Dryad

And it's not all war...

 Very easy to paint as it was mostly washes.

 Tree was painted buff and then had a brown ink wash.

 Flesh was painted pale and then given a brown wash.

 I found her harder to photograph.

Probably shy.

Lovely Dark Heaven Bones miniature by Reaper.  The figure sculpture was by W Klocke and has the code number 77265.  I really like how it is coming alive out of the tree and tried to capture that effect with my painting.

I used a heavy duty varnish as the figure is quite flexible.  It is probably more glossy than I'd like, but given my challenges with varnishes it will probably stay that way for a while.

Now to make up a profile for her to use with Songs of Blades and Heroes.

Wings of Fantasy

The gargoyle and the hawkman(?) I've had for months, but the harpy is a bit of a record as I just got her less than two weeks ago.

 Cue maniacal laughter.

 Mortar the Gargoyle (I don't make the names up, I just buy the figures)

Reaper Bones Dark Heaven range 77028

Painted black, then dark grey and then a lighter grey.

There is enough detail in the figure to easily bring it to life.

A gremlin got into this photo

 Harpy 

Again a Reaper figure, code number 77041

I was trying for a feathery, scaly, fleshy outcome and I think I kind of got there, but perhaps not so much when the figure is blown up so big as in the above photo.

Cute

 Tail end

 Hawkman SS15 from Garrison.

I'm prepared to call them hawkperson in these more enlightened times.

 I'm actually very happy how Hawk turned out.

I was aiming for an angel look, but in a classic Greek sense - heroic nude.

I just wished I had paid more attention to the beak when I was cleaning the figure up.

It is hard to be a hawk without a nice sharp beak.

Reaper Ghost

I painted this figure up really quick and then stalled over how I should varnish it.  Today I thought "damn the torpedos" (my mind still being on the ACW via War Between The States) and just gave the figure a light spray with Matt Varnish.  I think a heavy spray of the varnish tends to go to gloss, but I'm still experimenting.

From memory the flesh was just white with a wash.

$4.00 from Tactics.  Good buy.

This figure will form a base for my Generic Undead HotT army that I am conjuring.  Not sure if it is a Sneaker or a Lurker.  There will be a sabot base for it so I will make two so I can do either one.  I also need to read up on the rules to find out what the difference is.

Barmaid and the Blacksmith

Sounds like a title for a Saga scenario.  Anyway, just to show it is not all games, I finally finished these two Reaper Bones figures.  They have been used to provide an imaginary morale boost to my Saga Vikings and I also hope to use them with Songs of Blades and Heroes one day, but for now, enjoy.

The camera has not always focused on what I wanted and the matt varnish went gloss, but the pictures aren't too bad at showing the colours I used (predominantly Jo Sonja range).  I really enjoyed painting these and I'm glad I've now got them finished.  I have a few more fantasy figures in this scale in the pipeline including some I've been working on decades.

Cloud Nine magnetic base has been used, built up with plaster and a bit of sand for texture and a little bit of flock to represent a well trod, but outdoor work area.

I tried to go for a straw strewn floor type of base.

 

And just to warn you what happens if you consume the six pints in one session.

Getting ready for Saga

Having splurged on the army I figured I might as well go all out and buy the dice.  As the figures are second hand, I thought a blacksmith might be handy to give them some edge.

The miniature is from Reaper, one of their Bones series in plastic.  It has the imaginative name "Townsfolk:Blacksmith 77142".  The initial coat of VJ Sunny Flesh and VJ Saddle Brown came out all wrong.  The flesh got a wash of Citadel Reikland Flesh Shade and the leather apron a top coat of Jo Sonja's Red Earth and then I was happy to move on.  The pants are VJ German Grey (seems to be my go-to grey) with some dry brushing and the metal is VJ Oily Steel with a wash of Citadel Ink Marron Brown and I'm very happy with the used look it has produced (I was trying for a colour that I associate with the collection of old tools I inherited from my dad).  The tree stump gave me the biggest trouble and I will leave it for now until I base the figure.

My first Saga game is scheduled for just under two weeks.

I think my Vikings will need a drink.

Zombie Hunter

After the zombie game the other week I just had to have me one of them there zombie hunters of my own.

I've been looking at this range for a while in Tactics.  The zombie game finally gave me an excuse to try my hand at something other than 15mm metal figures. 

I was fairly happy how she turned out.  The eyes were a challenge and in the end owe more to good luck than skill.  I also used a new matte varnish which is a lot more glossy than I expected.  Just to make sure I was doing it right I applied three coats as well.  Once I am happy that it is fully cured I may go over it with a mat spray.  At least I hope the varnish makes her durable for the rough and tumble of zombie fighting.

From a post by Jordan Peacock in http://www.peginc.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34249

"This is my favorite of the Reaper Chronoscope "survivor" miniatures.  I mean, she has a CHAINSAW.  Okay, okay, according to the Zombie Survival Guide, that's not a very practical anti-zombie weapon (noise attracts zombies, high chance of maiming yourself in the process, excessive gore-spray increases the chance you'll get yourself infected, awkward to try to start quickly when you need it, and it becomes dead weight once the gas runs out).  But it still looks cool."

So there it is.  I am mighty happy to have finished the figure.  All that I have to do is adhere some magnetic paper to her base for ease of transport (and to give her a little weight) and I'm ready for the next zombie apocalypse.