Monday, January 15, 2018

Arael, Half Elf Cleric

     This past week I painted Arael, Half Elf Cleric, to round out the basic crewmen for my Ghost Archipelago warband.  Even though he is billed as a cleric, I thought there was a bit of swashbuckle about his appearance that would make him a good ship's crew figure.  As far as I know he wasn't part of any of the Bones Kickstarters.
      I prepped the 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 it.    I then glued the figure to a black-primed 1" fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue.  This figure was going to be the first I tried in my new painting grip that my friend, Buck, gave me fore Christmas.  I was pleased to see that a washer mounted figure fits in the clamp plates nice and snugly.
     I began by painting his face and hands with Crafter's Acrylic "Flesh", and then painted his tunic with Folk Art "Cloudy Day". After that, I painted his pants with Folk Art "Celadon Green", and then pianted stripes on them with Folk Art "Hunter Green".
     Next, I painted his boots with Americana "Mississippi Mud", and the boot tops with Americana "Avocado".  I then panted his armor with Folk Art "Dapple Gray", and the two studded streamers hanging down from his front with Crafter's Acrylic "Bright Yellow".  I also painted the bit of under shirt peaking out at his neck, and between the studded streamers, with Crafter's Acrylic "Cool Blue".
     Next, I painted all the pouches and the sword grip with Crafter's Edition "Spice Brown", and any odd belts and straps with Nicole's "Brown". I then painted the sword and dagger scabbards with Reaper MSP BONES "Tropical Blue", and the long sash with Crafter's Acrylic "Dark Turquoise". After that, I painted the sword, scabbard fittings, and any buckles with Crafter's Acrylic "Storm Cloud Grey". 
      I painted his hair with Americana "Sable Brown", and then repainted the long sash with a 50/50 mix of Folk Art "Metallic Blue Sapphire" and Folk Art "Metallic Emerald Green".  Next, I repainted the sword, scabbard fittings, and buckles with Folk Art Metallics "Gunmetal Grey". Then, after everything had a chance to dry fro a while; I gave the entire figure, except for the head and hands, a wash with Citadel "Nuln Oil" wash.
    When the "Nuln Oil" wash was dry, I needed to touch up the hands a little,  using the base "Flesh" color, where some of the "Nuln Oil" had got on them.    I then gave the head, hands and hair, all a wash with some Citadel "Reikland Fleshshade" wash.  Then, when that wash was dry, I painted his eyes, and then highlighted his skin with the base "Flesh", and then a little of the "Flesh with a little White added to it.  Next, I highlighted the hair with Reaper MSP "Tanned Highlight"
     Next, I highlighted his tunic with some of the base "Cloudy Day" mixed with a little Crafter's Acrylic "Cool Blue".  I then highlighted the armor with a mix of the base "Dapple Grey" with some Folk Art "Grey Green".  The belts, pouches, etc were highlighted with Americana "Khaki Tan", and the scabbard and dagger sheath were highlighted with the base "Tropical Blue".   I then worked on the boots, highlighting the tops with Duncan "Olive Green", and the rest with a mix of the base "Mississippi Mud" with some Folk Art "Barn Wood".   After that, I worked on the sashes, highlighting the small studded one with the base "Bright Yellow"; and the longer one with some of the "Metallic Emerald Green mixed with some Folk Art Pearl "Aqua Moire".   I wrapped things up by highlighting all the metal, and adding the studs and buckles, with Ceramcoat "Metallic Silver".   Lastly, I painted the figure's base with Ceramcoat "Walnut".
     I let the figure dry overnight and the next day I gave it a coat of Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish.    Then, when  the varnish was dry, I used some white glue to flock the base.  Another overnight dry, and I sprayed it with Testor's Dullcote".

     I'm rather pleased with this guy, even though I rushed him to get him done on time.  And, he fits in quite nicely with the rest of my crew.

7 comments:

  1. Looks really good. - How did you like working with the painting handle?

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    1. Thanks, XarfaiEngel! I liked the handle. It was a nice improvement from the tongue depressors I usually use; which are left over from assembly-line painting multiple similar figures for units. (Which I did a lot of before my Bones addiction.) :)

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  2. Nice work, did you like the handle? There was lots of murmuring about them when they came out (so cheap for a GW product!) but I have not heard much since then.

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    1. Thanks, Lasgunpacker! See my answer above. I really liked it. While it was a nice change for me, I honestly don't know if it is a big difference from the (free) recycled pill bottles, etc. I have seen other folks use.

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    2. Yeah, that was my thought about it as well (having not handled one), but the clamp vs. blu-tack is an improvement.

      Can it handle square/rectangle bases too?

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    3. Yes. If you look at the top photo, you can see it divides evenly at the middle, and has to straight-line lip edges there to grip squares or rectangles.

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    4. Well I think I have to add one to my 2018 budget then... thanks for answering all the questions!

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