Anchor of Damnation: Bones 5 Brinewind Figure

     This past week I painted the "Anchor of Damnation" from the Bones 5 Brinewind Expansion. 

     I prepped it in the usual way, soaking it in a dish of water with a couple drops of dish-soap added, then gave it a light scrub with a soft toothbrush, and then rinsed and dried it.  I then glued the figure to a pair of 1.25" brown-primed metal washers with some Aleene's Tacky glue.  I then glued the figure to a pill bottles with a couple drops of white glue.    

     I began by painting the figure entirely with Americana "Charcoal Grey". When dry, I dabbed the anchor here and there with Americana "Light Cinnamon", and then followed with dabbing the anchor with Accent "Golden Oxide".

     I did a few lighter anchor dabs with Reaper MSP "Lantern Yellow", and then turned to the skeletons.  I began by painting the all bones with Reaper MSP "Graveyard Bone".  I then painted the anchor skeleton's boots with Ceramcoat "Charcoal", and the pants with Folk Art "Cloudy Day"

     Next, I painted the shirt with Folk Art "Porcelain White", and the  head scarf with Pathfinder MSP Urgathea Red". After that, I painted The rocks with Folk Art "Dapple Grey", and then the straps holding the skeleton on the anchor with Americana "Asphaltum".

     I then painted the pirate's sash with "Antique Gold", and then did the ropes on the anchor with Reaper MSP "Ginger Cookie".  After that, I painted the broken planks with Folk Art "Barn Wood", and the assorted barnacles and shells with Folk Art "Gray Green".  I followed with painting what looked to be coral to me with Reaper MSP "Brains Pink", and the coins with Folk Art Brushed Metal "Brushed Bronze".

          I let everything dry for a while and then gave the entire thing a coat of Citadel "Agrax Earthshade" wash.  When the wash was dry, I did some highlighting on the anchor with Americana "Sable Brown", and some of the "LanternYellow".  I then highlighted the barnacles with the base "Gray Green".  Next, I highlighted the skeletons with Reaper MSP "Graveyard Bone", and then some Crater's Acrylic "Light Antique White".

          Next, I highlighted the pirate's shirt with Reaper MSP "Bleached Linen", and Reaper MSP "Peppermint White".  I then highlighted the head scarf with Reaper MSP Bones "Cinnamon Red", and Reaper MSP "Fresh Blood".  After that, I highlighted the pants with the base "Cloudy Day", and then some Crafter's Acrylic "Cool Blue"; and followed by doing the sash with Americana "Antique Gold", and Reaper MSP "Palomino Gold".  

          I then highlighted the boots with the base "Charcoal, and mixed in a little Americana "Zinc"; and afterwards did the highlights on straps holding the pirate on the anchor using the base "Asphaltum with some Americana "Terra Cotta mixed in. After that, I highlighted all the rope sing Folk Art "Butter Pecan", and then highlighted the planks with he base "Barn Wood".  Next, I highlighted the rocks with the base ""Dapple Grey", and then mixed in some Folk Art "Porcelain White", and then moved to what I interpreted as coral, and highlighted that with Apple Barrel "Apple Lt. Pink".  I finished by highlighting the coins with some Folk Art Metallics "Pure Gold".  

        I let the figure dry overnight and the next day I gave it a coat of Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish. When dry, I used some white glue to glue some sand to the figure's base. I also added a mini seashell for decoration. Another overnight dry, and I sprayed the figures with Testor's Dullcote". 

     I'm really pleased with how this piece turned out.  It will add a lot of character as scatter terrain in either a jungle, seaside, or underwater setting.  And players can always wonder if the skeletons are really "just" scenery or not... :) 
  

    In other news, I decided to start working on the "Townsfolk" Add-On set a couple at a time on the side.  Often when I squeeze out dropper-bottle paint, like Reaper's, I have some left over and my plan is to take a moment and use up this extra on these side figures; thus finishing more of my Bones, and not wasting as much paint.  I'll just post photos when I complete a pair, but not bother with doing step by step articles for these since they are such simple figures.

Pirate Shrine to Maersuluth and Pirate Shrine to Meriwyn: Bones 5 Brinewind Figures

    This past week I painted the two Pirate Shrines, Maersuluth and Meriwyn,  from the Bones 5 Brinewind Expansion.  

    I prepped them in the usual way, soaking them in a dish of water with a couple drops of dish-soap added, then gave them a light scrub with a soft toothbrush, and then rinsed and dried them.  I then glued the Maersuluth figure to a 1.5" black-primed metal washer, and Meriwyn to a 1.25" black-primed washer, both with some Aleene's Tacky glue.  I then placed the figures on pill bottles with some blue-tac.    

      I began by painting the rocky base with Americana "Charcoal Grey".  When dry, I gave it a coat of Citadel "Nuln Oil" wash.  When the wash was dry, I drybrushed the rocks with some Americana "Zinc", and then Americana "Grey Sky"

     Next, I painted the mermaid, and some of the coins along the base with with Reaper MSP HD "Golden Brown", and then painted the entwined eels, the plates, cups, and some of the coins with the "Zinc".  After that, I painted the bottle along the base with Apple Barrel "Apple Blue Spruce".

     I then painted the mermaid and some coins with Folk Art Brushed Metal "Brushed Bronze", and followed by painting the eels and some of the coins with Folk Art Metallic "Gun Metal Grey".  After that, I painted the plates and cups with Accent "Princely Pewter", the flag and th giant pearl with Reaper MSP "Coal Black", and the skull with Reaper MSP "Graveyard Bone". 

     Next, I applied a coat of thinned Folk Art "Patina" paint to the mermaid.  I then panted the pair of shackles on the base with Reaper MSP "Scorched Metal", and painted a skull and crossbones on the flag using Reaper MSP "Bleached Linen".  I let everything dry for a while, and then applied a coat of Citadel "Agrax Earthshade" wash to the mermaid and the skull.

     When the wash was dry, I lightly drybrushed the mermaid with some Ceramcoat "Metallic Bronze".  I then applied a coat of Citadel "Nuln Oil" wash to the eels, coins, cups, plates, shackles, bottle, and flag.  When the wash was dry, I drybrushed the eels with some Nicole's "Metallic Silver", and then highlighted the silver coins with Ceramcoat "Metallic Silver", and the gold coins with Folk Art Metallic "Pure Gold".  For the cups and plates I used Reaper MSP "Pewter" to do the highlights. 

     Next, I worked on the shackles, dabbing them with some Americana "Charcoal Grey", and then a little Accent "Golden Oxide", to give them a rusty appearance.  Next I worked on highlighting the bottle, using Americana "Forest Green", and Americana "Festive Green", and finally blending in a tiny bit of Americana "Snow White". I then did the highlights on the skull using the base "Graveyard Bone", and then highlighted the flag with Ceramcoat "Denim Blue for the black parts, and the "Bleached Linen for the skull & crossbones design. Lastly, I painted the pearl with Folk Art Dragonfly Glaze "Violet-Blue-Green Shift".  As I looked at the final results, I felt the figure needed a last pop of color, so I decided to attempt to paint the eyes on the eels like rubies.  I had had the thought of doing this throughout the entire paint job, but always worried about getting the gem look right in such a small area.  I finally convinced myself to give it a try.  So with a little Reaper MSP "Blood Red", mixed with a little of the "Snow White", I gave it a shot.  Lastly, I painted the base with Folk Art "Teddy Bear Brown".

     Next, I moved on to the Meriwyn Shrine.  Where I had done the first shrine as metal, I decided to do this one as stone.  Mainly because Reaper decided to sculpt it with a broken and missing left arm, and I find it easier to believe that a stone statue had an arm crack off than a metal one would.

     I began by painting the entire figure with Americana "Neutral Grey".  When this was dry, I gave it a complete coat with the "Nuln Oil" wash.

     When the wash was dry,  I drybrushed the figure, first with Americana "Jade Green", and then with Folk Art "Celadon Green".   Like with the previous shrine, I finished up by painting the base with "Teddy Bear Brown".

       I let the figures dry overnight and the next day I gave them a coat of Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish. When dry, I used some white glue to glue some sand to each figure's base.  Another overnight dry, and I sprayed the figures with Testor's Dullcote".    When the "Dullcote was dry, I went back and painted the pearl, bottle, and eel eyes with Americana "DuraClear Gloss" varnish.

     I'm really pleased with how these two pieces turned out!  They make from some really great scatter terrain.

Ghost Pirates: Bones 4 Figures

   This past week I worked on the Ghost Pirates set from the Bones 4 Core Set.   The Core Set came with 5 of these figures, and I ordered a second set so I would have a unit of 10 for larger games. I painted the second 5 the exact same way that I painted the first 5, so did not include progress shots of them; but I did include them in the group photos at the end.
   I prepped the figures in the usual way; soaking them in a dish of water with a couple drops of dish-soap added and then rinsing and drying.   I then glued each one to an unprimed 1" fender washer, with Aleene's Tacky glue.  I then glued the figures to a number of tongue depressors with a couple drops of the Elmer's glue each.

 

       I began by painting the washers with Americana "Metal Primer".  I then painted the figures completely with Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish; as I  planned to use ink on them, and the matte varnish gives the ink something to hold on to better than the bare plastic.  When the matte varnish was dry, I applied a heavily thinned wash of Citadel "Green" Ink to the figures, trying to keep it just on the pirates themselves and not on the "scenery" pieces on the bases.

Note, I added a coat of un-thinned "Green" ink to the bottles the righthand pirate is carrying to give them a green glass look.

      When the ink was was dry, I painted their eyes with tiny dots of Americana "Margarita", and then painted the bases with Americana "Bittersweet Chocolate".

     Next, I drybrushed the scenic bases with a 50-50 mix of Americana "Neutral Grey" and Americana "Mississippi Mud".  This was followed with a lighter drybrushing using Folk Art "Barn Wood", and a last highlight drybrushing with Americana "Dove Grey".  I then painted the skulls on the bases with, first, Americana "Khaki Tan", and then drybrushed with Crafter's Acrylic "Light Antique White".  Lastly, I painted the rest of the base and washer with the Mississippi Mud".
    I let the figures dry overnight and the next day I gave them a coat of Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish.    Then, when  the varnish was dry, I used some white glue to apply a fine sand mixture to the bases.  I decided not to spray varnish these as I have had some issues in the past with the translucent figures getting a little tacky after a while; so I'm just going to go with the brush on matte varnish. I did put a little Americana "DuraClear Gloss" varnish on the bottles the drinking pirate is holding to make them look like glass.

This is the original five I painted as shown above.

These are the original five as well.

And here's the whole crew.

     I'm really happy with these.  They turned out just as I had hoped.    The translucents are always a challenge to strike the right balance between keeping the translucency and applying shadow and highlight, and I think I hit a happy balance here.

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! :)

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.