Grenadier AD&D Druid with Sling

 This is a druid from the Grenadier Boxed set 2013 Adventuring Party.  Overall I am happy with him and will add him to the Grenadier adventuring team.

He is called Snow-slinging Druid which baffles me.  Instead of snow in his sling...I gave him metal bullets for better damage.  Snow?  I don't see how that would do anything to most enemies...

Here is the back of him.  The hat he is wearing is interesting to me...he looks like a Cossack. The hair is the weak point in the paint job....it is a tough color to work with.

More Old Grenadier Miniatures

Below are two more Grenadier miniatures from the 1980's.  This first one is a henchman/hireling from the AD&D set 2004 Hirelings. Once again I tried to do a quick Zenithal primer/highlighting scheme before applying glazes.  It didn't work out to my satisfaction and I ended up going back over him to blend highlights and shadows.

For the final protective coating, I used Games Workshop's Purity Seal for the first time.  I applied two quick coats which was way too much.  This stuff  made the colors look cloudy and dulled ..very strange.  Perhaps I needed to shake the can for 5 minutes or more.  I only did one minute. Anyways, I went back over the miniature with ink washes to brink back the vibrance of the colors...and I rescued him!!!

Next up is a miniature I found in the bitz bin at a local game store. The bins there are full of vintage miniatures considered junk these days. I have no idea why folks would throw them out.. they need to be brought to life.  This guy is a Grenadier Fantasy Lords orc.  He has a very intereting pose, like he is pointing  his mace at a guilty adventurer.

The Zenithal priming/highlighting plan worked better on this miniature than the others.  Also, he has not been coated with GW Purity Seal of Doom.  I think this miniature would make a great orc leader who talks to players and taunts them.  Perhaps a mean jailor ....

That is all for now.  Coming soon will be the huge Reaper troll miniature: King Kallguk.

The Final Green Dragon

I've based the Green Dragon and put some finishing touches on the paint job.  It is as good as I want to get it right now...it can still be improved with better blending on the face.

I used a piece of sandstone I have had for a long time.  I hollowed out a trench to fit the mini base into it, and then used green stuff to fix any gaps.  I've always wanted to use this sandstone for a miniature.

I made sure to lighten the highlights on the scales even more than the last pass...to really make this guy pop out on the table.  The homemade wing on the right does not bother me anymore interestingly enough.  Here is another view.

It's good to get old minis painted up nicely.  This one waited a long time in that bits bin at the game store.

Ral Partha Mind Flayer

This miniature came in a blister pack back in the 90's as part of the AD&D set from Ral Partha. I think it was a fairly popular mini at the time as I see it on eBay consistently.  It certainly caught me eye considering how much better it looks than the Grenadier flayer I have from the early 80's.

In the last two years, I've been on a big push to paint up all of my old monster miniatures from my collection of Ral Partha and Grenadier figures. They have been waiting patiently for decades in dusty boxes to get painted, and it just seems unfair to keep promoting the Reaper guys ahead of them. Also, now that I have rediscovered the joy of older D&D, these guys seem to fit right into that vibe.

I decided to paint tihe skin on this mini a kind of blue...getting away from any of the classic mind flayer colors.  I could not believe their eyes are just white per the Monster Manual.  I really wanted to paint an evil pupil of some sort ,but I left it alone.

Other than the skin, my biggest decision what what color to use for the robe.  I suppose I could have used a complement to blue or a split-complement.  I think green is approaching a split.  Orange, Yellow, Red, and Purple did not appeal to me for some reason.

Gold trim seemed appropriate since these creatures are super powerful; I assume they could have all of the wealth they wanted.

Finally, I used some green stuff to mold some dungeon stones onto the base for the dungeon look. Looking at the back view, I wish I had blended the green on his robe at the neck a little more. I'm very happy with the gemstones and the gold trim.  The custom sleeves are not bad....could be a little more precisely shaped.