Kobold Archers (2)

In the interests of keeping things moving along, here are two more diminutive representatives of my kobold warband (see the "kobold" label for more). Despite being some of my oldest pieces, they still hold up pretty well. In fact,  I am considering adding to them in the near future to round out the force and make sure I have enough to run "The Sinless Citadel" module.  

 

These archers tend to be just behind the magic-users in terms of the threat they pose within the warband. Small, crafty, and fast, with the ability to pump out damage at impressive range, they are far more dangerous than they might seem at first. The kobolds are a unique and fun gaming option  because of how differently they play from other warbands; they are individually weak, but coordinated attacks and sacrificial plays can draw the opponent into an overwhelming kill-box. More often than not, it is these archers who end up playing a key role in those tactics.

 

 

 

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. 

Kobold Soldier (2)

 

These diminutive hoplites represent the apex of kobold military might. So, not that impressive. still, we are finally getting to the rank-and-file of the kobold warband that I have.

 That these are based on square bases is a clear indicator that this is one of my older projects. I have so many models based this way that I feel obligated to carry it forward, despite my preferred choice being round bases.

These were painted with a simple and fast layering of washes. It falls flat in some parts of the miniatures, but the metals end up looking nice and become the focal point.

Ancients of Atalan Hunter-Killer Mech

 

Sometimes one picture tells the whole story of the paintwork. In this case, it is all about the gold metallics. I spent most of my time on this ....giant robotic stingray washing, blending and highlighting to get a nice warm gold luster. 

The model itself is for my ever-growing Deepwars collection (made by Antimatter Games / Dark Sword Miniatures) and gives the Ancients of Atalan some really heavy firepower.

 Unusual subjects are often the best to work on because of their extreme nature, and I really appreciated going to the gills with the flashy metallic gold.

Fortune Hunters Dr. Heinrich Cornelius / Steampunk Occultist Diver

 

I wasn't able to finish my paint goal for the week, but it was productive and fun none-the-less. Instead of something new, Ill share another piece from my collection that is on-theme. This is a model from my DeepWars Fortune Hunters warband, rounding it out with a specialist role. This model is on the small size, but loaded with details. I stuck to the paint scheme established with my earlier models, but took the opportunity to add some unique pops of color to help the Dr stand out a bit. In a vacuum I would've gone in a different direction. bit it meshes really well on the game table as it is. I only have a few more Fortune Hunters to post, which means it's time to paint more!

Wolf Eel Familiar

 Another tiny sea creature from Reaper. I modeled this paint scheme after one of my favorite local species, the wolf eel. Not a true eel, but so cool! They get really big, so this would be a smaller specimen. 

I had a lot of fun with the stippling on this piece. Its a technique used commonly in canvas painting, but rarely gets used by miniatures artists. 

The toothy smile is really fun and not unlike the real thing.

 This may be my favorite of the set, so far.

 

 

Bull Ray Familiar

 

 

Another model from Reapers aquatic themed familiar pack VII. I did some light re-sulpting of this model; It was a faithful rendition of living rays, but had a cartoonish mouth with sharp teeth unlike the actual critters. I prefer my animal models on the realistic side, so I filed off that area and did a little work with greenstuff to give it a mouth more fitting a real ray. They have funny little mouths and I think the model is more realistic and a lot cuter!

I based my paint-job on a real species, the common eagle ray/bullray.  Sadly, while the bull ray was once "common" it is now a critically endangered species.

Bullywug Mutant #2 / Inshon With Extra Eyes

 

Another fresh face belonging to my small collection of bullywugs. I stuck really close to the original color palate, but each does have a unique element. I really like the little fish snacks this fellow carries on its belt; details like that make it seem more like a creature with motivations than strictly a monster.

Green Dragon and Maiden / "Cat and Mouse"

 

I'm taking the lazy way out this week with a straight re-post of a previous miniature. Is quite old, though, so risks being lost to the dusty corners of the internet otherwise. It is one of my personal favorite pieces in my collection, so it definitely deserves a blog post. This mini diorama / miniature set dates back to 2013 and is probably the last true "competition" miniatures that I ever attempted to paint. It was done for an annual paint competition on the reaper forums: "There Be Dragons." To my recollection it won the category it was in, but the old forums are long gone so I'm not positive what the details of the contest were. In any case, I was pleased with the outcome. I do remember being time constrained on this project, but I definitely had inspiration and I worked fanatically on it up until the deadline. I must admit I am a bit curious how well I could do on a piece like this now - I consider myself a much better ( and far more efficient) painter. The time commitment for this type of thing is brutal, though, and these days my hobby focus is far more on the completion of "sets" of miniatures in the context of my whole collection rather than single showstopper pieces. 

Other than gratuitous use of gem effects, I really love the mini diorama aspect of this miniature. It can either be a vignette, or the maiden can be removed to act as a playable piece; It makes for a nice game play encounter. The bases were hand sculpted in an era before the rise of 3D printing, the dragon model is from Reapers Pathfinder line and the maiden is modified from an old Privateer Press miniature.

 

Small Shark / Shark Familiar

 

This little guy is a slight change of pace, but on theme. It is from the aquatic familiar pack VII, by Reaper Miniatures, one of my favorite collections of small models. Sharks are a super popular topic with my kids, so this simple piece is much loved. It is a nice addition to my collection of animals and, though it is not representative of some specific species, I did my best to base the paint on real world images of sharks.  After a long hiatus it is nice to get back to a non-fantasy creature.

Fortune Hunters Tactical Dive Soldier / Steampunk Soldier Diver

 

Unfortunately, I was not happy with an entire photography session I had which was to cover my next several posts. As a consequence, I am running late with my posts; Better late than never, though! I am working towards having a better lighting rig so that I am not so limited by the weather and long stretch of dark months we get up north. Enough with that.

 I'm still a little unsure about these photos though - the size of the pics are significantly larger than the model itself, which I think undersells it a bit. Sculptors often include a scale reference to provide the viewers with a sense of the size of the piece, and I think that could be especially important (maybe more important) for paint where the size of the model has a meaningful effect on the perceived quality of the work. something to think about.

The real post: This model continues the series of my DeepWars Fortune Hunters and it might actually be one of the first models from that faction I painted. In fact, it predates my records of such things, which were started in 2013! That makes it one of the older things I have ever shared here. Still pretty solid, I think.

This fellow has a classic steampunk design and the model is pretty timeless. As a basic trooper I only wish there were more poses available. Fortunately, with the continuation of the line into the modern era, digital sculpting has ensured that some new equivalent pieces are available for my printer. I'm working on some of his buddies now to give my warband more (expendable) muscle.

Fortune Hunters Big Game Hunter / Steampunk Hunter Diver

Continuing the Deepwars Fortune Hunters theme, we have an elite soldier: the big game hunter. Given the number of big nasty creatures in the game, this guy seems like must have, and fills the classic archetype of the obsessed hunter. All very good. From a painting perspective the trophies adorning the dive suit add a lot of visual interest, making the hunter one of the more engaging designs in the line. Nothing fancy though - I stuck to the established palate for my Fortune Hunters and I feel it translated to this piece well.

Happy Holidays!

Edit: I really disliked the series of photos I took around this date, so I retook them and replaced the original pics.

Jabberwock, Ral Partha

 

OK, Ill be the first to admit that this is a less than satisfying re-post. I was feeling the itch to put something up, but it is very rainy and I am limited to outdoor photography for the time being. So, time to recycle; it is a piece I love! This was originally posted in 2010 on CMON - those were heady days. This Jabberwock was an effort at painting for contests. It did decently, managing a silver medal at one of the Denver gaming conventions. I remember the critique from the judges acutely -  The paint was great but the subject is too two-dimensional; it lacked visual interest from all directions. 

This advice has become the cornerstone of my more ambitious projects, especially my own sculpting - it has to be interesting from every direction. That said, models like this photograph beautifully, whereas sculpts best viewed in person are often difficult to get a good angle on them for photography.

 I especially enjoy the eyes on this piece, and it was the start of a limited case study in painting crazy-looking large creature eyes - I still emphasize that to this day. The photographic style on the other hand has changed quite a lot. It is indicative of my presentation at that time: complex collages of images, sometimes inset, and a bold signature ("Funnymouth" being and old handle). This was maybe the best of them, but it still makes me smirk.

I should also note that, like the recently shared Ral Partha wyvern, this model is a repaint from my original childhood collection.

 Reading back, it seems to be a fairly seminal piece in many ways - worthy of a re-post after all? I'll let you decide.

Flumph (2)

 

 

Flumphs! This is my 100th post, which flew buy in the blink of a ....decade (ha!), so I wanted to post something meaningful to commemorate it in a (slightly pathetic) special way. Models that I have sculpted myself, such as these flumphs,  are of personal significance (see the original greens below). 

I had a ton of inspiration sculpting the cute little heroes and it was one of the most relaxed and fun sculpting experiences I can remember. Fitting that the subjects are so benevolent. I feel like taking a model from a ball of putty to a final artwork/game-piece is a complete journey, a realization of my imagination into something tangible - it is a very satisfying process. I don't paint my sculpting as often as I should, probably because I tend to overthink these pieces. The flumphs were not a struggle, though; my concept from start to finish was clear (though it did take many years to even track down a copy of them to paint at all). 

These jellies even have an imaginary personality to go along with their physical embodiment. Despite the grief and/or sensationalism surrounding flumphs because of their perceived ridiculousness, they are really a great classic "monster" I use frequently in games. When playing with my sons, the two flumphs are clerics seeking help and they act as a perfect support NPC. This role is spelled out in 2e as the "monastic flumph." Their exposition and healing battery game-play is engaging for new players and makes them immediately lovable sidekicks. Who wouldn't help them?

These are some of the only photos I have of the original greens, so I apologize for their quality.

Wyvern, Ral Partha

This wyvern is a special piece - it is possibly the longest serving miniature in my entire collection! This miniature came from the resale cabinet at my local FLGS when I was a kid, sometime in the late 80s. I remember the display of metal figures with great nostalgia; ogling all the little metal sculptures made my imagination come alive. I even managed to give it a paintjob with the Testors model paints I had at the time. Little did I know this early experience would plant a seed that would take hold many years later. I  dug this little gem out of a box of old junk after two decades in storage as my interest in the hobby rekindled. Eventually, I got around to stripping the original damaged paintjob and giving her a fresh coat. Even now, it is now one of the older paint-jobs on display in my cabinet. Who knows, maybe Ill paint it again some day.

Props to the legendary Julie Guthrie - this classic sculpt still holds up well!

Lich

 

This is one of the older models in my collection (so old it is dusty!), and was my test piece for gem technique. I considered it to be a success at the time and it quickly became a regular part of my painting repertoire.

Sand Paraelemental / sandman (2)

 Following up on my elementals theme I seem to have going recently, here are a pair of "sand elementals" from Ral Partha's crucible line. These are great little sculpts that really capture the feel of beings made from sand very effectively - simple grainy details with exaggerated humanoid proportions. The styling works *perfectly* as D&Ds "sandman" monsters, which havn't seen much action, but are definitely very cool. These were painted ages ago - just simple drybrush and wash and the sculpt did the rest.

Water Elemental Daemon

 

The third in the cycle of Ral Partha elemental Daemons. These were the first elementals I ever worked on (many years ago), and they remain a passion of mine. Its nice to see a proper evil elemental. This was an early attempt at sculpting a base with greenstuff to integrate it, and I think the sense of motion is decent enough, even now. 

This may be my favorite of the four.

Earth Elemental Daemon

The second in the series of Ral Partha Elemental Daemons I have in my collection. This is my least favorite of the bunch, but I still think he is nice after all these years. each of these elemental daemons certainly bring something different from your standard elemental stuff. The fire elemental had a skeleton, this fellow has some plant elements, and they all have a definite sense of malice.

 

Smoke Paraelemental, Medium

 This is a great little model from Ral Parth's crucible line that really hits the spot for me. I like the coals effect and cinders on the base, and it strikes me a "moody" for an elemental creature. He its in perfectly with my other paraelementals.  

Edit: I just realized this is another MM2 monster! added the label.