Anchor of Damnation: Bones 5 Brinewind Figure

     This past week I painted the "Anchor of Damnation" from the Bones 5 Brinewind Expansion. 

     I prepped it in the usual way, soaking it in a dish of water with a couple drops of dish-soap added, then gave it a light scrub with a soft toothbrush, and then rinsed and dried it.  I then glued the figure to a pair of 1.25" brown-primed metal washers with some Aleene's Tacky glue.  I then glued the figure to a pill bottles with a couple drops of white glue.    

     I began by painting the figure entirely with Americana "Charcoal Grey". When dry, I dabbed the anchor here and there with Americana "Light Cinnamon", and then followed with dabbing the anchor with Accent "Golden Oxide".

     I did a few lighter anchor dabs with Reaper MSP "Lantern Yellow", and then turned to the skeletons.  I began by painting the all bones with Reaper MSP "Graveyard Bone".  I then painted the anchor skeleton's boots with Ceramcoat "Charcoal", and the pants with Folk Art "Cloudy Day"

     Next, I painted the shirt with Folk Art "Porcelain White", and the  head scarf with Pathfinder MSP Urgathea Red". After that, I painted The rocks with Folk Art "Dapple Grey", and then the straps holding the skeleton on the anchor with Americana "Asphaltum".

     I then painted the pirate's sash with "Antique Gold", and then did the ropes on the anchor with Reaper MSP "Ginger Cookie".  After that, I painted the broken planks with Folk Art "Barn Wood", and the assorted barnacles and shells with Folk Art "Gray Green".  I followed with painting what looked to be coral to me with Reaper MSP "Brains Pink", and the coins with Folk Art Brushed Metal "Brushed Bronze".

          I let everything dry for a while and then gave the entire thing a coat of Citadel "Agrax Earthshade" wash.  When the wash was dry, I did some highlighting on the anchor with Americana "Sable Brown", and some of the "LanternYellow".  I then highlighted the barnacles with the base "Gray Green".  Next, I highlighted the skeletons with Reaper MSP "Graveyard Bone", and then some Crater's Acrylic "Light Antique White".

          Next, I highlighted the pirate's shirt with Reaper MSP "Bleached Linen", and Reaper MSP "Peppermint White".  I then highlighted the head scarf with Reaper MSP Bones "Cinnamon Red", and Reaper MSP "Fresh Blood".  After that, I highlighted the pants with the base "Cloudy Day", and then some Crafter's Acrylic "Cool Blue"; and followed by doing the sash with Americana "Antique Gold", and Reaper MSP "Palomino Gold".  

          I then highlighted the boots with the base "Charcoal, and mixed in a little Americana "Zinc"; and afterwards did the highlights on straps holding the pirate on the anchor using the base "Asphaltum with some Americana "Terra Cotta mixed in. After that, I highlighted all the rope sing Folk Art "Butter Pecan", and then highlighted the planks with he base "Barn Wood".  Next, I highlighted the rocks with the base ""Dapple Grey", and then mixed in some Folk Art "Porcelain White", and then moved to what I interpreted as coral, and highlighted that with Apple Barrel "Apple Lt. Pink".  I finished by highlighting the coins with some Folk Art Metallics "Pure Gold".  

        I let the figure dry overnight and the next day I gave it a coat of Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish. When dry, I used some white glue to glue some sand to the figure's base. I also added a mini seashell for decoration. Another overnight dry, and I sprayed the figures with Testor's Dullcote". 

     I'm really pleased with how this piece turned out.  It will add a lot of character as scatter terrain in either a jungle, seaside, or underwater setting.  And players can always wonder if the skeletons are really "just" scenery or not... :) 
  

    In other news, I decided to start working on the "Townsfolk" Add-On set a couple at a time on the side.  Often when I squeeze out dropper-bottle paint, like Reaper's, I have some left over and my plan is to take a moment and use up this extra on these side figures; thus finishing more of my Bones, and not wasting as much paint.  I'll just post photos when I complete a pair, but not bother with doing step by step articles for these since they are such simple figures.

Skeleton Warriors: Bones 2 Figures

     This past week I did a pair of Skeletons from the Bones 2 Shambling Dead set.  I had prepped these back when we were playing Ghost Archipelago a couple years ago, but never got around to painting them, and they had just kind of been floating around my painting table ever since.  I finally got tired of seeing them, so thought I'd slap some quick paint on them and get them finished.

      I had prepped the figures in the usual way, soaking the parts in a dish of water with a couple drops of dish-soap added, then giving them a light scrub with a soft toothbrush, and then rinsing and drying them. I then had glued them to 1" black-primed fender washers with Aleene's Tacky glue.  I now glued the washers onto a tongue depressor with a couple drops of Elmer's white glue.

     Since I planned to use some Citadel Contrast Paint on these, I started off by giving them a base coat of Ceramcoat "White".

     When the base coat was dry, I gave them a coat of Citadel Contrast "Skeletal Horde".  When that was dry, I went over their armor and shields and shield straps with Citadel Contrast "Snakebite Leather".  After that, I did the boots with Citadel Contrast "Wyldwood", and the spear shaft with Folk Art "Barn Wood. 

    Next, I painted the tunic on the righthand one using Reaper MSP Bones "Cinnamon Red", and then I painted the spear point, sword blade, and belt with Americana "Asphaltum".   After that I painted the armor, shields, and sword grip with Folk Art Brushed Metal "Brushed Bronze".

     I then went over the shields and armor with  some thinned Americana "Sea Breeze" to give a verdigris look. When it was dry, I added some splotches to the left shield with Crafters Acrylic "Bright Yellow", and the right shield with Americana 'True Blue, to represent the remains of old paint on the shields.  I let the figures dry for a while, and then went over everything but the skeletal bones themselves with a coat of Citadel "Agrax Earthshade" wash.  I then filled the eye holes and mouths with some Citadel "Nuln Oil" wash to help define them better.

     When the washes were dry, I drybrushed the spear shaft with some Americana "Bleached Sand", and then hit the bones of the skeletons with a light drybrush of some Crafter's Acrylic "Light Antique White".  I then applied some splotchy rust to the spearpoint and sword blade with some accent "Golden Oxide", and then did highlights on the righthand skeleton's tunic with some Crafter's Acrylic "Orange Spice".  After that, I went over the paint remands on the shields again; using Crafter's Acrylic "Daffodil Yellow" for the one on the left, and Americana "Wedgewood Blue" for the righthand one.  I then painted on the remnants of some decorations, using Ceramcoat "Black"on the left, and Americana "Snow White" on the right.  Lastly, I painted the bases with Americana "Mississippi Mud".

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

     Not great, but good enough for the tabletop and I'm happy to finally get them finished and ready for action.

Undying Lords: Elves, Dwarves, and Halflings Group Photo

  Last week when I posted my completed Halfling Rogues from the Bones 3 Undying Lord set, one of my readers suggested that I post a group photo of all three of the Undying Lords pairs I had painted these past three weeks: Halflings, Dwarves, and Elves.
  I thought it was a great idea, so here it is.  This gives you a better idea of the comparitve size of the three types of figures.

 I also thought to take a group shot with one of the Human skeletons from the Bones 2 Shambling Dead set to give an idea of how they stack up against a regular man-sized figure.

Undead Halfling Rogue & Conversion: Bones 3 Figures

    This past week I finished working on my current project of painting the Elves, Dwarves, and Halflings from my two Bones 3 Add-On Undying Lords sets; and painted the Halfling Rogue; one basic one, and one I modified by changing the sword  to a spear, and removing the axe.  There are still the Undying Lord of Death, the Undying Minotaur and Undying Lizardfolk from these sets; but they will all have to wait for another time.
     To read last week's post where I painted the two Undead Dwarf Fighters, click here: Undead Dwarf Fighters.  To see my two Undead Elf Archers from two weeks ago, click here: Undead Elf Archers
      I prepped these figures in the usual way; soaking them in a dish of water with a couple drops of dish-soap added, then giving them a light scrub with a soft toothbrush, and then rinsing and drying them.   I then did the conversion work, and then glued the figures to black-primed 7/8" fender washers with Aleene's Tacky glue, and then glued the washer-mounted figures to a tongue depressor with a couple drops of the Elmer's glue under each washer.

       I began by painting the metal parts, and skeletal parts with Black.  I then drybrushed the skeletal parts with Americana "Antique White", followed by a light drybrushing of Crafter's Acrylic "Light Antique White"

     Next, I painted the shirt on the lefthand one with Americana "Khaki Tan", and then did his pants with Crafter's Acrylic "Forest Green", and his cape with Aleene's "Deep Khaki".  I then moved on to the righthand one, and did his shirt with Accent "Golden Harvest", his pants with Vallejo "USA Olive Drab", and his cape with Anita's "Burnt Sienna".

      I then painted the spear shaft, and axe handle with Americana "Mississippi Mud", and then painted all the metal parts with Americana "Bittersweet Chocolate".  I also used this color to paint the grip on the sword.  Then after everything had a while to dry, I gave the two figures a wash with Citadel "Agrax Earthshade" wash, doing as best I could to avoid getting any on the skeleton parts.

     Once the wash dried, I began highlighting.  I worked on the lefthand one first, highlighting his shirt with Americana "Bleached Sand", his pants with Americana "Jade Green", and his cape with Apple Barrel "Apple Maple Syrup".  Next I did the righthand one, highlighting his shirt with Apple Barrel "Lemon Chiffon", his pants with Ceramcoat "Territorial Beige", and his cape with Americana "Burnt Orange".  Next, I worked on the rust effects on the weapons, first using Duncan Aged Metal "Iron" to apply some reddish rust patches, and then applying some Accent "Golden Oxide".  I also did a little highlighting on the spear shaft with Folk Art "Barn Wood".  Lastly,  I painted their integral bases with Americana "Charcoal Grey".
     When I was done painting the figures, I used some white glue to glue a mixture I made of some fine brown sand, and courser black sand to the base.  When this was dry, I drybrushed the sand and the figures' own bases with Ceramcoat "Territorial Beige", and then with some Americana "Antique White".  When dry, I glued on some bits of grass tufts.
      I let the figures dry overnight and the next day I gave them a coat of Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish.  Another overnight dry, and I sprayed them with Testor's Dullcote"

     I'm really pleased with how these guys turned out.  I'm looking forward to having a chance to use all these different skeletons in a game at some point.

Undead Dwarf Fighter & Conversion: Bones 3 Figure

   This past week I continued working on my Bones 3 Add-on Undying Lords sets, and painted the Dwarf Fighter; one basic one, and one I modified by changing the Axe to a Hammer.
    To read last weeks post where I painted my two Undead Elf Archers, click here: Undead Elf Archers.
      I prepped these figures in the usual way; soaking them in a dish of water with a couple drops of dish-soap added, then giving them a light scrub with a soft toothbrush, and then rinsing and drying them.   I then did the conversion work, and then glued the figures to black-primed 1" fender washers with Aleene's Tacky glue, and then glued the washer-mounted figures to a tongue depressor with a couple drops of the Elmer's glue under each washer.  

     I began by painting the metal parts, and skeletal parts with Black.  I then drybrushed the skeletal parts with Americana "Antique White", and I drybrushed the metal parts with Americana "Bittersweet Chocolate".

     I then hit the skeletons with a light drybrushing of Crafter's Acrylic "Light Antique White".  Next, I used some Duncan Aged Metal "Iron" to apply some reddish rust patches to the armor and weapons.  After that, I painted the left one's tabard with Folk Art "Settlers Blue", and cape with Crafter's Acrylic "Navy Blue"; and the right ones tabard with Crafter's Acrylic "Orange Spice", and cape with Ceramcoat "Black Cherry".

          Next, I painted their writ guards with Americana "Terra Cotta", and the shafts of their weapons with Americana "Mississippi Mud".  I then painted the left one's hair with ,Anita's "Raw Sienna" and the right one's hair with Black.  After that, I painted their pouches, with Americana "Asphaltum" and then went back and painted their scabbards the same color as their capes.   I also splotched some Accent "Golden Oxide" on their armor to add to the rust effect.

     I gave them a while to dry, and then I applied a wash with Citadel "Agrax Earthsahde" wash to their clothing, hair, weapons shafts, and wrist guards.     When the wash was dry, I gave the armor and weapons a light drybrushing with Folk Art Metallics "Gunmetal Grey".  I then highlighted the left one's beard and hair with Americana "Burnt Orange", and I highlighted the right one's beard and hair with Americana "Neutral Grey".   I also painted more distinct nose holes on each of the skulls.

     Next, I highlighted the left one's tabard with with Crafter's Acrylic "Cool Blue", and highlighted his robe with Ceramcoat "Demin Blue".  On the righthand one I highlighted the tabard with Americana "Tangerine", and the robe with Reaper MSP "Holly Berry".   I then highlighted the wrist guards with some of the "Golden Oxide".   I realized I hadn't painted the boots; so gave them a quick coat of black, and when that was dry I highlighted them with the "Neutral Grey".   Lastly, I painted their integral bases with Americana "Charcoal Grey".
     I let the figures dry overnight and the next day I gave them a coat of Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish.    Then, when  the varnish was dry, I used some white glue to glue a little coarse sand to their bases.  When this was dry, I painted the sand and the washer with  the "Bittersweet Chocolate".  When that was dry, I drybrushed the base with some of the "Mississippi Mud", and then some Folk Art "Barn Wood".

     I'm really happy with how this pair turned out.   As you can see, with the realization that our Frostgrave Campaign will be coming to an end soon, and we will be heading to the Ghost Archipelago next year, I have switched the basing for these skeletons from my usual gray theme (like I used on last week's Undead Elves) to a more general purpose grayish-brown.

Undead Elf Archer & Conversion: Bones 3 Figure

   This past week I painted a pair of the Undead Elf Archers from the Bones 3 Undying Lords add-on set.  I bought two sets of the Undying Lords so I could include more than just one example of other races in my undead forces.  I also planned to convert one of each race of figure so the pair didn't look like identical twins.
     I prepped the figures in the usual way; soaking them in a dish of water with a couple drops of dish-soap added, then giving them a light scrub with a soft toothbrush, and then rinsing and drying them.  I cut away the bow and quiver on one of the figures, and gave him a shield and sword instead.  I then glued the figures to black-primed 1" fender washer with Aleene's Tacky glue, and then glued the washer-mounted figures to a tongue depressor with a couple drops of the Elmer's glue.

     I began by painting the scale mail skirts, and all the skeleton parts with Black.  I then drybrushed the skirts with Accent "Golden Oxide".  After that I drybrushed the exposed skeleton bits with first Americana "Antique White", and then Crafter's Acrylic "Light Antique White".

     Next, I painted the little aprons hanging down under their mail skirts, with Americana "Terra Cotta", and then painted their robes with  Americana "Avocado".  I then painted their capes with Americana "Forest Green", and their collars with Accent "Mustard Seed".  I also used the "Mustard Seed" to paint a design around the hem of their robes.

     I then painted the hair of the lefthand one with the "Mustard Seed", and the hair of the righthand one with Folk Art "Teddy Bear Brown".  After that, I painted their boots and all their belts, scabbards, and the quiver with Nicole's "Brown"; and followed with painting their gauntlets and wrist guards with Apple Barrel "Apple Maple Syrup".

   Next, I painted the bow with Folk Art Porcelain White", and the grips on the swords, as well as the back of the shield, with Americana "Bittersweet Chocolate".  I painted the face of the shield with Folk Art "Hunter Green", and then did a design on it with Americana "Margarita".  I painted the arrow shafts and the string on the bow ends, with Folk Art "Butter Pecan", and the fletchings, as well as the blade of the sword, with Crafter's Acrylic "Storm Cloud Grey".  I painted the metalwork on the hilt with the "Mustard Seed".  I then went back and painted the sword blade, and the hub and rim of the shield with  Accent "Princely Pewter".  After that, I painted the metal on the hilt with the "Bronze".
     Then when everything was dry, I gave both figures a complete wash with Citadel "Agrax Earthshade" wash using a wet brush.

     When the wash was dry, I highlighted their bones with the "Light Antique White".   I then highlighted their robes with Americana "Jade Green", and their capes with Crafter's Acrylic "Holiday Green".  I then highlighted their belts, quiver, scabbards and shoes, with Ceramcoat "Territorial Beige", and then highlighted the apron hanging under their armored skirt with Reaper MSP "Pumpkin Orange"  Next, I highlighted the hair on the righthand one with Americana "Sable Brown", and the lefthand one with Americana "Moon Yellow". I finished up by drybrushing the bow with some Americana "Bleached Sand", and lastly painted their bases Black.
    When the Black on the bases was dry, I used some white glue to glue a little sand to the bases.  When this was dry, I painted the sand with the Black and then drybrushed the bases with some of the "Neutral Grey", and then some Americana "Dove Grey".
      I let the figure dry overnight and the next day I gave them a coat of Americana "DuraClear Matte" varnish.  Another overnight dry, and I sprayed them with Testor's Dullcote".

     I'm really happy with how these Undead Elves turned out.  I'm looking forward to getting a chance to throw them into a Frostgrave game.

Arrius, Skeletal Warrior: Figure 255 of 266

     This week I finished up the Arrius, Skeletal Warrior, figure from the Grave Danger set.  Just one more figure to go in that set at this point.
      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 entire figure with Black.  Then, when the Black was dry, I gave it a heavy drybrush of Ceramcoat "Black Cherry", followed by a drybrush coat of Ceramcoat "Opaque Red". 

     Next, I drybrushed his armor with DecoArt Dazzling Metallics "Festive Red".  I followed that with lightly drybrushing the sword with Folk Art Metallics "Gunmetal Grey".  I then painted his skull with Americana "Khaki Tan", and the sword grips with Americana "Bittersweet Chocolate".

      I then applied some slightly thinned Iron Wind Metals "Yellow" ink around the runes on the sword.  When this was dry, I painted the runes with Apple Barrel "Lemon Chiffon", and then did highlights on the runes with White.  While I was waiting for the ink to dry, I drybrushed his skull with Americana "Bleached Sand", and then Crafter's Acrylic "Light Antique White".  I then touched up all the black areas that had got other colors on them, and then painted everything I planned to make metallic gold using Americana "Terra Cotta".

     Next, I drybrushed all his clothing with Citadel "The Fang".  I then gave the base a heavy drybrush with Americana "Zinc", followed by lighter drybrushes of Americana "Neutral Grey", and Folk Art "Platinum Grey".  I painted the skulls on the base with Folk Art "Barn Wood", and drybrushed them with the "Bleached Sand", and added "Light Antique White" highlights.  I then repainted all the parts I had painted with the "Terra Cotta", this time using Ceramcoat "Bronze". When the "Bronze" was dry, I gave it all a quick wash with some Citadel "Agrax Earthsahde" wash using a wet brush.   I painted his eyes, using first Ceramcoat "Bright Red", and then Crafter's Acrylic "Daffodil Yellow". Lastly, I painted the little gem in his necklace using some of the "Bright Red", and "Dark Cherry" with White highlights.
      When everything had overnight to dry, I gave the figure a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish" early the next morning.   The next day I sprayed the figure with Testor's Dullcote.  I then when back and put a little dab of Americana "DuraClear Gloss" Varnish on the gem in his necklace.

     I kind of like how the red armor turned out.  I wanted to do something different than the same old greyish/silver metal armor, and I think this worked pretty well as a kind of "Red Baron" or "Bloody Baron" character.

Figure 255 of 266: Complete

Ghost King: Figure 253 of 266

     This week I painted the Ghost King from the Grave Danger set.  I didn't know he was a ghost when I painted him; as he looks more like a Lich, or just a heavily armored skeleton.  I painted him up with an eye to needing a Lich Lord for the "Thaw of the Lich Lord" Frostgrave supplement.
     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 entire figure Black.  I then did a heavy drybrush coat of Americana "Raw Umber" on his armor and sword, followed with a lighter drybrush of Nicole's "Brown".

      Next, I gave the armor and sword a thinned sloppy dabbling of Accent "Golden Oxide". After that, I drybrushed the armor and sword with Folk Art Metallics "Gunmetal Grey".

    I then painted the lining of his cape with Ceramcoat "Black Cherry".  Next, I painted his skull and hands with Americana "Khaki Tan", and then painted the hilt of his sword with Ceramcoat "Bronze".

     Then, after everything had a while to dry, I gave the armor, sword, cape lining, skull, and hands, all a wash with Citadel "Agrax Earthshade" wash using a wet brush.  When the wash was dry, I drybrushed the skull and hands with Americana "Bleached Sand", followed by a lighter drybrushing and highlighting with Crafter's Acrylic "Light Antique White".

    Next, I painted in little glowing eyes with Nicole's "Neon Green".   I then highlighted his cape lining using Americana "Cranberry Wine", and then Americana "Burgundy Wine". While I was using those colors, I also used them to paint the small gems in his sword hilt, and then added tiny White highlights.  After that I highlighted the rest of his black clothing by drybrushing with Americana "Zinc".  I also used the "Zinc" to paint his base.  When that was dry, I drybrushed the base with Americana "Neutral Grey", and then Folk Art "Platinum Grey".
     When everything had overnight to dry, I gave the figure a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish" early the next morning.   The next day I sprayed the figure with Testor's Dullcote.  I then when back and put a little dab of Americana "DuraClear Gloss" Varnish on each of the gems in his sword hilt.

     I think he turned out pretty well, and the figure was nice and simple to get paint.

Figure 253 of 266: Complete