Christina, Female Cleric: Bones 3 Figure

     I'm happy to report that this past week I found my muse again and painted Christina, Female Cleric, from the Bones 3 Heroes II set.   This was a commission piece for a D&D player who wanted the figure painted as a Sea Elf with blue iridescent skin and green hair.
      I prepped the 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 it.  I then glued the figure to a brown-primed 1" fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue, and then placed the figure in my painting grip.

      Because this was cast in the white original white Bones material, I began by giving it a wash with some thinned Reaper MSP "Grey Liner" to help me see the details.   When the Liner was dry, I painted all her armor, her mace, and the back of her shield with Americana "Charcoal" and her face and hands with Folk Art Color Shift "Blue Flash".  I then painted her skirt and the back of her shield with Folk Art "Dove Grey".

     I then painted her tabard and shield face with Crafter's Acrylic "Dark Turquoise", and her two holy items (censer and reliquary?) and the padded material in her elbow joints with Accent "Mustard Seed".  After that, I painted her scabbard and bottle(?) with Americana "Wedgewood Blue" and then her hair with Apple Barrel "Apple Blue Spruce".

    Next, I painted her belts with Americana "Light Cinnamon".   I then went over her armor and the back of her shield with Folk Art Metallics "Gunmetal Grey", and her mace, dagger fittings and bottle top with Ceramcoat "Metallic Pewter".  After that, I gave her face and hands a wash with  thinned Reaper MSP "Blue Liner".

     I then painted her religious objects with Folk Art "Pure Gold", and then let everything dry for a while.  When I resumed, I gave her belts, accoutrements,  and skirt a light coat of some Citadel "Nuln Oil" wash.  As that dried, I worked on her face and hands; painting her eyes, and then highlighting the skin with a mix of the base "Blue Flash" with some Crafter's Acrylic "Cool Blue".  After that, I highlighted her hair with a mix of the base "Apple Blue Spruce" and Crafter's Acrylic "Wild Green".

     Next, I highlighted the armor using first Ceramcoat "Metallic Silver", and then some Reaper MSP "Sparkling Snow".  I then highlighted her mace, dagger fittings and bottle top with Citadel "Mithril Silver" followed with a few spots of the "Sparking Snow".  Next, I highlighted her skirt with Americana "Snow White", followed by some Folk Art Extreme Glitter "Hologram".  After that, I highlighted her tabard and shield with  a mix of the base "Dark Turquoise" and some Folk Art "Patina".
     Up next were her scabbard and bottle which I highlighted with some Crafter's Acrylic "Tropical Blue".  I then highlighted the belts with Ceramcoat "Territorial Beige".   I followed with highlighting the gold religious items with some DecoArt Metallic "Bright Brass".  I finished up by painting  some holy symbols for the cleric on the shield, and some decorations on the tabard.  And, lastly, I painted his base with Americana "Mississippi Mud", and applied some "spatter" around the hem of the skirt.
         I let the figure dry overnight and the next day I gave it a coat of Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish.    Then, when  the varnish was dry, I used some white glue to flock the base.  Another overnight dry, and I sprayed it with Testor's "Dullcote".

         I'm really pleased with how this figure turned out, particularly the face.  And, I'm especially glad to be back painting Bones again!

Merrowyn Lightstar, Female Elf Paladin: Bones 4 Figure

     This past week I painted Merrowyn Lightstar, Female Elf Paladin, from the Bones 4 Original Core Set.  Like last week's figure, I needed this elf to act as a commander for a game I was going to be doing at the Fall-In convention this past weekend.
      I prepped the 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 it.  I then glued the figure to a black-primed 1" fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue, and then placed the figure in my painting grip.

  I started by painting the figure entirely with Ceramcoat "Black".  When the Black was dry, I drybrushed the figure with  Folk Art Metallics "Gunmetal Grey".  I then passed over it with a lighter drybrush of Citadel "Mithril Silver".

      Next, I painted the face and hands with Crafter's Acrylic "Flesh", and then the cloth  with Americana "Wedgewood Blue".  I then painted the scabbards, and belts with Americana "True Blue", and the sword blade with Americana "Zinc".  After that, I painted the shield with Reaper MSP Bones "Tropical Blue", and the back of the shield with Crafter's Acrylic "Navy Blue". I then did her hair with Americana "Light Cinnamon", and the sword grip with Americana "Asphaltum". I also painted the border of the shield with Americana "Grey Sky", and did the metal canister at her waist with Reaper MSP "Aged Pewter".
     I let everything dry for a while, and then gave the face and hands a coat of  Citadel "Reikland Fleshshade" wash.   When that was dry, I gave the clothing, scabbards, and shield, all a coat of Citadel "Nuln Oil" wash.  Lastly, I gave her hair a coat of Citadel "Agrax Earthshade" wash.

      When the washes all were dry, I painted her eyes using the "True Blue", and then highlighted her skin with an unnamed Reaper Sample paint I have.  After that, I highlighted her hair, first with the some Americana "Sable Brown" and then with some Americana "Fawn".

 Next, I highlighted her waist drape with some of the base color "Wedgewood Blue" mixed with some Crafter's Acrylic "Dark Turquoise".  I also highlighted the shield with Crafter's Acrylic "Tropical Blue".   After that, I highlighted his boots and scabbards with the Reaper MSP "Tropical Blue", and then used Americana "Snow White" to paint the decoration on the shield, and highlight the border. 

     I then moved on to the metallics, painting the sword with the "Gunmetal Grey", and then doing highlights with the "Mithril Silver".   Lastly, I painted the base with Americana "Mississippi Mud".

      I let the figure dry overnight and the next day I gave it a coat of Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish.    Then, when  the varnish was dry, I used some white glue to flock the base.  Another overnight dry, and I sprayed it with Testor's "Dullcote".

     I'm pleased with how she came out considering she got a very rushed job done on her.  She performed well in the game however, helping to defeat a Giant  that was allied with a squad of Dwarves which blocked the road  down which she and her company were trying to advance.

As requested, here is a photo of the shield.  It was rushed, so doesn't look its best this close up.  :)

Alandin, Elf Paladin: Bones 4 Figure

   This past week I painted Alandin, Elf Paladin, from the Bones 4 Core Set Elves group.  I needed a couple more leader figures for the Elf forces I'm using for my Feudal Patrol game at Fall-In, and thought this fellow looked suitably like a commander.  I planned to paint him in the same colors I used for the rest of my Elf Army to help him blend in.
  I prepped the 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 it.  I then glued the figure to a black-primed 1" fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue, and then placed the figure in my painting grip.

      I started by painting the figure entirely with Ceramcoat "Black".  When the Black was dry, I drybrushed the figure with  Folk Art Metallics "Gunmetal Grey".  I then passed over it with a lighter drybrush of Citadel "Mithril Silver".

     Next, I painted the face and hands with Crafter's Acrylic "Flesh", and the tunic with Americana "Wedgewood Blue".  I then painted the cape with Crafter's Acrylic "Tropical Blue", and the boots, scabbards, and belt with Americana "True Blue".  After that, I painted the shield with Reaper MSP Bones "Tropical Blue", and the back of the shield with Crafter's Acrylic "Navy Blue".

     I then painted the sword and the armor on the boots with  Americana "Zinc".  I also painted the grips of the sword and the dagger with Americana "Asphaltum". After that, I painted the decorations on the shield and the scabbard with Americana "Grey Sky".  I also used this color to do a simple border design on the bottom of the cape.   I also did his hair at this point with Americana "Bleached Sand".

        Next, I let everything dry for a while, and then gave the faces and hands a coat of  Citadel "Reikland Fleshshade" wash.   When that was dry, I gave the clothing, scabbards, and shield, all a coat of Citadel "Nuln Oil" wash.  Lastly, I gave his hair a coat of Citadel "Agrax Earthshade" wash.

     When the washes all were dry, I painted his eyes, and then highlighted his skin with an unnamed Reaper Sample paint I have.  After that, I highlighted his hair, first with the base "Bleached Sand", and then with some Americana "Snow White".

     Next, I highlighted his tunic with some of the base color "Wedgewood Blue" mixed with some Crafter's Acrylic "Dark Turquoise".   I then highlighted the cape with some of the base Crafter's Acrylic  "Tropical Blue" mixed with Crafter's Acrylic "Cool Blue". I also highlighted the shield with the Crafter's Acrylic "Tropical Blue".   After that, I highlighted his boots and scabbards with the Reaper MSP "Tropical Blue", and then used the "Snow White" to highlight the decoration on the shield, the cross stitching on the scabbard, and the border decoration on the cape.  I also did some piping on the tunic with the "Snow White". 
     I then moved on to the metallics, painting the sword and armor on the boots with the "Gunmetal Grey", and then doing highlights with the "Mithril Silver".   Lastly, I painted the base with Americana "Mississippi Mud".
      I let the figure dry overnight and the next day I gave it a coat of Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish.    Then, when  the varnish was dry, I used some white glue to flock the base.  Another overnight dry, and I sprayed it with Testor's "Dullcote".

     I'm happy with how this turned out.  It's just a quick figure for gaming, but I think it ended up looking pretty good.

Aeris, Female Elf Ranger (Painted as Dark Elf): Bones 3 Figure

This week I painted Aeris, Female Elf Ranger, from the Bones 3 Core Set.  Like last week's Halfling Cleric, I selected this figure to fill a gap in the figures I need for a game I'm going to be running at the upcoming Fall-In gaming convention.  What I was missing was a Drow/Dark Elf Ranger, and this figure was the only Elf archer I still had in my horde of unpainted Bones, so it got nominated to fill the role.
   

      While a beautiful figure, I was a bit disappointed in it as an Archer or a Ranger because it seemed to be missing any obvious quiver or hand to hand weapon (not even a dagger). I was able to solve these problems with some extra bits from set of hard plastic plastic War of the Roses troops I had recently been working on.
    I prepped the 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 it.  I then transplanted her right arm with one carrying a set of arrows, and added a sword at her hip on the left side.   With the new additions in place, I glued the figure to a black-primed 1" fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue, and then placed the figure in my painting grip.

     I began by giving the figure a wash with Reaper MSP "Grey Liner"; and when that was dry, I painted her entire body with Ceramcoat "Black".    I then drybrushed her bodice armor and boots with Citadel "The Fang", followed by a lighter drybrush of Folk Art "Cloudy Day".  I then highlighted her pants and over-shirt with Apple Barrel "Apple Blue Spruce", followed with lighter highlights using Folk Art "Hunter Green".

     Next, I painted her under-sleeves with Crafter's Acrylic "Purple Passion", and the lining of her cape with Crafter's Acrylic "African Violet".  I then painted the outer layer of her cape with Americana "Zinc".

     I then painted her bow with Crafter's Acrylic "Navy Blue", and the sword scabbard with the "African Violet".  Next, I painted her hair with Crafter's Acrylic "Storm Cloud Grey" and the arrow shafts with Ceramcoat "Black Cherry".   After that, I painted the lining of the cape with Folk Art Color Shift "Purple Flash", and then the trim of the cape with the "Black".

     Next, I painted the scabbard again with Folk Art "Metallic Amethyst", and the bindings on the bow with Folk Art "Dapple Grey".  I then let everything dry for a while, and afterwards gave the entire figure a wash with Citadel "Nuln Oil" wash.  When the wash was dry, I painted her eyes, and then highlighted her face and hands with with a mix of Apple Barrel "Apple Black Green", and Americana "Avocado".

     I then highlighted her hair with Americana "Dove Grey", followed by some Americana "Snow White". I added some eyebrows too.  I decided that the highlights on the green weren't bright enough, so I added additional highlights to her pants and over-shirt with some Folk Art Artists Pigment "Hauser Green Medium".   After that I highlighted the under-sleeves with some Apple Barrel "Apple Lavender" mixed with a little of the base "Purple Passion".

     Next, I highlighted the outer cape with Americana "Grey Sky mixed with a little of the base "Zinc", and then highlighted the cape's fur trim with Americana "Neutral Grey".   I then highlighted the cape's lining using the base "Purple Flash" mixed with a little Ceramcoat "Metallic Silver", and the scabbard using the base "metallic Amethyst" mixed with a little of the "Metallic Silver".  After that, I highlighted the bow with some of the base "Navy Blue" mixed with a little Ceramcoat "Denim Blue", and I highlighted the bindings on the bow with Folk Art "Grey Green".   I wrapped up the painting on the figure by highlighting the arrow shafts with Ceramcoat "Opaque Red", and  highlighting the fletchings with  Folk Art "Medium Grey". I painted the points of the arrows, the metal parts of the sword grip, and the cape's clasp, all with Folk Art Metallics "Gunmetal Grey", and then highlighted them with a little of"Metallic Silver".

     Lastly, I painted the figure's integral base with the "Bittersweet Chocolate".

     I let the figure dry overnight and the next day I gave it a coat of Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish.    Then, when  the varnish was dry, I used some white glue to flock the base.  Another overnight dry, and I sprayed it with Testor's Dullcote".

    I'm really happy with how she came out, and I think the conversion to a Dark Elf works just fine.  I also think the added arrows and sword  help the figure a bit too.  

Fiara, Elf Heroine: Bones 3 Figure

     This past week I painted Fiara, Elf Heroine, from the Bones 3 Core Set, to be a new member of my Ghost Archipelago crew.  (I seem to lose a lot of crew on my expeditions! :-)   ) 
      I prepped this figure in the usual way; soaking the parts 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 it.  When dry, I glued the figure to a black-primed 1" fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue. I then placed the figure in my painting grip.

     I began by painting the face and hands with Crafter's Acrylic "Flesh", and then the pants with Crafter's Acrylic "Citrus Green".  Next, I painted the tunic with Crafter's Acrylic "Dark Turquoise", and then the belt, boots, and shoulder and forearm guards all with Americana "Terra Cotta".

     I then painted her hair with Crafter's Edition "Spice Brown", and then the grips on the sword with Folk Art "Teddy Bear Brown".  Next, I painted stripes on the pants with Apple Barrel "Yellow", and then painted the decorations on the coat, as well as the center of the stripes I had just painted, with Crafter's Acrylic "Daffodil Yellow".  After that, I painted her sash with Crafter's Acrylic "Tropical Blue", and the sword blade with Americana "Zinc".

      Next, I went back and overpainted the sash with Folk Art Color Shift "Blue Flash".  After everything had time to dry, I gave her face and hands a wash of Citadel "Reikland Fleshshade" wash.   When that wash was dry, I then gave a wash to he rest of her with Citadel "Agrax Earthshade" wash.  When the washes were dry, I painted her eyes, and highlighted her face.  I then highlighted her hair; using first, Americana "Sable Brown", then Folk Art "Butter Pecan", and lastly, some of the "Butter Pecan" mixed with "Americana "Bleached Sand".

      When, I was done with her face, hair and hands, I started work on her clothes.  First, I highlighted her pants using the base "Citrus Green"; and then highlighted the stripes, and the decorations on her tunic with the base "Daffodil Yellow".  I then highlighted her tunic with the base "Dark Turquoise", and then did lighter highlights on the jacket by mixing the "Dark Turquoise" with some Folk Art "Celadon Green".  Next, I highlighted all the leather: boots, armor, belts, forearm guards; all with a mix of Accent "Golden Oxide" and Ceramcoat "Maple Sugar Tan".  After that, I highlighted the sword grips with some of the "Sable Brown" I had used on the hair.  I then highlighted the sash, using a mix of the base "Blue Flash", and some Folk Art Pearl "Aqua Moire".     Next, I went back and went over the sword blade again with Folk Art Metallics "Gunmetal Grey", and then highlighted it with Ceramcoat "Metallic Silver".   I then finished up by doing the beads in her hair with different metallics.
     Lastly, I painted the figure's integral base with the "Bittersweet Chocolate".
     I let the figure dry overnight and the next day I gave it a coat of Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish.    Then, when  the varnish was dry, I used some white glue to flock the base.  Another overnight dry, and I sprayed it with Testor's Dullcote".

     I'm generally happy with the figure, and I think her outfit turned out looking really nice; though in the end I'm a bit disappointed in her face, as she just kind of looks stunned or despondent, not heroic or pensive, or determined.  I don't know if that's the sculpt or just the way the paint fell, or both.

Elven Blacksmith: Bones 3 Figure

    This past week I returned to working on the Townsfolk set from Bones 3, and painted the Elven Blacksmith.
      I prepped the 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 it.    I then glued the figure to a black-primed 1" fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue.   And, when the glue was dry,  I put it in my Citadel painting grip.

     I began by painting her skin with Apple Barrel "Flesh",  When it was dry, I gave it a wash with some Citadel "Reikland Fleshshade" wash.  When that was dry, I painted her leggings with Americana "Zinc", and her skirt with Crafter's Acrylic "Storm Cloud Grey".  I then painted her top, and the borders on the skirt, with Crafter's Acrylic "Navy Blue".

    Next, I painted her apron, and her eye wrap, with Folk Art "Platinum Grey", and her gloves with Crafter's Edition "Taupe".  I then painted the handle of her hammer with Ceramcoat "Territorial Beige", and her hair with Accent "Golden Harvest". After that, I painted the bark of the tree trunk with Americana "Charcoal Grey", and the interior of the trunk with Reaper MSP "Ginger Cookie".

     I let everything dry for a while, and then gave the tree trunk, her hair, the gloves, and the hammer handle, a wash with Citadel "Agrax Earthsahde" wash.  When the wash was dry, I then gave her leggings, skirt, apron, and top all a wash with Citadel "Nuln Oil" wash.  When that was dry, I worked on highlighting her hair, drybrushing it first with Americana "Moon Yellow", and then Apple Barrel "Lemon Chiffon".  I then touched it with a few Americana "White" highlights.

     Next, I painted in her eye and mouth, and then highlighted her skin with the base "Flesh" and the "Flesh" mixed with a little Americana "White".  I then highlighted her leggings with the "Storm Cloud Grey", and highlighted her skirt with a mix of the base "Storm Cloud Grey and some of the "Platinum Grey".  After that, I highlighted her apron, and her eye wrap, with a mix of the "Platinum Grey" and the "White".    I then highlighted the border on her skirt with Americana "True Blue", and afterwards, used the "True Blue" to paint the decorations on her apron. When I was finished, I went back and highlighted those decorations with some of the "True Blue" mixed with a little Crafter's Edition "Tropical Blue".

    Next, I painted her boots with Americana "Black".  I then drybrushed the tree trunk with, first, "Americana "Neutral Grey", and then with Folk Art Barn Wood".   After that, I painted the anvil and the head of the hammer with Reaper MSP "Scorched Metal", and I painted the sword with Accent "Princely Pewter.   I followed that with painting the vine on the trunk with Reaper MSP "Christmas Wreath".

     After the new colors had time to dry,I gave the hammer head, anvil, and sword all a wash with the "Nuln Oil".  I then drybrushed the anvil and hammer head with Folk Art Brushed Metal "Brushed Bronze", and then painted the scrolling on them with Ceramcoat "Wedding Gold".  After that, I worked on making the sword look like it was still a little molten by layering on Reaper MSP Bones "Cinnamon Red", Reaper MSP "Holly Berry", Reaper MSP "Hearth Fire", and Reaper MSP Golden Glow"  I had to keep doing it several times and in different thinnesses until I got a look I was happy with.
     When I was happy with the sword, I moved on to the vine.  I thought I'd try something a little different, so I first tried doing the  highlights with Folk Art Color Shift "Green Flash", but I felt it was too drastic of a color difference from the base "Christmas Wreath". So I went back and tempered it with Crafter's Acrylic "Wild Green".
      When I was done painting the figure, I used some white glue to glue some fine brown sand to the base.  When the sand was dry, I painted it with a coat of Americana "Raw Umber". When this was dry, I drybrushed the sand with the "Territorial Beige", and then with some Folk Art "Butter Pecan"; lastly I drybrushed it with a little Crafter's Acrylic "Light Antique White".
      I let the figure dry overnight and the next day I gave it a coat of Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish.  When dry, I glued on some bits of grass tufts.   Another overnight dry, and I sprayed it with Testor's Dullcote".

     I'm really happy how she turned out!     Particularly the sword and the anvil.  I messed up her face a little on her left cheek; but given her missing eye, I figure she is a retired warrior, so a scar on her cheek looks fine to me.

Arael, Half Elf Cleric

     This past week I painted Arael, Half Elf Cleric, to round out the basic crewmen for my Ghost Archipelago warband.  Even though he is billed as a cleric, I thought there was a bit of swashbuckle about his appearance that would make him a good ship's crew figure.  As far as I know he wasn't part of any of the Bones Kickstarters.
      I prepped the 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 it.    I then glued the figure to a black-primed 1" fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue.  This figure was going to be the first I tried in my new painting grip that my friend, Buck, gave me fore Christmas.  I was pleased to see that a washer mounted figure fits in the clamp plates nice and snugly.

     I began by painting his face and hands with Crafter's Acrylic "Flesh", and then painted his tunic with Folk Art "Cloudy Day". After that, I painted his pants with Folk Art "Celadon Green", and then pianted stripes on them with Folk Art "Hunter Green".

     Next, I painted his boots with Americana "Mississippi Mud", and the boot tops with Americana "Avocado".  I then panted his armor with Folk Art "Dapple Gray", and the two studded streamers hanging down from his front with Crafter's Acrylic "Bright Yellow".  I also painted the bit of under shirt peaking out at his neck, and between the studded streamers, with Crafter's Acrylic "Cool Blue".

     Next, I painted all the pouches and the sword grip with Crafter's Edition "Spice Brown", and any odd belts and straps with Nicole's "Brown". I then painted the sword and dagger scabbards with Reaper MSP BONES "Tropical Blue", and the long sash with Crafter's Acrylic "Dark Turquoise". After that, I painted the sword, scabbard fittings, and any buckles with Crafter's Acrylic "Storm Cloud Grey". 

      I painted his hair with Americana "Sable Brown", and then repainted the long sash with a 50/50 mix of Folk Art "Metallic Blue Sapphire" and Folk Art "Metallic Emerald Green".  Next, I repainted the sword, scabbard fittings, and buckles with Folk Art Metallics "Gunmetal Grey". Then, after everything had a chance to dry fro a while; I gave the entire figure, except for the head and hands, a wash with Citadel "Nuln Oil" wash.

    When the "Nuln Oil" wash was dry, I needed to touch up the hands a little,  using the base "Flesh" color, where some of the "Nuln Oil" had got on them.    I then gave the head, hands and hair, all a wash with some Citadel "Reikland Fleshshade" wash.  Then, when that wash was dry, I painted his eyes, and then highlighted his skin with the base "Flesh", and then a little of the "Flesh with a little White added to it.  Next, I highlighted the hair with Reaper MSP "Tanned Highlight"

     Next, I highlighted his tunic with some of the base "Cloudy Day" mixed with a little Crafter's Acrylic "Cool Blue".  I then highlighted the armor with a mix of the base "Dapple Grey" with some Folk Art "Grey Green".  The belts, pouches, etc were highlighted with Americana "Khaki Tan", and the scabbard and dagger sheath were highlighted with the base "Tropical Blue".   I then worked on the boots, highlighting the tops with Duncan "Olive Green", and the rest with a mix of the base "Mississippi Mud" with some Folk Art "Barn Wood".   After that, I worked on the sashes, highlighting the small studded one with the base "Bright Yellow"; and the longer one with some of the "Metallic Emerald Green mixed with some Folk Art Pearl "Aqua Moire".   I wrapped things up by highlighting all the metal, and adding the studs and buckles, with Ceramcoat "Metallic Silver".   Lastly, I painted the figure's base with Ceramcoat "Walnut".
     I let the figure dry overnight and the next day I gave it a coat of Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish.    Then, when  the varnish was dry, I used some white glue to flock the base.  Another overnight dry, and I sprayed it with Testor's Dullcote".

     I'm rather pleased with this guy, even though I rushed him to get him done on time.  And, he fits in quite nicely with the rest of my crew.