Painting Mudcroak Squog Mounted on Giant Rhinocerous Beetle Conversion Bones Figure

      Last week I posted about the conversion figure I made using the "Giant Rhinoceros Beetle" from Bones 4 Fan Favorites Expansion, and a "Mudcroak, Squog" figure.  This past week, I set about painting the figure.   As I mentioned in that article, I planned to use this figure as a Hero or Leader with my existing Frog Army, made up mostly of Eureka Miniatures' range of Frog Warriors.  Most of the units in this army are painted like Dyeing Poison Dart Frogs, and I want to paint this figure that way too.

An actual Dyeing Poison Dart Frog

A couple examples of my original warrior frog figures, and the paint job I would be attempting to replicate.

    I had glued the figure to a 2" fender washer when I was making it; and now I glued that washer, using a couple drops of Elmer's glue, to the top of a large pill bottle. 

         Given the way the beetle sat so close to the sculpted terrain of the base, I thought it might be best to paint the base first.  So, I gave it a base coat of Americana "Charcoal Grey"; and when that was dry, I gave it a cot of Citadel "Agrax Earthshade" wash.  When the wash was dry, I drybrushed the base with, first, Ceramcoat "Territorial Beige", and then with  Americana "Fawn".

     Next, I worked on the beetle.  I gave it a base coat of Accent "Real Umber", and when dry, I gave it a coat of Citadel "Nuln Oil" wash.  When the wash was dry, I drybrushed the top of the body and legs with some Folk Art "Tomato Red".  After that, I drybrushed the underside with Americana "Neutral Grey".  I finished the beetle by painting its eyes with a little Reaper MSP "Holly Berry". 

     I then began work on the frog.  I first painted frog's underside, arms, and legs with Americana "True Blue".  When dry, I gave it a coat of slightly thinned Iron Wind Metals "Dark Blue" Ink.   When the ink wash was dry, I painted the back of the frog with Ceramcoat "Black.

     Next, I highlighted the blue of the frog with a mix of the base "True Blue", and some Crafter's Acrylic "Tropical Blue".  Then I highlighted the black back with some Ceramcoat "Charcoal". The next step was to paint on the banding pattern using Crafter's Acrylic "Daffodil Yellow".    I realized at that point my job would be a lot easier without the skull helmet in place; and though I had tried to do things the lazy way, I decided the hemet needed to come off.  So with a careful pull and twist I was able to separate it from the head.   I fixed the blue and black arts of the head, and the yellow banding that goes up on to the head.  I then highlighted all the banding with Apple Barrel "Lemon Chiffon".  My next step was to do the teeth. I painted them with Ceramcoat "White", and when dry, I gave them a coat of the "Nuln Oil".  When the "Nuln Oil" was dry, I highlighted the teeth with Americana "Snow White:  After that, I painted the eyes using reaper MSP "Bronzed Skin", gave them pupils with the "Black", and then highlight dots with some  "Snow White".  

     Meanwhile, I also  painted the helmet completely with the "White", and when it was dry, I gave it a coat of Citadel Contrast "Skeleton Horde".  When that was dry, I drybrushed it with Americana "Bleached Sand", and then a little of the "White"

          Satisfied with the head, I scraped a little of the paint off the head as well as the underside of the helmet, and use the Gorilla Super Glue Gel to Glue the finished helmet in place.  I then painted his kilt-like garment with Pathfinder MSP "Urgathoa Red", and his spear shaft with Reaper MSP "Shield Brown".  Next, I painted the pouch hanging on the back of his kilt with Reaper MSP "Ginger Cookie", the one hanging at his side with Reaper MSP "Bronzed Skin", and the bit of plant hanging from his belt with Reaper MSP Bones "Dungeon Slime".   After that, I painted the long tassel hanging from the spear shaft with Reaper MSP HD "Rusty Red": and the wrist wrap on his left forearm, as well as the bracelets on his right arm, the metal fitting on his helmet, and the badges on his spear shaft, with Reaper MSP HD "Golden Brown". 

     I then painted the base of the spear shaft as well as the spear point with Americana "Zinc", and the frog's rope belt with Americana "Antique White".  I also decided that the base coat on the plant hanging from his belt was too light, soI repainted it with Americana  "Festive Green".  I let everything dry for a while, and then I gave the spear, everything hanging from his belt (belt included), and his wraps and bracelets, a coat of the "Agrax Earthshade" wash. 

     When the wash was dry,  I first highlighted his kilt-like garment with, first, Reaper MSP "Fresh Blood", and then a little Reaper MSP "Holly Berry". I then highlighted the plant sprig with the Dungeon Slime",  the pouch on the back with Americana "Khaki Tan", and the pouch on the side with Folk Art "Butter Pecan".   I then highlighted the rope belt with Reaper MSP "Graveyard Bone".  After that, I highlighted the wrist wrap on his left forearm with a little Reaper MSP "Hallowed Orange"

          Next, I highlighted the spear shaft with the "Territorial Beige", and then I turned to the tassel on the spear shaft, which I highlighted with a drybrush of Crafter's Acrylic "Orange Spice", and then a little Americana "Tangerine".  After that, I worked on the metallics, painting the star on the helmet, the bracelets, and the badges on the spear shaft with Folk Art Brushed Metal "Brushed Bronze"; and the spearpoint, as well as the end of the spear, with Folk Art Metallic "Gunmetal Gray".  When these were dry, I went back and highlighted the "Brushed Bronze" with Folk Art Metallic "Pure Gold", and highlighted the "Gunmetal Gray" with Ceramcoat "Metallic Silver".  

     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". When the "Dullcote" was dry, I went back and repainted the eyes and and teeth with a little Americana "DuraClear Gloss" varnish.

Shown with one of the original Eureka Frogs I painted 15 or so years ago.

          I'm really happy with how this converted figure turned out!   In retrospect I wish a little that I had done a bit more with the beetle; but since the frog is so busy, maybe making the beetle plainer was a good choice.

Mudcroak Squog Mounted on Giant Rhinocerous Beetle Conversion Bones Figure

     Back when the Bones 4 Kickstarter was running, when the Giant Rhinoceros Beetle was revealed in the Fan Favorites set, someone posted this photo of a Frog riding a Beetle to the Reaper Forum's "Bones 4 Kickstarter" Thread.   I knew immediately then it was a conversion I would eventually want to try.   I have an extensive Frog Army, and I wanted such a figure to be a Leader or Hero for my forces.  Well, I finally decided last December was the time, as I decided I wanted to make a pair of these; one to give a friend who also has a Frog Army, and one for myself.   I completed the gift one last year, and sent that off for Christmas, and the recipient was very pleased with it.  It was now time to work on mine.

   I had the pieces I needed at hand; the Bones Black "Giant Rhinoceros Beetle" from the Kickstarter, and my rider - for which I  had decided to use the Bones "Mudcroak" Squog figure.

    As I looked at Mudcroak, I knew I would have to separate him from his base, but I also knew there was no way I could remove all his thin feet and little toes from the base without damaging them.  I also knew it would be very hard to conform  a figure that was sculpted to sit flat, to mount correctly onto the curved back of the beetle. So, right off the bat I made the decision to just remove his feet along with the base, with the plan that I would then resculpt them with greenstuff directly onto the beetle's back once I had the frog glued in place.

     Here's a test fit I did, with the frog held in place with blue-tac.

     After I removed the base from the frog figure, the next step was to  attach him to the back of the beetle. I first drilled small holes into the frog and beetle and inserted a small section of paperclip to act as pin to help hold the two together.    You can see in the photo below where I tried to carve the underside of the frog a little to help it conform more to the beetle's curved back.  I had to be careful, as I did't want to carve away too much of the frog's body.

     Next, I trimmed down the integral base of the beetle, as I felt it stood too high.  I mount my figures on fender washers and use magnetic storage, so really didn't need the extra height that this base had.  

I then glued the frog to the beetle's back, and the base to a black-primed 2" washer, using Gorilla Superglue gel for both; and clamped the base while the glue set.

     Next, I began the initial greenstuff work on the figure, and added on the base pads of the feet, the left hand which I had had to remove, and I extended the loin cloth in the back.  I'm not a sculptor by any means, but felt frog feet were in my ability level.

      I then added the toe ridges to the back feet, and did the final connections to connect the feet and hand to their respective limbs.   I also gave the spear a bigger point, as the existing one was too small.

  At this point,  I think it's ready to paint.   So tune in next week to see the finished product!

Giant Ticks: Bones 3 Figures

     This past week I painted up a pair of the Giant Ticks from the Bones 3, 24 Bonus Figures set, as part of my continuing effort to prepare some of the monsters I'll need for next year's Ghost Archipelago campaign.
      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 cut down their bases a little, and then glued the ticks to black-primed 7/8" 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 both figures and their integral bases with Accent "Real Umber".  After that, I painted their backs with Americana "Leaf Green".

     When the "Leaf Green" was dry, I over painted it with Folk Art "Metallic Emerald Green".  Then, when everything had a while to dry I gave both figures a complete coat of Citadel "Nuln Oil" wash".   When the wash was dry, I first highlighted their main bodies with Americana "Mississippi Mud"; then after that, I highlighted their backs with some of the "Metallic Emerald Green" mixed with Ceramcoat "Metallic Silver".  Lastly, I painted in tiny eyes with some Reaper MSP "Holly Berry".

     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 flock their bases.

     Well, they're not anything special, and I didn't devote a whole lot of time to them; but I think they will do very nicely as Ghost Archipelago "Jungle Ticks".

Fly Demons Painted as Giant Bees: Bones 2 Figures

   This past week I painted two of the Fly Demons from the Bones 2 Lesser Demons set, as part of my effort to start assembling the creatures I will need for next year's Ghost Archipelago Campaign.  The rules' creature list calls for a couple of Giant Wasps; but not having any giant wasp figures on hand, I figure the Bones Fly Demons I had would fit the bill well enough if I painted them as Giant Bees.
      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 did the conversion work, and 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 began by painting the bees' heads, undersides, and alternating stripes on their abdomens using Black.  When the Black was dry, I drybrushed it with Americana "Neutral Grey".  I then painted the unpainted alternate stripes on their abdomens with Apple Barrel "Yellow".

      Next, I painted the wings with Americana "Dove Grey".  Then after everything had a while to dry, I gave their wings and the yellow stripes a wash with some thinned Winsor-Newton "Chestnut Brown" ink.  When the wash was dry,  I painted the top spine of each wing with Black and then painted the veins within each wing using some Accent "Real Umber mixed with Black.

     I then painted the center of each wing panel with the"Dove Grey", and did highlights on the mouth and tongue(?) with Crafter's Acrylic "Storm Cloud Grey".  Next, I repainted the eyes with Black to remove any drybrushing that got on them.   After that, I drybrushed the yellow abdomen stripes with some Crafter's Acrylic "Daffodil Yellow", and lastly I did some White highlight dots in the eyes..

     It was now time to work on the base.  First, I drybrushed the the rocky outcroppings with the "Neutral Grey", and then with some Folk Art "Porcelain White".  Next, I drybrushed the log with Americana "Raw Umber", and then with some Americana "Khaki Tan".  Lastly, I painted the skulls with some Americana "Antique White", and then drybrushed them with some Crafter's Acrylic "Light Antique White".
    I then worked on the bases; drybrushing the stones with  Americana "Zinc", then Americana "Neutral Grey", and lastly Folk Art "Porcelain White".  After that, I drybrushed the log with Americana "Raw Umber", then some Americana "Mississippi Mud", and lastly, some Americana "Khaki Tan".   Finally, I drybrushed the skulls with some Americana "Antique White, and then some of the "Light Antique White".
      I let the figures dry overnight and the next morning I gave them a coat of Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish. When that was dry, I flocked their bases. Another overnight dry, and I sprayed them with Testor's Dullcote".

     I'm generally happy with how these turned out.  I think they made the conversion to giant bees pretty well.

Giant Spider (Frostgrave Version): Bones II Figure

    This week, I squeezed in painting, (in between all my Fall-In preparations!), one of the Bones II Giant Spiders from the Core Set Bonus Figures.  I wanted to paint it up as an Ice Spider for use with Frostgrave.
       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 white-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 spider with Crafters Acrylic "Storm Cloud Grey". When this was dry, I gave the entire figure a wash with GW "Badab Black" wash using a wet brush.

     When the wash was dry, I drybrushed the spider with the base "Storm Cloud Grey", and then gave it a lighter drybrushing with Folk Art "Platinum Grey".   I then painted in two eyes with Crafters Edition "Christmas Red".  Next, I took some White and painted a design on the back of the spider, and gave the eyes tiny reflection dots.  Lastly, I used the White to touch up the paint on the base, anywhere that I had accidentally gotten other colors.
      When everything had overnight to dry, I gave the figure a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish".  Then, the next morning, I flocked the base with Woodland Scenics "Snow" flock.  Later that afternoon I sprayed the figure with Testor's Dullcote.

      I decided to go with grey on this fellow, as I think I tend towards blue with my Frostgave stuff, and I wanted to get away from that.  It's a nice and simple monster, and was quick to paint.

Butteryfly Dragon Familiar: Figure 177 of 265

   This week, I started working on the witch figure from the Chronoscope set, as it was Halloween week, but I realized I wasn't going to have enough time to finish her.  So, I pulled out one of the familiars from the Familiars set, and prepared that to do a quick paint job on instead.
      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 white-primed 5/8" 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 Black.  I then drybrushed it with Folk At "Settlers Blue".

     I decided to give the wings a Monarch butterfly look, so I painted in the design with Crafters Acrylic "Pure Pumpkin". I also used the "Pure Pumpkin" to give it tiny dot eyes.

      Next, I painted the rock with Folk Art "Medium Grey", then drybrushed it with Crafters Acrylic "Storm Cloud Grey", and then Folk Art "Platinum Grey". Then I painted the tiny plant atop the rock with Americana "Avocado", and then painted in some details with Crafters Acrylic "Wild Green".
        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.

     It's a nice quirky little figure, and I think the orange wings give it a nice presence.
     I think I should have the Chronoscope witch ready for next week.


Figure 177 of 265: Complete.

Ankheg: Bones II Figure

    This week I also completed the Ankheg figure from the Bones II Dungeon Monsters Set.  While I didn't see myself having much use for it as a 28mm monster, I thought it would look pretty cool as a Giant Anhkheg (D & D Monster Manual spelling) to go with my 10mm "Bear Yourselves Valiantly" fantasy armies.   So, 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.  Then, I glued to a black-primed standard 3" x 1.5" BYV  sized metal base with Aleene's Tacky glue.

     I began by painting the outer body of the creature with Folk Art "Dark Brown". I then painted the underbelly and the inside of the legs with GW "Tanned Flesh". I followed that with painting the upturned ground around the beastie with Ceramcoat "Walnut".

   Next, I painted some of the lumps on the base as boulders using Folk Art "Medium Gray". Then, when everything had a chance to dry, I gave the entire creature a wash with GW Agrax Earthshade" wash using a wet brush.

   When the wash was good and dry,  I painted the mandibles and the claws on the tips of the legs, with Accent "Real Umber".  I then drybrushed the outer parts of the figure with Americana "Sable Brown", and the under-parts with Americana "Shading Flesh.   I painted the eyes with Black, and added a tiny White dot to each of them to make them look shiny.   Lastly, I gave the earth around the base a drybrushing with Americana "Mississippi Mud", and followed that with some Americana "Khaki Tan".

         I let the figure sit overnight, and the next morning I gave it a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish".  Later that afternoon I flocked the base, leaving parts of the upturned earth and boulders around the creature bare. The next morning I sprayed the figure with Testor's "Dullcote" spray varnish.

     I'm very happy with how this figure turned out, and I think it looks suitably terrifying in 10mm.

A 10mm unit of High Elves collectively craps their pants as the earth erupts before them.

Prairie Tick Queen: Bones II Figure

  I also completed the Bones II Prairie Tick Queen figure this week, from the Savage Worlds 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.  I then glued the figure to a 1" black-primed fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue, and glued the washer to a tongue depressor with a couple drops of Elmer's White Glue.

   I began by painting the base of the figure with Americana "Asphaltum", I then drybrushed the base with Americana "Mississippi Mud" , and then with Americana "Khaki Tan".

     Next, I painted the body of the tick with Folk Art "Dark Brown", and then added red trim with Folk Art "Deep Tomato Red".

    When those colors had dried, I gave the creature a wash with GW "Agrax Earthshade" wash, using a wet brush; and being very careful to try not to get any on the already painted base.

     When the wash had dried, I added highlights to the body with Crafters Edition "Spice Brown", and I highlighted the red trim with the base "Deep Tomato Red".  I then painted the eyes of the tick with Black.  Lastly, I painted the bones sculpted onto the base with Americana Buttermilk", and then added some White highlights to them.
      When everything had overnight to dry, I gave the figure a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish".  The next morning I flocked the edges of the base, carefully adding a bit here and there between some of the legs.   Later that afternoon I sprayed the figure with Testor's Dullcote.

I'm very pleased with how this simple little figure turned out.  And he probably can be used in multiple genres from Fantasy to Pulp to Sci-Fi