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).

An Old Orc and Some New Caverns

Here's a cool little orc for ya. I found this gangly guy at the local game store in one of their "old lead" bins.  Those things have so many treasures it is amazing.  This guy is an old Ral Partha mini.  I think he's got a lot of character, and I like the fact that he is scrawny looking as opposed to super muscular.  I would use him at the game table as a scrappy Mordor Orc who has worked his way up to being a mean leader.

Mr. orc sits atop some new cavern tiles that I got from the Dwarven Forge Caverns Kickstarter.  I've started painting them up for use one day at the table.  Dwarven Forge products and service are top notch in my experience.  These things are pretty close to being indestructable.  They are easy to paint and they don't require primer. They are really beautiful after painting.

As usual, I tried to paint Non Metallic Metals on this old mini to see if it would look good.  I'm getting better, but still not at that "realistic" level.  Notice the eye of Sauren sculpted onto this guys front armor...

Finally, here is a back view of him just to show off all the browns that an orc can have.  One day I will get brave and do black armor.