and jelly.

Here is another simple room arrangement with a goblin ambush party present. Don't go in the door!!   I'm learning how to arrange the tiles to make different layouts.  I can see how getting some of the dungeon decorations (barrels, chests, braziers) will be helpful in adding to the scenes.

Finished - Reaper Dragonman

I finally finished him..the dragonman mini from Reaper...Yay!  I spend a lot of time on painting the metal armor using my homebrew NMM technique, and that really ate up time.  I can't say how many hours went into this guy..but I'm pretty sure it was too many and most likely embarassing to admit here. As always, I appreciate the NMM metals even if they are not exactly right.

I'm happy with the skin and wing colorings - red is quite fun to paint up in different shades and hues. Getting the wing colors to work with the rest of the mini while not using the exact same colors was challenging.  It seems the violets are OK to mix with the red /oranges. 

I added a homemade giant skull to the base to make it a little more interesting. A past victim of the fierce dragon warriors perhaps.  I may add some tropical ferns or banana leaves as well.  I assume these creatures live in the tropics and are rulers amongst the reptiles. Or perhaps they battle for supremacy with the snake people.

Here is a back shot that kind of shows of more of the wing colorings and those funny scales right by the base of his tail.  Once I had pinned the wings, glued them,  and added some green stuff to the seams, the bond was strong.  These wings don't move much, which is a good thing. 

Now on to paint something different!

Reaper Bones Goblins

Hey Derek and Jason, I assume you are the only ones reading this!  Just kidding.

Here are some Bones goblins that I started last Saturday night at a paint party.  I decided that they would make good scrawny orcs.   I've added a lot more detail to them since then, such as touching up the damn green skin over and over.  So much for a quick dry brush and glaze!  I think they are at a point now where I'm going to spray them with Dullcote and have them in the bin for RPG nights.

These are fun sculpts which makes painting go along quicker for some reason. When you get those nasty teeth to show up and you see the mean faces, you know that orcs are evil. I had no idea what colors to use on the clothes, so I just went with the various browns used for leather and such. I'm sure there are some metrosexual orcs out there with excellent color coordination, but not these hapless blokes.

Anyways, that is all for now.  I'm going to try and finish Khesh dragonman soon.  Keep rocking the paint brushes everyone.

-Nils

Crazy Kobolds

Here are some Reaper Bones kobolds I did a year ago along with a Bones Purple Worm.  These were painted with no primer at all, just washed and dried prior to painting.  I wanted to test the claim by Reaper that no primer is needed.  So far, so good.  Also, I covered them all of them with two coats of Testors Dullcote varnish so that they can be handled and not take damage. I think they are a little too shiny from excessive coating, but they should take a beating now.

The Bones miniatures are perfect for RPG sessions where you need some minis on the grid fast. The paint jobs don't have to be showcase quality, but they can be better than those D&D prepainted minis. They are nice too because you can build up lots of monster lists and not spend a lot of money like you would hunting down the prepaints on the internet.

The kobolds are clearly out of their minds for taking on this purple worm. I'm sure the worm is quite excited to have six tasty snacks along with a little metal fiber to wash them down.

Reaper Dragonman - Kesh Blackscale

Kesh has started to take form ....a red form that is.  He will be the leader of the lizardmen, as they think he is a god sent to help them.

I highlighted the scales and skin with yellow and orange mixed with the red.  I like this better than the white added to red which makes for pink highlights.  I'm not sure about the wings yet...will they be some shade of red.  Also, he will have sone NMM steel platemail.

The NMM is going along slowly.  It looks OK for NMM..I like it better than using metallic paints for some reason.

Lashtash: Another Lizard Warrior

Here is Lashtash...a lizard man with a striking resemblance to a crocodile.  He's got a cool tail with three prominent bone spikes to lash out at any flanking enemies or even those behind.  So watch out backstabbing thieves..you could get Lash slapped.

I like the serrated blades that Julie Guthrie gave these guys. They add nicely to their savagery. Also, the bluish metal is proving over and over to be a good choice on these guys.  It seems to contrast well with their skin, and it also complements the tan colors.

 I also think the armor is very nicely sculpted for a 1990's miniature. I sort of assumed that their armor is not shiny clean and bright, but weathered a bit.  I presume either they know how to make their own banded armor or they stole it from poor adventurers.

Lashtash now joings his comrade Sslishtassh for hunting duty.  What do they eat???

The First Lizardman: Sslishtassh

As part of my three lizardman reconnaissance team, I have completed the first warrior. This is a Grenadier sculpt by Julie Guthrie from the late 90s perhaps. He is really a true 25mm guy, looking very small compared to most other mini makers except perhaps Red Box. Anyways, another really nice semi-old school scult with good personality and the typical Ral Partha "open Stance".

I like going with the greenish yellow skin on these guys, similar to the old Citadel Orcs.  The yellow just helps the highlights pop out so well.  I did try to wash some blue into the crevices of the scales, but it does not show too much.

Here is the back.  I did a crazy logo on the shield of the red dragon god they worship.  They might even have a more primitive logo or sign than this one, but I got carried away.  For the basic NMM on the sword, I added in some blue to my grey colors and I love it.  The handle is supposed to be a dirty bronze metal.

More lizards are on the way slowly....can't do half ass jobs on these for some reason - I did bad and quick paint jobs for years and all I have to show for it are piles of minis that I can't stand!!

Lizard Time!

For my next project I have selected several lizardmen from my collection.  The two small ones, 25mm, are Grenadier models sculpted by Julie Guthrie again.  She is terrific.  The big guy is some kind of Reaper Dragonkin or dragon warrior.  He would obviously make an excellent leader of a group of lizardmen.

The trick on the small guys has been to shade the recesses and get the raised parts lighter using dry brushing. The problem this poses is that dry brushing, the way I do it, is kind of messy and leaves the mini sort of powdery looking.  I have tried some glazes of a darker color to reduce that effect.  Also, I'm experimenting with using blue in the recesses of the scales as opposed to dark green.

So, I expect the guy in the middle to be done first, then the guy on the right.  The dragon guy will take a while.

That's it for now from the Fun House..

Final: Tox the Magnificent

Ahh, he is finally complete and ready for battle.  Here is my take on Tox the wizard from Reaper. One can only assume that he has special powers over dragons and can command them to do terrible deeds.

If that does not work for him, he can spout violent magic from his dragon claw staff of power....probably lightning.  Regardless, stay clear of this mage if at all possible or end up dragon chow or worse, just ash.

Eventually I will coat him with Dullcote from Testors ...perhaps two coats...to make him available for use on the table.  That will at least protect the paint from finger oils...but not the dreaded mini drop attack.

Tox the Wizard Work in Progress

Good progress has been made on Tox this last week.  The most satisfying thing for me has been getting the colors decided on for the cape and the robe.   I'm liking the magenta robe and the tan cape quite a bit.  Next up will be to finish the staff gem or egg thing and get that baby dragon painted!

Here is a back shot of Tox to show some of the cloak highlights.

These Reaper metal minis are pretty easy to paint because of their large size.  Although, with my new 2.5 x. reading glasses from Target any size is OK to paint now.

Wizard in Progress

This is Tox, a wizard of sorts from Reaper that I picked up several years ago. I got myself fired up to paint and pulled him out of box the other day. I started with the face, then the eyes, and finally the hair. The face went well for me on this one, so that was great.  The hair has been killing me, as I am trying to show gradual higlights from one end of  strand to another...in grey.

I'm almost happy with the hair, and then I will move on to complete the crystal ball/ palantir thing.  The one area on this mini that I have not come to a decision on is the color for the robe.  Would tox have a purple, blue, green or maybe a black robe?  Perhaps it would be a special color like powder blue or teal.

Reaper Gnoll Ranger

This is BlackTongue, a Gnoll Ranger from Reaper.  I painted him nearly 5 years ago and have never taken a picture of him. He is too cool looking to just rot in the display bin and not be seen, so here he is.

I would not want to be tracked down by one of these giant hyena men, as I'm sure they show no mercy.  Are gnolls really 8-9 feet tall?  Yikes.

I went for greyish skin and light brown fur combination on this one. I think the fur could have been darker as the wood colors tend to match.  The bags and things were done in greens and reds to match the surrounding forest.

Reaper Bones Kickstarter Figure Case

I forgot that I had ordered this, along with a few miniatures, from the Reaper Bones Kickstarter a year ago. Needless to say I was really happy to hear from them when they sent out the mailing notice.  I did not get the Vampire package, which has over 100 miniatures, but I did get a few of the Pathfinder minis and the case below. 
When you open it up, you see the top tray with the open slots and the back of what  I call the middle tray. The slots seem to be for 25 mm miniatures which is weird since Reaper stuff is 28mm heroic scale and huge.

I immediately went about getting all my unpainted miniatures, as well as old paint jobs  from the 90's, from out from their boxes and into this huge case. In some cases I had to tear the foam to make a bigger compartment. For most minis, I stuck them in the slots tightly so that they did not move around. This may be bad on painted minis, as the foam may rub off paint. I will find out.  I'm sure the plastic Bones minis, which are not very heavy, will be fine in this case.

As you can see in this next photo, I have taken out the middle tray to show you the bottom tray. The bottom tray, with the red foam, was facing towards the side of the case when I first opened it. I flipped it over to face inward because I didn't want the miniatures banging on the side of the case if they slid out of the foam.  However, that move created a problem, because now the bottom or top trays would  face the middle tray without a foam barrier.

My partial solution to that problem was to add a sheet of foam as follows to the middle tray. Now the minis in it will not bang the minis in bottom tray, and I also don't have to face the side try to the side of the case. Perhaps there is a better way to do this...like putting this sheet of foam on the bottom between the case and the bottom tray.   I'd appreciate any advice.

By the way, the top tray is mostly populated with Ral Partha AD&D miniatures from the 1990's (painted and unpainted). The middle tray has some of my Reaper minis, along with all of my Dark Sword and Citadel models. Finally, the bottom tray has my Grenadier miniatures as well as some Red Box and Avatars of War guys.  Almost all of my painted miniatures are in display cases.

A Blast from the Past: The Roper

Here is a blast from the past....a 1980's Roper from the Grenadier Dwellers Below box set. This sculpt kind of borders on funny and creepy .. .it could go either way.  These creatures are very dangerous to deal with. In fact one killed my very first D&D character in 1981 or so. Bastard.

It was good mini to paint because of the silky smooth texture.  My layers went on very easily.  There are not a lot of small detail areas on this mini either, so that helped.  Come to think of it, I could have put some different kinds of scales or circular marks on him to add to the stalagmite effect.

Thanks for reading and here is the cool box for Grenadier's Dwellers Below!!!

Gromgar - Dwarf of the North

All hail Gromgar...brave dwarf from the northern mountains. This is one of the Grenadier Personalities miniatures from the 1990s, and it is also the last of my adventuring group.  He turned out the best of all of them, probably because I had practiced so much before starting on him, that my metal painting was more in tune.  His face was the only one that turned out good in my eye...he may have had his face painted first before the other guys. Anyways, I really like this mini and may not coat him with Dullcote so that I can preserve the paint work.

And here is the back of Gromgar...a bit tougher to do for me than the front. My favorite parts are the axe, the shield, the beard, and the horns.  Least favorite is the chainmail...I tried for a bronze colored effect.

Old School Ral Partha Ogre

This is an old Ral Partha Ogre from the late 70's or early 80's.  You will see this guy around a lot on eBay in lots or individually, so he is either cheap or very popular.  Why do I like him?  He has a cool kind of defensive posture, and you know the way he is hanging on to the club that he will hit HARD. I know the modern ogres are huge with crazy muscles and are bigger, but I just think wild ogres might be more scrawny , desperate, and hungry...not Gold's Gym Ogres but more like coyotes or bears.
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Below is picture of his backside.  The cameras hate this ogre...most likely because there is so much green that they get confused. He is mounted on a 25 mm magnetic base from Gale Force 9.

Adventuring Group Progress: 6 out of 7 Minis Done!

It is very nice to have finished most of the minis in this adventuring group. The latest addition is Bleasely the fighter on the far right, who required quite a bit of NMM steel work.  The result is something that kind of passes for metal ...but seems cleaner to me than metallic paint.  These minis are smaller than Reaper, being true 25mm, so painting them is tougher for me.  I  bought some reading glasses to wear while painting so that I can see them up close.

Here are the backs of the party. I decided to paint on some dungeon stones on the bases instead of adding flock or rocks. This makes for a cleaner look.  I'm not super happy with Bleasely's face, but he is a sorry fellow, so I shouldn't be surprised.

Now, it is time to paint to the final member of the party, the dwarf known only as Gromgar.

Some More Adventurer Works in Progress

Well, this first mage is called Mr. Fancy pants for lack of a better name right now. Perhaps his first name is Nigel or Boris. He is done in a high quality tabletop fashion...no Golden Demon caliber painting here ...yet.

I do need to finalize the bases on all of these guys.  My idea is to paint cobble stones onto the gray bases when I have all of the guys done.

Here is Fancy pants from behind. Nothing fancy on that scabbard..he is sort of a low to mid level adventurer.

Finally we have the party fighter who stays up front, Bleasely.  He likes to have a drink or two before delving to keep his nerves calm.  This one is still in progress with lots of NMM metal to be done on the sword and legs.

I thought I would give him some kind of crest/symbol on his shield from his previous employer.  It is kind of a Dire Boar.  Bleasely is tired.

The backpack turned out nicely. I used some strong highlights from a color called Beige Brown..then I washed it all with some of that magic Gryphon Sephia stuff that is rare and no longer made because it was too excellent and awesome.

WIP Adventurers

Here is a Work in Progress (WIP) picture of some of the adventurers.  These chaps don't have a lot of armor on, so they do not need the extra time for NMM metal effect...or half ass NMM which is what I do.  I still think it looks cleaner and brighter than regular metallics.  I'm happy to say that I have gotten a bit more wild in color selection...sort of a crazy 1970's vibe to these guys which would make them good for Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG...a great game.

More pictures to come in the next few days...most likely of the dwarf and the fighter. 

Building and Adventuring Party

I'm using some of Julie Guthrie's Fantasy Personalities to build up an adventuring party of 6 people. Of course, this means I need to make a lot of color choices on outfits which is going to be a bit tough for me...an ironic weakness for a mini painter. 
I am not sure what a few of these characters are in terms of their class.  Can anyone out there chime in?   The guy with the two weapons seems like he could be a rogue or a bard...very brash and cocky.  The wizard looking guy in the red cloak could have been a druid, but he is carrying a sword so I assume he is a mage of some sort.  I believe the guy with the bow is a ranger and that the old man is a wizard.

Anyways, here is the beginning stage of this Work in Progress.

I think I will call the old man Perplexis the Travelling Wizard. Any ideas for names for the others?

Some Grenadier Retainers Try to Escape the Skeletons..Only to Run into the Cave Fisher

These two brave lads were painted late last year. I found them in that magic bits bin at the sometimes friendly local game store. Grenadier retainers look awesome to me...much like how an old man thinks about how amazing he looked as a young man.  They are being pursued through my homemade dungeon tiles (all two of them) by several skeletons.  I hope they make it.

Gold is very very heavy..but not so much in D&D.  A chest full of gold would be too much for two guys to handle, but I guess in D&D it is doable.  Here is another look:

They are heading towards an open cavern with a pool in the middle that  you can't see. Lurking above the pool on a ledge is this guy.

His giant sticky proboscis is ready to snag one of the tasty retainers. I don't think this picture does justice to the mini or the paintjob...Oh well I'm not Ansel Adams.

Good luck gents.   I would drop the chest and run....

Gavin, Warrior Thief from Reaper Miniatures

Here's an oldie but a goodie.  Done around 3 years ago when I decided to experiment with the Non Metallic Metal (NMM) technique on the armor and sword.  I picked this mini because I liked the pose...it looks like he is disarming a trap on the ground or lifting a dead orc or something.

There are a couple of strange things about the mini and the pictures that I should mention.  One of Gavin's fingers got attacked and has not been repainted on the back side.  The tip of his sword has been attacked many times and needs a redo.  Finally, there are some shiny artifacts in the next image on the mini that must be a result of the light shooting off any shiny areas on the mini.

I really like how the sword turned out on him, much more than on the Ansel Paladin mini I did.