Saturday, October 31, 2015

This is MY rock!!


One more Reaper barbarian lady for you!


She's standing on one of the mulch bases, which is very cool :-)


She's also here:



A little off the top


The Scalper unit of the Warrior Nation gets a new recruit!


I am still trying to decide on exactly what sort of markings and colors to put on the Scalpers.  In the story of Wild West Exodus, the Warrior Nation is a vast alliance of tribes from all across the west, so I keep thinking that some variations are called for.


I thought that I might create several different sets of markings... tattoos, warpaint, clothing and so on, which I could also reflect on the tepees which I will create for the terrain boards,


So, stay tuned for much more!!  A preview of the Dark Nation line troop sprue is coming!!


Friday, October 30, 2015

The Mage Hunter


This is another old favorite of mine.  I don't recall what the exact name is of this Reaper Character, but I named her the Mage Hunter.


I had thought about using one of the new mulch bases, but I could not resist standing her up on top of this broken statue!


I also tried a new product, which is from MIG.  It's dried fall oak leaves, and I got them from Kings Hobbies and Games.  There are a ton of different varieties.  I glued these on with super glue.  In the future, I will see how these accept paint.



Over time, I will try out more of those dried foliage, and let you know how they work!

I am glad to see that in terms of size/scale, they match up well with the Hangar 18 foliage that I already have!

She's also here:


Great and small


As the second Hotchkiss is complete, I continue to be intrigued by these early war tank designs, and how tiny they are!


I have to remind myself that these were never expected to take out enemy tanks at 2000 yards.  The mindset really was on infantry support.


I have some even smaller tanks under way that were used more as supply transports than as something that would be employed in combat.


The two Hotchkiss side by side, with a third on the way.


And a comparison to the 'massive' Char B1 Bis, which also seems quite small even compared to mid-war tanks.  It's been quite the education.


Thursday, October 29, 2015

Ready for fall?


This tiny little lady is something that I discovered many years ago when we first started painting.  I am guessing that it's an ancient Ral Partha figure, but I could certainly be wrong about that!


Painting this, it is an interesting experiment to see just how much the miniatures industry has changed since this gal was produced.


She's also here:



Split Ends


This figure was deceptively complex.  Dealing with the giant hair thing was part of that, but getting just the right base was also important.  It wasn't just appearance, but a matter of counterbalance.


I had to make sure that I had enough weight to keep it from tipping over too easily.  Also, the footprint of this figure was a bit different from a typical pose, and that meant a wider base.  That heavier, more dense tree bark did just the trick!


She's also here:


Wednesday, October 28, 2015

The two sides of Asharah


You recently saw this fantasy version of Asharah, a Raging Heroes character.  You have also heard me mention how this kit is very interchangeable, with several arm and head options.

There's also a very different genre of the same sculpt... a sci-fi version!


This Sci-fi Asharah also has a lot of options.. different weapons, heads, etc.


And now for some side by side images.  The Sci-fi Asharah was the general of my Dark Eldar 40k army.


Some of her leftover pieces went into the conversion of these Incubi:


Here are some of the Blood Vestals that went along with her, also from Raging Heroes:



And then there's the basing!  It's always interesting to see what a difference that makes.


Party Crasher


This is another favorite Reaper figure of mine... one tough gal!


I was able to use some fun color combinations here.  The armor surfaces were originally painted yellowish brown, as if they were going to be gold.  Over this was painted a few layers of semi-opaque lighter colors which featured pink and bright green.  Yes indeed!

Those two colors, when mixed together, create a very interesting gray.


This was done to create color harmony with the skin colors and the base.  However, when you look at it close up, you see a whole host of various colors, none of which are gray.  It's the illusion of gray created by balancing those two crazy colors over that original ochre/brown layer.

Also, the yellow leaves are the color match to those original ochre shades.


She's also here:



Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Not the Butt of a joke...


All right, time for a rifle butt to the chops!  The second of the Warrior Nation Scalpers ready for action.


Once I get a few more of these guys ready, it's time for the first action with the Free Peoples.


The first game that I play with them will be pretty character heavy, as it was with the Outlaws.  I want to get a sense of what each of them can do, and then try to create individual posses with their own combos, etc.


Talon and Claw


Here's a figure that I painted as part of the Painting Pyramid video series.  It was one of several "large creature" videos that were created as stretch goals as things moved along.


I was able to add a few extra touches recently, such as the rider!

Also, I added foliage from Hangar 18 and Gamer's Grass.  The tufts came from Kings Hobbies and Games.


Those were elements that I wished were available to me years ago when this was first done.  It was worth the wait!!!


The yellow leaves meant that I could emphasize the yellows in the front talons more, since that color would be repeated (and hence balanced) by the leaves of a similar color.


The rider's very fragile standard was replaced by a very nice and sturdy Raging Heroes sword... one of those extra bits that you get in the metal kits which come in so handy!


I was also able to reflect many of the feather and fur shades in the armor.  I wanted that to be gold, but I also thought it would harmonize nicely with the reddish browns, umbers and ochres of the fur.


He's also here: