Using Reaper minis as neat LOTR stand ins

I know that debates rage on about "counts as" and crossing miniature ranges, but sometimes that is really the best option.

I have been using these Reaper minis as part of my army for a while, because they are far easier to identify on the table as the King of the Dead and Elven Captain respectively.  When things get in a scrum, as all games seem to do eventually, it is important for both sides to know what they are charging or being charged by!

The Army of the Dead official mini looks far too similar to the plastic versions to stand out in a big way.  So, I found this guy, and liked the figure a lot!  As I paint more of the AOD, I will show you some comparison shots.

I have a reference book from the LOTR movies that shows the mock ups for the AOD prior to the computer generated effects.  The colors are very different from the uniform glowing green that you see almost every time.  It has been very fun to paint them in this way, and each guy is quite different.





This is another Reaper figure that seemed perfect for LOTR.  He is Seregond, a Galadhrim captain.  He is painted in my Knights of the Blood Rose color scheme.



Here;s a quick sample of the Kinghts of the Blood Rose color scheme.  I will probably paint over the metallics in the fall.  I just prefer doing my NMM.  Part of that had to do with the realization that the brightest metallic color is a dingy gray when placed next to white.



Some of the real Galadrhim elves to show how the basing will match all the way through the army...

Big Momma Carnosaur!

OK, here it is!  The aforementioned first attempt at the Carnosaur with wings.

Just as it was with the baby dragons and the lava reflections, painting this whole figure in red made getting the OSL of the lava that much more difficult.  I had to mix some blues into my shadow areas on top to "cool down" the reds enough to make the lava look hot enough!



Here she is on CMON, waiting for someone to vote for her...

http://www.coolminiornot.com/307380















Here are a few WIP images prior to painting.  It gives some idea of the sculpting needed to adapt the wings to the Carnosaur.




And then a few views with no rider...

Ain't they cute?

I'm not sure how far back these little guys go in the Games Workshop line, but I thought they were very fun!  I have one left of these, and I am using it as a salamander.

Tomorrow you will be seeing "momma" carnosaur.  It was done in the exact same color scheme as these, with the same basing.  The challenge was to get the reds on the back cool enough to show the heat of the reflected lava.  You have already seen my own blue/black carnosaur, which made a nice contrast by itself.







Here was a shot I did before I primed the baby dragons:

The Moody Broods...

Here's a few more miniatures from the Dark age line.  This faction is called Brood, and the swampy reference is quite obvious. :-)  These were two particularly interesting minis that I had to paint for them.

Adjusting on the fly: the right to bare arms

Every so often, I have to try to change something after a mini is painted.  That is never a fun task, since you feel like you are undoing hours of hard work.  However, it can prove worthwhile.

This particular miniature went from a generic Aspiring Champion to a decent Kharn substitute by changing one element... removing a shoulder pad.  This is the original figure:







Here is the adjustment.  I had to take off the shoulder pad, and create a Kharn-like bare arm:

Feeling blue?

Today was a pretty grey day, so it's time for some Grey Knights.  A dreadnought, that is.

This style of Forgeworld dreadnought will probably always be my favorite.  It is always fun to paint.  The other style is not bad, I just like the one with a Grey Knight head better. :-)  This was probably the first set of dreadnoughts where I magnetized the weapon arms.

Speaking of magnets, I just got some magnetic primer today for my army boards.  It would have made my Grey Knights army board a snap to carry around!  My hope is that I can leave my miniatures on the army board without having to "cut into" the board itself to keep them in place, or carry them in a different box, etc.

The Three Amigoes

Well, this is not exactly the post that I had planned for today, but it was kind of a rough day.  So, we have ourselves some Sanguinary priests for the Angels Solarus army.