New Etsy Listing- Wraith

This miniature is a striking sculpt from Reaper Miniatures, transferred fairly recently to the Bones line. I prefer a much more realistic minimum to my sculpts than some of Reaper's miniatures, but this is a great, simple, classic wraith.

And, in this case, a simple sculpt deserved a simple paint job! It's just a plain black cloak, animated in the approximate shape of a floating humanoid. All the crevices and folds in the cloth were enjoyable to layer, and I'm pleased with the resulting tattered appearance.

If I had one qualm about the miniature, it'd be that my primer/black basecoat is a touch glossy compared to the grey middle and topcoats. This does give it something of an ethereal look in person, though, and is simply different than how I originally envisioned it.

Check out this miniature and other listings on my Etsy Shop!

Giant Scaly Attack Chicken!

The holiday season has, of course, been busy for me, but not so busy that I haven't had a chance to do some painting- even if all of the miniatures I have finished in the last few days are from the limbo of my to-be-completed pile.

First is a Nolzur's Marvelous Miniature, from a relatively new line by Wizards of the Coast. The line is sold pre-primed,which is a interesting concept, and is much more anatomically accurate than is usual for fantasy (especially female) miniatures. The color scheme I chose is much like my Una McDonnel miniature.

I am very happy with the wizard's book, which I modeled after some 14th-century tomes. Sharp eyed readers may notice a white Graveworm on the left-hand page. That is a representation of a custom sculpt of mine, which I need to get posted sometime.

This is an Etsy-listing for when I finally get my shop revived. Be expecting more like it in the future!

This is a  Reaper miniature, from Monte Cook's RPG setting Numenera. This particular model, I believe, is called an Ithsyn, but it looks more like a giant scaly attack chicken to me. I went for a slightly twisted, prehistoric look to the beastie, especially on the head, with its true double chin. As you can tell on the tongue, I have started using gloss varnish to add some effects to my miniatures. It can really make the eyes (or giant purple tongues) pop out at you.

This is actually a Christmas present for my girlfriend, who loves dinosaurs. When I got the miniature, it was bent at an angle (the one problem with Reaper's Bones line), as you can still see. I decided to keep it how it was, as it makes the whole miniature look more dynamic.

Speaking of scaly beasts...

Suffice it to say that Malakili is very happy.

A Change of Pace

It's been a while since I've gotten any non-LotR fantasy miniatures painted! As opposed to my LotR paint jobs, which demand accuracy to the books, my more RPG inspired miniatures give me the freedom to play around with colors and details, to have a little fun painting. This isn't to say I dislike my LotR miniatures, they are one of my favorite things to paint, but it is refreshing to change pace for a little while.

This particular miniature was a freebie with a Reaper Miniatures purchase I made last spring, sculpted for the occasion of Reaper's 25th anniversary. One issue I sometimes have with Reaper, and the larger gaming community, is that the poor miniatures are often overloaded with gear and supersized weapons- I'm glad that with this one they stuck to a more realistic minimum. She's definitely a Rogue, even holding a bag of loot, so I gave her very muted clothes, including a blackened dagger.

The cloak back is an excellent sculpt, it flows very nicely, adding some dynamics to a somewhat static pose. All the armor is supposed to be soft dyed leather- the last thing a Rogue wants is creaking metallic sounds when she's moving. I struggled for a while trying to find good grey tones, but I'm very happy with how they turned out- all slightly different, but not enough that it stands out too much.

New Etsy Listing: Male Barbarian

I got another Etsy listing up; a Male Barbarian.

It's a Grenadier model from the '90s, sculpted by Mark Copplestone and scaled right for heroic 28mm figures. It's a beautiful, clean lined sculpt that was a pleasure to paint.

I painted it like a standard Conan-type Barbarian, with wolf-skin and blond hair. It might make for a good fantasized Beowulf or Cuchulainn.

Check out the Etsy listing here:

New Etsy Listing: Curse of the Mummy

I added a new listing on Etsy this morning, a Mummy!

It's a Reaper sculpt, metal this time, giving it a satisfying weight. I tried to make it look like some of the actual mummies discovered in Egypt, very dried out and decaying.

It would serve well in many games, not only fantasy games, but pulp fiction and horror as well. I got a double for myself that will be showing up in the Dark Tower and against Professor Cooke.

Check out the Etsy listing here:

Cthulhu Fhatgn

That which is not dead can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die...

H. P. Lovecraft

My last post has stirred him in his sleep, and now he emerges-

Cthulhu!

Rapiers and Snakes

It's been a while since I've posted! The holidays were, as always, very busy for me. Since than I have been able to get a good bit of painting done, and starting to get back on my posting schedule, and since most of my other models are awaiting basing, I'll start with these two Reaper Pathfinder models...

First is Vencarlo Orosini: painted as a mix of Inigo Montoya from the Princess Bride and a friend's SCA Character. It was a pretty simple paint-job, although I did arm him with the six-fingered sword from the movie.

The base is also from the movie, the ruin-littered top of the Cliffs of Insanity, where Inigo fights the mysterious Man in Black.

Khavith, Serpentfolk evoker:  I tried to give him a middle-eastern nomad feel- with dusty robes and an embroidered scarf.

I'm not sure what I'll use him as, he'd make a good Beastmaster or demon hunter in Frostgrave. Regardless, I like how he turned out.

Check out my Etsy shop for custom orders and pre-painted miniatures.

Dark Tower: What lies beneath...

Many caverns, not to mention a great maze of sewers lie beneath the city, shunned by the sane as the abode of many horrors even more terrifying than those that dwell on the surface. Some, the brave and foolhardy, still seek the depths in search of treasure and mystery. It's been a little while since I've posted on my Dark Tower miniatures, and I've gotten a few more encounters painted up.

Among the many strange inhabitants of the depths is this, a Cloaker. Able to change color like a chameleon, they live on the ceilings of vast, damp caverns far beneath the surface, where flocks of hundreds can often be found. 

This miniature is available for sale on Etsy, providing an excellent encounter for Frostgrave or D&D, and even if it sells out, you can always request a custom order to your own specifications. I really like how the stalagmite it's balanced on turned out, moss-covered, with water running off in pools to the floor. 

Equally at home above the surface or below, undead, often skeletal dogs run in feral packs seeking food. This is a Grenadier model from the mid-eighties, a sculpt I really like. I used a good bit of washes on it, particularly around the mouth to give it a nasty, dirty look.

A rusted collar still hangs around its neck, a relic of its former life- or current service in the warband of some dark necromancer...

Statues from a forgotten age lie mourning in ancient courtyards... but are they just stone? After painting my Weeping Angels, I went back and added more detail to a pair of Reaper's Angels of Sorrow, making them more suitable for the Dark Tower. These are true 'weeping' angels, with small streams of water coming down from the eyes, pooling at the statues' feet.

These can serve as mere statues or constructs as well, adding a great accent to any game. Thanks to Georgia Ballard of Loot the Dead Things for tips on the weathering of these, and the cloaker's stalagmite.

You blinked.

Check out my Etsy Shop for custom orders and pre-painted models, including the cloaker featured in this post!

Dark Tower Encounters: Demons, Constructs,

All heroes need plenty of monsters to vanquish, and my Dark Tower is no exception! Since, in my last Dark Tower post I focused on my noble Church Militant, it's time the creatures got a post or two. I'll start out with some demons, and a couple of others.

First: a couple of Reaper Bathalians. These were mis-ordered while I tried to obtain a Mind Flayer, but I liked them, almost like Lovecraft's Mi-Go, so I kept them, knowing I'd figure out some use for them. They were pretty difficult to paint. Especially all of the crevices under the exoskeleton/shell, and the tentacles. That really made me wish for a spray primer!

These are Sarmen, evil, scheming outsiders, who polymorph themselves into the shape of a Mind Flayer to wreak havoc in this dimension. This one, their leader, Khranov, controls the cult of the Flail Brethren, mortal enemy of the Church Militant. It's hard to get a good shot of the back, the angle is really difficult, but you can see the exposed brain under the tall, miter-like face.

Another, lesser Sarmen, Reaper's exarch. The more red in its coloration, the higher its rank. Most of the body, once a base coat was applied, was dry-brushed, which turned out well, giving about the same effect as standard brushwork (better looking, in this case) and taking a fraction of the time.

Here's a good shot of the back showing the brain and red lacing on the head well. I'm pleased with how these turned out, they stand out well, easy to see but not too bright in the primarily grey city.

Next up is a Caryatid Column set, perfect for medium constructs, or statues to add some accent to a building, until they spring to life... To get the effect of stone, I dry-brushed the darker grey, than painted the statue itself with a tinned lighter grey. I wanted a dryer look to them, so I didn't put any washes on.

The back has a system of hairline cracks, which really stand out well. These make good guardians of treasure and doorways, making anyone think twice before attempting to win past them. The other was done the same way, although the pedestal and final were painted the same as the statue.

Last is another complete homebrew, the Serith. An amphibious beast, the Serith lurks in the sewers during the day, emerging at night to hunt. It's fast moving, and extremely agile, able to climb vertical surfaces with no penalty. The belly was painted with my base three flesh tones, with a dark red beneath to give some depth.

 The head, like the Sarmens' backs, is difficult to photograph, the eyes are a really light white-green, raised one tone from the scales. The molded on bases of this model, in addition to the Sarmen, were just base-coated when I took these pictures, they are now a medium grey to fit in with the cobbled streets of the Dark Tower.


Want your own Sarmen? Check out my Etsy shop for custom commissions, and a growing range of prepainted miniatures.

Check out my other Dark Tower posts Here and Here

Dark Tower: Church Militant Spellcasters and Hellhound

Here's a few more miniatures for my Dark Tower Frostgrave campaigns, two Cleric-like spellcasters, and an extra-dimensional stalker.

 First up is a bishop for the Church Militant, a vestige of the old order in the plague-ridden, anarchic city where Dark Tower takes place. It's a really nice model with a lot of detail, and a very serene look to it, which I tried to bring out in the face. He holds a medallion, with another around his neck. I painted these as the sun and moon... perhaps he can bring day or night by using the proper image...

Around his neck is a scarf, embroidered with dots arranged in triangles, a Celtic symbol of holiness. He also has a good bit of magical gear, a rod of healing, and two wands - well equipped to fight the many demons and sorcerers he shall face.

Here's his apprentice, clad in the same, although less embroidered colors as the Bishop. This, along with the Illusionist and Plague Doctor in my previous post, are three of my favorite miniatures I've painted. The colors on the clothes, and the smooth tones on the face, really turned out well. I actually left a bit of flash on the model, which forms the lowest finger. I liked how it looked with the one hanging down!

Like her master, she carries a good bit of magic items, fitting in well with the rest of the well-equipped Church Militant. These two spellcasters will be supported by some recently purchased Frostgrave soldiers, mostly men at arms and crossbowmen, painted in the same gray, yellow and turquoise livery.

 Lastly, a Hellhound to stalk those unfortunate enough to violate its hiding place. I've taken my inspiration more from Hound of the Baskervilles and H. P. Lovecraft's short story The Hound rather than the Hellhounds of modern gaming, using it in Frostgrave as a personal demon trap from Into the Breeding Pits with will-based bay attacks.

It has a very distinctive color, which is actually one half from a separated Vallejo Prussian Blue! It reminds me of another Lovecraft's story, The Color from Space, appearing black, blue, or an iridescent purple under different lights. Perfect for extraplanar life, whose strange dimensions possess colors, and senses unknown to man...

Interested in Dark Tower? Check out more miniatures here

Want your own horrifying Hellhound or blessed Bishop? Check out my Etsy shop for pre-painted miniatures, and custom orders.