Reaper Miniatures Large Earth Elemental - 77185

 

This large earth elemental is supposed to have both arms going forward, but it was more fun/menacing to have the right arm up in the air as if it's going to squash the player character. I love the dinosaur bones and the large gems sticking out from the body - I would have liked to have seen more of these "hidden gems" (pun intended).

This is mostly airbrushed - with various red, brown, tan, and even some gold. It was sitting on the side and I threw different paint on it as I was airbrushing other models. Then I picked out the dinosaur with some bone color and hit the gems with greens. Then some black around the base and called it done.

Kickstarter paint total 209 + 1 Large Earth Elemental = 210

Games-Workshop Lord of the Rings Terrain

 

These are a couple of old pieces of terrain from the original Games Workshop Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game. 

They've been sitting on the shelf for years and when I originally received my airbrush I used these as practice pieces for airbrushing. Starting with a black primer and then spraying dark grey, medium grey from a 3 and 9 position, and then a white from a 12 position - giving the models a shade through highlight. 

Then I put them back on the shelf until tonight when I stippled on some paint for the ground cover - using paints from Reaper - Stained Olive and Turf Green - added some Crimson Red and Pale Saffron (yellow) to add some flower cover.

Now I've got some interesting pieces to throw on the table.

Reaper Miniatures Vampire Spawn (Part 1) - 3383

 

Back to painting some fun metal! This is the first of two vampire spawns that come in the pack. The two have been sitting on my desk and inspiration hit my like a lightning bolt this past weekend - I had the majority of it blocked out over the weekend and tonight completed the final highlights.

Also, the pictures are taken using my new Pixel 8 Pro - it now can do macro photography with all the Google magic making it really easy to point and click. This and the Bone Devil were the first pics taken and I'm really impressed with the clarity and focus regardless of model depth.

Painting instructions for Vampire Spawn (used Reaper paints)...

Step 1: Undercoat model with black primer
Step 2: Use Nightsky Blue on clothing
Step 3: Use Undead Flesh on skin
Step 4: Use Vallejo Pale Grey wash on skin
Step 5: Use Witchcraft Purple on bodice
Step 6: Use Sunburn Flesh on inside of mouth
Step 7: Use Solid White on eyes
Step 8: Use Crimson Red as lipstick and eyeballs
Step 9: Use Armor Grey on hair
Step 10: Use Arctic Grey as hair highlights
Step 11: Use Fireball Orange on rooster foot
Step 12: Use Dwarven Gold on ankle bracelet and necklace
Step 13: Use Vallejo Umber Wash on gold
Step 14: Use mix of Nightsky blue with Undead Flesh for highlights x2
Step 15: Use watered down Nightsky blue as a wash
Step 16: Use mix of Witchcraft Purple with Undead Flesh for highlights x2
Step 17: Use watered down Witchcraft Purple as a wash
Step 18: Drybrush Vallejo Neutral Grey on base
Step 19: Drybrush Vallejo Stonewall Grey on base
Step 20: Drybrush Solid White on base

Emperors Choice Legends Eternal Complete Set

 

22 years in the making to put that set on the shelf and I'm totally geeking out tonight. That set is the Cybergames.com subsidiary Emperors Choice produced Legends Eternal complete set of 8 miniature boxes numbered EMC4000 through EMC4007. When lined up on the bookshelf they produce the image of a holy warrior.

Each "boxed" set was a VHS case that had some foam and 10 unpainted 25mm miniatures making it the perfect way to keep and transfer your miniatures without being damaged - brilliant! There were 8 boxed sets for a total of 80 miniatures.

History of the collection: I picked up my first boxed set in early 2002 because I painted Anna Streetshadow in May 2002. Over the years I managed to pick up another box and then another off ebay with my last purchase being box 5 in 2019 according to my ebay purchase history; until today... A set of boxes 1-6 was offered on ebay and while I only needed box 3 and box 6 to complete the collection, I arranged to purchase these at a price point that fit my budget. Here's the really cool part about them - they are mint in their original wrapping and were found in the basement of an old house as a stockpile of miniatures that was the inventory from a closed game store. I'm literally the first person to own these as a buyer from a game store that was shut down decades ago. The old house was scheduled to be torn down so these have been saved from destruction!

History of the miniatures: these miniatures are super cool in true 25mm size - they were sculpted by the incredible Julie Guthrie for Grenadier Miniatures in the late-80's. When you look at these compared to other miniatures of the time it was amazing how far ahead Julie was (and continues to be with Reaper Miniatures) in composing really tight and dynamic sculpts. The Fantasy Personalities had 99 miniatures according to this website posting which had photocopies of two great posters showing all of them in what looks to be the original studio painted sculpts. According to the post, there was a second set of 162 personalities. We know, and the post acknowledges, that when Grenadier closed its doors Emperors Choice picked up the molds. They originally sold these under the Arduin brand and you can find these individual blisters on ebay. Then Emperors Choice was sold to Cybergames.com in late 2000 - it appears that the individual blisters were then bundled into these boxed sets of 10. There must have been plans for more because on the back of the box it says "Set 1" and we know they had the molds for more Guthrie personalities. It was short lived as Cybergames.com closed due to financial problems according to this bulgarian rpg website that's focused on the Wildblades rpg (use google to translate). 

The Wildblades rpg is an interesting story and tie-in to the boxed sets. Each box set gave character names to all the models and there's a theme with a short story - for example, box 1 is "The Shadow of Death" and the short story on the back is ""Divinely inspired, Palavos the Proud led a bedraggled band of misfit heroes into the dark tomb of Urzagel the Liche, seeking to end his reign of dark terror. What happened next was the stuff of Legends..." Indeed the boxed set had a miniature named Palavos the Proud along with his companions and the liche named Urzagel, Lord of Death. This was really unique as Grenadier sold them as female thief or male warrior. Each boxed set also came with a piece of paper directing the buyer to download a free rpg called Wildblades and to download free character sheets for each of the miniatures (I'd love to get my hands on those if anyone has a pdf copy).

While Cybergames.com is no longer, it does appear that Emperors Choice is still alive and kicking to support the Arduin campaign world and adventure modules. Unfortunately they no longer have the Guthrie molds - it appears those have moved between a couple different companies and I wasn't able to track down who has them now.

Maybe I need to do a Sunday night with Julie paint session?

Reaper Miniatures Bone Devil - 77325

 

I seem to be moving some older figures off my desk (lots more to go including the metal version of this figure) - this is the bones version of the Bone Devil. The problem with this material is that the skinny leg can't support the weight of the body and wings so I propped it up with a toothpick and tried to disguise it a bit (if you look closely it's there under the kneecap). Reaper's website says the bones version is out of stock which I'm guessing means they're not going to make any more in this material - bones black or bones usa would be much better if you don't want to pay for the expense of metal.

This and a couple other skeleton models were all airbrushed when airbrushing the skeletons for the Lost Mine of Phandelver. I learned a lesson from those and used a very watered down version of the Vallejo Game Wash. The model was painted when I had various paint left over in the tray so I don't recall all the steps - I think the wings were Vallejo Dead Flesh. The poison bulb was done with some reds and the stinger was painted black with a dark blue highlight.

The base was an experiment of making it look like volcanic fire was coming up from the cracks beneath the model's feet. That was done with Vallejo Toxic Yellow, Orange Fire, then Nocturnal Red.

Another Kickstarter model off the desk.

Kickstarter paint total 208 + 1 Bone Devil = 209

Lost Mine of Phandelver - Orcs

 

This is the hollywood version of orcs - or maybe the World of Warcraft pretty boys/gals of the orc kingdoms. I prefer my orcs a bit old school, ugly, and nasty. However, if you're looking for fantastic looking barbarians with tusks then these will be calling out to you.

I did these a little bit different where I first did an airbrush undercoat of black, then I hit these with the a blue-grey from the 12:00 position. Next I gave the Vallejo Xpress Colors a go using Velvet Red, Copper Brown, Plague Green, Templar White, and Dwarf Skin a go.

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

Sculpt: Excellent - these models have a super dynamic look to them and if you're into new age orcs you'll love them!

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

Fitness: Excellent - has the proper base and scale, and will look good on the tabletop. One note, the champion orc (back right on the picture) is a bit wide in stance and came with a 32mm base instead of 25mm or 1".

Lost Mine of Phandelver - Hobgoblins

 

Love the sculpt of these Hobgoblins - a little old school but with a modern flair and a bit of uniqueness to the models. Between these and the skeletons, I think they're my favorite sculpts from this set from 3D Dungeon Labs and their Phandelver bundle. The design language I'm going for is simplistic and clean and I think this is one of my best paint jobs for this look.

I started these with the airbrush and did a base coat in Terracotta. Then picked out the details using Vallejo's new Abyssal Turquoise along with Sombre Grey, Dark Fleshtone, Leather Brown, Gunmetal and perhaps my new favorite color Charcoal.

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

Sculpt: Excellent - these models have a super dynamic look to them and as noted a bit old school - love em!

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

Fitness: Excellent - has the proper base and scale, and will look good on the tabletop.

Games Workshop Tyranid Genestealer

 

I don't know why this miniature has been sitting on my desk or where it came from - I think it was originally part of the Tyranid vs Space Marine box from about 2005 - I had painted up a bunch of Tyranid Genestealers almost 20 years ago. There's probably a bunch more in a box on a shelf somewhere but I have no idea where at the moment - only this one. It would be good to find the others as I think this could be a fun set of models to use in a Dungeons and Dragons scenario.

When I was painting some hobgoblins (new post to come), I had some red, purple, and some blue/green. Those were the perfect colors for this Tyranid Genestealer.

It's been a long time since I've painted a model from Games Workshop but there's going to be a bunch more to come as Warhammer the Old World is out (sort of, we're still waiting for product) and we'll be painting Fantasy Warhammer real soon!

Reaper Miniatures Mockingbeast - 77048

 

This was a bit of fun - I've had this sitting around and I'd throw paint on it when I had extra paint on the tray. I'd like to get the metal version of this model as the classic bones model doesn't have enough fidelity in comparison, but it works well enough for the tabletop.

I don't recall all the colors I used - but Royal Purple and Heavy Red was used on the "beast" - Bonewhite and White on the teeth. Black wash on the brown. Gunmetal on the metal trim.

Kickstarter paint total 207 + 1 Mockingbeast = 208

Wizkids Unicorn - Monster Menagerie 27

 

This was a bit of fun as I needed to paint up a model for our current home D&D campaign - Empire of the Ghouls in the Midgard setting by Kobold Press. One of the players (she's from the shadows) befriended a beast from the shadow called a Shadhavar - a shadowy version of a unicorn. 

I love Kobold Press as a company and looking for them to carry the 5e banner with their Tales of the Valiant. However, they've had terrible luck getting miniatures produced - which is a real shame. With their Creature Codex and Tome of Beasts books they have the best 5e monsters and every one of those monsters needs a miniature. Am I the only one who sees them and Reaper Miniatures as a match made in heaven? Paizo figured it out and there's a significant line of npc's along with a few monsters. How do I get Reaper Ron and Wolfgang together on a date? Unfortunately Kobold Press has selected one man shops with Eastern Front Studios and most recently Effincool Miniatures.

Since I can't get a Shadhavar miniature - I picked up this unicorn for $3 from Miniature Market (great retailer). I undercoated the entire model with black primer and then painted my own Shadhavar.

Painting instructions for Shadhavar (used Vallejo paints)...

Step 1: Undercoat model with black primer
Step 2: Use Black on the entire model
Step 3: Use Night Blue on the mane and tail
Step 4: Use Ultramarine Blue as highlights on main and tail
Step 5: Drybrush Charcoal on entire model
Step 6: Use mix of Charcoal and Sombre Grey and drybrush entire model
Step 7: Drybrush Sombre Grey on entire model
Step 8: Use Blood Red on the eyes

Fat Dragon Games DRAGONLOCK: Tent

 

This was a bit of fun - my son picked up a 3d printer to get ready for Warhammer the Old World which is about to come out - he can print bases and terrain and all sorts of goodies for the game. He did this test print of a tent from one of the Fat Dragon Games DRAGONLOCK packs. Again, Golden Maple's drybrush brushes made the fur a piece of cake.

Painting instructions for Tent (used Vallejo paints)...

Step 1: Undercoat model with black primer

Step 2: Use Tanned Flesh on tent

Step 3: Mix Bleached Bone with Tanned Flesh and repeat about 4x to get to final highlights
Step 4: Use Beasty Brown on sticks and pegs
Step 5: Drybrush Leather Brown on sticks and pegs

Step 6: Drybrush Plague Brown on sticks and pegs for final highlights
Step 7: Use Terracotta on fur 
Step 8: Drybrush Parasite Brown on fur
Step 9: Drybrush Scrofulous Brown on fur
Step 10: Mix Scrofulous Brown and Bonewhite and drybrush on fur for final highlights

Beware of the wildlife...