Altar of Evil: Figure 93 of 265

    As I mentioned in my previous post, it's been a busy few weeks for me, but I was able to knock out the Altar of Evil from the Dungeon Dressing set; creeping ever so slowly to my 100-figures-completed mark.
     I prepped it in the usual way; soaking overnight in some water with a couple drops of dish soap added, and then giving a light scrub with a soft toothbrush and rinsing, then drying.  As you may remember from previous posts, I ran out of my usual Krylon Flat Black Camouflage with Fusion spray paint a couple weeks ago, and I was unable to find a replacement can of it. (I hope Krylon hasn't stopped making it!) So, I got a can of Krylon regular Flat Black Fusion, which I hoped would be the same as the Camouflage variety, but it turned out it wasn't.  I sprayed this peice with it, and as expected, it left it tacky, even after a few days of drying.      
    I glued the alter to a 1.5 inch by 3/4 inch black-primed metal base, and glued this to a tongue depressor for ease of handling during painting.
    In looking at the alter, I decided I didn't want to make it the usual dull grey carved stone.   So, I got in my head to do it as black marble, since I felt I had had success painting my Stone Golem as marble.  
    I began by painting the whole piece with black craft paint to hide the tackiness of the primer.

    Next, I drybrushed the whole altar with GW "Shadow Grey" to bring out the highlights

      I added white striations and some speckling next, trying to give it that "marble" look.

     I painted the the skulls on top with Ceramcoat "Bronze".

     Next, I drybrushed the skulls with Ceramcoat "14K Gold".   I then got out my bottle of Apple Barrel "Apple Maroon", and with my small drybrush I dabbed in a stippling way on top of the altar to add a blood stain.  Lastly, I painted the metal base around the alter with Folk Art "Medium "Gray".

     When the piece had a few hours to dry, I painted the whole thing with Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish", and when this had dried overnight I sprayed the altar with Testor's "Dullcote"

     I'm pleased with how this came out, as I think it has a good "evil" look to it.   And best of all it was a nice easy piece to paint that I could complete in a day.

Figure 93 of 265: Complete

Giant Spiders: Figures 91 & 92 of 265

First let me apologize for no Monday post, but it has been really busy around here, as my wife and I are in the process of buying a new house.   I was, however, able to squeeze in the two Giant Spiders from the Vermin set this past week to have something to post today.
      I prepped them in the usual way; soaking overnight in some water with a couple drops of dish soap added, and then giving a light scrub with a soft toothbrush and rinsing, then drying.  As you may remember from previous posts, I ran out of my usual Krylon Flat Black Camouflage with Fusion spray paint a couple weeks ago, and I was unable to find a replacement can of it. (I hope Krylon hasn't stopped making it!) So, I got a can of Krylon regular Flat Black Fusion, which I hoped would be the same as the Camouflage variety, but it turned out it wasn't.  I sprayed these guys with it, and as expected, it left them tacky, even after a few days of drying.        I glued the figures to 1 inch black-primed fender washers, and glued these to a tongue depressor for ease of handling during painting.
        I decided, like the Giant Beetles, I finished a little while ago, that I didn't want to do theses just plain old black, brown or gray.  So, since I had just done the Giant Beetles in a green scheme, I tried to think of another icky bug color to paint these, and came up with red as a good possibility.  So, like with the Beetles, I went to Google and did an image search for "Red Spiders".  Eeeeks, there's a page I didn't want to study too long, as a page full of pictures of red spiders is a really creepy thing! Anyway, I got a general idea of how a red spider looks with a quick perusal, and set about to paint these Bones.  To start, I painted them with black craft paint to remove the shiny tackiness.  (I may just end up using regular black craft paint to do all my priming from now on, as I really don't like the tackiness.)

  Next, I painted them with Apple Barrel "Apple Maroon", gently feathering the paint up onto the rear segment of the body, generally trying to leave this rear segment the original black.

I then dry brushed the areas I has just painted with Ceramcoat "Bright Red".

I followed this with adding some highlights to the raised areas with Americana "Cadmium Red".  Next, I cleaned up the black on the rear segments, carefully feathering the black back over any red that had covered too much of the segment. I also added some drybrushed black sections to the tip of each leg. And, at this time I added two black dots for eyes.  Lastly, I painted the fangs with Americana "Buttermilk, and then gave them white highlights; I also added tiny white highlight dots to each eye.
   After the Spiders had a couple hours to dry, I gave them each a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish, and when this was dry, I flocked their bases. I let this dry overnight, and then sprayed them with Testor's "Dullcote" the next day.

Like the Giant Beetles, I'm pleased with how these turned out.  I really think using a non-standard color for these worked really well, making them look particularly terrifying.

Figures 91 & 92: Complete

Big Scorpions Converted with 10mm Goblin Mounts: Figures 89 & 90

Last week I worked on the two big scorpions from the Vermin set.  When I first looked at these after they had arrived last year, I had begun to consider the possibility of using them  as mounts for some sort of 10mm riders for use with my 10mm armies for our soon to be published mass fantasy combat rules, "Bear Yourselves Valiantly".  So, a couple months ago I sat down with the scorpions, and a couple of riders commandeered from a pack of Eureka's 10mm Elves Riding Stags that I had; and I began to fiddle with seeing how they looked mounted on the scorpions. I ended up having to trim the bottom of their boots off to make their legs fit down in between the legs of the scorpions, but in general I was pleased.  

I knew two wasn't going to be enough, so I ordered another pack of the scorpions from Reaper, and after they arrived, I fixed them up with riders as well.  I decided even though the castings were of Elves, I was going to paint them up as Goblins, so I could use them in my already existing Goblin army.  I ended up trimming off the fancy crested helmets a couple of them wore, that can be seen on the rider on the left in the photo above, as I felt they were a bit much for Goblins.
 So, to back track a little, before I started putting any of the riders on the scorpions I soaked them overnight in some water with a little dish soap in it, and then gave them a light scrub with a soft toothbrush and rinsed them.  When dry, I began gluing the riders on using Gorilla brand super glue.  I then glued the figures onto a 3"x1" steel base (the standard unit sized base for BYV) using Aleene's Tacky glue and then sprayed everything with the Krylon Fusion flat black. I subsequently had to go back and use black craft paint to paint in between the little scorpion legs to cover some areas the spray paint missed.

I now gave the scorpions a coat of Ceramcoat "Maple Sugar Tan", and then  went back and painted the central part of their body with DecoArt "Cinnamon Brown".

Next, I gave them a wash with GW Devlan Mud wash, and then added highlights to all the legs and tail with the "Maple Sugar Tan" mixed with a little Americana "Buttermilk". Now I drybrushed the two riders wearing chainmail with  Ceramcoat "Metallic Pewter", followed with painting all the Goblins' skin with Folk Art "Hausser Green Medium".

I then proceeded to the shields, painting them Americana "Cadmium Red." Their tunics I painted with Apple Barrle "Burnt Sienna", and their boots with GW "Scorched Brown". Next I did the spear shafts with Americana "Mississippi Mud", and lastly the wolf skin the one Goblin is wearing I drybrushed with Folk Art "Medium Gray".

Lastly, I painted the spear tips and the sword with Ceramcoat Metallic Pewter, and I added some scary face decorations to the Goblins' shields with white. When everything had time to dry, I then gave it a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish", and when this was dry. I flocked the bases.  I actually had to flock then in two steps; first using a very fine brush to paint my glue/paint mix between all the legs and the front claws and then flocking those areas, and then going back when that had dried and painting and flocking the larger areas with a larger brush.  After all the flock had time to dry, I then sprayed the base with Testor's "Dullcote". 

     I'm pleased with how these turned out. I think they make a perfect mount for the 10mm figures, and I am considering getting some more to expand my Goblin scorpion-cavalry force.

Figures 89 & 90: Complete

The Beetles! - Figures 87 & 88 of 265

Last week I painted the two big beetles from the Vermin set.  I prepped them in the usual way; soaking overnight in some water with a couple drops of dish soap added, and then giving a light scrub with a soft toothbrush and rinsing, then drying.  Unfortunately, I ran out of my usual Krylon Flat Black Camouflage with Fusion spray paint, and I was unable to find a replacement can of it. (I hope Krylon hasn't stopped making it!) So, I got a can of Krylon regular Flat Black Fusion, which I hoped would be the same as the Camouflage variety, but it turned out it wasn't.  I sprayed these guys with it, and it left them tacky, even after a few days of drying.  You can see they're still a bit shiny in the photo below.  Anyway, I've heard reports of folks having success going ahead and painting over the tacky primer paint, so I thought I would forge ahead, and give it a shot.  I glued the figures to 1 inch black-primed fender washers, and glued these to a tongue depressor for ease of handling during painting.

     I  decided I didn't want to paint theses just boring brown or black, so I thought I'd try a more vibrant color.  I figured green would be a nice icky color for a bug, so I did a quick Google image search for "green bug" to get some ideas.  With those images in my mind, I began by giving the front end of the beetles and their legs a heavy dry brushing with Folk Art "Hauser Green Medium".

I then went back and filled in the areas where the drybrushing hadn't quite gone on heavy enough.  I then added highlights to the body and legs with Americana "Olive Green" (which is actually more of a light lime green despite it's name.)  Next, I painted the back of the body with Folk Art "Metallic Emerald Green", and then did a little band of Ceramcoat "Metallic Copper" around the edges of the front segment of the beetle.

  Lastly, I painted the pincers and the eyes black, and then gave the pincers a light drybrushing with Folk Art "Medium Gray". I also added a tiny white highlight dot to each eye.  I painted all the textured surface of the figures' integral bases with Americana Mississippi Mud, and then let them dry overnight.  I then gave them a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish" and let them dry a few hours.  Finally, I flocked the bases.  The next day I sprayed them with Testor's "Dullcote" varnish.

  I'm pleased with how these turned out.  And, so far I'm happy to report there has been no return of the tackiness.  Due to family visiting for Easter, there will probably not be a write-up for Thursday.

Figures 87 & 88: Complete

Cassie, Gnome Wizard: Figure 86 of 265

Over this past weekend, I finished up Cassie the Gnome Wizard from the 30 New Bones set.  Let me start this write-up with an apology though, because as you will see when you scroll down, I accidentally deleted a few of the in-process painting pictures for this figure.  :(   So, you'll have to infer a lot from picture 2 to picture 3. :)
   Anyway, I began in the usual way; soaking in a dish of water with a couple drops of dish soap added, then giving a light scrub with a soft toothbrush, and then rinsing and drying.  I then glued her to a 7/8" black-primed fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue, and then glued this washer with a couple drops of Elmer's glue to half a tongue depressor.

 I looked up Gnomes in my trusty old D & D Monster Manual, and read that they have skin that is wood brown, an they have white hair.  Their clothing is leather and earth tones, and they like jewelry. So, to begin, I selected a nice "wood brown" paint and started on her skin, painting it Americana "Sable Brown".  Next I painted her leotard (?) with Accent "Real Umber", and her leggings with Americana "Khaki"

Now I did her coat with Accent "Mustard Seed". I then proceeded to all her belts and straps, painting them DecoArt "Cinnamon Brown".  Her boots I painted Americana "Asphaltum".  Next I worked on the staff, painting that Folk Art "BarnWood".   I followed up then with painting the scroll she carried with Americana "Buttermilk, and the Jug with GW "Terracotta" with a GW "Graveyard Earth" cork.
   Next I did the stone in her staff.  I wanted it to be a red gem to add a splash of color to an otherwise drab figure.  While I'm good at painting ornamental rounded gems, I still have a problem with faceted ones.  I started by painting it GW "Blood Red"  I then shaded the thicker parts of the upper facets with  Apple Barrel "Apple Maroon", the lower facets I shaded with Apple Barrel "Yellow". I then added some white highlights on the faces of the upper facets ,and along some of the edges.   I didn't really get the gem look I wanted, but it turned out looking like some kind of cool fire-rock.
   I worked now on the metal bits using mainly Cermacoat "14K Gold".  Here again I wanted to spiff up a drab figure, and the Monster Manual had said they liked jewelry,  so I applied gold decorations and trim liberally on the figure. I also used this color for all the buckles and the fittings on her staff.  The scroll caps I painted with Ceramcoat "Bronze" just to add a different metallic tone.
  When all I had done so far had a couple hours to dry, I gave the whole figure (except for the fire-rock) a wash with thinned Winsor-Newton "Peat Brown" Ink.  I then went back with some of the base colors and added highlights here and there.
   I finished up by painting her hair.  I first painted it all white, then, when that had dried, I did a light wash with some heavily thinned black ink. When this had dried, I then went back over and added some pure white highlights.  Lastly, I painted her eyes white, and added pupils with  Americana "True Blue"
  When the figure had overnight to dry, I gave it a coat with Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish"  When this had dried, I flocked the base.  The next day I sprayed it with Testor's "Dullcote"

    I'm pleased with how this figure turned out.  It was a nice change of pace to paint a Gnome, which I don't think I have ever done before.

Figure 86 of 265: Complete

Krazy for Kobolds! Figures 83-85 of 265

  This week, I completed my next to last three of the Kobolds group from the Dungeon Attack set.  I began in the usual way, with soaking them in some water with a little dish soap added, and then giving them a light scrub with a soft toothbrush and then rinsing them.  When dry, I sprayed them with Krylon Flat Black Camouflage with Fusion spray paint, and when dry, glued them to black-primed 7/8" fender washers with Aleene's Tacky glue. I then glued the washers to a tongue depressor with a couple drops of Elmer's white glue.

Before I began painting the first group of Kobolds, I had consulted my old trusty D & D Monster Manual, to see how they had described them.  The manual had said that they were, "...a very dark rusty brown, to a rusty black."    So,I had decided I wanted to go for the "rusty black" look and so far I had been happy with how this look had been turning out.  I started the usual way for the Kolbolds, by applying a coat of Folk Art "Barnyard Red" to the figures to get the "rusty" look.  Next,  I worked on their clothing, painting their loin cloths Accent "Real Umber", and the this time I did the rest of the clothing with Folk Art "Burgundy".

  Their assorted straps I painted with Americana "Mississippi Mud". The back of the shield I painted DecoArt Cinnamon Brown"; and the shield handle and any pouches they were wearing I painted Americana "Asphaltum".  For the front of the shield, I used Americana "Cadmium Red".   I then moved to painting the spear shafts Folk Art "Barn Wood", and the rope binding on the spears with Americana "Sable Brown".  I wrapped up the non-metallics on he figures by painting their horns with Americana "Khaki Tan", and  the skull belt buckles and their teeth and claws, with Americana "Buttermilk".

Now I painted the stonework bases with Folk Art "Medium Gray", and I painted the little patches of vegetation on the Spear Kolbold's base with DecoArt "Forest Green".  Then, I did  the metal bits; sword, spear points, studs and buckle, with Ceramcoat "Metallic Pewter", and the armored shoulder pieces on the two with swords using Accent "Princely Pewter".

After all the paint had a while to dry, I gave the figures a wash with thinned Vallejo "Black" ink. 

I then went back and gave the figures' skin and clothing highlights with the base colors I had used. I then painted black noses on the Kobolds, and "Cadmium Red" dots for eyes.  I also used the "Buttermilk" to highlight their teeth.   The weapon edges I gave highlights with Folk Art "Silver Sterling".    After everything had time to dry thoroughly, I gave the figures a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish".  When this was dry, I flocked the bases.  After the bases had overnight to dry, I sprayed the figures with Testor's "Dullcote".

Only three more Kolbolds to go!   Then we can get the family photo. :)

Figures 83-85: Complete

Candlesticks: Figure(s) 82 of 265

Over the weekend I painted up the two standing candle holders from the Dungeon Dressing set. I'm only counting it as one figure though for purposes of my count off, because there is only one shown in the original Kickstarter Vampire Set photo, on which I based my total figure count for this blog.
   To begin, I soaked them for a few hours in a some water with a little dish soap added, then gave them a light scrub with a soft toothbrush, and rinsed and dried them.  I then glued them each to a 7/8" black-primed fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue.  I glued both the washers to a tongue depressor using a couple drops of Elmer's white glue.

I began by painting both the candle holders and the bases black.

I then drybrushed them both with a little Folk Art "Metallic Blue Sapphire" to give them a bit of a metallic sheen to help the illusion that they are made of iron.  I then painted the candles with Americana "Buttermilk".

Next, I gave the candles highlights with some plain white, and I painted the flames with Apple Barrel "Lemon Chiffon".

I then painted the outer edge of the flames with  a little Apple Barrel "Yellow", followed by a bit of Americana "Tangerine", and lastly a lick of GW "Blood Red" at the top.  To finish off, I painted the stone base of the model, and the fender washer with Americana Mississippi Mud", as I like it's neutral gray-tan color for bases to use on either stone or wood floors.  After everything had overnight to dry, I gave them a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish".  The next day I sprayed them with some Testor's Dullcote".

I'm basically pleased with how these turned out.  They were quick and easy pieces to complete.

Figure(s) 62 of 265: Complete