Reaper Miniatures Arran Rabin, Human Wizard - 77209

 

These two models were quite a few years in the making. They're the same Bones model and both have been used for experimental purposes. This model is made from the Bones material and it really lost some fidelity from the original metal model - for a DM to use as a NPC, this is good enough - if I was going to use the model as a player then I'd recommend ponying up the few extra dollars for the metal model - also, lol, the metal model is named Arran Rabin, Half-Elf Rogue - so human or half-elf, wizard or rogue - your choice!

The version with the square base started out in 2017 at ReaperCon where I participated in a class on utilizing the stippling techniques. Two different methods - one method is to use the tip of the brush to generate dots - a highlight and shadow effect could be done be stippling the dots closer together or more spread out. The second method is to use small stripes - again, more stripes for highlights. Each gives a different type of fur effect when complete. While the results are rather interesting, it's quite a manual process and not one that I've repeated to any great extent.

The version with the round base started about a year ago simply as an experiment in airbrushing - I wanted to see if I could spray various layers on the cloak from a dark red to a light red - essentially the same process as using a paintbrush. This was my first utilization of the Badger Super Fine Detail needle in the airbrush - the one with a black ball on the end. For the most part it was a successful test - there's a couple areas where the air blows out the paint into almost a bubble or lake effect. It's a bit of art and science - turning down the air pressure helps but that requires thinner paint (using Vallejo's thinner and flow) but too thin and the paint will have a spider effect on the model. It's definitely possible - I think cloaks this size are about the limit on the small size for an airbrush. The airbrush is really good for base layers of miniature models. I've been looking at other airbrushes that might change my opinion later as I get more experience under my belt.

As to the remainder of the models - these both sat on my desk and whenever I had some additional paint remaining I would throw it on one model or the other. You always need a few in-process NPC models to throw extra paint at - I feel like I might have a few too many as 8 years is a long time.

One more lol, the square base was printed on my first 3D printer from several years ago - at the time I thought that was pretty good - now looking at it, ugh - 3D printing has come a long way.

 Kickstarter paint total 224 + 2 Arran Rabin, Human Wizard = 226

Hexton Hills - Kingdom of Aglarion - Eastern Length

 

The eastern length of the map uses individual pieces of border which is perhaps my only unfavorite/disappointment to date with the Hexton Hills hex tokens. Each bit of border and each half-hex are unique. Ideally, you'd want a single piece that incorporates 2 or 3 combinations of the border piece with the half-hex. The individual pieces are not only more difficult to work with but they aren't as sturdy when snapped together - they really just want to fall apart - if it wasn't for the magnets on the magnetic whiteboard it would just fall apart.

If you're following along on my Hexton Hills printing of the Kingdom of Aglarion, then the combination of these hex tokens generate the eastern border of the map from the corner up to the North Bay...

Hexton Hills - Kingdom of Aglarion - Point of No Return

Let's all sing together - how long to the point of no return! We finally got there - the southeast corner of the map.  I wanted to have a bit of fun here and mimic the idea of many historical mapmakers (and the Kansas album I grew up with as a kid) when the world was thought to be flat and make the edge a ship falling off. I found a really well done 3D print of a ship that is supposed to be a game token and scaled it down to fit on a hex.

The falling off was the hard part as the water token is the lowest point of all the hex tokens so it's not possible to physically change the hex tokens. Using some blu-tac I set the ship at about a 35 degree angle. I need to think more about it before permanently using superglue to lock it in place. Maybe painting a bit of a white water edge where the ship is angled and then using a dark blue on the other side of that edge to represent the ship falling into the abyss? I can come back to this at a later date.

If you're following along on my Hexton Hills printing of the Kingdom of Aglarion, then this set of hex tokens represents the southeast corner of the map...

Hexton Hills - Kingdom of Aglarion - Sea Horse Cove

 

Fun with a seahorse! The seahorse represents a section of the map called Sea Horse Cove - a bit of a play on words with it representing a difference from the Calhay Sea. This tile is actually a tile and a half-tile along with the first piece of border on the map.

The borders were airbrushed Black and then, maybe regretfully because it's a lot of work to handpaint and then fix any mistakes, I decided to paint Vallejo's new Stonewall Grey on the indentions (I mention  "new" because the latest version of Stonewall Grey is more grey than the old version which matched up with Games Workshop's Fortress Grey which had more white in it). Each bump and each indention represents individually approximately 2 miles of scale on the map.

The width borders from Hexton Hills are actually quite nice. Not only do they have longer pieces but those pieces include the top piece of hex integrated into the 3D print making a really tight and nice solid piece to interlock the other hex tokens together. The length tokens, that's another subject coming up in another post - let's just say they're a real pain.

If you're following along on my Hexton Hills printing of the Kingdom of Aglarion, then this hex starts the completion of the sea to the borders. I want to get all the sea complete as it represents the southeast corner of the map and then I can use that point as the starting point on the magnetic whiteboard and work in the -x and -y directions...

Hexton Hills - Kingdom of Aglarion - North Bay Lighthouse

 

Okay - a freakin' lighthouse - how cool is that! Even though I don't have a use for it, I'm very tempted to print out the full size piece and give it an amazing paint job - I can add it to my sample Hexton Hill pieces which I've placed into the display case for now.

To make it jump out a bit dramatic, I painted the lighthouse, it's foundation, and the bridge with a stone grey. I washed the foundation and bridge with a black wash to darken it up a bit. I had painted Dead White on the lighthouse tower and then Scarlett Blood on the tower's mid parapet and roof. The remainder of the hex is the same of what's been printed and airbrushed previously.

If you're following along on my Hexton Hills printing of the Kingdom of Aglarion, then this hex continues the second ring around the city of Onadbyr just to the northeast of the city along the coast and just past the Tomb of the Constructor...

Reaper Miniatures Tiik Champion - 77187

 

This is the final model in this grouping of fishmen that Reaper call their Tiiks. The Tiiks combined with a handful of Creatures of Blood Reef can make an excellent coastal encounter. Start off at the blood reef where the party encounters the creatures. After the encounter they find a passage through the coral and within the passage they encounter Tiik Warriors guarding just before entering a submerged cave where the Tiik Baron and his Champion lay claim to a long lost pirate treasure.

Unlike the other Tiik's, this model doesn't come in a metal version. I'm guessing Julie sculpted this exclusively for the Bones Kickstarter. Like the others, this was airbrushed using what was left over from working on the Hexton Hills project.

One other note about this model - it's an odd size. The champion is really oversized for the medium base, but doesn't quite fill and looks a bit small on the large base. Therefore I decided to place him on the medium base. If the Reaper variant of 5e called Dungeon Dwellers has stats for this creature as a large, then I'll modify the base later - currently I have a pre-release pdf and the Tiiks aren't in there but there's talk of a Denizens book 2 post initial release to cover other monsters from Reaper's miniature line.

Kickstarter paint total 223 + 1 Tiik Champion = 224

Hexton Hills - Kingdom of Aglarion - Ethereal Cloister

 

This was a fun hex to airbrush and paint - it's the Ethereal Cloister. Now in the book it's supposed to be a sunken temple located just beneath the waves in the middle of the ocean. I've taken the creative liberty to modify it just a bit to be this island in the middle of the ocean with a ruined stone circle of the ancients and I'll probably add an undead or ghostly encounter of some type within the central ruin - or I might make it a beach with a bit of a jungle infested with killer apes which they'll need to encounter before getting to the overgrown stone circle - either way, it's going to be fun!

If you're following along on my Hexton Hills printing of the Kingdom of Aglarion, then this hex continues the second ring around the city of Onadbyr to the east in the Sea of Calhay just past the maelstrom...

Reaper Miniatures Tiik Warrior - 77186

 

Same deal, different set of models - these were sprayed using the leftover airbrush paint and done in the same schema as the Tiik Baron. 

These are more bones off the shelf - I think the metal versions of these would be more fun to paint as you'd have more opportunity to adjust the figures and they'd stand vertical a bit better. The metal versions, as of this writing, come in a 2-pack for $16. The bones version is $4 each (only one). If you needed a bunch of these the $4 savings per model would add up - but if you only need 2, the metal versions at what amounts to $8 each might be the way to go.

Two more unpainted bones model off the shelf of shame!

Kickstarter paint total 221 + 2 Tiik Warriors = 223

Hexton Hills - Kingdom of Aglarion - Compass Rose

Continuing around the Calhay Sea we get to the Compass Rose. This was actually a tough little piece to paint as it was so tiny and the compass wasn't flat - the 3D design has the lines of the compass on the texture of the sea.

If you're following along on my Hexton Hills printing of the Kingdom of Aglarion, then this hex continues the second ring around the city of Onadbyr to the southeast in the Sea of Calhay...

Reaper Miniatures Spikeshell Warriors - 77270

 

When you're airbrushing a lot of green with the Hexton Hills project, you're always looking where else to spray green because the airbrush is so much fun. So these guys were sprayed with the Sick Green and highlights of Light Livery Green. The spikes on the shell were Red Terracotta as leftover paint from a turtle dragon (coming soon). The brown was sprayed Earth which is the basecoat used on the hex tiles.

The hand painting was some quick Bonewhite on the club teeth, a bit of Plague Brown on the beak and then I did more of a sandy base with Earth, Desert Yellow, and Khaki.

I love using the airbrush and just finding ways to quickly paint monsters - I'm still trying to figure out ways to get tight - using a super fine needle - playing with different psi - and using various combination of paint with thinner and flow. All the details can't get airbrushed - still need a brush but I'm pushing for more and more airbrush. I need to get a Warhammer army painted soon and I'm thinking the airbrush is going to help tremendously. Any other airbrushers out there, please hit me up with your techniques and tips.

Kickstarter paint total 219 + 2 Spikeshell Warriors = 221

Hexton Hills - Kingdom of Aglarion - Calhay Sea II

This tile isn't all that exciting on it's own, but I needed to figure out where the corner edge of the map was going to be in relationship to the edges of the magnetic whiteboard and this piece gets me there. I need to make sure I'm utilizing the full space as this is going to be a huge map and all the individual hex token magnets are making it difficult to move the map around on the whiteboard.

It does continue the second circle around Onadbyr and I'll come back to the land side after completion of the sea. I think right now I need to get the corner completed.

Here it is with the edge of the world piece - not quite done, but I was able to attach it and this drives to the corner of the whiteboard. If my math is correct, I need 2" on the bottom and up to the very edge on the right side. This piece lets me measure that and I'm barely able to move all the other pieces into the right spot.

Wizkids Banderhobb - WZK90160

 

This is a fun monster to paint and is pretty much all airbrushed. This was my side model when working on the Hexton Hills as there's a lot of green left over in the airbrush pot and I'd then spray this model. Therefore he's a combination of Dark Green, Sick Green, and Light Livery Green. The base was Plague Brown and Desert Yellow.

I then painted with a brush the fingernails and toenails black - used the Light Livery Green on the eyes and mouth. Then some Dead White on the teeth.

The storyline behind the Banderhobb is that he's the product of hags - if they get a piece of your hair or article of clothing - they brew up one of these bad boys and he chases you around until you end up in his belly for dinner 😋💀 !!