Pixie Tricksters (3)

 I love these little guys - they were made with so much whimsy! I have had these minis in my collection since...well.....since Confrontation was a thing. I cant say I remember much about my original process way back then, but they have always been a high quality addition to my collection. The bases are a little worse for the wear, but the models have held up remarkably well. 

Actually, now that I think of it, I believe I have actually even changed the bases on these minis at some point, to ditch the old thick square ones that came in the clam-shell pack. The current basing is a little big, but it helps prevent grabbing onto the small soft models directly.  

I have been so pleased with the pumpkin pixies that I have gone on to paint several more pieces that share a theme, color palate, and style. I now have a small collection of devious but still charming harvest fey. In fact, these models may be what won me over to the fey in general. I used to think they were cheesy as monsters, but I have come to appreciate the flourish of color and brightness they bring the fantasy genre. I should gather them up and do a one shot this year....

This post definitely scratches the Halloween itch and gets me motivated to paint. Nothing like Pumpkin Orange on the brush, a cup of coffee, and a backdrop of fall leaves to make me feel comfortable. 

Pumpkin Dragon, Adult

 

 

This is a much larger pumpkin dragon to go along with the smaller one I did recently. I really enjoy all of the pumpkin creatures I got during October - It seems like it would make for a very satisfying fantasy adventure to have the heroes go smashing evil pumpkins. November is still a pumpkiny season, so maybe I'll keep it going. Painting pumpkins is super relaxing, too - I could use a bit more of that vibe. 

This base is a custom oval size - somewhere in the ballpark of 75mm / "huge". 3D printing bases is amazing - I never seem to have enough of the right size and shape; the printer has paid for itself in just bases many times over. 

My color palate here was nearly identical to that of the smaller dragon, but the color of the picture is much closer to the eye than that post - I think the greens and browns in this piece really balance out the image so it doesn't get over corrected by the phone.

Pumpkin Dragon, Wyrmling / Harvest Dragon

 

 

 I have been struggling to do hobby stuff since the start of autumn, due to other responsibilities, which is really unfortunate because this is my favorite time of year. This also seems to be the season for the absolute best miniatures releases. So, to shake off my low productivity, what better way than to paint a seasonal release! This cute little dragon is from the under appreciated Dillon Olney, and took paint like a champ for a speed-paint. I had such a fun time, I will start work on a bigger pumpkin dragon mamma dragon. Not sure what the timeline will be there, but ill definitely post more thematic Halloween treats this month.

Color balance was tough on the photo here - I went with a more naturalistic orange, but the smartphone wanted to crank this think up to neon red.

Dragonfly-Folk, Male

 

This is a fun piece that I had a lot of fun with. The subject for the Printed Encounter was "Modular Insectoids, " and I wanted to make another unique entry in the spirit of the kobolds I did for the last round. I found a really cool giant dragonfly in their catalog, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to make something really unique that fit perfectly thematically. This model was the first of six that I prepared, but with the whirlwind of activity that the end of summer brings to my household I was only able to finish prep on one of them before I was facing a tight deadline of only a few days of painting time (with limited time each day, that is pretty tough for me).

I decided to take a chance on the color scheme, and rather than the safe blue palate for a dragonfly (the classic blue-eyed darner) I went with something flashy that broke up my current color palate. Specifically, I modeled my paint after the real world "roseate skimmer" - those were some really striking (and risky!) colors

(credit to Jim Angelo for the great pic)

The males are super flashy purples, pinks, magents and reds, while the females are a whole different palate (for another post!). 

Definitely a bold palate that would pose a challenge, and very different from anything I had done before! I also elected for some other firsts - most notably, the transparent wings. This model, like most I print, was done with transparent resin.  I then used some liquid latex mask to cover the wings while I painted the model to keep them perfectly clear (good thing, too!). once I was done with the bulk of painting I carefully stripped of the mask - this was really challenging and took hours to achieve because I didn't want to damage the delicate wings.  Then came a clear coat, and some final details, including a transparent colorshift glaze (pink-gold). this looks amazing in person, but only the back photo captures it here. Ill have to get some alt photos to really focus on that effect at some point. I was really happy with the (super labor intensive) outcome, enough that my gears are turning and I want to dry all sorts of shimmery clear wings!

Boggle

 

 

 Another recently completed model, I'm on a roll! This is a classic 1e monster that reminds me of my first introduction to D&D, RPGs, and the fantasy genre itself. When I was around 10 my older cousin gave me a number of RPG books that he was no longer interested in. Most of these books were, at the time, unpopular, but they became the baseline for what I expected fantasy to be to this day. Among them was the 1e MMII, and a tattered copy of A2, Secret of the Slavers Stockade. The Boggle was featured in both, and even made the cover of A2:

 

I am happy to add a version to my collection, so that I might be able to run that module someday or otherwise use it to relive my childhood adventures. This model was sculpted by Schlossbauer, who is definitely one of my favorites these days. I particularly appreciate that  it holds true to the original design, which I prefer over the newly re-imagined creature (though, I am happy to see it having renewed popularity, whatever the form!).