Kord the Destroyer: Figure 118 of 265

     This week I painted the Kord the Destroyer figure from the Fighters Set.   This wraps up the four-figure Fighters Set, and it joins the list of finished sets over in the right-hand column. 

     Let me just say that this was my least favorite figure from the Kickstarter to paint so far.    It had several strikes against it going into the painting process, and if it hadn't been for my being determined to paint every figure, I may have tossed it in the flea market box.  First, as can be seen in the photo below, the fur cape comes pre-glued to the figure making a large portion of the back of the figure very hard to access for painting.  Also, as I have complained about with some Reaper figures before, there were just too many layers of clothing, padding, and armor on this figure, making it difficult to

figure out what was what.  To make matters worse, it seemed there was clothing on the left of the figure that didn't match what was on the right, and vice-versa. And where do his sleeves come from, when he isn't wearing a shirt?  
     So, getting down to business,   I prepped this 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 then gave the figure a wash with some thinned black ink with a little pinhead drop of dish soap added, to help bring out the details on the figure. Since I did not particularly care for this figure, my painting descriptions are going to be a bit shorter than usual.

       To begin painting, I painted the wolf cape and boot trim fur parts of the figure black and the lower cape with Americana "Asphaltum". I then dryushed the black parts with Folk Art "Medium Grey", and the brown lower cape with Americana "Khaki Tan".

   Next, I painted his skin with Americana "Shading Flesh", and his loincloth Apple Barrel "Apple Maroon".  His boots I painted Americana "Charcoal Grey".  I then painted his various sleeves, and the other garments at his waist, various brown shades.

 I then moved on to painting his belts, wrist guard things, scabbard, pouch, and the handle of the ax, and grip of the sword more shades from my brown paints collection. His hair I painted Anita's "Burnt Sienna", and the horns of his helmet Americana "Buttermilk".

   Next, I painted the rock he is standing on with the "Medium Gray".  Then I did all the armor, weapons, and buckles with Ceramcoat "Metallic Pewter".

      After I had let everything dry for a good while, I gave the entire a figure a wash with thinned GW "Agrax Earthshade" wash.

     When the wash had had a long time to dry, I went back and added highlights to the figure, using mainly the base colors I had used.  I highlighted the hair with Americana "Georgia Clay", and the rock he is standing on with Duncan "Slate Grey".  The metal parts I highlighted with Folk Art "Silver Sterling".  I also painted a black nose and eyes on the wolf cape.

      I let the figure sit all day, and the later that eveing I gave it a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish".  The next morning I flocked the base, and later that afternoon I sprayed it with Testor's "Dullcote" spray varnish.

       Despite all my fussing, I don't think the figure turned out that badly.  As long as you view the figure as a whole and don't start to try to decipher all the details, it's a good result.
     Next up on the painting table will be the Big Bad Evil Guys (BBEG) Set!

Figure 118 of 265: Complete

Deenah, Female Barbarian: Figure 117 of 265

     Making my way through the Fighters set, this week I painted Deenah the Female Barbarian.  As I studied the figure, I wasn't sure what to make of the herringbone pattern on her skirt; was it supposed to be armored plates, or truly just a herring bone weave?  I decided I would paint it like a tartan, so whatever it was supposed to be, would be disguised by the cross-checks of the tartan plaid. I also apparently was still on a bronze armor kick from last week's Dragonman, as all I could visualize her armor as being was bronze colored.
      I prepped this 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 fur on her boots with Americana "Asphaltum".  When this was dry I drybrushed it with Americana "Khaki Tan". I then painted her boots with Ceramcoat "Walnut". Next, I painted all her skin with Apple Barrel "Flesh", followed with painting her skirt Apple Barrel "Apple Blue Spruce".

     Next, I did the tartan pattern on her skirt.  First, I painted each of the little herring bone sections with Americana "True Blue", letting a little of the "Apple Blue Spruce" show through between each section. Then I painted yellow crosses on each blue section with Apple Barrel "Yellow".

     I now painted her belts and the little pouch at the front, with DecoArt "Cinnamon Brown".  I then painted the canteen(?) and the little pouches behind her scabbard with Apple Barrel "Burnt Sienna". The hanging under the pouch at her front I painted GW "Snakebite Leather",  her scabbard I painted Ceramcoat "Raw Sienna", and her ax handle I painted Americana  "Mississippi Mud".  Her forearm guards I painted with the "Khaki Tan", and her shirt sleeves I painted with Americana "Wedgewood Blue". I painted her hair Anita's "Burnt Sienna".

     Now I painted her armor with GW "Brazen Brass". The hilt of her large sword I painted with Cermacoat "Bronze".  Then I  painted the  blade of the large sword, the hilt of the smaller sword, and the ax head,  all with Ceramcoat "Metallic Pewter".  I then painted the sword grips with the "Asphaltum".

     Next, I drybrushed the stones she stands upon with Folk Art "Medium Grey", followed with a lighter drybrushing with Duncan "Slate Grey".  Then, after everything had time to dry, I gave the entire figure a wash with thinned Winsor-Newton "Peat Brwon " ink,  except the kilt which I carefully avoided. The stones I gave a wash with thinned black ink.

       After the ink had had plenty of time to dry, I went back and worked on her face.  First, I painted he eyes, with first white "whites", and then black pupils.  I also painted her teeth white, and her lips with  Americana "Shading Flesh".  I then added eyebrows with the Anita's "Burnt Sienna". Lastly, I added highlights to her face, hands, and arms, with the base "Apple Flesh". I then drybrushed highlights onto her hair, with first the base Anita's "Burnt Sienna", and then with Americana "Georgia Clay".  I then added highlights to the forearm guards, the scabbard, her shirt, jug, and pouch, all using the original base colors.  I then worked on highlighting the metals; using the "Bronze" to highlight her armor, and Cermacoat "14K Gold" on the hilt of her large sword".  For the blades of her sword and ax I used Folk Art "Silver Sterling" for the highlights.
      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, and the following day I sprayed it with Testor's "Dullcote" spray varnish.

       I'm really pleased with how she turned out, especially her face.  I find faces to be tricky things; you can't continually work on them without them getting really gunked-up looking, so when one turns out relatively good with minimal repainting I'm very happy.  I also really like the dynamic pose, and in the end I think the tartan plaid looks good on the figure.

    Figure 117 of 265: Complete

Dragonman Warrior: Figure 116 of 265

This week I painted the Dragonman Warrior from the Fighters Set.  For some reason, as I looked at this figure, I saw it wearing a bronze-ish colored suit of armor. I thought it would be a nice match for the greenish color I planned to paint his "skin".  Once I decided that, it was easy for me to plan a whole green and yellow toned theme for his look.
      I did my preparation of this 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 black just the areas where he wore armor. When the black was dry, I gave it a heavy drybrushing with GW "Brazen Brass".

Next, I painted his head, hands, and feet with Americana "Avocado". Then I painted his "skirts" with Apple Barrel "Yellow".  I next painted the rim of the shield and the blank area on the face of it with Folk Art "Hunter Green". The wing design on the shield I painted with Folk Art "Golden Harvest"

I then painted his claws with Americana "Reindeer Moss Green" and his teeth with Americana "Buttermilk".  The back of his shield I painted Ceramcoat "Walnut", and the handle straps, as well as the sword grip I painted Americana "Asphaltum".  When all these colors had dried, I gave his face, hands, feet, "skirts", and the "wings on his shield, a wash with thinned Winsor-Newton "Peat Brown" Ink.
    When the ink was dry, I went back and added his eyes, using Americana "Moon Yellow" for his "whites", and black for the pupil. I then went back and added highlights to his face, hands and feet using the base "Avocado", and to his claws with the base "Reindeer Moss Green".  I highlighted his skirt with the base "Yellow" and then went back and added a little of the "Moon Yellow" to the "Yellow",  and did some lighter highlights. The wings on the shield I highlighted with the base "Golden Harvest", then I added a little of the "Moon Yellow" to the Golden Harvest as well, and did some finer highlights here too.

Next I painted his sword blade with Ceramcoat "Metallic Pewter", and the hilt with Ceramcoat "Bronze". While I had the "Bronze" out, I used some to add highlights to his armor, hitting the edges of plates and the rivets.  I then went back and added highlights to the sword blade with Folk Art "Silver Sterling". I gave the hilt a little wash with some of the thinned "Peat Brown" ink, and when it was dry, went back and added highlights to the hilt with Ceramcoat "14K Gold".   I used some f the "Walnut" to paint the ares of the base that were still white, and then I set the figure to dry.
     The next morning I gave it  coat of  Ceramcoat "Mate Varnish". Later that afternoon, I flocked the base.  The following day, I sprayed the figure with "Testor's Dullcote".

  I'm pleased with how the figure turned out.  I really like the sculpt, and the armor and the blade have some nice details that make it look appropriately non-human.   In the end I think the green and yellow scheme worked well on this figure.

Figure 116 of 265: Complete

Reaper Bones CAV Kickstarter Enters Final Day and a Half

Just a heads up for all you Bones fans, that the Reaper CAV (10mm Big Stompy Mechs) Kickstarter is in it's last day and a half, and will end tomorrow.  Now's the time to jump in and take part, as the core set has grown to a very nice deal.  Or, if you're like me and the big mechs are't you thing, get in to the Kickstarter just for the great deal on the 10mm tanks and other vehicles.

You can check it out here

Duke Gerard: Figure 115 of 265

     This week I started on the Fighters Set, and painted Duke Gerard. I thought I'd start with the simplest figure in the set, to get myself back in a fantasy mind frame after painting the remainder of the more realistic figures in the Zombie Humters Set earlier in the month.
      I did my preparation of this 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 started by painting all the armor black.  I then gave it a good drybrushing with Ceramcoat "Metallic Pewter".

     Next, I painted his waist cape, and the cloth hangings at his front and shoulders  with Anita's "Violet"and his shield and scabbard with GW "Liche Purple".

When the purple coats were dry, I gave all the cloth parts that I had painted with the "Violet" a wash with thinned Dark Blue ink. After the ink was good and dry, I went back and highlighted the cloth and the shield with the "Violet"

Now I painted his face with Americana "Shading Flesh", and his hair, and the grips on his swords, with Americana "Charcoal Grey".  I then painted his belt, and the back of the shield, with Ceramcoat "Walnut".

     I next painted the trim on his armor, and the hilts of the swords and base of the scabbard, with Ceramcoat "14k Gold".

After everything  had had time to dry, I went back and gave his head and the gold areas a wash with thinned GW "Agrax Earthshade"wash.  I then painted his eyes, and added highlights to his face with the "Shading Flesh".  I also highlighted the gold with the "14K Gold".  I then painted his sword blade with the "Metallic Pewter", and when it was dry, I highlighted the top portion of the blade, and his armor, with Folk Art "Silver Sterling".  Lastly I used some Americana "Dove Grey" to add some gray to his temples and some streaks in his hair to make him look more mature.
   I then hunted through all my old spare sheets of decals, and found a sheet of old Brettonian Knight ones.  I decided on a Pegasus design to match the wings decoration on the front of his armor, and applied it to the shield.  It tore a little while applying it, so I had to go and patch it up with white paint.
    I let the figure sit over night, and the next morning I gave it a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish".  Later that afternoon I flocked the base, and the following day I sprayed it with Testor's "Dullcote" spray varnish.

I pleased with how the figure turned out.  Even though it is not the most dynamic figure, it has a certain somber seriousness to it. And I think the purple and gold scheme helps bring out his royal bearing.

Figure 115 of 265: Complete

Bonnie: Figure 114 of 265

     This past week I completed Bonnie from the Zombie Hunters Set.  This finishes that set, and it joins the list of completed sets over on the right.
      I began my preparation of this 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.

  

Note: The red splash on her arm is just a sloppy drip from something else I was painting!

 I began the painting process by giving the whole figure a wash with very thinned black ink with just a pin head drop of dish soap in it.  This ink wash settles and dries into all the crevices and creases in the figure, and helps me to see all the sculpted detail, so I can keep my paint in the lines. :)  
   When the ink wash was good and dry,  I painted her skin with Americana "Mocha", then I painted her shorts with Aleene's "Deep Khaki", and her shirt with Americana "Khaki Tan".  Lastly, I painted her socks with Aleene's "Dusty Khaki".

 Then, I painted her boots, and belts with Ceramcoat "Walnut", and the stocks of the two guns on her back with Americana "Charcoal Grey".  Her hair I painted Accent "Real Umber".  The wraps on her wirsts I painted with GW "Camo Green"

At this point I gave the whole figure a wash with thinned Winsor-Newton "Peat Brown' ink.

When the ink was dry, I painted the guns in her hands, and the two in her shoulder holsters, black. I then painted her face, starting with her eyes; first with black sockets, then white "whites" ,and then black pupils.  Her lips I painted with Americana "Shading Flesh". I then highlighted all her skin with the base "Mocha". I now went back and did a light dry brush of the black guns with GW "Shadow Grey". Next, I gave all her clothing highlights with the base colors I had used.  Lastly, I painted her belt buckle and the butts of the two guns on her back with Ceramcoat "Metallic Pewter".
   I let the figure sit over night, and the next morning I gave it a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish".  Later that afternoon I flocked the base, and the following day I sprayed it with Testor's "Dullcote" spray varnish.

  Well, I'm not terribly happy with this figure.  I love the dynamic sculpt, but my color selection really made her look washed out.  I don't think the skin tone goes with the green oriented color scheme of her outfit at all.  The sculpting on her face also was odd.  As with many of the Bones figures, the nose was not fully cast. And her eyes were deeply slanted which, given my lack of painting skills, just turned out making the face look odd rather than mad or determined.

Figure 114 of 265: Complete

New Reaper BONES CAV Kickstarter

I just wanted to let everyone know that Reaper is currently running another Bones Kickstarter, called "Reaper Miniatures CAV: Strike Operations".  It is designed to convert much of their Sci-Fi CAV (Combat Assault Vehicle)12mm (N Scale) line into BONES material.  The figures are mainly big stompy robot types, with (hopefully) a smattering of more conventional ground vehicles thrown in too.

For more information, see: Reaper CAV Kickstarter