Gruff Grimecleaver, Dwarf Pirate Conversion

    A friend was getting rid of some of his extra Bones Kickstarter figures, so I was able to pick up a few extra copies of some of the old favorites I already had.   One of the ones I got, was the Gruff Grimecleaver, Dwarf Pirate, figure from the Bones 1 Pirates set.    I'm in need of a few more height-challenged crew members for the Halfling crew I'm working on, and I figured with a little conversion work I might be bale to have this fellow fitting in as some sort of half-Dwarf and half-Halfling  (Quaterling? :)   ) character.  (Hey, why should Elves and Orcs have all the interspecies fun! :)  ) Maybe his Dad was a sailing Dwarf working one of the beer barges, and mom was a Halfling waitress working in one of the dockside taverns. Who knows where true love will blossom! :)
(Note:  The original version of this figure I painted, from my own Bones 1 Vampire Box, can be seen here: Gruff Grimecleaver.

      Anyway, first thing I needed to do was make him a little more pre-gunpowder in his technology level; so that mean I had to remove the gun.  I decided since Halflings and Dwarves are both notorious eaters, the simplest thing I could do with the gun was to convert it into a drumstick by using a little greenstuff.  I also, trimmed his large mustache way back, since I don't think Halflings are quite as known for large facial hair as dwarves are.  I also tried to trim his boot a little to make it look more like a sandal with bare toes sticking out.  (Assuming he would still have a little of the Halfling urge to have his feet free to the open air.
  Of course, before I did any of the conversion work, I prepped the figure in the usual way; soaking it in a dish of water with a couple drops of dish-soap added, then I gave it a light scrub with a soft toothbrush, and then rinsed and dried it.  Then, after the converting was done, I glued the figure to a black-primed 1" fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue, and when dry, put it into my Citadel painting grip.

      I began by painting his head, arms, and leg with Reaper MSP "Tanned Skin".  I then painted his shirt with Crafter's Acrylic "Navy Blue", and his pants with Ceramcoat "Territorial Beige".

    Next, I painted his beard and hair with Crafter's Edition "Spice Brown", and then did his bandana with Apple Barrel "Apple Maple Syrup".  I then painted his apron with Americana

"Neutral  Grey", and then did his belts and pouch with Nicole's "Brown".  After that, I painted his sandal with Folk Art "Teddy Bear Brown", and then did his wooden leg and cleaver handle with Americana "Asphaltum".  I also did his pipe using Americana "Dove Grey".

      I then painted polka dots on his bandana with "Deep Tomato Red", and then painted his knife handles and spice pouch with Americana "Raw Umber.  Next, I painted the top of the drumstick with Reaper MSP "Turkey Brown", and the bone part with Americana "Bleached Sand".  After that, I painted the cleaver blade, belt buckle, sharpener(?) hanging from his belt, and knife hardware with Americana "Zinc"; and also painted his wristband and bracelet withAmericana "Terra Cotta".   I let everything dry for a while, and then I gave the entire figure a wash with Citadel "Agrax Earthshade" wash.

      When the wash was dry, I painted his eyes, and then highlighted his skin with Reaper MSP "Tanned Highlight". I then highlighted his beard and hair with Americana "Sable Brown", then highlighted his bandana with Apple Barrel "Apple Parchment".  After that, I added a little highlight to the dots on the bandana with Reaper MSP "Holly Berry".  I then highlighted the pipe with the base "Dove Grey", and highlighted the top of the drumstick with Accent "Mustard Seed", and the bone with the base "Bleached Sand".

     Next, I highlighted his shirt with Americana "True Blue", and highlighted his pants with Folk Art "Butter Pecan".   I then highlighted his apron with the base "Neutral Grey", and his belt, pouch and sandal with the"Teddy Bear Brown".   I highlighted the axe handle with Americana "Mississippi Mud".
    I then painted the axe, belt buckle, knife fittings and knife sharpener(?) hanging from his belt all with "Gunmetal Grey", and when dry, highlighted those pieces 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 like how the figure turned out.   I can just hear him saying, "Now, here's some treasure!", as he eyes the big drumstick! :)