Ogre Redux!

So I love painting ogres - so sue me. I really do enjoy them, especially the great Reaper Bones sculpts that you can get for cheap. That and the fact that when they fall they will not break, chip, or even possibly break your toe the way metal ones might. 

This fig was an exercise in using GW's Contrast Paints. I used it everywhere except for the skulls and the horn. I also used some acrylics for highlights on the skin areas, as well (I couldn't help it - it needed to be highlighted in a way that I couldn't get the Contrast paint to do). I've been using the contrast paints since they came out, and currently use them for different applications, depending upon the model I'm painting and the effect that I'm looking for. I've found that the browns, for me, have the most use (well, those and Black Templar), and there are others that I like, but do not use as often. And that red tongue our friend below is sporting is all Contrast paint, as well!

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Stormcast Eternals for Warcry!

Warcry is a game that I've always wanted to try, but never have. I've had the rules for a little over a year now, and they seem fairly easy to grasp. So, I've been slowly working on a Warcry warband (or "gang" as I call them) of Stormcast Eternals. I like the models and chose them for that reason alone (always build gangs by the Rule of Cool, is my motto). I struggled with a color scheme for awhile, then finally decided on what you see here. I definitely did not want the gold look, and I think that the black works well - along with being easy to paint (can you say: Contrast paint Black Templar?). All in all, I think that they turned out pretty good, and I currently have four more about 3/4 of the way painted. I'll get that warband up and running soon!

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Sci-Fi Troll

Here we've got a Sci-Fi troll from Reaper Miniatures. It's a metal fig, but I slightly modified the position of the arm holding the gun. It was originally straight out, and I wanted a less action oriented pose, so I placed it downward, pinned it, and had to put a little bit of green stuff around the shoulder. Sculpting was limited, but easy. 

This fig will be used in an upcoming game of TFA when I get together with Scott in May. This guy's going to be a bruiser!

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Ogre's Delight

Here we have a Northstar Ogre, made for their Rangers of the Shadowdeep line. I can't say enough good things about Northstar's miniatures. This particular mini is made out of resin, and full of character, as you can see. The entire RotS line is great. Most are metal figs, of which I've already painted a few. I highly recommend them - extremely versatile, and can be used for any 28mm-scale fantasy game. 

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Chirrut Imwe

I recently completed painting a miniature of Chirrut Imwe, from everyone's favorite non-original trilogy Star Wars movie, Rogue One. I got the fig off of a vender on Etsy (can't remember which one at the moment), and the detail was very good. It scales pretty well with the Star Wars Legion mini's, but it is just a tad smaller than they are (which is good, in my opinion). It is close enough in size to my 28mm sci-fi figs that I can use them together without looking out of place. 

The only faulty part was the top of his staff, which was very thin and broke off during painting. So, I simply borrowed part of a staff from I believe an Adeptus Mechanicus sprue (a Rustwalker, I think, but I'm not 100% sure). Regardless, after pinning and gluing the new staff piece, it holds up well.

The fig was easy to paint - paint went on very smooth, and the sculpt is fairly forgiving for highlights and such. It will be great for any kind of sci-fi skirmish. Hope you like it!

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Sidewalk Base Demo

 Here's a quick demo of how I paint up a base to look like a sidewalk (or "footpath" for any British or Australians out there):

1. Paint the base black (picture not shown - pretty self-explanatory).  I use a smooth mdf base (this wouldn't work with a slotted plastic base, or any base that doesn't have a smooth surface).

2. Dry-brush the base lightly with a medium gray, using a lighter gray in some areas.

3. Next I stippled some black paint on a few areas to give it more variety. 

4. I then painted a few black lines to establish the bricks, or pieces of sidewalk. You can do as many or as few as you want, but it's best to paint them a little off-center. Then I used a light gray paint to highlight the edges of the bricks/pieces, as well as a few "cracks".  

And that is it! It's really simple and easy to do. If you make a mistake and paint a crooked line, simply use a heavy drybrush over the area, then a lighter one to blend it back into the rest of the base. Once you add the lines of demarcation and a few highights, the whole thing comes together. 

Here's one that I did for a Plastic Man 'clix, at the same time as the demonstration. Simple and effective.

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Nobody asked me, but...

 It's time for another installment of my favorite irregular column where I touch on different gaming topics. Here we go! 

• North Star Military Figures has the pre-release up for their Stargrave Crew II hard plastic, multi-part miniature set. They look awesome! Check them out here.
• Wargames Atlantic is also coming out with a great set of female sci-fi fighters--Cannon Fodder II! Check out Wargames Atlantic here. 
• Techno-Fantasy Adventure, my next game release, is going well! We should be ready to start layout soon. We await a few more pieces of art, and the rules themselves are firming up nicely. Play-tests have been a blast. You can play sci-fi with this, or fantasy, or a mix of both. It is also adaptable to other genres like Wild West, historical skirmish, etc. 
• I am enjoying experimenting with Army Painter Speed Paints. Like GW's Contrast Paint, they let you get figures on the table quickly, and provide a nice, "natural" highlighting effect over a lighter primer / base coat. 
• If you like classic comic books, pick up Jim Rugg's Hulk: Grand Design #1. It's a brilliant himage to the first 300 issues of Incredible Hulk. 
• I have now transitioned most of my recent print titles from Lulu to Drivethru RPG. Check them out here.
• The Amazing Skip is back in the fold and will be posting here from time to time. Thanks for sharing your great paint work, Skip! 
• I will be working on some and sharing more sci-fi terrain soon!

That's all for this installment! Look for more miniature and hobby pics and posts soon! 

--Scott

Skip here, once again. Scott has been gracious enough to ask me if I wanted to continue with my long-overdue posts, and I accepted. So, intermittently I will be posting my musings on painting miniatures. I think that I'll start off with a super - a slightly modified Power Man, in his original (and best, IMO) costume. I took a Heroclix figure (but can't remember which one) and shaved his hair off with an exacto blade. I then re-primed him, and painted him as you see here. The base is just an mdf one which I painted to look like a worn sidewalk. 

Some of those 'clix are really well-sculpted, and totally worth getting! 

 

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