Ready for Winter!!

I was finally able to get some overall group shots of these Legion of Everblight figures.  They are a mix of the older metals and newer plastics.

I think I have mentioned a few times that the metal versions are easier to deal with, even though they are heavier.

The spear quivers were a challenge each time I had to do them.

I believe that these guys are all on 40mm bases.

Now for some metal!

Again, they got to be pretty heavy at times, but the mould lines were in less unusual places.

There was also a difference in the shape of the armor.  There tended to be more variety from one metal mini to the next.

And the whole batch together!!

Hey, Catch!!

The snowball fight continues with more Legion of Everblight!

It's another one of the plastic figures, which, as I have mentioned before, are not exactly the easiest things to deal with.

While the metal is much heavier, it has taken me far less time to prepare and paint those.

Hopefully future generations of plastics won't have these same issues, as they are very interesting minis!

Hold the line

One more snow guardian for you!

These spear bundles can be a killer to get through, especially the 'plastic' versions...

It's much easier to do the metal versions, as you can bend each one out of the way ever so slightly, and bend it back! :-)

Back away from that snowman...

I think this is how I will be guarding my snowmen this winter!

Considering that someone once drove off the street in the middle of the night to drive over a rather large snowman that we constructed many years ago, this thought is not entirely out of line!

I remember painting late into the night, as usual, and thinking that a snow plow must have driven down the street.  Quite a racket!  When we walked out of the house, it was apparent that there were tire tracks in the snow, almost reaching the sidewalk.

Since it was so large, the bottom layer was almost solid ice.  Let's just say that Mr. Snowman might have fallen, but he took his own pound of flesh as well!!

A Gathering

The first of a series of group shots for you tonight.

This is a mixture of older metal figures, and the more recent plastics.

Ironically, the metal figures are easier to prep and deal with.

I think it has more to do with the combination plastic/resin mix, which can definitely pose more challenges than a hunk of pewter. :-)

Since I've been doing this for a while, I am very used to dealing with very heavy metal figures, as well as more dainty versions.  I think I have at least 4 pin vises, along with many drill bits.  

Also, the use of green stuff in the gluing process helps a lot.  Basically, a blob of green stuff is sandwiched between two layers of super glue.  This adds a lot more stability to  the joint, as the green stuff fills in the gaps which are bound to occur.

There is also a bit of a chemical reaction between them, which solidifies the green stuff into hard crystals.

This method is very handy when trying to attack two pieces that are too difficult or even impossible to pin.

The Boss

From Ork Warbosses to the Legion of Everblight, big guys with pointy sticks abound.

The greenish hues on the cloth surfaces and straps were a handy foil to the reddish browns of the fur lining, etc.

Both of those muted war colors still provide some contrast with the neutral grays and the slate blue of the snow base.

This is MY snow fort!

Look who's back, and playing King of the Hill!

I have been surprised at how many different poses there are of this type of figure.

I tried to import some seafoam green into the midtones here, since he had more of that white skin that many of the recent versions.

Most of the grays were created by mixing that seafoam green with a dark gray.  I also mixed blue and brown Reaper liner paints together, creating a fantastic dark grey base!  Depending on how much brown you put in, you get very different lighter colors... even when you only add white!

These types of grays are not 'dead' grays, but more interesting.  Cathy used to mix scorched brown and regal blue in a similar way.  When it was lightened, got very different results depending on how much blue or brown there was!

Spear and Snow

Back to the Legion of Everblight.  These must be the older, metal versions, since I also have several plastic/resin versions as well.

All of these will be painted in the same muted color scheme, with a small amount of the burnt seinna accents.

I have been asked many times how the snow effect was done.  There are a number of different techniques in my arsenal, but here's a video which I did as part of my Painting Pyramid series.

It's one of dozens available at Kings Hobbies and Games:

http://www.kingshobbiesandgames.com/Snow-Bases-by-James-Wappel-p/jwppsnowbases.htm

Film Noir

The Legion returns with another interesting character figure.  As with all the other snow based figures, this one must match previously painted figures.  It means an extremely limited palette.

Normally I would try to inject as many different subtle color changes as possible into the grays, but going too far with that would take these out of harmony with what's already been done.

So, I did a tiny bit of greenish tints in some places, and purplish grey in others.  These two grays play off each other (green and purple mixed together make a very interesting gray, after all!), so I could get away with it. :-)

I even did an entire video on gray colors in the Painting Pyramid "Shades of Grey" video.

Here's a peek at one of the 'color theory' videos, this one covering Yellow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnvcMwauXZk

Getting ready for a snowball fight.

Today we have a few sets of group shots.  One of the figures in them would be the figure which needed to be matched as well as possible.

I don't think I have included any of these types of figures in the group shots previously.  The thought had occurred to me, but I always forgot!

The last batch should have a few of the 'matching' shots :-)

I have been noticing several differences in the metal versus the restic versions on these minis.  It is a little easier to paint the restic, since it it much lighter!

The view from above...

Coming right for you!

Stay tuned for much more!!