Giant Frogs: Bones 4 Dreadmere Figures

    This past week I painted two of the "Giant Frog" pairs that came in the Bones 4 Dreadmere Expansion.  The Expansion comes with one of each pose, but I picked up a second pair of these so had 4 to paint. 

     The first thing I did was Google "colorful frog" to see if there were any unusual frogs found in nature I could copy.  I didn't want to necessarily go the Poison Dart Frog route, even though they tend to be very colorful, as I felt these models looked to beefy and Bullfrog like, rather than the more slender nature of the Poison Dart variety. 

     What I found that I liked were blue frogs.  These are normal green frogs, that are missing some yellow pigmentation due to a mutation, causing their skin to appear blue.  I thought this would be a fun and easy to paint.  

        I prepped the figures in the usual way, soaking them in a dish of water with a couple drops of dish-soap added, then giving them a light scrub with a soft toothbrush, and then rinsing and drying them.  I then glued them all to 1.25" fender washers using Aleene's Tack y Glue.  When the glue was dry, I glued each like set of two to a tongue depressor with a couple drops of Elmers glue.

     I thought I'd do these guys with Citadel Contrast paint to help keep things simple, and it seemed like an easy way to blend the colors from the blue to green to the white under belly.   So, I began by giving all of them a complete coat of Ceramcoat "White".  When that was dry, I gave their lower halves a coat of Citadel Contrast "Apothecary White".  When dry, I drybrushed the lower halves with Americana "Snow White". 

     Next, I painted their mouths and tongues with thinned Citadel Contrast "Blood Angels Red".  When it was dry, I drybrushed it with Apple Barrel "Apple Lt. Pink".  I then cleaned up their faces and chins where any of the Contrast paint, or pink drybrush had strayed using the "White".   I then painted their legs with Citadel Contrast "Creed Camo", and while it was still wet, I painted their backs with Citadel Contrast Talassar Blue".

          I drybrushed their backs a little with a mix of some Crafter's Acrylic "Tropical Blue" and the "Snow White".  I then painted their eyes with a mix of Americana "Antique Gold" and Folk Art Color Shift "Green Flash".  When dry, I painted an outer pupil with Apple Barrel "Lemon Chiffon", and the inner pupil with Ceramcoat "Black.  Lastly, I painted the bases with the "Mississippi Mud".

     I let the frogs dry overnight and the next day I gave them a coat of Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish.    Then, when  the varnish was dry, I  gave them a coat of Americana "DuraClear Gloss" varnish.   When dry, I went back and gave their eyes and tongues a second coat of the Gloss.   Finally, I used some white glue to flock the bases.  

    For just some fast and simple monsters, I think they look okay; and using the Contrast paint helped get them done quickly and with a reasonable appearance of shading .  

Oman Ruul, Wizard: Bones 4 Figure

      This past week I painted "Oman Ruul, Wizard" from the Bones 4 Greybeards set.  

      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 trimmed the figure's integral base a little, and glued the figure to a 1" plastic base with some superglue.  I then placed the figure in my painting grip.   

     I began by painting his face and hands with Reaper MSP "Rosy Skin".  I then painted his robes with Pathfinder MSP "Urgathea Red", and his cape with Reaper MSP HD "Indigo Blue". 

     Next, I painted his collar, hat, and sash with Anita's "Violet", and his shoes with Americana "Cranberry Wine".  After that, I painted his beard and hair with Americana "Zinc", and his bracelet and the skull emblem on the back of his collar with Americana "Antique Gold".

         I let everything dry for a while, and then I gave his face and arms a coat of Citadel "Reikland Fleshshade" wash.  When this was dry, I gave his entire outfit and beard a coat of Citadel "Nuln Oil" wash.  When these washes were dry, I panted his eyes, and then did his teeth with Americana "Bleached Sand"  After that, I highlighted his skin with the base "Rosy skin", and some Reaper MSP "Rosy Highlight".

        I then highlighted his robes with the base "Urgathea Red", and then mixed in a little Reaper MSP 'Breast Cancer Awareness Pink" for further highlighting.  After that, I highlighted his cape with the base "Rich Indigo", and then mixed in a little Reaper MSP "Frosty Blue" for further highlighting.  I followed that by highlighting his collar, hat, and sash with the base "Violet", and then mixed in a little Apple Barrel "Apple Lavender" for further highlights.

     Next, I highlighted his shoes with the base "Cranberry Wine" with a little of the "Breast Cancer Awareness Pink" mixed in.  I then highlighted his beard and hair with the base Z'inc", and then mixed in a little Crafters Acrylic "Storm Cloud Grey".  After that I painted his bracelet and the skull on his collar with Folk Art Metallics "Pure Gold", and highlighted it with some Ceramcoat "Wedding Gold".  

     I then worked on the orb, painting it with Citadel Contrast "Templar Black".  When that was dry, I repainted it with Folk Art "Color Shift" "Black Flash".  While it was still wt, I added in thin swirls of Deco Art Metallic "Festive Red".  Lastly, I painted the figure's base with the "Mississippi Mud".

      I let the figure dry overnight and the next day I gave it a coat of Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish. I then used some white glue to glue some fine sand to the base.  When the sand was dry, I painted it with a coat of Americana "Charcoal Grey". When this was dry, I drybrushed the sand with the "Mississippi Mud", and then with some Apple Barrel "Rock Grey"; lastly I drybrushed it with a little Americana "Dove Grey".  Another overnight dry, and I sprayed the figure with Testor's Dullcote".   When the "Dullcote" was dry, I went back and repainted the orb with a little Americana "DuraClear Gloss" varnish.   

     I'm really happy with how this guy turned out.  I had originally planned to do the orb as a glowing light blue color, but I chickened out in the end not wanting to risk the paint job I had done.  So, I went with more of a loose LOTR Palantir look. 
      

Dreadmere Townsfolk Fisherman: Bones 4 Figure

   This past week I painted the "Fisherman" townsfolk figure from the Bones 4 Dreadmere Expansion.

   All I could see when I looked at this figure, was the Gorton's Fisherman, so I decided jut to embrace that image, and Googled some photos of him to get a clearer idea of how exactly he was dressed.

     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 trimmed the figure's integral base a little, and glued the figure to a 1" plastic base with some superglue.  I then placed the figure in my painting grip.   

     I began by painting his face and arms with Reaper MSP "Suntan Flesh".  I then painted his outfit with Americana "Antique Gold", and his shoes with Reaper MSP "Turkey Brown".

     Next, I painted his belt and sheath with Reaper MSP "Shield Brown", and his fishing kreel with Ceramcoat "Territorial Beige".  I then painted his side pouch with Americana "Terra Cotta", and the front pouch with Ceramcoat "Charcoal".  After that, I painted his gloves with Americana "Charcoal Grey", and the bottle with Americana "Leaf Green". I finished up his accessories by painting the rod with Americana "Sable Brown", and the reel and fish with Americana "Zinc".

     I then painted the fish with Folk Art Pearl "Aqua Moiré", and the reel with Folk Art Metallic "Gunmetal Grey". After that, I painted the fittings on the rod and the knife with Folk Art Metallic "Pure Gold".   

    I let everything dry for a while, and then I gave his skin and clothing a coat of Citadel "Reikland Fleshshade" wash.  When that was dry, I gave his accessories a coat of Citadel "Agrax Earthshade" wash. Another drying period, and then I gave the front pouch and the fish a coat of "Nuln Oil" wash. 

     When all the washes were dry, I painted his eyes, and then highlighted his skin with Reaper MSP "Tanned Shadow and Reaper MSP "Tanned Skin".  Next, I painted his hair with the "Zinc", and then highlighted hit with Folk Art "Dove Grey".    After that, I highlighted his clothing with first Americana "Primary Yellow", and then Crafter's Acrylic "Bright Yellow".

     Next, I worked on highlighting all of the accessories.  First I highlighted his belt and sheath with Folk Art "Teddy Bear Brown", and then I did his fishing kreel with a mix of the base "Territorial Beige" and some Folk Art "Butter Pecan".  I then highlighted his side pouch with Reaper MSP "Hallowed Orange", and the front pouch with some of the "Zinc".  After that, I highlighted his gloves with a mix of the base  "Charcoal Grey" and some Apple Barrel "Rock Grey", and highlighted the bottle with some of the base "Leaf Green" and some Americana "Margarita" along with a little Americana "Snow White". I finished up by highlighting the rod with Reaper MSP "Olive Skin Highlight", and his shoes with the "Sable Brown". 

     I then highlighted the metal parts, using Deco Art Dazzling Metallics "Bright Brass" for the pole and knife fittings.   Lastly, I painted the figure's base with Americana "Mississippi Mud".

     I let the figure dry overnight and the next day I gave it a coat of Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish. I then used some white glue to glue some fine sand to the base.  When the sand was dry, I painted it with a coat of the "Charcoal Grey". When this was dry, I drybrushed the sand with Americana "Mississippi Mud", and then with some of the "Rock Grey"; lastly I drybrushed it with a little Americana "Dove Grey".  Another overnight dry, and I sprayed the figure with Testor's Dullcote".  When the "Dullcote" was dry, I went back and repainted the fish and bottle with a little Americana "DuraClear Gloss" varnish.   

 

     Well, I like how this guy turned out.  He doesn't quite look the part of a medieval fantasy character in the bright safety yellow, but it's such an iconic look for a fisherman maybe the anachronism doesn't matter. :)