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.