Chicken Swarm: Bones 5 Fan Favorites Figure

      Happy 2022 everyone!  Back before Christmas one of the last things I got painted was the "Chicken Swarm" figure from the Bones 5 Fan Favorites Expansion as a Christmas gift for a friend.  I didn't want to post it before Christmas for that reason; so now I thought I'd get it up on the blog

      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 1" primed metal washer, using Aleene's Tacky Glue.  I then put the figure into my painting grip.   

     I began by painting the entire figure with Ceramcoat "White".  When this was dry, I gave the whole thing a coat of Citadel Contrast "Apothecary White".  When this was dry, I drybrushed the figure with Americana "Snow White". 

     I then painted the comb and wattle with Folk Art "Tomato Red", and after that I painted the beaks with Americana "Primary Yellow". 

     Next, I painted the shadow areas around the legs at the bottom, as well as the entire base, with Citadel Contrast "Wyldwood"; and when dry, I painted the legs with Americana "Antique Gold".  After that, I painted all the little eyes with Ceramcoat "Black".

     I let the figure dry overnight and the next day I gave the swarm 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 the figure with Testor's Dullcote".       

     This is such a fun figure, and I'm really pleased with how it turned out! It was an interesting challenge since, while it is basically a simple figure, the repetitive nature of painting so many identical tiny chicken parts proved to require an added level of concentration.

Rat Swarms: Figures 94 & 95 of 265

    I finished the two Rat Swarms from the Vermin set this week.  Since I was already well supplied with 28mm big rats from the dozen single giant rats that came with the Kickstarter, I decided to re-purpose these for use with my 10mm "Bear Yourselves Valiantly" armies, just like I had done with the Giant Scorpions. And, like the Giant Scorpions, I had to order an additional pair from Reaper to help fill out a unit base.
     I began 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.  I then glued them to a 3" x 1.5" black-primed steel base with Aleene's Tacky glue.

To start, I painted them all black with regular craft paint.  I then gave them all a drybrushing with Folk Art "Medium Gray", and then followed this with a light drybrush with GW "Fortress Grey"

Next, I picked out two or three on each base and painted them Americana "Asphaltum".  I then carefully gave these brown ones a drybrushing as best I could with Americana "Mississippi Mud"

Lastly, I went back and painted all the little tails, feet, and noses I could discern with Folk Art "Milkshake".  After the rats dried overnight, I painted them with Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish".  When this was dry, I flocked them (very difficult with all those little tails sticking out everywhere!), and the next day I sprayed the whole stand with Testor's "Dullcote".

I like how these turned out.  I think they make great 10mm Giant Rats.  And, best of all,  they mark the completion of the Vermin Set for me.

Figures 94 & 95: Complete

Spider Swarms: Figures 51 & 52 of 265

I did theses two spider swarms from the Vermin set as a quick project this week. I prepped these as usual, soaking them in water and dish soap first, then rinsing and drying.  I then primed them black with Krylon's Camouflage Flat Black with Fusion, as I planned to paint them mostly with drybrushing. 

These figures are a confusing mish-mash of legs and bodies, and I didn't really want to put the effort into figuring our which leg went with which body; so I did the whole bunch with a heavy drybrushing with GW "Shadow Grey". I then did a lighter drybrushing with Apple Barrel "Scotch Apple Blue".  Unfortunately I still couldn't really see individual spiders in the mass, so I tired painting some of the apparent 'ground' areas inbetween all the legs, with GW "Graveyard Earth" in hopes of providing some visual separation. 

After everything had dried, I painted the figures with Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish".  I let them sit over night, and the next day I carefully flocked them, which was a challenge with all the errant legs.  Then after that had a chance to dry, I sprayed the bases with Testor's "Dullcoat". 

I can't say as I'm really a fan of these pieces, as the sculpts are too jumbled in my opinion to be really effective.  But they're done now, and that's what counts. :)

Figures 51 & 52: Complete

Bones Beetle Swarms: Figures 39 & 40 of 265

This week I finished of two of the Bones beetle swarm figures.  I prepped these as usual, soaking them in water and dish soap first, then rinsing and drying.  I then primed them black with Krylon's Camouflage Flat Black with Fusion, as I planned to paint them mostly with drybrushing.  I also planned to use these figures with my 10mm armies for our Fantasy, Ancients & Medieval  mass-combat rules, "Bear Yourselves Valiantly"; so I based them a little differently than usual, using a black primed 3" x 1.5" steel base, which is the standard unit size for our rules.  I thought these figures would make great giant beetle swarms in 10mm. (They would for 15mm, too)

These were very quick to paint.  I began by painting some of the larger exposed ground areas between the beetles with GW "Graveyard Earth", then I  did a heavy drybrushing with Americana "Asphaltum"

I then did a lighter drybrushing with DecoArt Cinnamon Brown, and finally a highlighting drybrushing with Americana "Sable Brown".  After this had dried, I painted the figures with Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish".  I let them sit over night, and the next day I flocked them.  Then after that had a chance to dry, I sprayed the stand with Testor's "Dullcoat".  Finally, I applied the unit stats label we use for these rules to the base.

I think they turned out good, and I'm pleased with how they look with 10mm figures.  They give a nice impression of a horde of giant flesh eating crypt-beetles about to swarm a unit.

Figures 39 & 40: Complete