Final Reaper Bones Avatar of Sokar

It took a while, but I finally finished Sokar. I was a little burnt out of paiting all of the gold on the mini, and I guess my mind got bored.  That is a funny thing that happens with painting minis for some people.

He is good enough now.  I will keep him in the minis bin for use with games.

If Sokar ever comes out in an RPG session, I pity the party that will have to deal with him.  I'm sure he will clean the floor with them.

Back of Sokar

Another Ral Partha AD&D Goblin

I'm not exactly sure where I found this goblin, but my best guess is in the the bits bin at one of my local game stores.  I think I pulled him out along with several of his brothers after I recognized them as the AD&D Ral Partha goblins. The sculptor for these models (Bob Olley?) has done a brilliant job in my mind.

I've got 3 or 4 dozen of these guys unpainted, along with some that I painted back in the 90's.  I think they would make a great war band ...

Here is Mr. Goblin with another fellow from his tribe I painted earlier.

Work In Progress: Sokar's Avatar from Reaper Bones

Sokar's Avatar is a very nice looking Egyptian god miniature.  He reminds me of Horus.  I was making great progress on this guy earlier in the month, but I've been stalled out because of Halloween costume production demands from my kids.

All that is left to do on this model is the club and the base.  Again this is a Reaper Bones II model.

Reaper Bones Khael Stonekindle - Dwarf Wizard

This guy is Khael Stonekindle, a Reaper Bones miniature I purchased some time back.  I don't know when or where..as I am prone to sudden mini purchases anytime I'm in a game store around here.  How often do you see a dwarf wizard mini?  Not very often.

 Khael was painted using my under painting technique followed by lots of washes.  I tend to add a lot of shadow washes to my minis to make the bright areas stand out. Below is the underpainting:

He looks like a little Gandalf to me..but I did not have the desire to paint him up as Gandalf the Grey.

By the way, we have some pretty good game stores in San Diego these days.

• Villainous Lairs is a very fun comic and game store in Normal Heights, with a very big room and lots of tables for gaming. They carry mostly Warhammer and a smattering of Reaper.
• Game Empire in Clairemont is perhaps the oldest game store in town now.  They have a nice but loud game room with a lot of  loyal wargaming customers. They tend to keep the largest Reaper mini selection of any store around here.  
• Another one nearby is At Ease Games, near the Marine Air Station.  That store is huge, new, and very well stocked on warhammer and Magic cards. The Reaper mini selection is not huge, but they seem to have a lot of  tabletop skirmish minis.  Apparently This store has a very large painting and crafting room in the back, which I missed.

Reaper Bones Mountain Troll

I painted this mini a few weeks ago using my newly discovered underpainting and glazing technique.  As I said before, this new method has really sped things up for me and has given me better blends. For those interested, I first paint the mini in monochrome or grey scale to get highlights and shadows figured out.  I then go back over it with glazes and lay down the colors. I then use glazes to darken the shadows and crevaces.  After that, I add glazed highlights.  Final steps include black lining borders to make colors more apparent.

  Here is the grey scale version.

Here you can see the final painted version. I went for a yellowish-brown skin tone for this monster.  I wanted to get away from green, and I did not have the nerve to try grey skin.  I really tried underpainting sharp highlights and using glazes of silver over them to attempt a True Metallic Metal look.  I'm getting closer.

As with all minis, I strive to get the colors contrasting between light and dark.  I've painted some minis where I did not do this and they are hard to look at LOL!

This is pretty cool mini and would make an excellent opponent for players in a RPG game.  I may also use this guy in a skirmish game...if I ever get around to playing Age of Sigmar with friends.

The paint on this mini does not peel off or scrape off very easily on the upper half.  Along the base I notice that paint scrapes off .... perhaps more Dullcote layers would help that.

Thanks for taking time to look at my work and happy painting all!

Reaper Bones Goblin Commander

Behold the Bones Goblin Commander.  All tremble in his wake!

This is another model from the Reaper Bones II Expansion Set #1.

This model was painted fairly quickly by my standards...in 6 or 7 hours.  I under painted him in shades of black, white and grey and then used glazes to bring in the color.  After I glaze a few layers, I usually drop in some more really dark shadows around borders of areas.  After that, I highlight the mini with glazes.

This mini will make a fine leader for my Bones goblins painted several years ago.  I sprayed the model with 2 layers of Dullcote to make sure it wont scratch during RPG sessions. 

Another monster model added to my army!

Reaper Bones Ice Troll

This mini came as part of Expansion Set #1 for the Reaper Bones Kickstarter II project.  I think that set had quite a few large monsters, which must be why I bought it.  I don't know exactly because my kids have ferreted away many of the good minis for their painting needs. Anyways, this ice troll throwing a chunk of ice is a really nice sculpt.

I did something new on this piece which I'm really excited about.  I primed the mini black.  I then under painted the mini in shades of black, white, and grey.  Next I painted on the colors in thin glazes, one after another using my Vallejo paints mixed with glaze medium. The results are very nice and the amount of time this saved me over my usual method of layering highlights is huge.  This mini only took me 8 hours, which for some of you is a lifetime, but for me this is like speed painting...

For the snow I just used a quick technique of mixing baking soda, white paint, and glue together and then brushing on.  It looks OK...not super.  This mini will go in the RPG figure box for use with our games.

I named him Krondar.

Otherworld Fighter

I present to the internet my version of the Otherworld fighter/warrior miniature that came in their Dungeon Adventurers pack for their Kickstarter.  I worked on this fellow about the same time as the thief, but stalled out on him quicker than I expected.  I think this is because of the monotony of painting all of that steel armor.  Color choices for grubby warriors are also limited.  I will say that painting the torch and trying to get a decent representation of fire was interesting.  I would like to practice that more often.

The mini looks better than these poor iPad pictures show, but you get the idea of my scheme for this guy. It may be time to get a portable light box.  He would be a great miniature for tabletop gaming...particularly Old School D&D.

One of the first things I did to these Otherworld miniatures before I primed them is to create some stone dungeon floor tiles on their bases.  I used green stuff that was very thinly rolled out to achieve the effect.  There was no need to go for symmetry on the tiles since the places this guy explores are bound to be old and decrepit.

These side views give you an idea of all the detail on these miniatures. They are loaded down with torches, bags, and backpacks.

Otherworld Thief

Below is my latest paint job...one of the Otherworld Miniatures thieves.  This fellow arrived a year ago in a shipment that was part of their Kickstarter.

I think he's great.  There is a lot of character in that face of his and his stance.  He's ready to sting anything that gets in his way.  The overflowing loot bag is also a nice touch.

I didn't spend too much time trying to perfect the loot bag or the boots because I get a bit of miniature fatigue when I paint player characters.  I don't have this issue with monsters...it is a weird condition so be thankful you don't have it.

The mini is supposed to look dirty and unshaven from being underground for a long time.  Also, I tried to make his face a reddish color to indicate that he has been drinking heavily on the adventure - I know I would if I had to loot a dungeon full of monsters.

Grenadier Lost Lands Human Cleric

This mini is another of several that I found in a bin at my local game store.  It is supposed to be a human cleric, and it comes from the Grenadier Lost Lands boxed set released in the early 1990's. The ears on this mini are pointed which leads me to think it is really a half-elf or even an elf.  Imagine an elf cleric in old school D&D.

 I noticed that a dwarf mini I had painted last year comes from the same boxed set, so I must really really like it.

I decided on a blue and silver color scheme for the cleric, with hints of gold around.  I assume he does not want to be flashy, but at the same time wants to look respectable and devout.  I added some freehand Celtic knot patterns to the bottom of his tunic for a little interest.

The freehand on the shield is not very well done, but I grew tired of the mini so I stopped perfecting it.  This is supposed to be the symbol of the D&D god Lathander...a road leading into the sunset.

Again I decided to use real metallic paints here.  I washed the hammer pick and shield with various Citadel washes to try and make them look aged and interesting.  The chain mail is bright silver as I was going for a shiny clean cleric look.

He will go in the case now as one of the brave adventurers trying to fight off all the monster minis I have painted.  It is very possible he could be used for gaming if someone in our group wanted a human cleric mini.

Reaper Bones II: Dragon Turtle!

In the early 1980s I was one of many  kids who were excited about a "new" game called Dungeons and Dragons that had actually been out there for a while. I think the reason for the excitement at that time was the release of the Advanced D&D books and the first Basic Set. The game was so popular in those days that I remember guys reading their books on the school bus and reading them at lunchtime in the library.  One of the favorite books for everyone to look at was the first Monster Manual.  I remember kids trying to find the most powerful monster or demon in the book ,and I also recall that everyone wanted to pick their favorite beast. For me, it was the Dragon Turtle. 

With the arrival of my Reaper Bones II minis, I finally own one of these amazing creatures.  Here it is all painted up.  I love this miniature - it  was very very enjoyable to paint.  Some may find painting all of the scales and horns on this mini a daunting task, but for some reason I could not get enough. In fact, I think I could keep painting and perfecting this guy for another month.

For the colors on the miniature, I wanted to go for a really fantastical palette that emphasized the strange, magical origin of this monster. It seemed appropriate to use bright colors that are not as natural for a lake dweller to have such s the teals or the purples.

The skin on this model began as a mix of dark green and dark blue as I was planning on going for a blue-green look.  However, something happened along the way.  I kept adding yellow to the highlights and I couldn't stop, so now the skin is very yellowish green.  I don't mind - it stands out on the table.

One plan that I did stick to was that the top of the shell would not be brown or any variation of brown.  I forced myself to use violet colors to give this monster a magical appearance and make it unique.

The rest of the monsters in the Reaper Bones II Expansion Pack 1 are very nice as well.  My next choice for painting may be a troll throwing a rock.

1990's Ral Partha Goblin

I present to you a Ral Partha Goblin from the 1990's.  This fellow has a very nice flail...I called it a morning star when I was a kid...but I think it is a flail.  He looks very devious...I really love the nose. 

I used Citadel Ironbreaker metal paint on this guy and some Citadel washes to kind of weather the metal a bit.

This goblin looks like he would have NO problem fighting dirty in the dungeon.  I think I'm going to call him "Cheap Shot".

I still have trouble trying to figure out what colors a goblin would wear... I opted for forest and earth tones.

Otherworld Wizard Adventurer

I present to you one of several Otherworld wizards. This guy came to me from their kickstarter a year ago, and I finally got around to cleaning, basing, priming, and painting him.  He has three other adventuring buddies that I need to paint as well.

First off, I like him a lot.  He has a lot of personality - from the big nose and bad teeth, to all of the gear he has strapped to his body, to the cool snake staff he holds.  He's kind of scrawny like you would expect of an "old school" wizard, so he probably can't take much damage.  Still, I would not underestimate him as I bet he has a few nasty spells up his sleeves.

I went with the red cloak this time, but I was careful not to make him look like Santa Claus with a white beard and a red hat.  I thought that a magenta and gold color scheme would work.

This guy is carrying a lot of stuff.  He seems to have at least two small bags, a mirror, a potion, and several large bags strapped to his belts.  I also see a pipe and a wine flask.  All of these little details on this guy added to the painting time, but they make him perfect for wizard on an adventure.

I reddened his face a bit ...probably not enough...to show his love for wine.  I love the 25' -50' of rope this guy is carrying like all good adventurers should.

Reaper Bones Snakeman Warrior

Happy New Year!

I forced myself to pick up a brush this week and start on any mini that interested me.  I grabbed a Bones mini, thinking that I didn't have to make it perfect and it could be used for gaming.  Also, I was not keen on doing anymore NMM metal work since it takes me forever.  I chose this guy, the snakeman warrior (Yuan Ti?). He will make an excellent addition to the gaming mini box.

Picking a color scheme was tough as usual, but I decided on a Western, rattlesnake kind of color scheme.  This scheme is very orangeish with yellow highlights.  I found that painting the scales on this mini was very enjoyable and relaxing...I have no idea why.  They were not dry brushed, but rather individually painted with layers.

I still have a chance to do some freehand work on that arrow holder thing ...I can't remember the name hahah.  I may do some kind of snake script on it to liven the back up a bit.

The mini is overall pretty good in detail.  However, there are several spots where the Bones casting process came out pretty rough.  The right shoulder pads are very bumby, The interior of the tail at the bend, and so is an entire side of his fanny pack.  Still, he is worth it for the light weight and the stickiness of the paint to the PVC material.  These qualities are good for minis used in gaming (metal minis fall over and chip or paint rubs off with hand holding, even with dullcote spray).