Harpy: Figure 109 of 265

     I was able to squeeze in painting the Harpy figure from the 30 New Bones Set this week.  So, I am happy to announce that I have completed painting the  30 New Bones Set!  It will now be listed over on the right in the "Completed Sets" section.
        I had prepped this figure a while back in the usual way; soaking it in a dish of water with a couple drops of dish soap added, then giving it a light scrub with a soft toothbrush, and then rinsing and drying.  This is another of those figures that  I had sprayed with the Krylon with Fusion Flat Black, back when I was still using spray primer.   I glued him to a 1" black-primed fender washer base with Aleene's Tacky glue. I let this dry and then glued the washer to a tongue depressor with a couple drops of Elmer's white glue

I began by drybrushing the whole figure with Folk Art "Medium Grey". I then mixed some Folk Art "Milkshake" into some of the "Medium Grey", and began blending this pinkish-grayish color with the drybrushed areas at her waist and hands. I then switched over to a more primarily "Milkshake" colored blend, with less of the "Medium Grey", and worked towards her upper chest and head.  By the time I painted her chest and head, I was using pure "Milkshake".  I then mixed up some more blended "Milkshake and "Medium Grey" and heavily drybrushed her feet and hands with this mixture

  I now painted all her claws and the horns on her wings with Folk Art "Gray Green".  Then I painted her wrist guard with Ceramcoat "Raw Sienna", and the ribbon tied around her other arm with Folk Art "Barnyard Red".  The bracelet on her wrist I painted with Ceramcoat "Bronze".  When all this had dried, I gave the figure a wash with thinned GW "Agrax Earthshade" Wash.

  When the wash had dried, I went back and added drybrushed highlights with Duncan "Slate Grey" to her wings, hair, legs and tail. I highlighted her horns and claws with the base "Gray Green", and her skin with the base "Milkshake".  I also added highlights to her wrist guard, ribbon, and bracelet with those base colors as well.  I painted on nipples with the "Medium Grey" with "Slate Grey" highlights. Lastly, I pained in her eyes with Americana "Buttermilk" with black pupils.
     When everything had dried overnight, I painted the figure with a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish".  I let this dry a few hours and then flocked the base.  The next morning I sprayed the figure with Testor's Dullcote" spray paint.

  I'm pleased with how she came out. I think she looks suitably "monsterish".  I'm also happy to have finally completed the large thirty figure "30 New Bones" set.  Whew!

Figure 109 of 265: Complete

Anval Thricedamned, Evil Warrior: Figure 108 of 265

     Over the weekend I completed Anval Thricedamned, Evil Warrior from the 30 New Bones Set.  I am nearly finished this original set, with just the Harpy left to do. Hopefully I can paint her this week.
     I  had prepped this figure a while back in the usual way; soaking it in a dish of water with a couple drops of dish soap added, then giving it a light scrub with a soft toothbrush, and then rinsing and drying.  This is another of those figures that  I had sprayed with the Krylon with Fusion Flat Black, back when I was still using spray primer.   I glued him to a 1" black-primed fender washer base with Aleene's Tacky glue. I let this dry and then glued the washer to half a tongue depressor with a couple drops of Elmer's white glue.

     I began by drybrusing the whole figure with Cermacoat "Metallic Pewter".

     Next, I painted all his exposed skin with Americana "Shading Flesh. I then painted his leggings, what there were of them, with Folk Art "Poppy Seed".  The material under his chain-mail skirt I painted with Anita's "Burnt Sienna".  I now took about three or four of my bottles of assorted dark brown paints and alternated them as I painted the rest of his belts, boot parts, bits of fabric, wrist guards, etc....everything that I guessed wasn't metal.  This is one of those figures I find so challenging to paint; where it is wearing so many layer of assorted bits and pieces, that it's hard to tell what's what and what belongs with what, and even what's metal and what's cloth or leather.

     I now painted his ax handle with Americana "Sable Brown". I let the figure at this point have plenty of time to dry, then I gave  the whole thing a wash with thinned GW "Agrax Earthshade" wash.

     When the wash had dried, I went back and added highlights to his flesh with, first, the "Shading Flesh", and then with some of the "Shading Flesh", with the lighter Apple Barrel "Apple Flesh" mixed in. I then highlighted all the metal with, first, the "Metallic Pewter", and then with some lighter Folk Art "Silver Sterling".
     My next step was to paint the stones sculpted onto the figure's base, with Folk Art "Medium Gray". Then I edged the stones with some Duncan "Slate Grey".   
     I now let the figure sit for several hours, and then I gave it a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish".  When this was dry, I flocked the edges of the base, letting some of the stonework remain visible in the center.   The next morning I sprayed it with Testor's "Dullcote" spray paint.

     I pleased with how this big fellow turned out. It's not a particularly dynamic figure, or colorful one for that mater, but it makes a good solid barbarian-type fighter to have in my collection.

Figure 108 of 265: Complete

Janan, Female Dragon Slayer: Figure 107 of 265

     I was able to complete another figure this week.  The figure, Janan, Female Dragon Slayer, was another from the 30 New Bones Set that I was not entirely happy with.  I use my figures for gaming, not displaying, and having a figure who's standing on a large dragon head  just looks odd on the gaming table.  What's she supposed to be doing; dragging the head around as she battles?  And so, after my success with the High Wizard last week, I decided to give Janan the statue treatment as well.
     I  had prepped this figure a while back in the usual way; soaking it in a dish of water with a couple drops of dish soap added, then giving it a light scrub with a soft toothbrush, and then rinsing and drying.  I also had sprayed it with the Krylon with Fusion Flat Black back when I was still using spray primer.  To help with the statue look  I dug around and found an old toy kaleidoscope piece, that I had stuck away in a box of bits and pieces for scratch building, to use as the pedestal.  I glued a 1" red-brown primed fender washer to the top to cover the hole in the plastic tube, and a 1.5 inch fender washer to the bottom for a base, both E6000 glue.

      I then sprayed the pedestal construction flat black, and glued the figure on top of it with Aleene's Tacky glue. I let this dry and then glued the whole assembly to a tongue depressor with a couple drops of Elmer's white glue.

     I began by painting the figure with Ceramcoat "Bronze"

     I then used my unidentified Free-Sample Reaper paint ("Surf Aqua", maybe), slightly thinned and with a pin head drop of dish soap in it, and coated the whole figure with it.  When that was dry I painted the pedestal with Folk Art "Medium Gray".

     When the "Medium Grey" was dry, I gave the entire pedestal a wash with thinned black ink.  When the black ink was dry, I drybushed the gray with  Duncan "Slate Grey".  Lastly, I painted the washer with Americana "Mississippi Mud".    After everything had time to dry, I painted the entire thing with Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish".  The following day I sprayed the figure with Testor's Dullcote

     I think it turned out okay, but I'm not as pleased with this statue as I was with the High Wizard one.  I feel the pedestal came out a little too large and monolithic.  Unfortunately, due to the large diameter of the figure's inherent base, I was forced to use such a large diameter pedestal.  Still it will make a nice addition to a village's center square.

Figure 107 of 265: Complete

Halloween Scenery at the Dollar Tree Stores

I don't usually stray from Bones stuff on this blog, but since I know a lot of you will be using your figures for gaming, and appreciate a bargain in scenery suitable for Fantasy or Horror games, I'd share this information with you all.   Going by a tip I read on The Minaitures Page, I headed over to my local Dollar Tree store to see their new Tombstone Corner line of scenic decorations.  This line is very similar to their Christmas village line of buildings, figures, and scenic accessories.
   I was pleasantly surprised to find some useful stuff.  The buildings are great, and nicely don't have any of the snow glopped all over them like these decorative plaster buildings so often do.  I didn't buy any, as their size is perfect for 15mm figures which I don't game with.   You can see a picture of them at the link above.
I did however find a nice set of gargoyles,  bare trees, a spooky gate, a mausoleum, and a bone gazebo; all of which I think will go super with 28mm.  In the photo below these items are shown with a 28mm Reaper Bones Wizard.

  There were some other scenic items in the store, but I felt they were scaled to big for use with 25/28mm figures.

Danar, Male Assassin: Figure 106 of 265

This week I painted the Danar, Male Assassin figure from the 30 New Bones Set.   I had already painted the Female Assassin figure earlier in a black and dark blue scheme, figuring it was a good combination for someone who crept around in the shadows, so I definitely wanted to try something different than black and blue again.   I decided I would try a more "urban camouflage" look for this figure, something good for sneaking around a castle or a town; and so decided on a more gray and black scheme, with the added detail of doing a stonework pattern on his cloak, so he can easily blend into shadowy walls.
     I began my preparation of this figure in the usual way; soaking it in a dish of water with a couple drops of dish soap added, then giving it a light scrub with a soft toothbrush, and then rinsing and drying.  I then glued the figure to a 1" black-primed fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue, and glued the washer to a tongue depressor with a couple drops of Elmer's White Glue.

I began by painting the pants legs and his sleeves with  Duncan "Slate Grey".   Then I painted the cape with Americana "Dove Grey".

Next, I painted a stone work pattern on the cloak, alternating two colors: Folk Art "Medium Gray" and Folk Art "Poppy Seed"

     I now gave the whole figure a wash with thinned black ink, but I hadn't let the stonework pattern dry long enough, so some of it got a little mottled and the edges became less defined.   I tried to fix it as best I could, and being as it's camouflage, a little irregularity doesn't look to bad; but it was a good lesson for me in patience.  After the ink had a good long time to dry, I painted his studded jerkin, boots, wrist guards, belt, and sword grips with black.

I then went over all the parts I had just painted black and drybrushed them with GW "Shadow Grey". Next, I painted his face and hands with Americana "Shading Flesh". His sword and dagger I painted with Ceramcoat "Metallic Pewter".

Now I gave his flesh a wash with thinned Winsor-Newton Peat Brown ink.  I then went and added highlights to his pants and sleeves with the base "Slate Grey", and I highlighted his cloak with the "Medium Grey" and "Poppy Seed".  I painted in his eyes, and then highlighted his face and hands with the base "Shading Flesh".  Lastly, I added highlights to the weapons with Folk Art "Silver Sterling".  I then painted the base around his feet with Americana "Asphaltum to cover the bare white before flocking.  The figure now sat overnight, and the next morning I gave it a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish".  When this had several hours to dry, I flocked the base, and the next day I sprayed the figure with Testor's Dullcote" spray paint.

Overall I am pleased with how this figure came out.  It's a very simple figure, and I think the added detail on the cloak gives it a nice special twist.

  It looks like I will have another quick figure done for Thursday, so tune in then.

Figure 106 of 265: Complete

Male High Wizard: Figure 105 of 265

I was also able to complete the Male High Wizard figure from the 30 New Bones Set as an additional figure this week. I must say that since the Kickstarter arrived I have never particularly liked this figure.  I find it to be too stylized and too busy, and with too many little unnecessary greeblies all over that would have to be painted.  So, last week as I was pondering what to do with it, I got in my head to do it as a statue. Perhaps it's the kindly wizard who saved the town from some dire beastie ages ago, or maybe the evil wizard who has ruled the town for ages and has a large ego.  I had seen in the past some folks use old figures to do very cool verdigris covered statues for their miniature towns, and I thought this would give me a chance to try my hand at it.
     I  had prepped this figure a while back in the usual way; soaking it in a dish of water with a couple drops of dish soap added, then giving it a light scrub with a soft toothbrush, and then rinsing and drying.  I also had sprayed it with the Krylon with Fusion Flat Black back when I was still using spray primer.  To help with my statue look, I dug around and found an old plaster hexagonal  piece from a long ago terrain project, and a small wooden hexagon from a pack of wood shapes I bought from a local craft store.  I glued them both to a 1" black-primed fender washer base, and then the figure on top, with Aleene's Tacky glue. I let this dry and then glued the whole assembly to a tongue depressor with a couple drops of Elmer's white glue.

My first step was to paint the unpainted base parts black to match everything else.  I then painted the whole wizard figure, except for his sculpted-on stone base, with Ceramcoat "Bronze".

Now it was time for the verdigris.  I had received a free sample bottle of Reaper's paint tossed in with an order I placed a few months ago (thanks Reaper!) but the problem with Reaper's "Free Sample" paint is it isn't identified as to what color it is. So, looking at the website, I'll take a stab and say that it looks like it's their "Surf Aqua".  Whatever color, I slightly thinned a couple drops of it and added a pinhead sized dab of dish-soap to help it flow into the recesses, and brushed it all over the figure.

My next step was to paint the pedestal, including the stones sculpted onto the wizard figure's base, with Folk Art "Medium Gray".

When the "Medium Grey" was dry, I gave the entire pedestal and base a wash with thinned black ink.  When the black ink was dry, I drybushed the gray with  Duncan "Slate Grey".  Lastly I painted the washer with Americana "Mississippi Mud".    After everything had overnight to dry, I painted the entire thing with Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish the next morning.  Later that afternoon, I sprayed the figure with Testor's Dullcote.

I'm pleased with how the statue turned out.  And I'm thinking there may be one or two other "unloved" figures in the Kickstarter that will get the statue treatment in the future.

Figure 105 of 265: Complete

Aina, Female Valkyrie: Figure 104 of 265

     This week I got back to my goal of trying to complete the original 30 New Bones Set, and worked on Aina, the female Valkyrie.  I began my preparation of this figure in the usual way; soaking it in a dish of water with a couple drops of dish soap added, then giving it a light scrub with a soft toothbrush, and then rinsing and drying.  I then glued the figure to a 1" black-primed fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue, and glued the washer to a tongue depressor with a couple drops of Elmer's White Glue.

     I began by giving the whole figure a wash with very thinned black ink with a pinhead sized dab of dish-soap added to help bring out the figure's details.  Next, I painted black the plates of her skirt and "wings" of her helmet.

     I then painted the skirt plates with Ceramcoat "Bronze", and her dress I painted with Folk Art "Deep Tomato Red".

     My next step was to paint all the belts, scabbards, hangings, arm guards, and boots with Accent "Real Umber".  Her face hands, and exposed leg I painted with Apple Barrel "Apple Flesh".  The weapon grips I painted with Americana "Asphaltium".

     Next, I painted the shield with GW "Blood Red".  I followed this with painting her hair with Americana "Charcoal Grey".  I then painted all the metal bits and trim with the "Bronze", and the helmet with Folk Art "Silver Sterling".

     I now gave the whole figure a wash with thinned Winsor-Newton "Peat Brown" Ink.  When this had dried, I drybrushed her hair with Accent "Mustard Seed", followed by a lighter drybrushing with Ceramcoat "Maple Sugar", and lastly with an even lighter highlight drybrushing with Americana "Buttermilk".

     It was now time to work on the face.  I painted her eyes white with black pupils.  I then mixed a little of the "Apple Flesh" with a bit of the "Deep Tomato Red" to get a pink to paint her tongue. I added a little more of the red to it, to make a deeper pink to paint her lips.  Lastly I painted her teeth white.  I added highlights to her nose and cheeks with the basic "Apple Flesh".
     I then painted the sword the "Silver Sterling", and then went back over all the "Bronze"  parts and highlighted them with Ceramcoat "14K Gold".  Next, I added highlights to the dress with the basic "Deep Tomato Red", and some highlights to the top of the shield with the basic "Blood Red".
     Lastly, I painted the rock she stands upon; first by painting it Folk Art "Medium Gray", then giving it a wash with thinned black ink,  and when the ink was dry, drybrushing it with Duncan "Slate Grey".   When the figure had overnight to dry, I painted the whole thing with Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish".  When that was dry, I flocked the base, and that afternoon I sprayed the figure with Testor's "Dullcote".

    I'm pleased with how the figure turned out. I think the red and gold scheme, combined with the dramatic pose, makes for a very dynamic figure.
   I will be finishing a quickie figure in the next day to two, so watch this Thursday for another posting!

Figure 104 of 265: Complete

Deputy Wayne Tisdale: Figure 103 of 265

     This week, I painted the Deputy Wayne Tisdale figure from the Zombie Hunters set.   I selected a nice simple figure to do, to get myself back into the Bones painting groove. 
    I  prepped this figure in the usual way; soaking it in a dish of water with a couple drops of dish soap added, then giving it a light scrub with a soft toothbrush, and then rinsing and drying.  I then glued the figure to a 7/8th inch black-primed fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue. I then glued the washer to a tongue depressor with a couple drops of Elmer's White Glue

I decided to do a simple blue-toned uniform, based loosely on the local police here where I live. So, I began by painting his pants with Apple Barrel "Navy Blue", followed with doing his shirt with Anita's "Baby Blue". I painted his hat with Folk Art "Medium Gray".

When these colors were dry, I gave the hat a wash with thinned Black ink, and the shirt and pants a wash with thinned Iron Wind Metals "Dark Blue" ink.  I let this dry, and then painted his shoes, belt, and belt accessories with black paint.  I then painted his head and arms with Apple Barrel "Apple Flesh".  Next, I painted the handle of his pistol, as well as his hair, with Americana "Asphaltum".

I let things dry a couple minutes, and then gave his arms and head a wash with thinned Winsor-Newton "Peat Brown" ink.  I painted patches on his shirt with the "Navy Blue", and the hatband behind his head with black.

  I then added Apple Barrel "Yellow" details to his patches.  I painted in his eyes white with black pupils, and then did highlights on his face and arms/hands with the base "Apple Flesh".  I painted, what I assumed to be a toothpick in his mouth, with Americana "Khaki Tan".  Lastly I painted his badge, belt buckle, and the butt of his pistol with Ceramcoat "Metallic Pewter".
   After this all had a couple hours to dry, I painted the whole figure with some Ceramcoat "Matt Varnish".  I then let this sit overnight, and the next day I flocked the base.  That afternoon I sprayed the figure with Testor's "Dullcote".

Over all I;m pleased with the paint job on this nice simple figure.  I'm also very happy to be back in the Bones painting saddle again. :)

Figure 103 of 265: Complete