Willow Greenivy, Witch: Bones 4 Figure

      This past week I painted "Willow Greenivy, Witch" from the Bones 4 Core Set.    My temptation with witches is to usually go for a traditional palette of  black, purple, maybe green, perhaps red; so I wanted to  go a little different with this figure and try something lighter in the "good witch" vein.

       I prepped the figure in the usual way, soaking its pieces 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 the hat and hand in the left sleeve, and the staff/wand and hand in the right; both with Gorilla Gel Super Glue.  Next I glued the figure to a  1" plastic base with the same glue, and then placed the figure in my painting grip.

     I began by painting her face and hands with Reaper MSP "Tanned Skin".  I then painted her dress and hat with Americana "Fawn", and her tabard and hat band with Americana "Asphaltum".

      Next, I painted her hair with Americana "Forest Green", and then did her belt and scabbard with Crafter's Acrylic "Forest Green". After that, I painted her wand/staff with Folk Art "Barn Wood", and the pouch hanging at her side with Ceramcoat "Territorial Beige".

     I let everything dry for a while, and then gave her face and hands a coat of Citadel "Reikland Fleshshade" wash.   I let that dry, and then gave all her clothing, hair, and accessories a coat of  Citadel "Agrax Earthshade" wash.   When that was dry, I painted her eyes, using a little of the Americana "Forest Green" as an eyeshadow, and then highlighted her face and hands using the base "Tanned Skin" as well as Reaper MSP "Tanned Highlight".  After that, I highlighted her hair with Americana "Festive Green", and then give it a light highlighting with some Folk Art Color Shift "Green Flash". 

     I then highlighted her dress with the base "Fawn" mixed with increasing amounts of Crafter's Acrylic "Light Antique White".  And after that I highlighted her tabard with the base "Asphaltum" mixed with increasing amounts of Folk Art "Teddy Bear Brown". I also highlighted her wand/staff with "Reaper MSP "Graveyard Bone".   

      Next, I highlighted her scabbard and belt with he base Crafter's Acrylic "Forest Green", and then painted the sword's grip with Folk Art "Hunters Green".  I went back and gave the grip a quick highlight with some Apple Barrel "Apple Christmas Green".  I then highlighted the pouch with a little Reaper MSP "Olive Skin Highlight", and then some Americana "Antique White".   

     I then tried the same Citadel Contrast Paint technique on the gemstone in her wand that I had used three weeks ago with great success on the Wizard Arakus Landarzad .  I painted the gem with Ceramcoat "White", and then let it dry.  When dry, I gave it a coat of Citadel Contrast "Creed Camo".  Unfortunately, on such a small and faceted stone, with the interspersed twigs holding it in place, it didn't quite work as well.  So, I went back and use a little of the "Festive Green" mixed with some Americana "Snow White" to add some highlighting.    

     After that I painted the sword hilt, buckle, and coin/tokens hanging from the belt, with Folk Art Brushed Metal "Brushed Bronze".  I then went back and highlighted them with Folk Art Metallic "Pure Gold".  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 gem with a little Americana "DuraClear Gloss" varnish.

     I'm really pleased with how she turned out.  I wish I had had time to do a little trim on her dress, and perhaps a design on her tabard,  but in the end I think the plain look doesn't look bad on the figure; perhaps the green hair has enough of a visual impact on its own that she doesn't need fancy clothes.  And yes, I did use some green, despite my mental attempt to steer away for colors you usually see on witches. But I kept being drawn to the color...maybe it's because it's in her name!

Wild West Wizard of Oz Wicked Witch and Winged Monkey: Bones 3 Figures

     Sorry we're a day late... I ran out of time yesterday to finish up.   Anyhow, this past week I finished the last two figures from the Bones 3 Wild West Wizard of Oz set and did the Wicked Witch and the Winged Monkey minis.  I don't know what particularly makes this set Wild West; it seems to me it would fit in in any kind of Steampunk, VSF, Pulp, or Post-Apocalyptic setting.
      These figures were actually cast in the newer grey Bones material, and are a bit stiffer than normal Bones.
      To see the figures from this set that I have already finished, see: Tin Man, Scarecrow, Lion, and Dorothy & Toto.
       Once again, I tried to as best I could copy the look of the corresponding character from the Wizard of Oz movie.   What I found interesting about the Wicked Witch was that her outfit was entirely black from head to toe.

       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 the witch figure to a black-primed 1" fender washer , and the monkey to a black-primed 7/8" fender washer, with Aleene's Tacky glue. I then glued each washer-mounted figures to a tongue depressor with a couple drops of the Elmer's glue.

     I began by painting the witch's clothes entirely with Black. When dry, I drybrushed them with Folk Art "Medium Grey".

      I then painted her face and hands with Crafter's Acrylic "Wild Green".  After that I painted her broom handle with Ceramcoat  "Territorial Beige", and the broom straws with Americana "Sable Brown".

     When the face and hands had time enough to dry, I gave them a wash with Iron Wind Metals "Dark Green" ink.  When that was dry, I gave the broom handle and straws a wash with Citadel "Agrax Earthshade" wash.  I then added shadows under her yes by mixing a little of the "Wild Green" with some Black.  I also  applied a little Citadel "Nuln Oil" wash to between her lips to help define her slightly open mouth.   Next, I painted her eyes, and then highlighted her face and hands with the base "Wild Green". After that, I did some highlighting on her hair using Americana "Mississippi Mud", and then went back over or outfit and did specific highlighting on some of the clothing edges with the "Medium Grey" to help define them.   I then turned to her broom and did highlighting on the straw with Ceramcoat "Maple Sugar Tan". When that was done, I did a little crosshatch pattern between the two metal rings on the broom (like in the movie photo at the top) using Americana "Raw Umber".  I then painted the rings Black, and then went back over them with Ceramcoat "Metallic Silver".  Lastly, I painted her integral base with Americana "Charcoal Grey".
         When I was done painting the figure, I used some white glue to glue a mixture I made of some fine brown sand, and courser black sand to the base.  When this was dry, I drybrushed the sand and the figure's own base with Ceramcoat "Territorial Beige", and then with some Americana "Antique White".  When dry, I glued on some bits of grass tufts.
      I let the figure dry overnight and the next day I gave her a coat of Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish.  Another overnight dry, and I sprayed it with Testor's Dullcote".

     I then worked on the Winged Monkey.  I wanted to try to imitate the bluish-grey fur, blue face, and grey wings of the movie monkey, except in a metallic look.   I began by painting him entirely in Black.

     Then, when the Black was dry, I made a mix of Folk Art Metallics "Gunmetal Grey" and Folk Art "Metallic Blue Sapphire", and used this to drybrush his body.  I then drybrushed his wings with the "Gunmetal Grey". I then added a little Folk Art Pearl "Aqua Moire" to the mix to lighten it, and painted highlights on his body.

     Next, I used Ceramcoat "Metallic Silver" to do highlights on his wings, and after that I painted his face with the just the plain "Metallic Blue Sapphire" and highlighted it with the "Aqua Moire".   I then tried to paint a bit of his jacket pattern (as seen in the movie photo at the top) on his shoulder pads and on his medallion.  I began by doing the base of the pattern in black, and then painted it with Americana "Dove Grey", leaving a little of the Black edge showing.  This was followed by doing the interior of the pattern with Ceramcoat "Opaque Red", making sure to leave the "Dove Grey", and Black edges show.
     Next I worked on his eyes and the grill work on his chest.  I painted his eye sockets and the grill slots with Iron Wind Metals "Red" ink. When the ink was dry, I painted the eyes and the slots with the "Opaque Red".  Afterwards, I painted the pupils and the very center of the slots with Reaper MSP "Golden Glow".   Finally, I painted his lips with the "Opaque Red", and then mixed in a little of the "Golden Glow" to do highlights.
     Then, like with the witch, I painted his integral base with Americana "Charcoal Grey".
         When I was done painting the figure, I used some white glue to glue a mixture I made of some fine brown sand, and courser black sand to the base.  When this was dry, I drybrushed the sand and the figure's own base with Ceramcoat "Territorial Beige", and then with some Americana "Antique White".  When dry, I glued on some bits of grass tufts.
      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".

     I like how the pair turned out.   Of all the set, I think these two fall closest to their movie counterparts in appearance.
     And here's a look at the whole Wild West Wizard of Ox set, both heroes and villains...

     I think they all turned out really well, and make a pretty nice looking set of figures.

Dita, Steampunk Witch: Figure 178 or 265

   This week I finished Dita, Steampunk Witch, from the Chronoscope Set.  Only one figure let to do from this 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 glued the figure to a black-primed 1" fender washers with Aleene's Tacky glue, and then glued the washer-mounted figure to a tongue depressor with a couple drops of the Elmer's glue.

      I began by painting the entire figure, and her base, Black.  I then drybrushed it with Folk Art "Settlers Blue".

     Next, I painted her skin with Americana "Mocha". Then I painted parts of her outfit with Crafter's Edition "African Violet".  I painted her hair with Apple Barrel "Burnt Sienna", and  the end of her broom with Folk Art "Barnyard Red"

     I then gave her hair, skin, and broom end a wash with Winsor Newton "Peat Brown' Ink using a wet brush.  When that was dry, I painted her eyes and lips, and then did her skin highlights, with first the "Mocha", then I mixed some Crafter's Edition "Flesh" with the "Mocha" and did lighter highlights.   Next, I highlighted her hair with first the base "Burnt Sienna", then with Americana "Burnt Orange", I did highlights on the broom with first the base "Barnyard Red", then with Ameircana "Georgia Clay".   I then used the "Settlers Blue" to add some more specific highlights on the Black.

     Next, I did the highlights on the purple, first with a mix of the "African Violet" and some Apple Barrel "Apple Lavender", then with just the plain "Apple Lavender"

      I then worked on the metal parts, painting them first with Ceramcoat "Bronze", and then going back and doing highlights with Ceramcoat "14K Gold"  I painted the round object on her hat like a headlight, using Folk Art "Medium Grey", Folk Art "Silver Sterling", and White highlights.  I also added tiny White highlights to her goggles.

      After the figure had the afternoon to dry, I gave it a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish" in the evening.  The next morning I flocked the base, and later that afternoon I sprayed the figure with Testor's Dullcote.

    I'm pleased with how the figure turned out, even though I didn't get it finished for Halloween. I did notice in the photos, that I didn't do good coverage with the Dullcote, and there's still some shiny spots in her clothing folds and recesses.  I'll have to ht it again with the Dullcote tomorrow.