Miniature Painting

Monday, May 29, 2023

Lost Mine of Phandelver - Wraith

Another great looking model from 3D Dungeon Labs- this one is for the wraith representing the deceased wizard controlling the undead in the mine. I airbrushed this at the same time as the Banshee but instead of giving it a grey wash I used a watered down black wash instead to more closely resemble the picture in the 5e monster manual. This model also had a scythe which I cut off to look more like a staff as I think an NPC wizard would be carrying a representation of his staff and not a scythe.

This is part of the 3D Dungeon Labs Etsy shop purchase.

Sculpt: Excellent - another awesome and dynamic sculpt

3D Print: Excellent - well done - clean - no issues anywhere

Fitness: Excellent - has the proper base and scale, model matches expectations with the exception that I cut off the scythe - but I didn't downgrade my score because of it - I think the resulting "staff" looks good.

Sunday, May 28, 2023

Lost Mine of Phandelver - Nothic

Sooo.... this one was a bit of a disappointment - when I was tinkering with the purple Banshee, I also sprayed this one and the reality is that it's just too small of a model to work out with trying to layer on airbrushed highlights. Maybe when I swap out that finer needle.

Which gets to my next point - this is the Nothic from 3D Dungeon Labs which came in my Lost Mine of Phandelver kit. Almost all the models get high marks, this one - meh. It's just too small and doesn't have a lot of great features - it's a baby Nothic. So here's my analysis...

This is part of the 3D Dungeon Labs Etsy shop purchase.

Sculpt: Good - it's a good sculpt as a baby Nothic - it doesn't knock your socks off as it's just standing there hunched over

3D Print: Excellent - well done - clean - no issues anywhere

Fitness: Average- has the proper base but the scale is off as it should be at least twice the size in width and height - maybe more - a Nothic should fill that medium base. Also, not a fan of the porcupine look - it's okay, but a bit overdone.

Saturday, May 27, 2023

Lost Mine of Phandelver - Banshee

This model was another printed up by 3D Dungeon Labs and is a really strong looking model for the Banshee encounter - just overall a great looking model - very impressive. I decided to use this model as a fun learning experiment with the airbrush as I was provided a "bonus" model in my received kit.
(there were actually quite a few "bonus" models which is a super nice touch and a major recommendation for using this Etsy shop for 3d prints)

Both of these models I started the same of spraying the entire model first with a dark color. Then I went to the 3 o'clock position and twirled it around while spraying the model with a lighter color. Next I loaded the airbrush with the next highlight color and hit it from the 1 o'clock position. Finally with the brightest highlight from the 12 o'clock position.

The white banshee I then washed with vallejo's Pale Grey wash which blends in the dithering from the airbrush. The purple banshee I didn't wash as I think it's still plenty dark (and actually photos a bit darker than it actually is in my hand).

Using an airbrush and a wash is a super quick way to get a model like this on the tabletop. There's some dithering and I'm not sure how to get away from that. I did purchase Badger's finest needle but I haven't gotten that out yet - in theory the "dots" it sprays should be smaller and then a tighter spray pattern. I also need to see if spraying at a higher psi will make a difference. Something I need to experiment with and figure out.

This is part of the 3D Dungeon Labs Etsy shop purchase.

Sculpt: Excellent - another awesome and dynamic sculpt

3D Print: Excellent - well done - clean - no issues anywhere

Fitness: Excellent - has the proper base and scale, model matches expectations - very well done.

Friday, May 26, 2023

Reaper Miniatures Candleabra (Candelabra) - 77138

Yes, it's spelled incorrectly - I wonder if someone should tell Reaper that their website (and I assume packaging) has a spelling error or if they'll just say that's intentional, lmao. Their website search tags has it spelled correctly.

I needed these for an encounter a while back (yes, used them unpainted, lol) and they've been sitting on my desk since then causing clutter; but I also needed to practice airbrushing metal for a much larger project so I grabbed these as the test subjects.

I sprayed these two candelabras gold with the airbrush and then used a watered down black wash to give it definition. Then painted the candles white and the flame yellow with red highlights. Black base and done.

Test complete and I used the same technique for a much larger project I'm looking forward to showing soon.

Kickstarter paint total 177 + 2 Candleabra (Candelabra) = 179

Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Reaper Miniatures Thain Grimthorn, Dwarf Cleric - 77213

okay, so this has a bit of a funny as to how I came about painting this miniature on a Wednesday night before our Thursday night D&D game. We're just about done with the Lost Mine of Phandelver campaign that came in the Starter Set and the group voted to keep the current characters and roll into another WOTC campaign. Originally we just used Discord to keep some notes and we didn't really have character backgrounds. As we were moving forward into a bigger campaign I generated a private website and asked each player to send me a character portrait and a bit of a background that I could publish. The dwarven cleric, who originally had this super long name that we all chuckled around the table and simultaneously said doc, sent me a picture of Doc from the Disney cartoon and he was in a red suite. I'm pretty sure he sent it to me as a joke, but I went with it. Not only did I put it on the website, but I immediately grabbed this dwarven cleric from my Bones pile and set about painting Doc with red coat and armor.

Painting instructions for Dwarf Cleric (used Reaper paints)...

Step 1: I'm using Stynylrez primer on the bones models - just slop it on and cover everything - it works great!
Step 2: Use Dwarven Flesh on face
Step 3: Use Concrete Grey on beard, fringe, and base
Step 4: Use Arctic Grey on beard and fringe as highlights
Step 5: Use Garnet Red on everything else
Step 6: Drybrush Filigree Silver on chainmail
Step 7: Use Pure Black for gloves and boots
Step 8: Use Dwarven Gold for weapons and tablet

Kickstarter paint total 176 + 1 Dwarf Cleric = 177

Sunday, May 21, 2023

Reaper Miniatures Female Centaur - 77264

One of my current players has another D&D session were he's playing this centaur creature - he asked if I'd paint it and I figured why not. Completed this on Friday night from start to finish - my goal was to get the best looking mini I could paint within a few hours.

Painting instructions for Female Centaur (used Reaper paints)...

Step 1: I'm using Stynylrez primer on the bones models - just slop it on and cover everything - it works great!
Step 2: Use Charred Brown on the entire model
Step 3: Use Uniform Brown on the horse skin
Step 4: Use Green Ochre as highlights on horse skin
Step 5: Use Faded Khaki as final highlights on horse skin
(those three colors make up the Reaper triad 9127, 28, 29)
Step 6: Drybrush Stained Ivory on the fur
Step 7: Use Desert Tan on the human skin
Step 8: Use Golden Yellow on hair
Step 9: Use Pale Saffron as highlights on hair
Step 10: Use Garnet Red on spear shaft
Step 11: Use Dwarven Gold on spear point and armor plating
Step 12: Use Pure Black on base
Step 13: Drybrush Concrete Grey on base
Step 14: Drybrush Arctic Grey as highlights on base

Saturday, May 20, 2023

D'Artisan Shoppe - WetnDri

I can't recall ever doing a product review but I'm quite pleased with a recent purchase of a wet palette but this also includes a dry (dri) palette. I came across D'Artisan Shoppe once before on Amazon for some brushes and they were okay but not really my style. From that initial purchase I occasionally receive product info they send out and I received an advert for their WetnDri palette - I normally just use a paper plate, a folded paper towel, and my own cut out parchment paper that I steal from the kitchen. It works - but palette was reasonably priced on Amazon so I thought it worth the try - works pretty well!

First - whoever is doing the packaging at the D'Artisan Shoppe is a genius. The packaging is as good as any coming from Apple, Samsung or Google for a high end electronic product.

The palette comes in this lovely box that when you open, it has this nice Thank You message with a QR code to their website to sign up for more information or to send a message about your product. Fully opening the package gets you to the palette which has a great strap with their logo holding the three sections together with another note explaining the various features of the palette. Even the sponge pad has their logo stamped into it...

So how did it work...

Well as you would expect - it's science - the moisture from the pad seeps through the parchment paper into the paint at about the same rate that evaporation occurs which keeps the paint at a pretty constant to work with while painting your model. The parchment paper is included and cut to the dimensions of the pad - I think there's 50 pieces which should last me a long time and I could use my own but quite honestly their prices for the pre-cut on Amazon were reasonable and saves me the labor and effort to do it myself.

Some of the other niceties are the various pieces - there's a bottom piece which holds the water, pad, and parchment paper. Then there's the middle section which has a dozen or so wells for inks or paint you want to mix - I used one of the wells to setup my drybrush with just the right amount of paint. Finally there's a top piece which works with a paintbrush holder to keep your brushes organized while you paint. The entire setup is rather nifty.

Here's a picture of the next day after an evening of painting (you can see the primered model in the earlier pictures and the finished model below) - the paint remains decently usable even though I left it all open overnight (probably would be perfect if I put the middle section on the bottom to keep it sealed) because I was done with the model and didn't actually need the paint anymore.

This ends up being the product I didn't know I actually needed - two thumbs way up!

Monday, May 15, 2023

WizKids Spectator and Gazers - WZK73717

Looks like it has been awhile since I broke open a WizKids model - I have so many great models but they've taken a backseat to the specific ones I needed for the campaigns I'm running. Actually, I grabbed this one because the model that came in the Lost Mines set that I purchased off Etsy is a Beholder and not a Spectator (the Beholder is a wicked cool print and I'll work on it another time) and I happened to have this model sitting in a bag of monsters to paint.

This set also comes with a couple of Gazers - I slapped some paint on them as well.

Painting instructions for Spectator (used my Vallejo Game Color)...

Step 1: No need to primer - already done
Step 2: Use Sick Green on body and stalks
Step 3: Use Vallejo Game Wash watered down on body and stalks
Step 4: Use Goblin Green to highlight body and stalks
Step 5: Use Royal Purple on main eye and gums
Step 6: Use Hexed Lichen on mouth and tongue
Step 7: Use Warlord Purple on tongue and as highlights on gums
Step 8: Use Squid Pink on tongue
Step 9: Use Scorpion Green on stalk eyeballs
Step 10: Use Black to carve out the eyeball and base
Step 11: Use Bonewhite to carve out the eyeball and teeth
Step 12: Use Dead White on eyeball and teeth
Step 13: Use Black to place slit in eyeball and stalk eyeballs
Step 14: Drybrush Cold Grey on base
Step 15: Drybrush Stonewall Grey on base

Sunday, May 14, 2023

Lost Mine of Phandelver - Bugbear

I've really enjoyed painting these monsters printed up by 3D Dungeon Labs, but I think these bugbears are my favorite so far.

It was back to the spray booth with these. I hit these first with the airbrush of an orange - I did it without a primer and I probably should have used a white primer first. The sprayed orange was a bit translucent to the gray material underneath and ended up looking like a dingy orange/brown. I think I ended up spraying two more coats of orange before I was happy. I then brought them onto desk for a drybrush of Orange Fire. I then did the leather armor black as a strong contrast against the orange and then Gunmetal Metal on all the spikey bits and the weapons. I love that a few of these guys have potion bottles on them and I used Livery Green to give it a bit of a pop. Again, the basing of these is black as I'm going with the design language of the D&D pre-painted figures.

This is part of the 3D Dungeon Labs Etsy shop purchase.

Sculpt: Excellent - this is an awesome sculpt - outstanding - I loved how oversized they are on the base - I believe these guys are one of the biggest critters to still be considered medium - oh, and a couple of them carrying doors for shields - frickin' awesome!

3D Print: Excellent - well done - clean - no issues anywhere

Fitness: Excellent - has the proper base and scale, model matches expectations - very well done.

Thursday, April 13, 2023

I've Been Painting and Playing D&D (and Collecting T-Shirts)

Okay, okay - it's gone on long enough - I'm surprised myself that I haven't posted in over a year - but I've been painting miniatures, playing d&d, collecting t-shirts like these below, and I received a brand new toy for Christmas in an airbrush - very exciting.

I started with the basic box way back in 1979 (I received the box with chits instead of dice because there was a dice shortage as the game started to grow in popularity). The rules book had a blue cover with the blue and white drawing of adventurers attacking a dragon sitting on his hoard of treasure - when I saw that t-shirt it was an instant purchase. If you want to play more D&D, then you need an I Love My Wife t-shirt - she can't say no when you're wearing that t-shirt, lol!

Oh, the airbrush - yes! I've been thinking about an airbrush for years but was always hesitant - well that changed when one was gifted under the tree this past holiday - so I had a new light installed in the garage where I setup a card table and do my thing. I have everything in two bins and can be airbrushing within five minutes...

Expect to see more posts as I've started to get the camera out - I'm going to backdate several posts both in 2022 and at the beginning of 2023. I'll do my best to slot them in order of being painted and as I do so I'll link them and edit this post with links to all the backposts. I'll also do a posting of airbrushing thoughts as I watched a lot of videos and did quite a bit of accessory purchasing in January prior to actually starting to airbrush in February.

Backdated Posts:
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Sunday, April 02, 2023

Lost Mine of Phandelver - Dwarf

This is one of two dwarfs that I received in the kit - which is a bit strange as there are three dwarves that are specific to the plot - although the potential is only for any 2 to be on the table at any given time and most likely you'll only have 1. However, each has a pivotal plot point and it would be nice to have different models for each. With that said, I got a kick out of the two models included - and this one is the first painted.

This is part of the 3D Dungeon Labs Etsy shop purchase.

Sculpt: Excellent - this is an awesome sculpts and the I love all the gadgets and the lantern

3D Print: Excellent - well done - clean

Fitness: Excellent - has the proper base and scale, model matches expectations

Back to painting at the desk - no airbrush involved on this one!

Painting instructions for Dwarf (used my Vallejo Game Color)...

Step 1: I'm using Stynylrez primer on the bones models - just slop it on and cover everything - it works great!
Step 2: Use Dwarf Skin on flesh
Step 3: Use Ghost Grey on beard and eyebrows
Step 4: Use Beasty Brown on pipe and steins
Step 5: Use Magic Blue on clothes
Step 6: Use Gory Red on axe handle
Step 7: Use Bloody Red on potion bottles
Step 8: Use Leather Brown on leather
Step 9: Use Camo Green on canteen and bedroll
Step 10: Use Bonewhite on horn
Step 11: Use Moon Yellow on lantern
Step 12: Use Gunmetal on all metal
Step 13: Use Bright Bronze on the top of axe
Step 14: Use Black on base
Step 15: Use Flesh Wash on face
Step 16: Use Pale Grey Wash on beard
Step 17: Use Blue Wash on clothes
Step 18: Use Game Wash on all metallic
Step 19: Use watered down Game Wash on all leather and other bits

Saturday, March 25, 2023

Lost Mine of Phandelver - Grick

Gricks are one of my favorite low level monsters in the game - they receive damage resistance versus non-magical weapon attacks and if their tentacles hit they get an extra beak attack - just love 'em! They also remind me of something out of Aliens or from Resident Evil. These models look great - particularly like the ones climbing up the column - and I received 8 of these buggers.

I sprayed these green with the airbrush to start. Then came in with Camo Green on the underbelly, Orange Fire on the beak, Tentacle Pink on the tentacles, Stonewall Grey on the column. I made a Dark Green wash for the critter and used the Pale Grey wash on the column. Then painted the base Black.

This is part of the 3D Dungeon Labs Etsy shop purchase.

Sculpt: Excellent - this is an awesome sculpt and really brings the depiction in the monster manual alive

3D Print: Good- well done - for the most part it's clean, but I don't know a lot about the latest 3d printing but if I was to guess I'd say these printed sideways and had support posts as there's a bunch of micro bumps on the back that popped out when I did the dark green and pale grey washes

Fitness: Excellent - has the proper base and scale, model matches expectations

Saturday, March 18, 2023

Lost Mine of Phandelver - Skeleton

I absolutely love these skeletons - I received a dozen - a number of them marked as bonus. They're fantastic looking and as I've already noted in previous posts I'm really impressed with the durability of the 3d print - no issues with the weapons nor the skelly arms.

Well this was an interesting paint that I think at the end turned out pretty well but had some issues along the way - mainly in using the Vallejo Game Wash - it's just too dark. So I pulled out the airbrush on these dozen models and hit them up with Bonewhite. Then I hit them with the Game Wash and it went so dark - the leather bits is the end result. So I repainted by hand the skull and bones. Then I figured it needed some color - so I used Regal Blue on all remnants of pants and Gory Red on weapon shafts or shields. Then I used Gunmetal on weapon blades and a Black base.

This is part of the 3D Dungeon Labs Etsy shop purchase.

Sculpt: Excellent - this is an awesome set of sculpts and the group together looks awesome

3D Print: Excellent - well done - clean

Fitness: Good - has the proper base and scale, but... while I absolutely love all the sculpts, it technically doesn't match the module - early on in the crypts there's a few human skeletons - but when going through the mine, there are dwarf and orc skeletons everywhere from the great war that occurred there centuries ago and a number of them animate because of the corrupted wild magic - if the kit contained 4 human, 4 dwarf, and 4 orc then I would rate this excellent - but as is, it's good but doesn't provide the look and feel that fits the history of the mine

Saturday, March 11, 2023

Lost Mine of Phandelver - Wolf

So these were a bit of an experiment with the airbrush as I'm starting to get the hang of using and wanted to see what I could do with another group of models - this time I received 9 wolves which is more than enough for any of the planned encounters in the module.

The first pass on the models was with Beasty Brown. Then I hit the tops of the model with Scarlet Red to give it some color on top. Finally I hit the legs and the underbelly with Bonewhite. A Black base and the pack is complete!

This is part of the 3D Dungeon Labs Etsy shop purchase.

Sculpt: Excellent - this is an awesome set of sculpts and the pack look is awesome

3D Print: Excellent - well done - clean

Fitness: Excellent - has the proper base and scale, model matches expectations

Saturday, March 04, 2023

Lost Mine of Phandelver - Giant Spider

I love these giant spiders as they were spectacular to paint up and they look wicked awesome.

I hit these first with the airbrush of a blue. Then brought them onto desk for a drybrush of Lightning Blue and then I hit the legs first with Scarlet Red and then I used Bloody Red on top. Paint the eyes, pincers, and base Black.

This is part of the 3D Dungeon Labs Etsy shop purchase.

Sculpt: Excellent - this is an awesome sculpt - outstanding - the connection points to the base are a bit touchy and I had to use some extra glue there which I hid by painting black to conceal it into the base

3D Print: Excellent - well done - clean - I noted with the Twig Blights that I'm impressed with the strength of the printed material - have had no issues with legs as the material has taken travel and game play abuse

Fitness: Excellent - has the proper base and scale, model matches expectations - however, and I almost downgraded this to Good, the module needs 4 and the kit only comes with 2 - there are 2 needed during an encounter in Thundertree, however the end game encounter at the temple needs 4 - therefore I technically can't complete the final game encounter without bringing in other models