Brass Bull: Bones 2 Figure

     This past week I took a break from Gnolls and Beastmen, and painted the Brass Bull from the Bully for You set.   I thought this figure was so plain that I wanted to fancy it somehow; and I got the idea of making it look more like a clockwork bull by adding some old watch gears I had in my bits cabinet.
     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 had plans to add several of the gears to the figure; one as the main gear coming from the back, and a set emerging from each of the shoulders and thighs; but in the end I just went with the main drive gear coming out of the back.  The way the body is angled and bent, I didn't feel confident enough about adding all the gears and having them end up looking like part of the same machinery, and not just random assorted gears angled this way and that.   Sometimes simplest is best.
   So I cut a slot in his back between his shoulders, and then cut the gear roughly in half, so it would nest down in the slot.  I then superglued it in place.  When the modification was done, I then glued the figure to a black-primed 1.5"x 2" steel base with Aleene's Tacky glue.

      I began by painting the entire figure with Americana "Bittersweet Chocolate", and the figure's base with Americana "Charcoal Grey"

      Next, I drybrushed the entire figure with Ceramcoat "Bronze".  I then painted the horns with Folk Art Metallics "Gunmetal Grey", and the hooves with Ceramcoat "Copper".

      When everything was dry, I gave the entire figure a wash with Citadel "Nuln Oil" wash using a wet brush".

     Then, when the wash was dry, I drybrushed the body with Ceramcoat "14k Gold".  I then highlighted the horns with Ceramcoat "Metallic Silver", and the hooves with the base "Copper".   I mixed a little of the "Metallic Silver"  with the "14K Gold", and did some spot highlighting on the sprockets of the gear in an effort to make them look more worn.
     Next, I painted the eyes with Ceramcoat "Opaque Red", and used this color to add drybrushed reflections around the eye socket and on the horns.  Next, I added inner highlights to the eyes with Crafter's Acrylic "Pure Pumpkin", and then Reaper MSP "Golden Glow" for the inner pinpoint of light in the eye.
    When I was done painting the figure, I used some white glue to glue a little sand to the base.  When this was dry, I painted the sand with the "Charcoal Grey", and when the paint was dry, I drybrushed the base with some of the "Territorial Beige",  then some of the "Antique White", and lastly Americana "Bleached Sand".
    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 him with Testor's Dullcote".

     I'm happy with how he turned out, though I think I probably should have gone a little brighter with the brass to get the contrast between the plates to look a little better.   Ideally I should have hand-painted in each plate's shadow, and highlighted each plate's edge, instead of relying on washes and drybrushing; but it's a gaming model after all, and for that purpose I think it looks just fine.

Mantic "Terrain Crate" Kickstarter

   I recently went in on this nifty Kickstarter, and I thought I'd let folks know about it, as it seems a great deal for scenery items.    And, Mantic is a know company with a good track record.  Check it out, or better yet, become a backer!

TERRAIN CRATE

     Here's an example of one of the sets. The sets cost between $75 and $60, depending on how many you order, so the individual pieces cost less than $1 each!  There are two others; "Battlefield", and "Town", plus a number of smaller add-on sets.

Bronzeheart, Minotaur Hero: Bones 2 Figure

   This past week, I painted the second of the Bones II minotaur figures from the Beast Mode set: Bronzeheart, Minotaur Hero.
 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 1.5" fender washer 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 giving the figure a wash with heavily thinned Reaper "Brown Liner" using a wet brush.

     When the wash was dry, I painted his skin with Games Workshop "Vermin Brown".  I then painted his head, leg, and arm fur with Crafter's Acrylic "Cinnamon Brown", and the handle of his axe with Folk Art "Dark Brown".

     Next, I painted the wraps on the handle of his axe with Folk Art "Barnyard Red", and then painted his horns with Folk Art Platinum Grey" and his teeth with Americana "Antique White".   I then painted his armor all with Accent "Mustard Seed", and his weapons, and wrist guards wth Americana "Zinc".  After that I did all his belts and straps with Americana "Raw Umber" and the pouch at his side with Folk Art "Teddy Bear Brown".  I then painted his hooves and the base with Americana "Charcoal Grey".

     I then painted the armor with Ceramcoat "Bronze", and the weapons and wrist guard with Folk Art Metallics "Gunmetal Grey".  Then, when everything had a while to dry, I gave the entire figure a wash with Citadel "Agrax Earthshade" wash using a wet brush.   When the wash was dry, I highlighted his skin with a mix of Americana "Terra Cotta" and the "Vermin Brown".  After that, I highlighted his head and the fur on his legs and arms with Americana "Sable Brown".  I painted his eyes with Accent "RealUmber", and added tiny white dots to each. After that, I highlighted his teeth with Americana "Bleached Sand". 

     Next, I  highlighted the straps, and the axe handle, with Americana "Mississippi Mud", and the wraps on the axe handle with Americana "Shading Flesh".   I also blended in some black to the ends of his horns, and highlighted the pouch at his side with Ceramcoat "Territorial Beige".  I then worked on the metallics; highlighting the weapons and wrist guards that I had originally painted with the "Gunmetal Grey" using Ceramcoat "Metallic Silver", and the armor and other parts I had painted with the "Bronze", I highlighted using Ceramcoat "14K Gold".
      When I was done painting the figure, I used some white glue to glue a little sand to the base.  When this was dry, I painted the sand with the "Charcoal Grey", and when the paint was dry, I drybrushed the base with some of the "Territorial Beige", and then some of the "Antique White".
    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 him with Testor's Dullcote".

   Like his brother that I did last week, I'm pleased with the results.    Nothing exciting, but good solid gaming figures.

Bloodhoof, Minotaur Barbarian: Bones 2 Figure

     This past week I took a break from Gnolls and worked on another beastman figure for our upcoming Frostgrave game: Bloodhoof, Minotaur Barbarian, from the Beast Mode 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 1.5" fender washer 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 giving the figure a wash with heavily thinned Reaper "Brown Liner" using a wet brush.  When that was dry, I painted his skin with Games Workshop "Vermin Brown".  I then painted his head and leg fur with Crafter's Acrylic "Cinnamon Brown", and his loin cloth with Ceramcoat "Territorial Beige".

      Next, I painted all his straps and one of his belts with Americana "Raw Umber". I painted the other belt  with Folk Art "Teddy Bear Brown", and then painted the axe handle and a patch of material on his shoulder with Folk Art "Dark Brown".   After that, I painted his horns with Folk Art Platinum Grey", and then painted his hooves, and the base with Americana "Charcoal Grey". I worked on the base colors for the metal next, painting his axe head and some of his armor bits with Americana "Zinc", and then painting his nose ring, arm band, and some of the other armor with Accent "Mustard Seed".

      I then repainted the parts I had painted the "Zinc" using Folk Art Metallics "Gunmetal Grey"; and repainted the parts I had painted with the "Mustard Seed using Ceramcoat "Bronze".  Then, when everything had a while to dry, I gave the entire figure a wash with Citadel "Agrax Earthshade" wash using a wet brush.   When the wash was dry, I highlighted his skin with a mix of Americana "terra Cotta" and the "Vermin Brown".  After that, I highlighted his head and lower legs with Americana "Sable Brown".  I painted his eyes with Accent "RealUmber", and added tiny white dots to each.

     Next, I highlighted his loin cloth with Folk Art "Butter Pecan",  and then highlighted the straps, and the axe handle, with Americana "Mississippi Mud".  I also blended in some black to the ends of his horns. I then worked on the metallics; highlighting the axe and armor that I had originally painted with the "Gunmetal Grey" using Ceramcoat "Metallic Silver", and the parts I had painted with the "Bronze", using Ceramcoat "14K Gold".
      When I was done painting the figure, I used some white glue to glue a little sand to the base.  When this was dry, I painted the sand with the "Charcoal Grey", and when the paint was dry, I drybrushed the base with some of the Territorial Beige", and then some Americana "Antique White".
    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 him with Testor's Dullcote".

     I like how he turned out.  It's nothing exciting, but a nice solid gaming figure. I'm going to try to finish up his partner the Minotaur Hero figure next week before returning to the Gnolls.

Two Gnoll Warriors: Bones 2 Figures

  This past week I painted two of the Gnoll Warriors from the Bones II  24 Bonus Figures set.
  I prepped these 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 figures to black-primed 1.5" fender washers with Aleene's Tacky glue, and then glued the washer-mounted figures to a tongue depressor with a couple drops of the Elmer's glue under each washer.

     I began by painting their armor all Black, and when it was dry I drybrushed it with  Folk Art Metallics "Gunmetal Grey".  I then passed over the armor with a lighter drybrush of Folk Art "Silver Sterling".    Next, I painted heir fur with Apple Barrel "Rock Grey", and then painted their manes and the end of their tails with Accent "Golden Oxide".

     I then painted their kilts with Anita's "Burnt Sienna", and then did the inside of their shield backs with Folk Art "Teddy Bear Brown". After that, I painted all their straps and belts with Americana "Bittersweet Chocolate", and then painted the handle of their morning stars with Reaper MSP "Turkey Brown" and their teeth with Americana "Antique White".

   Next, I painted alternating stripe patterns on their shields with  Ceramcoat "Black Cherry", and Apple Barrel "Yellow".  I then painted the shield metalwork, and the morning star metal parts with Americana Zinc.  After that, I painted the patch of material under the strap on their left shoulder blade and the wraps on their feet, with Nicole's "Brown".

     I then repainted the shield metalwork, and morning star metal parts with the "Gunmetal Grey", and then let everything dry for a while.  When I returned to the figures, I gave them both a wash with Citadel "Nuln Oil" wash using a wet brush.    When the wash was dry, I highlighted their fur with Folk Art "Platinum Grey", and their manes, and the end of their tails, with Americana "Tangerine".  After that, I painted their muzzles, noses, eyes, claws, and the bases, Black.

      Next, I highlighted their kilts with Americans "Shading Flesh", and then painted the stitching on the kilts with Americana "Khaki Tan". After that, I highlighted all the straps and belts with Americana "Sable Brown", and then highlighted the front of the shields with Reaper MSP "Holly Berry" for the red stripes, and Reaper MSP "Golden Glow" on the yellow stripes.   I then highlighted the handle of the morning stars and the feet wraps with Folk Art "Butter Pecan", and then did the teeth with Crafter's Acrylic "Light Antique White".  I then went back over the metal parts adding highlights with Ceramcoat "Metallic Silver".
     Lastly, I used some white glue to glue a little sand to the bases.  When this was dry, I painted it all Black.  When the Black was dry, I drybrushed it, and the Gnolls' bases, with Americana "Neutral Grey", and then some Folk Art "Platinum Grey".      I let the figures dry overnight and the next day I gave them a coat of Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish.  Another overnight dry, and I sprayed them with Testor's Dullcote".

   I'm real happy with these two fellows.  I've got two more from this set to finish now, in order to complete all the Gnolls that came with Bones II.  I'm looking forward to taking a group shot of all of them when I'm done.

Beastman Warrior 1 & 2: Bones 2 Figures

   I took a break from Gnolls this past week to paint the two Beastmen Warriors from the Bones 2 Beast Mode set.
    I prepped these 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 figures to black-primed 1" fender washers with Aleene's Tacky glue, and then glued the washer-mounted figures to a tongue depressor with a couple drops of the Elmer's glue under each washer.
   I forgot to take a starting photo, so here are the photos from the Reaper Online Store.

     I began by giving the beastman on the left what I thought would be a wash with heavily thinned Reaper "Grey Liner" using a wet brush, but I picked up the bottle of "Blue Liner" by mistake!  The beastman on the right I gave a wash of heavily thinned Reaper "Brown Liner" using a wet brush. 

      When these washes were dry, I painted the skin of the left beastman a 50/50 mix of Americana "Neutral Grey" and Americana "Shading Flesh"; and the skin of the beastman on the right I painted a 50/50 mix of the "Shading Flesh" and Folk Art "Teddy Bear Brown".  Next, I painted the fur of the left beastman with Americana "Dove Grey", and the fur of the right beastman with Nicole's "Brown".   I then went back and painted the horns of the left beastman with Ceramcoat "Territorial Beige", and the horns of the right beastman with Americana "Zinc".  While I had the "Zinc" out, I also painted the horn points on both figures, as well as both the axe heads. 

     I then used Citadel "Snakebite Leather" to paint the loincloth on the left figure, as well as it's wrist guards, and the medallion and face on it's belt.  Likewise, I used the "Snakebite Leather" to also paint the wrist band, medallions and belt face on the right figure. Next, I painted the loincloth of the righthand figure with Americana "Bittersweet Chocolate", and then painted the axe handles with Folk Art "Dark Brown", and the belts with Crafter's Acrylic Cinnamon Brown".  After that, I went back and painted the muzzle of the righthand one with the "Dove Grey", and then painted the bases and hooves with Black.

    Next, I painted the axe heads, horn points, the chainmail on the left one's loincloth, and the chain bracelet on the right one's right arm, all with Folk Art Metallics "Gunmetal Grey".  I followed that with going back and painting the belt faces and medallions, as well as the wrist band on the right one's left arm, all with Ceramcoat "Bronze".   Then, after everything had a while to dry, I gave both figures a wash using Citadel "Nuln Oil" wash using a wet brush.

     When the wash was dry, I first did highlights on the left one's skin using a mix of Americana "Mississippi Mud, and Folk Art "Milkshake". I then highlighted the right one's skin using Crafter's Edition "Spice Brown".  Next, I highlighted the left one's fur with White, as well as the right one's muzzle;  and highlighted the right one's fur with Americana "Sable Brown".   After that, I moved to the horns, highlighting the left one with Americana Khaki", and the right one with the "Neutral Grey".  I then worked on the loin cloths, highlighting the left one's, as well as his wrist guards, with Americana Terra Cotta", and the right one's loin cloth with Americana "Mississippi Mud".   I then turned to the metallics; highlighting the axe heads, horn tips, the chainmail on the left one, and the chain on the right one's arm with Ceramcoat "Metallic Silver". Next, I highlighted the parts I had painted with the "Bronze", using Ceramcoat "14K Gold".

       When I was done painting the figures, I used some white glue to glue a little sand to their bases.  When this was dry, I painted them all Black.  When the Black was dry, I drybrushed the bases with some Apple Barrel "Rock Grey", and then some Americana "Grey Sky".

    I let the figures dry overnight and the next day I gave them a coat of Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish.  Another overnight dry, and I sprayed them with Testor's Dullcote".

   I'm happy with how these nice simple figures turned out.  I was surprised however, that like the gnolls I've been working on recently, these too had some serious mold line issues.   I wonder why this seems to be so prevalent in all these humanoid animal figures? 

Boneflail, Gnoll Cleric: Bones II Figure

    This past week I painted up the Boneflail, Gnoll Cleric, figure from the Bones II Gnolls & Bugbears set.  This is my third Gnoll to complete as I work my way through the ones from the Bones II Kickstarter in the eventual expectation to play the scenarios in the Frostgrave "Into the Breeding Pits" supplement book.

     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 1.25" fender washer 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 giving the figure a wash with heavily thinned Reaper "Grey Liner" using a wet brush.  When that was dry, I painted his fur (or is it supposed to be a her?) Folk Art  "Gray Green", and then did his/her mane, and the end of the tail, with Apple Barrel "Burnt Sienna".  I then painted the tunic with Aleene's "Deep Khaki".

     Next, I pained the belt with Reaper MSP "Turkey Brown", and then painted the side pouch and its strap, as well as the right arm wrist guard, with Citadel "Snake Bite Leather.  I then painted the face of the shield with Folk Art "Barnyard Red" and the inside of the shield with Folk Art "Dark Brown".  I also used the "Dark Brown" to paint the rear pouch, and then I painted the little sack tucked in the belt with Americana "Mississippi Mud".   After that, I painted the fringe on the tunic with Crafter's Acrylic "Bright Yellow", then used the "Bright Yellow" to paint a bone deign on the shield.

     I then painted the straps on the shield with Americana "Bittersweet Chocolate", and the wraps on his feet with Americana "Asphaltum".   After that I painted all the bones and skulls with Americana "Antique White". I then went back and painted the horns on the front skull with FolkArt "Barn Wood", and the teeth on the shoulder skull, as well as the gnoll's teeth, with Americana "Bleached Sand". Next, I painted all the little strings tying the bones on the gnoll's outfit, with the "Barnyard Red"; and then did the little cloth patches on the top of the  tunic with Crafter's Acrylic "Christmas Red", Crafter's Acrylic "Purple Passion", and White.  After that, I painted the armband and the morning star with Americana "Zinc".

     I painted the morning star and the arm band with Folk Art Metallic's "Gunmetal Grey", and then when everything had a while to dry, I gave the entire figure a wash with Citadel "Nuln Oil" wash using a wet brush.   When the wash was dry, I drybrushed the fur with Folk Art "Porcelain White", and then highlighted the mane and tail fringe with Americana "Shading Flesh".  After that, I painted the eyes and the muzzle Black.

     Next, I highlighted the tunic with  Aleene's Dusty Khaki, and then highlighted all the bones with the "Bleached Sand", and the teeth with Crafter's Acrylic "Light Antique White".  I then highlighted the side pouch and wrist guard with Ceramcoat "Maple Sugar Tan", and then I did the highlights on the shield and all the little bone ties with Crafter's Acrylic Orange Spice." After that, I  highlighted all the browns with Americana "Sable Brown", and then did the stitching on the shield and the back bottom of the tunic with Americana "Khaki". Lastly, I highlighted the metal parts with Ceramcoat "Metallic Silver"
      When I was done painting the figure, I used some white glue to glue a little sand to the base.  When this was dry, I painted it all Black.  When the Black was dry, I drybrushed it with some of the "Neutral Grey", and then some Duncan "Slate Grey".
    I let the figure dry overnight and the next day I gave him/her a coat of Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish.  Another overnight dry, and I sprayed it with Testor's Dullcote".

     I'm happy with how this figure came out;  though I have to say all these gnolls so far, particularly this one, have had a tone of flash on the mold lines that I'm not used to seeing on Bones.