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.

Kristianna, Bones 2 Figure

      This past week I decided to continue to work on the Bones 2 Heroes I set, and I painted the Kristianna figure.
     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 had recently seem someone post online some figures they had done with the clear weapons  from Bones 3 weapon sprues; where they had painted parts of the clear piece, and left others see-through,  and I had decided I wanted to try something similar.    Since I'm not a fan of dual-wield figures, I thought it might be neat to remove her lefthand sword, and replace it with a clear shield.  So I looked through the selection of shields, and landed on the one with the hooded head on it with the wing-like surround from the Armory of Virtue clear Add-on set. I was struck by the symbolic similarity between the hood on the shield and the head piece the figure had on, and decided that perhaps the figure was a cleric or paladin, and the face on the shield was an image of her goddess or a saint.  She wore the headpiece as part of her official garb, in representation of the hood worn by the deity.

  My next step was to see if the shield actually fit.  I first carefully cut away the sword, and immediately found that the shield was a little big for the space between the overhang of her headpiece, and the flowing  ribbon like pieces (a clerical stole?) flowing from behind her arm and curving upward.  So I set about trimming off a bit of the underside of the headpiece, and the top curve of the ribbon until I could wedge the shield in there.  I thought it looked pretty good. I decided it would probably be best to paint them separately, and then glue them together at the end; especially since you'd actually be able to see part of her outfit through the clear parts of the shield. 
     So, 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 began by giving the figure a wash with Reaper MSP "Grey Liner" to help see the detail; and when that was dry I painted her face and hands with Reaper MSP "Tanned Shadow". When the "Tanned Shadow" was dry, I gave it  a wash with Citadel "Reikland Fleshshade".  When it was dry, I painted her pants, blouse, and sleeves, with Americana "Grey Sky", and her corset and tabard with Crafter's Acrylic "Tutti Frutti"

     I then painted all the stuff flowing down her back (coat? cape? clerical stole?), as well as her headpiece, and the decorations on her corset and sleeves, with Americana "Cranberry Wine".  While painting the decor on the sleeves, I decided that it looked more like she was wearing gloves than having bear hands, so I used the "Cranberry Wine" to paint the gloves as well.  I then painted her armor, and the sword blade with Americana "Zinc", and her hair, tiara, and sword hilt with Accent "Golden Harvest".

     After giving everything a few hours to get good and dry, I gave the areas I had painted with the "Sky Grey", "Tutti Frutti", and "Zinc" all a wash with Citadel "Nuln Oil" wash.  When that was dry, I gave the areas of "Cranberry Wine" all  a wash with slightly diluted Iron Wind Metals "Purple" ink.

     When the washes were  dry, I painted her eyes and lips and then highlighted her face with Reaper MSP "Tanned Skin" and Reaper MSP "Tanned Highlight".  For the very highest points I mixed in a little Crafter's Acrylic "Flesh" into the "Tanned Highlight".  Next, I did her hair, highlighting it first with Americana "Moon Yellow", and then lighter highlights with Apple Barrel "Lemon Chiffon".   After that, I  did the highlighting on her pants, blouse and sleeves, using first the base "Grey Sky" mixed with a little Ceramcoat "Snow White", and then the plain "Snow White" itself. "

I then highlighted her corset and tabard with Crafter's Acrylic "Cherry Blossom Pink", and then highlighted the flowing stuff on her back, the headpiece, gloves, and the decorations on her corset and sleeves, all with Americana "Burgundy Wine" mixed with a little of the "Tutti Frutti".  I also went back and hit the pearls around the top of her headpiece with the "Snow White"
     Next, I went back and went over the sword and armor with Folk Art Metallics "Gunmetal Grey", and then highlighted it all with Ceramcoat "Metallic Silver".   After that, I painted the sword hilt, tiara, and necklace, with Ceramcoat "Bronze", and highlighted them with Ceramcoat "Wedding Gold".
       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.
     While I was waiting for the figure to dry and get it's varnish coat, I began to work on the shield.  I began by painting the face with Americana "Shading Flesh", and then I painted the hood and the bow underneath with the "Cranberry Wine"  I also painted the back of the shield, where the head was, with the "Cranberry Wine" so the entire head area would be opaque from front and back.

     Next, I painted the little bit of hair seen under the hood with some Daffodil Yellow", then when the shield was dry, I gave the face and hood a wash with the "Reikland Fleshshade".  When it was dry, I highlighted the face with the "Flesh",  and the hood I did the same as on the main figure; with the "Burgundy  Wine and the "Tutti Frutti".  I then painted the rim around the shield, both front and back, with Ceramcoat "Black", and when it was dry went over it with the "Gunmetal Grey", front and back.
     Now was the moment of truth... Once again I carefully squeezed the shield into he spot between the underside of the headpiece and the upwards curl of the ribbon-like hanging.  However, this time I noticed that, while the shield fit in the area, when I looked around back behind the shield I realized her arm didn't actually come into contact with the back of the shield; there was about 2mm of space between them at the widest point!  In my rush to get started I hadn't actually checked about contact with the arm.  And the shield did not sit close enough to the body that I could just fudge it.
      This meant I'd have to do some after-painting trimming, which I was not looking forward to.    In the end, I game to the realization that the whole lower curve of the ribbon was just going to have to go; so I cut that off and trimmed it back until the ends of it sat more flush with the line of the arm.  I also had to go in and trim more of the headpiece's overhang.  Finally, I got it where the shield would actually sit up against her arm, without doing too much damage to the paint job.  Phew!

     My next step then was to superglue the shield in place to the arm.  I felt there were enough areas I had trimmed, and enough unpainted surface on the back of the shield that I would have a couple of good contact points. 
     Once the glue was good and dry, I gave the shield a coat of the "Duraclear "Matte" varnish. Then, when  the varnish was dry, I used some white glue to flock the base.  Another overnight dry, and I sprayed the figure with Testor's Dullcote".

    Well, I'm really happy with how this turned out.  I think it ended up looking very cool, and now I want to try more things like this!    As I was painting, I came up with a whole backstory of how the shield is made from some sort of holy crystal slab which, legend tells, was formed from the tears-turned-to-stone of the goddess herself. Imbued with all sorts of magic protective powers. :)

Jurden, Half-Orc Paladin: Bones 3 Figure

     This past week I painted Jurden, Half-Orc Paladin , from the Bones 3 Heroes I Set.   A few weeks ago I had used him as one of my first test weapon-swap figures, and I thought it was about time I actually painted one of them.  In looking at this figure, there wasn't anything particularly orc-ish about it, so I decided to just paint it as a regular human.
      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 glued the washer-mounted figure to a tongue depressor with a couple drops of the Elmer's glue.

      I began by painting almost the entire figure with Black, being careful not to get any on the clear blade.   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 Ceramcoat "Metallic Silver"

      I used the Black again at that point to paint the back of the shield. I painted his head with Americana "Shading Flesh", and while that dried, I painted his tabard and the front of his shield with Crafter's Acrylic "Bright Blue".  I then went back to the head and went over it with some very slightly thinned Americana "Asphaltum".

      I then painted his eyes, and did his hair Black with Americana "Zinc" and  Americana "Grey Sky" highlights. After that I did the highlights on his face with a mix of the "Shading Flesh" and the Asphaltum".  I also carefully painted the hilt of the clear sword with Black at this point.  Next, I painted his clerical stole, scabbard, and the bull's head on his shield with Ceramcoat "Black Cherry", and then highlighted his tabard and the edges of his shield with some Reaper MSP Bones "Tropical Blue".   I then went back and highlighted his stole, scabbard,  and the bull's head on his shield with Crafter's Acrylic "Christmas Red, and painted the eyes on the bull's head on his shield with White.

     Next, I painted the crown on his shield, the small bull's head-like clasp on his front armor, the ends of his stole, and the hilt of his raised sword with Accent "Golden Harvest".  Then I painted the grip of his sheathed sword, and the strap on his shield with Americana "Raw Umber". After that, I went back and re-painted the crown on his shield, the small bull's head-like clasp on his front armor, the ends of his stole, and the hilt of his sword with Ceramcoat "Bronze".  I mixed some of the "Black Cherry", and some Ceramcoat "14K Gold", and tried to paint a bit of a paisley pattern on his stole.  I then used some Ceramcoat "Wedding Gold" to highlight the crown on his shield, the small bull's head-like clasp on his front armor, the ends of his stole, and the hilt of his sword.  After that, I used some of the "Metallic Silver" to go back over the figure and do some specific highlight painting on his armor.  I finished work on him by painting highlights on the sheathed sword grip, and the shield's strap using Folk Art "Teddy Bear Brown".
     Lastly, I painted the figure's integral base with Ceramcoat "Walnut".
     I let the figure dry overnight and the next day I gave him a coat of Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish, being careful not to get any on the sword blade. When dry, I flocked the base. Another overnight dry, and I sprayed him with Testor's Dullcote". Before spraying though, I taped a piece of folded paper over the sword blade to protect it from the spray paint.

    Well, I have to declare my first painted weapon-swapped figure to be a big success.   I'm really happy with the way this guy came out; and I think the crystal look of the sword was worth the extra effort it took to keep paint off it during the whole process.

Seelah, Iconic Paladin: Figure 216 of 266

  This past week I officially began the Iconics and Officially Licensed Pathfinder Miniatures Set, and painted the Seelah, Iconic Paladin, figure.  I say, "officially began", because I had already pulled the Feiya, Iconic Witch, figure from this set to paint up as my Illusionist apprentice for Frostgrave. My plan now it to work on this set in ernest.
     Also, this being the 216th figure for me to post, it marks the 50-more-figures-to-go point for me.  It's all downhill from here!
      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 white-primed 1" fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue, and then glued the washer-mounted figure to a tongue depressor with a couple drops of the Elmer's glue.

      I began by painting the the armor and sword entirely in Black.  I then drybrushed it with Americana "Neutral Grey".

     Next, I drybrushed the armor and sword with Folk Art Metallics "Gunmetal Grey".  Then I painted the outside of her cape and the drape at her waist with Crafter's Acrylic "Bright Blue".  I then did the lining of the cape, and the face of her shield with Folk Art "Platinum Grey". After that, I painted her head with Americana "Raw Umber".

      Next, I highlighted the cape's exterior and the drape at her waist with a mix of the "Bright Blue" and Crafter's Acrylic "Cool Blue". I highlighted the cape's lining, and her shield, with White.  I painted her hair, belt, pouch, and sword grip with Black, and then gave her head a coat of GW "Agrax Earthshade" wash.

     When the wash was dry, I painted her eyes, and then did highlights on her face with a mix of the "Raw Umber" and Americana "Shading Flesh".    Next, I highlighted her hair with Americana "Zinc". I then highlighted her belt, pouch and sword grip with Ceramcoat "Denim Blue".  I then painted her bow with Crafter's Acrylic "Cinnamon Brown', the quiver with Nicole's "Brown", the scabbard with Crafter's Acrylic "Navy Blue", and the one object hanging from her back I couldn't identify, with Americana "Asphaltum".
     Next, I highlighted the bow with Americana "Sable Brown".  I then added trim to the quiver, and painted her hair tie with Americana "Terra Cotta".  Afterwards, I painted the arrow fletchings with the "Denim Blue", and used this color to highlight the scabbard too.  I highlighted the fletchings with the "Cool Blue". I then did a free-hand design on the shield using the "Bright Blue".
     At this point, I got out the metallic"Gunmetal Grey" again, and painted the border around the shield, and the bottom tip of the scabbard.  I then used Folk Art Metallics "Silver Sterling" to add highlights to the armor, sword, and shield border.
     I had originally mounted her on a white washer to use as a Templar in Frostgrave; but as soon as I started painting her, I had realized she was carrying bow and quiver and there is no bow-armed, sword-wielding, armored class in Frostgrave.  (I really like to have my figures match as close to possible to how they are supposed to be armed and armored for this game. WYSIWYG!) So, at this point I used Ceramcoat "Walnut to paint the figure's integral base, and the white washer.
    After the figure had overnight to dry, I gave it a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish" the following morning.  Later that morning I flocked the base, and that evening I sprayed the figure with Testor's Dullcote.   After the Dullcote was dry, I used a little dab of superglue to affix one of the tiny nail gems to the base of the sword.

    I like the way she came out, though I probably should have spent a little more time with the free-hand on the shield.   Nonetheless, it is a nice basic figure and was easy to paint.

Figure 216 0f 266: Complete

Vaeloth, Hellborn Paladin: Figure 191 of 266

     Before getting into today's blog entry, I wanted to take care of a little bit of bookkeeping.  It always bothered me a little, after trading my "Bones I" Griffon figure away at Historicon '13 (See notations on figure total amounts on the top right column), that I wouldn't in fact end up painting all the "Bones I" Kickstarter figures; since I no longer owned that one figure. So, I finally rectified that problem over the holidays, and ordered a new Bones Griffon from Reaper.  I am now adding this figure back into the count, so my new total for this blog will be 266 figures.  These changes have been marked over in the top of the right hand column, and will be reflected in the figure countdown in each new figure article's title.
     Now, back to our regularly scheduled blogging! :)
    This week I continued to work on the Bedevilled set, and painted the Vaeloth, Hellborn Paladin figure.  Since I did the ice-devil blue-themed paint scheme on last week's figure, I though I would go for a more conventional red fire-themed paint job on this week's.
     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 glued the washer-mounted figure to a tongue depressor with a couple drops of the Elmer's glue.

      I began by painting all the armor Black, and then when it was dry, drybrushing it with  Ceramcoat "Bronze".  I then drybrushed highlights with Cermacoat "14K Gold".

    I then repainted the garments under the armor, and the wolfskin cape hanging on his back, using Black; to cover areas where the metallic drybrushing had gotten onto parts I didn't want it. Afterwards, I drybrushed the wolf skin with Americana "Neutral Grey", followed by Crafter's Acrylic "Storm Cloud Grey".  I then added spot highlights with Folk Art "Platinum Grey".  Next, I painted the Wolf's nose and the top of his muzzle with Black.

     Next, I did highlights on all the black garments and straps using first GW "Shadow Grey", and then lighter highlights with Folk Art "Settler's Blue".   I painted the shield Black, and then painted his head and tail with Reaper MSP Bones "Cinnamon Red".

    I then went to work on the shield.  I thought the shape of the shield's top was somewhat reminiscent of flames, so I wanted to carry that image through on the shield's motif itself.   I began by painting the outer edge of the flames, almost filing the shield, using Folk Art "True Burgundy".  I then worked inward towards the center of the flame with this succession of colors: Crafter's Acrylic "Deep Red", Crafter's Acrylic "Orange Spice", Crafter's Acrylic "Pure Pumpkin, Americana "Tangerine", Apple Barrel "Yellow", Crafter's Acrylic "Daffodil Yellow", and lastly a small center of White.  While I had the "Pure Pumpkin open, I also used it to paint the figure's base.

     My next step was to give the face and tail a wash with Winsor-Newton "Peat Brown" ink using a wet brush.  I then painted his hair Black, and when it was dry, I drybrushed it with the "Shadow Grey", followed by the "Settlers Blue".  After that, I painted his horns and the sword grip with Americana "Charcoal Grey", and did highlights on them both with Americana "Mississippi Mud".   I then painted his eyes, giving them "Deep Red" pupils; and I also, at this time, painted the wolf's eyes with the "Deep Red" as well.  I then painted the figure's teeth White, and did small highlight dots on the wolf's eyes with the White while I had it out.  Next, I highlighted the figure's head and tail, first with Folk Art "Deep Tomato Red", and then some finer highlights with the "Orange Spice".
        Next, I painted the sword blade with Folk Art "Gunmetal Grey". I then painted the top of the shield and the metal on the sword hilt with Ceramcoat "Bronze".   I then went back and highlighted the sword blade with Folk Art "Silver Sterling", and then did highlights on the shield top and sword hilt with Cermacoat "14K Gold".
      When everything had overnight to dry, I gave the figure a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish".  Then, the following day, I sprayed the figure with Testor's Dullcote.      Later that evening,  I painted over the section of base I had earlier painted "Pure Pumpkin", with Distress "Black Soot" crackle paint.  I also, while the crackle paint was still wet, put a piece of black gravel in the wet paint to look like a large chunk of volcanic rock.  I set this aside for a day for the crackle paint to dry.  When it had dried, I very lightly drybrushed it with the "Tangerine" paint.

          I'm very pleased with how this fellow turned out, and especially like the effect the black crackle paint had over the bright orange paint on the base.

Figure 191 of 266: Complete