Dreadmere Mercenary with Beer Mug: Bones 4 Dreadmere Figure

     This past week I took a break from painting my Maggotcrown unit, and painted the "Dreadmere Mercenary with Beer Mug" from the Bones 4 Dreadmere Expansion.    In driving around the past weeks, I was inspired by the beautiful autumnal colors I was seeing; so I thought I'd take that mix of oranges, reds, yellows, and greens as inspirations for my color palette for this figure.

      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 brown-primed 1" fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue, and then placed the figure in my painting grip.

     I began by painting his face and hands with Reaper MSP "Bronzed Skin",  I then painted his pants with Apple Barrel "Burnt Sienna", and his tunic with Crafter's Acrylic "Orange Spice".   After that, I painted his waist piece with Accent "Mustard Seed". 

     Next, I painted his boots with Accent "Real Umber", and his boot tops with Reaper MSP "Olive Skin". After that, I painted his belts with Americana "Light Cinnamon", and his coat with Crafter's Acrylic "Forest Green". 

     I then painted his hair with Americana "Charcoal Grey", and his mug and sword fittings with Americana "Zinc".  I then went back and repainted his mug with Accent "Princely Pewter", and the sword fittings and belt buckles with Folk Art Metallics "Gunmetal Grey".   I let the figure dry for a while, and then gave his face and hands a coat of Citadel "Reikland Fleshshade" wash. When that was dry, I gave the mug a coat of Citadel "Nuln Oil" wash, and then gave his body and hair a coat with Citadel "Agrax Earthshade" wash. 

    When the wash was dry, I highlighted his face and hands with the base "Bronzed Skin", and Reaper MSP Bronzed Highlight". After that, I highlighted his hair with Americana "Mississippi Mud", and a little Reaper MSP "Graveyard Bone".  I then highlighted his tunic with Reaper MSP "Hallowed Orange". 

     Next, I highlighted the wrap around his waist with Apple Barrel "Apple Maple Sugar", and then highlighted his pants with a mix of the base "Burnt Sienna" and some Americana "Shading Flesh".  I then highlighted his boot tops with Reaper MSP "Olive Skin Highlight", and the rest of the boot was highlighted with Folk Art "Teddy Bear Brown". After that, I highlighted his belts with Reaper MSP "Tanned Shadow", and then did the highlighting on his coat using a mix of the base "Forest Green" mixed with some Americana "Jade Green".

     It was then time for the metallics, and I highlighted his sword fittings, belt buckles, and coat clasp with Ceramcoat "Metallic Silver". I followed those with highlighting the beer mug with Ceramcoat "Metallic Pewter and Nicole's "Metallic Silver".  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 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".

     I'm really happy with this guy.  A simple figure, but like I mentioned before, I sometimes find the simple ones the most fun to work on.

Dreadmere Mercenary, Axeman: Bones 4 Dreadmere Figure

  This past week I painted the "Dreadmere Mercenary, Axeman" from the Bones 4 Dreadmere Expansion.  With the Darkreach Expansion complete, I thought I'd start picking away at Dreadmere next.   

     Though I mostly paint with regular craft store acrylics, over the years I've managed to collect a few dozen Reaper paints.  Some have been freebies included with orders or giveaways through promos like their Goulie Bags and Stockings; some were purchased at a show were a dealer was clearing out old stock for $1 a bottle, others were bought for a buck each when Reaper cleared out the remains of their HD line; and some were purchased outright (mainly the skin triads) from Reaper.

    So with this fellow, I thought it would be a fun challenge to see if I could paint him entirely with Reaper paints.

      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 brown-primed 1" fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue, and then placed the figure in my painting grip.

     I began by painting his face and hands with Reaper MSP "Tanned Skin".  I then painted his shirt with Reaper MSP "Graveyard Bone", and his pants with Reaper MSP HD "Umber Brown".   After that, I painted his robes with Reaper MSP Pathfinder "Medusa Green". 

     Next, I painted the coat with Reaper MSP Pathfinder "Urgathoa Red"; and then painted the boots, belt, and sword grip with Reaper MSP HD "Golden Brown".  After that, I painted the scabbard with Reaper MSP HD "Rusty Red", and the axe handle with Reaper MSP "Turkey Brown".

    I then painted the axe head, sword fittings, and belt buckle with Reaper MSP "Dark Elf Skin", and the binging on the axe using Reaper MSP "Ginger Cookie".  After that, I painted his hair and beard with Reaper MSP "Pumpkin Orange"; and then attempted a plaid pattern on the coat with a cross-hatch of Reaper MSP "Coal Black", followed by a cross-hatch of Reaper MSP "Golden Glow". 

     Next, I painted the axe head, sword fittings and belt buckle again, this time with Reaper MSP "Aged Pewter".  I then let the figure dry for a while, and followed with applying a coat of Citadel "Reikland Fleshshade wash to his head and hands.  When that was dry, I applied a coat of Citadel "Agrax Earthshade" wash to the rest of the figure.

     I let the washes dry, and then painted his eyes, and highlighted his face and hands with the base "Tanned Skin", and Reaper MSP "Tanned Highlight".  After that, I highlighted his hair with "Hallowed Orange", and his shirt with Reaper MSP "Peppermint White". 

     Next,  I highlighted his robe with a mix of the base "Medusa Green" and the "Peppermint White".  I then highlighted his shoes and belts with Reaper MSP "Bronzed Skin", and his scabbard with a mix of the "Bronzed Skin" and the base "Rusty Red".  I followed up by highlighting the binding on the axe with the "Graveyard Bone", and the axe handle with a mix of the base "Turkey Brown" and the "Graveyard Bone". 

      I wasn't sure how even to begin highlighting a plaid jacket, nor was I sure I wanted to get involved with doing so, but I at least made and attempt to pick out highlights along the edges. I used Reaper MSP Bones "Cinnamon Red" mixed with the base "Urgathoa Red" for the red edges, the "Coal Black" mixed with a bit of the "Peppermint White" for the edges of the black stripes, and the base "Golden Glow" for the tips of the yellow stripes. 

     Lastly, I highlighted the axe blade, sword fittings and belt buckle with a mix of the base "Aged Pewter" and Reaper MSP "Sparkling Snow".  I wrapped things up by painting his base with some of the "Turkey Brown".

         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". 

     Well, in general I'm pleased.  It's not an award winning plaid coat, but it looks pretty good at arms length on the game table. It's a weird combination of colors, but I was limited by my assortment of Reaper paints.  I actually kind of like how it looks.

Bandit Leader: Bones 3 Figure

  Well, I was able to squeeze in some painting time last week after all, (despite Fall-In being this past weekend) and I finally finished the figure I had been working on for the past 3 weeks: Bandit Leader, from the Bones 3 Stoneskull Expansion, Part 3.  This is the final figure I had left to do from this set.
   The figure was a bit oddly sculpted I felt, being almost entirely two dimensional looking.  So I decided to do a little modification on him to help look less stilted.

Photo from Reaper's website

     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 it.   I then cut both arms at the elbows and after slicing off a small angled section of each arm, re-glued them so they bent in more.  After that, I glued the figure to a black-primed 1" fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue, and then placed the figure in my painting grip.

      I began by painting his armor with Ceramcoat "Black".  When dry, I drybrushed the armor with  Folk Art Metallics "Gunmetal Grey".  I then painted his skin with Americana "Shading Flesh".

     Next, I painted his leggings with Americana "Neutral Grey", and his skirt with Accent "Real Umber".  I then painted his hood and sleeves with Folk Art "Barnyard Red", and his leather armor with Americana "Terra Cotta".  After that, I did his waist belt with Americana "Light Cinnamon", and boots and the shield strap with Americana "Raw Umber".

     I then continued with the "Raw Umber, using it to paint all the straps and the pouch on his belt, as well as the grip of his sword.  After that, I painted the front of his shield with Folk Art "Deep Tomato Red",the back with Americana "Mississippi Mud", and the sword with Americana "Zinc".  Then, when the figure had a while to dry, I gave the entire thing a wash with  Citadel "Agrax Earthsahde" wash.
     Unfortunately, I must have fouled my "Agrax Earthsahde" or something, because I found in many places (see the base of the hood for example) it dried white for some reason.

     When the wash was dry, I painted the eyes (I hate doing eyes inside hoods!), and highlighted the face and hands with Crafter's Acrylic "Flesh".   I then highlighted the leggings with Crafter's Acrylic "Storm Cloud Grey", and his hood and sleeves with Crafter's Acrylic "Orange Spice".

     Next, I highlighted the skirt with Nicole's "Brown", and then the leather armor with Accent "Golden Oxide".  I then highlighted the belt with Americana "Sable Brown", and the shoes, belts and straps with Folk Art "Teddy Bear Brown".  After that, I highlighted the face of the shield with Ceramcoat "Bright Red", and then painted the sword with the "Gunmetal Grey".  I then went around and highlighted all the metal with Ceramcoat "Metallic Silver".
      Lastly, I painted the figure's integral base with Americana "Bittersweet Chocolate".
     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".

     Well, considering he took 3 weeks to complete, I'm glad to finally have him done!   There's nothing that great about him, but he will do just fine for the table top.

Bandit Knocker: Bones 3 Figure

   This past week, I picked a simple figure to work on; as I was still a bit limited in my ability to paint, as I continue to recover from arm surgery.  The figure I painted was the Bandit Knocker from Part III of the Stoneskull Expansion set from the Bones 3 Kickstarter.
     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 it.   I then glued the figure to a black-primed 1" fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue, and then placed the figure in my painting grip.

     I began by giving the entire figure a wash with Reaper MSP "Brown Liner".  When that was dry, I painted all his skin with Americana "Shading Flesh". Next, I painted his armor bits with Americana "Raw Umber", and his leggings with Folk Art Dapple Gray".

     I then painted all his leather bits with Crafter's Acrylic "Cinnamon Brown", and then did his club with Americana "Mississippi Mud". Next, I did the patch on his right knee with Accent "Golden Harvest", and then his boot tops with Americana "Avocado".  After that, I painted the pouch around back, and the grip of the knife in his boot, with Black.

     I let everything dry for a while,  and then I gave his skin a wash with some Citadel "Reikland Fleshshade" wash.  When that was dry, I gave the rest of his clothing, armor, and weapon, a wash with Citadel Agrax Earthshade"wash.   When these washes were dry, I painted his eyes, and then highlighted his skin with a mix of the base "Shading Flesh", and Crafter's Acrylic "Flesh". I also gave him some eyebrows with Reaper MSP "Turkey Brown".

     I then painted his armor, by first splotching near the edges with Crafter's Edition "Spice Brown", and then some lesser splotching with Accent "Golden Oxide". After that I gave it a good drybrushing with  Folk Art Metallics "Gunmetal Grey".  After that, I highlighted the wood of the club with Crafter's Edition "Taupe".

     I next highlighted all the leather parts with Americana "Sable Brown".  I then painted all the studs and buckles on all the leather with Reaper MSP "Scorched Metal", and then highlighted them with the "Gunmetal Grey".  I highlighted his leggings with a mix of the base "Dapple Grey", and some Americana "Dove Grey"; the patch was highlighted with Americana "Moon Yellow".  I then highlighted the tops of the boots with a mix of the base "Avocado", and some Crafter's Acrylic "Wild Green", and did the highlights on the back pouch with Americana "Zinc".
      Lastly, I painted the figure's base with the "Raw Umber".
     I let the figure dry overnight and the next day I gave him 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".   When the Dullcote was dry, applied a little gloss varnish to the eye balls.

   Well, not a great figure; but considering I was still recovering from my arm surgery, so only had limited use of my one arm (granted it was the one that I hold the figure with, not my brush hand,)  I'm pleased with how it turned out.

Bandit Bully: Bones 3 Figure

    This past week I painted the Bandit Bully figure from Part III of the Stoneskull Expansion set.  Back when my box from the Bones 3 Kickstarter arrived, he was one of the first figures I used as conversion fodder to try out some of the weapons from new weapons sprues that came with the Core Set.  For this figure, I used the Hammer from the Armory of Death weapons set. He since has sat on my painting table waiting his turn.  I felt it was about time i got to him.

    I forgot to take a photo of him in his original state, so here's the one from the Reaper Online Store.

     I had prepped this figure in the usual way back before I did the conversions; 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 had cut way his sword, and drilled out his hand. Next I  cut the hand open and superglued the hammer in place, closing the hand back up.   I now glued the figure to a black-primed 1" fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue, and then placed the figure in my painting grip.

     I began by giving the entire figure a wash with Reaper MSP "Grey Liner".  When that was dry, I painted all his armor with "Black", and  when dry, I drybrushed it with reaper MSP "Aged Pewter".  I then did a lighter drybrush with Ceramcoat "Metallic Silver".  After that, I painted his skin with Reaper MSP "Olive Skin Shadow".

     Next, I painted his tunic with Anita's "Burnt Sienna", and then did his boots with Americana "Bittersweet Chocolate".  I then painted the top of the folded down boot with Folk Art "teddy Bear Brown". After that, I painted his belt and straps with Reaper MSP "Turkey Brown", and the pouch on his back belt with Americana "Mississippi Mud".

     I then painted the handle of his hammer with  Crafter's Acrylic "Cinnamon" Brown", the dangle on his hanging belt medallion with Accent "Golden Harvest", and the cord holding the medallion with Americana "Antique White".  After that, i painted the metal parts of his hammer with Americana "Zinc".     Then, when everything had a chance to dry, I gave his skin a wash with some Citadel "Reikland Fleshshade" wash.  When that was dry, I gave the rest of his clothing, armor, and weapon, a wash with Citadel Agrax Earthshade"wash.

     When the wash was dry, I painted his eyes, and then highlighted his skin with Reaper MSP "Olive Skin", and Reaper MSP Olive Skin Highlight".  I painted his teeth with the "Antique White", and then highlighted his tunic with Crafter's Acrylic "Orange Spice".

          Next, I highlighted his boots with Crafter's Edition "Spice Brown", and the folded over top with Ceramcoat Territorial Beige".  I then highlighted the belts and straps with Americana "Sable Brown", and used a little of this color to add some highlights to the hammer handle.  After that, I highlighted the fringe on the hanging medallion with Crafter's Acrylic "Daffodil Yellow", and the string holding hit with the base "Antique White".
     I then painted the hammer with Folk Art Metallics "Gunmetal Grey".  Afterwards, I highlighted all the metal with Ceramcoat "Metallic Silver".  I also painted his earring with Ceramcoat "14K Gold".
      Lastly, I painted the figure's base with the "Bittersweet Chocolate".
     I let the figure dry overnight and the next day I gave him 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".

       When the Dullcote was dry, I tried an experiment, and applied a little gloss varnish to the eye balls.   I think it looks ok, and actually provided a little reflective dot in his pupil which I didn't have to paint. :)  I'm really happy with the figure, though I think his skin is a little darker than what I wanted for olive skin.  I think next time I will skip the Shadow layer of the skin triad, or skip the wash.  I think both together was a little too dark.

Durgam Deepmug, Dwarf Hero: Bones 3 Figure, Converted to Frostgrave Thug

    This past week, I painted the Durgam Deepmug figure from the Bones 3 Dwarves set.  A while back I had converted three of the figures from this set to fill out an all-Dwarf warband I was making for Frostgrave.  This is the third and final of the three conversions I had to complete.  The other two, can be seen here: Hagar, Dwarven Hero, and here: Durok, Dwarf Ranger.

     Durgam Deepmug is the figure on the far right of the above and below photos.  He was a simple conversion; I merely removed the front of the weapon in his left hand, and hallowed out his fist a little to make it look like it was simply clenched.  I actually left the back handle end of the weapon, shortening it a little; figuring I would paint it to resemble a map case or such hanging from his belt.

      I had prepped this figure in the usual way back before I did the conversions; 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 now glued the figure to a black-primed 1" fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue, and then placed the figure in my painting grip.

      I began by painting all the armor Black.  Then, when the Black was dry, I drybrushed the armor with  Folk Art Metallics "Gunmetal Grey", and then passed over it with a lighter drybrush of Ceramcoat "Metallic Silver".  After that, I painted his face with Americana Shading Flesh.

     Next, I panted his pants with Accent "Forest Green", and his shirt with Accent "Mustard Seed". I then painted his his beard with Folk Art "Teddy Bear Brown", and his belts and straps with Americana "Bittersweet Chocolate".

     While I had the "Bittersweet Chocolate" open, I flipped the figure around and used it to paint his backpack.  I also decided to use it for his boots and gauntlets.  I then continued working on his back, painting his blanket roll with Folk Art "Dapple Grey", his sack with Americana "Sable Brown", the rope with Folk Art "Butter Pecan", and the "map case" (cut down removed weapon handle) with Aleene's "Deep Khaki".

     I then gave his face a wash with some Citadel "Reikland Fleshshade" wash.  When that was dry, I gave his beard, and everything on him that wasn't armor, a wash with Citadel Agrax Earthshade"wash.  When this wash coat was dry, I painted his eyes, and then highlighted his head with the "Shading Flesh" mixed with some Apple barrel "Apple Flesh".  I then highlighted his beard with the "Sable Brown".

    After that, I worked on highlighting his clothing; doing his shirt with Accent "Golden Harvest", and his pants with Crafter's Acrylic "Holiday Green".  I then highlighted his belts, straps, backpack, and gauntlets with Crafter's Edition "Spice Brown"; and painted his sword with Americana "Zinc". 

     Next, I worked on highlighting the stuff on his back; doing his blanket roll with the base "Dapple Grey", his sack with Americana "Khaki Tan", the rope with Americana "Antique White", and the "map case" with a mix of the base "Deep Khaki" and some Aleene's "Dusty Khaki".
     I next worked on the metal parts, painting the sword and touching up the armor with the"Gunmetal Grey".  I also painted his beard ornament with Americana "Bronze".  After that, I went back and gave the runes on his sword a wash with Citadel "Nuln Oil" wash.  When that wash was dry, I did highlights on the sword and armor with the "Metallic Silver", and highlights on the beard ornament with some Americana 14K Gold".
     Lastly, I painted the figure's base with Black.
    When the Black was dry, I used some white glue to glue a little black course sand onto the base.  When this was dry I drybrushed the bases with some of the Americana "Neutral Grey", and then some Duncan "Slate Grey", and lastly some Folk Art "Platinum Grey".
      I let the figure dry overnight and the next day I gave him a coat of Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish.  Another overnight dry, and I sprayed it with Testor's Dullcote".

   Well, I'm happy with this guy, though in reality he is a bit over-armored for a Thug.  But he'll do just fine.  There just aren't a lot of non-armored Dwarf Warrior figures out there.