Bones Orc Marauder and Orc Stalker: Figures 37 and 38 of 265

This week I complete two of the orcs from the Original 30 Bones set: the Orc Marauder and the Orc Stalker.  After washing them in some dish soap and letting them dry, I spray primed them with Krylon Camouflage with Fusion "Flat Black". When this dried, I glued the pair onto black primed 1.25 inch fender washers using Aleene's Tacky glue.  I then glued them onto a tongue depressor, for ease of painting, using a couple drops of Elmer's white glue.

The first step I did in painting them was to give the figures a heavy drybrushing with Ceramcoat "Metallic Pewter".  I then drybrushed their fur garments; using  Americana "Asphaltum" followed by Americana "Mississippi Mud" for the orc with one sword, and GW "Codex Grey" followed by GW "Fortress Grey", and GW "Shadow Grey" followed by Duncan "Slate Blue"  for  the bottom and top respectively on the orc with two swords. I knew there would be a little overlap of the fur colors onto the chainmail since drybrushing isn't precise, but I did the best I could to keep the colors separate, knowing I would go back later and neaten the edges with a fine brush.

 Next I painted their skin with Aleene's "Deep Khaki". I then did all he belts, wraps, pouches,and straps with plain black .  On the orc with the two swords I did his wrist pieces and his sword hilt with the "Asphaltum."

I then painted the weapons with the "Metallic Pewter", and used the this color with a fine brush to also clean up the spots on the edges of the chainmail that got the fur paint on them.

I painted their teeth with  Americana "Buttermilk".  And the horn on the back of the two sword orc with GW "Kommando Khaki".

 After all this had dried, I gave both figures a wash with GW "Devlan Mud" wash.  When the wash had dried, I added highlights to their skin using the original "Deep Khaki" mixed with a little Aleene's "Dusty Khaki. I then painted the eyes with  Americana "Buttermilk", going back and adding a black pupil in each eye. I also went back and highlighted their teeth with this color.  I also added a little GW "Codex Grey" highlighting on  the belts, pouches, etc.  Finally, I added some GW "Chainmail" highlights to the Orcs' swords, armor and chainmail.

After everything had dried overnight, I gave the figures a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish" and, when dry, flocked their bases.  Another overnight dry, and I sprayed them with Testor's Dull Coat".

All in all, I'm pleased with how these orcs are turning out.  It should be an impressive sight when I eventually gather the horde together.

Figures 37 and 38: Complete.

Ink Washing Bones to Bring Out Details

Sorry to my regular readers, but I didn't get a figure finished this week. However, I thought I'd share a little on my efforts with using ink to bring out the details in the Bones figures.  As I have mentioned in past posts, I have been having a bit of trouble painting some of the Bones figures due to the large amount of detail on them, and the difficulty I was having in seeing this detail on the bright white figures under my bright painting light.

To help with this problem I thought I would experiment with applying a black ink wash over the figure in hopes it would shade the lines between details on the figure in an effort to make them more visible.  My first effort didn't work out so well, as the ink just pooled on the plastic figure. (See photo below)

I then remembered an old trick to help break the surface tension in inks and paints; which is to apply a tiny bit of dish soap to the liquid.  The soap helps the ink or paint to flow over the surface and prevents the beading and pooling I was getting.  So I added a tiny pin-head of dish soap to the ink I was applying, and had much better success. (See photo below)  This allowed the ink to flow into the recesses of the details, highlighting them nicely. Now painting the details will be much easier.

I will be continuing to work with this method on future figures.

Reaper Launches New Bones Kickstarter

Reaper launched their new Bones Kickstarter this morning, and have already reached over $500k in support from 5000+ backers at the time I'm writing this.

The big question now is to back, or not to back.   The box of over 200+ unpainted minis sitting next to my painting table is a big incentive not to, but the thought of all those inexpensive minis and large monsters is very appealing.   Note now they are having you pledge in at increasingly later ship times to help keep the shipping more manageable this time.  Also, for a $1 Pledge you can get access to all the add on monsters, etc.
Here's the link:
Reaper BONES II Kickstarter

Painting the Bones Rust Monster: Figure 36 of 265

This week I painted the Bones Rust Monster from the Original 30 Bones Set. As way of preparing to paint this figure, I got out my old 70's era D&D Monster Manual  to read a little about these monsters, to see if there was any kind of description as to coloring.  Unfortunately, there was not, but I did learn that they were rather un-aggressive beasts who dwell in deep dark subterranean places, going about their business of finding metal to munch on.  So, as I pondered what colors to paint my Rust Monster, the idea came in my mind of the pale pigment-less animals that you find in dark areas where the sun doesn't shine; and so I decided to give this look a try, as it would be something a little different.
   I began as usual, by washing the figure in some dish-washing soap, and then gluing it to a black primed 1" fender washer.  I then glued the washer to half a tongue depressor with a drop of white glue.
(Click on any photo to view it larger.)

As far as color, the name of the beast lead me to think in terms of reddish-brown. So to begin with I gave the whole thing a wash with Iron Wind Metals' "Chestnut Brown" Ink.  I used the ink full strength without water to dilute it. I had some issue with the ink beading on the Bones material, so I had to go back and apply more ink in the areas where it hadn't stuck the first time.  Eventually I got the whole thing covered

When the ink had dried I gave the figure a drybrushing with Folk Art "Almond Parfait" paint. I then added some White  to the "Almond Parfait" ,and gave a light highlighting drybrush to the figure with this mixture.

I then painted the claws with GW "Fortress Grey"  and the monster's "mouth" with GW "Tanned Flesh".  I then wanted to add some sort of decoration to the plain bland body.  As I was looking at the tail I noticed how it kind of looked like a face, and this gave me  the idea of adding a pair of "false eyes" camouflage to the tail.  After all, inhabiting dungeons with much meaner, hungrier, beasts, the Rust Monster probably developed some sort of survival tricks; and what better in dim dungeon light, then a pair of "false eyes" on your tail to confuse attackers as you run away.  So I painted two dark brown spots on the tail with Accent "Real Umber", and likewise, I painted the monster's eyes with the same color. I then added "pupils" to the false eyes by painting two white dots in the center of the dark spots. For the real eyes, I decided I actually wanted the brown dots to be the pupils, so I added a rim around them with GW "Blood Red".   I then added a tiny white fleck to the pupils to give them a shiny look.
    I then gave a wash of GW "Devlan Mud" wash to the claws and mouth.  When this had dried, I added some highlights with the original colors. I then painted the base with Americana "Mississippi Mud"

I let the figure and base dry overnight, then I painted the whole thing with Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish".  When this had had time to dry, I sprayed the figure with Testor's "Dullcoat."

Overall I'm pleased with how it looks.  It definitely came out looking strange, like something you'd find under a rock,(if not something like a boiled shrimp).  :)

Figure 36 of 265; Complete

Mimic in Treasure Chest Form: Figure 35 of 265

This week I painted the Mimic figure that is disguised as a treasure chest. I began by soaking the figure in some dish soap to remove the mold release agent, and then rinsed it well.  Next, I trimmed a little off the bottom back of its monopod foot, as the figure leaned too far forward in my opinion, and I wanted it to stand more upright. Next, I tried to trim the flash from the figure's teeth as best I could.  I then glued it to a black primed 1 inch fender washer, and mounted it on half a tongue depressor, for ease of painting, with a drop of white glue.
  Remember, you can click any photo to see it larger.

 I began by giving the chest a coat of very thinned Americana "Asphaltum" paint, so it would act more as a stain than an opaque coating.  When dry, I painted the parts of the figure that were beginning to reveal themselves as the monster with Aleene's "Deep Khaki" paint.

Next I painted the gums and tongue with GW "Tanned Flesh", then the teeth with Americana "Buttermilk, and finally the bottom of the chest's interior with Ceramcoat "14k Gold".  I then painted the hinges and handles with Ceramcoat "Bronze", and lastly the claws with GW "Fortress Gray".

After everything had dried, I gave the whole figure a wash with GW "Devlan Mud" wash. When this dried I went back and added highlights to the teeth with, first, the "Buttermilk" again, and then plain white with a bit of the "Buttermilk" mixed in.  The tongue and gums I highlighted with just the "Tanned Flesh"  The monster bits I highlighted with Aleene's "Dusty Khaki". And, the claws were highlighted with Americana "Dove Grey".  The metals I highlighted with just their base colors. Finally, I add two eyes with GW "Blood Red", giving each a little white highlight.

Lastly, I painted the washer with Americana "Mississippi Mud", which is a nice neutral grayish-tan; so it wouldn't look too out of place in a dungeon, tavern, or outdoors (breaking the 'habitat' rules, I know, but why limit my imagination :) ).

When all was thoroughly dry, I gave everything a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish" and left it to dry overnight.  I then sprayed it with Testor's "Dullcoat". 

I included this shot as it gives a nice view of the claws emerging from the chest's handle, which I think is a nice little touch on this neat sculpt.

I'm very pleased with this figure. My only complaint is the mold line running across the top teeth, making it very problematic to trim flash from them, and you can still see hints of it on the finished product. But overall, a very satisfactory monster, and easy to paint.

Figure 35 of 265: Complete

Painting Arthrand Nightblade, Elf Ranger: Figure 34 of 265

My apologies for taking so long to post a figure, but it has turned out to be a very busy month for me, and I have got very little painting done.  I finished the Elf Ranger figure from the Original 30 Bones set  this past weekend.  I began with soaking the figure in some dish soap overnight, and then giving it a scrub with an old toothbrush and then rinsing. When dry, I glued it to a 1" black-primed fender washer, then glued the washer to half a tongue depressor with a drop of Elmer's glue.

I began by painting black just the little bit of armor showing in the slit of his clothing. I then drybrushed this with Ceramcoat "14k Gold". I then painted his outfit Duncan "Olive Green" and his cape and hood with Folk Art "Poppy Seed". I then painted in some shadows in the folds of  his clothing by adding some of the "Poppy Seed" to the "Olive Green", I did the dame with his cape by adding a little black to the "Poppy Seed". I then went back and painted highlights on the raised areas by adding Americana "Jade Green" (which is a very light green)to the two base colors.

Next I painted all the belts, scabbards, forearm guard, and quiver with Accent "Mustard Seed".  The detail straps on the quiver and scabbards I painted with Apple Barrel "Burnt Sienna". I then painted the bow and the arrow shafts with Accent "Raw Umber", the grip on the bow with DecoArt "Forest Green", and the arrow fletchings with Aleene's "Dusty Khaki".  Next I painted his leggings with the "Jade Green" and his boots with Folk Art "Butter Pecan". Lastly I painted his face and hands with GW "Elf Flesh", and his hair with Americana "Sable Brown". I then did all the metal bits with Cermacoat Bronze.  When everything had dried, I gave everything but his clothes a wash with Windsor Newton "Peat Brown" ink, being very careful not to let any get on his clothing.

  When everything had dried overnight, I painted the figure with Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish", and when dry, I flocked the base.  Afterwards, I sprayed the finished model with Testor's "Dullcoat."

I'm pleased with the figure, and it was relatively easy to paint. 

Figure 34 of 265: Complete

My Last Bones Kicktstarter Figure Arrives

Yesterday in the mail, a year and a week after the Kickstarter ended, I was pleased to find the last of my Reaper Kickstarter Bones had arrived.  When I first got my box from Reaper, it was missing the Frost Giant King from the add-on Frost Giants set I had ordered. I had immediately sent Reaper a note explaining the situation, and they had replied that all corrections would be made after they had shipped all the original Kickstarter orders. So, at last they had sent my missing figure. I was also happy to see that they had included a free sample of their Master Series Paint!  Unfortunately, all it has is a label that says "Sample" on both sides, and not actually what color it is.... some sort of pinkish-peachish it looks like.

Anyway, sorry for the long delay in getting a finished figure posted... it's been a busy week again, and the holiday weekend this week hasn't helped, as we've been busy doing family stuff.  Here is a sneak peak of the figure currently in progress: Arthrand Nightblade, Elf Ranger. Hopefully, I'll have him done by Thursday...though next Monday is more probable.

 

Figure 34 of 265: In progress