A Few Fantasy Miniatures: Lich, Basilisk and Gnome

I've been working on a handful of Reaper's Bones miniatures for my Etsy shop, and got them listed today.

Starting out is a bronze Basilisk with a nice, shiny coat of scales, this coloring makes it stand out well against the tabletop. I'm doing a second, similar Basilisk for myself, to use in my Frostgrave campaigns.

I gave the eyes a thick gloss varnish to really make them stand out against the metalic scales, and I'm pleased with the effect. Basing was done using the same, temperate environment recipe as my LoTR Dunedain, making it generic enough to use in many different settings.

Next is a Gnome Illusionist. I had a lot of fun adding small details to him, including all the designs on his robes, and a red clay pipe, barely visible in the photo on the brim of his hat.

The mystic sigels on the back of his cowl are Anglo-Saxon runes, and a couple of symbols I came up with. He has a rod or staff stowed away on his back, I gave this a base of wood, followed by metal bands running around the body.

My last is a Lich, as my first major undead to paint, I went with a more 'witchy' look than is normal, especially on the staff, which appears to be dripping something...

The clothes and armor of this particular Lich have caught some of the rot and decay of its master, the armor is all rusted, and the robes are moldy, and in tatters!
I used a pale green skin-tone for the more preserved portions of his body, and glowing red eyes help bring out the face.
This, too, would be a great centerpiece in a Frostgrave campaign as the Lich lord, or even a player's Lich Necromancer or Witch.

These are all available for sale on my Etsy shop as of this post, and, even if they sell, commission another with its own personality!

Lord of the Rings Dunedain

Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is by far my favorite novel, and Games Workshop's Dunedain, looking like something out of an Alan Lee painting, were too good to resist.

I started with Halbarad, the kinsman of Aragorn, and his banner bearer at the battle of Minas Tirith. This character was cut from the Jackson films, in the book he headed a small group of thirty rangers, in addition to the sons of Elrond, who came south to ride alongside Aragorn as he rode the Paths of the Dead at Dunharrow.

I was pleased with the sculpt, although there were a few problems with other Dunedain sculpts, which I'll talk about later. The banner is accurate to that made by Arwen, and the crown on it and the pole head are based on an illustration by Tolkien.The brooch, featured on all the Dunedain, is also book-accurate. I tried to convey in my painting work rough, weathered outdoorsmen, "hard and stern".

The other Dunedain are similar, with a tanned skintone, and weathered gear. I had a few difficulties with the sculpts, some areas, most clearly seen on the miniature at the side, seemed almost unfinished, or at least not smoothed out right, the bottom of the cloak in particular. The face on that one, as well, was not well defined.

I tried to vary the colors used on the clothes, except for the cloak, no two miniatures are alike.

There are plenty of play possibilities with the centuries long wanderings and protection of the Shire. The battle of Sarn Ford, a delaying action fought against the Ringwraiths, would be great fun to play out on the table top. And, in the War of the Ring, their presence at Pelargir and Minas Tirith means they have a wide range of opponents...

...incuding the Uruk-Hai of Isengard. These are painted, and sculpted, from the Jackson trilogy. These got a good bit of weathering on their gear, ranging from dirt on their sandals to rust on their armor, and the white hand of Isengard on their shields.

I have a few more of each to paint, but this project is shaping up nicely, and has been a lot of fun for me, I've really enjoyed translating my favorite novel to the tabletop, and look forward to testing their mettle against the dice soon!


Interested in your own miniatures from the Lord of the Rings? Check out my Etsy shop for custom commissions.

Blew Cap for me! Scottish Highlanders at the time of the English Civil War

So, here's my first post!

I've put a good bit of work into these in the past week or so, getting a commission done for a clan society, so I thought I'd share them.

They are all Warlord Games metals, I'll use the above for playing Osprey's En Garde. One blister worth was just about right for a 100pt warband, giving me a solid, fairly competitive force.

These are for the commission, three claymores (Alisdair MacColla and bodyguards), and a bowman to add a little ranged fire to support the heavy hitters.

These are really made to be usable from the 1600's up to Culloden, so there's a mix of weapons and clothes from that time-frame, like the longbows and claymores (the really big swords), as opposed to the later broadswords (like that above) and muskets.

I had fun on the plaids, painting some from the 'clan' tartans now used (the red-bearded claymore carrier wears ancient Donald), and others up out of my head, like the trews (trousers) on right. These were easily the hardest, but most rewarding part of the models!

 The title comes from a c. 16th century Scottish ballad of the same name, referring to the blue caps usually worn by the Scots, and on all of these miniatures.

Check out my Etsy shop for more information on how I paint these, and thanks for looking!