20 days and counting

Only 20 days till Salute and I'm painting like a man possessed. That is, my head is spinning and I want to vomit green goo everywhere.

OK time to come clean and reveal my Salute Painting project. I'm working on the 08 Salute Figure, the Goblin Chieftain on Enormous Wolf by Mithril Miniatures. The figure is a Chris Tubb sculpt and was cast by Prince August.

I'm a slow worker when it comes to painting so I'm feeling a bit under pressure at the moment. After all I only have THREE WEEKS to finish the model! So I will shut up, post this, and get back to my desk!

Assassin

Back to work today, via the ice rink known as the A13. Having had an unplanned day off work I am very busy today catching up. In the meantime I thought I would post this picture. I call him "The Assassin" and I painted this model about 5 years ago for a D&D game. The model is a Reaper Mini sculpted by Bobby Jackson and its official name is Franc Jeaunoir.

Looking back its not a very good paint job but as a gaming piece it served its purpose. I like the sculpt so I may pick up another and have a go at it a second time.

Hannibal Barca

I have finished another one of my neglected projects. The Salute 04 free figure, Hannibal, sculpted by Mark Sims.
Hannibal was the Carthaginian military commander who famously lead his army and their war elephants, over the Alps into northern Italy. His victory in 216 BC at Cannae against a numerically superior army of the Roman Republic is regarded as one of the greatest tactical feats in military history.

Seductress Dragon & Pets

This is an old Ral Partha model that I picked up in a shop in Guildford while visiting a good friend of mine. I painted this for a recent D&D game to represent a deceitful seductress and demoness by the name of Lady Van'Dathe. The original model came with wings but this didn't fit with my concept for the character so I left them off. The model stands about 70mm tall from base to eye level. Lady Van'Dathe was accompanied by her 'pets', a trio of Heresy Miniatures Giant Slugs sculpted by Paul Muller. All the models were varnished using GW Hardcoat for durability.

Unpainted Lead

Now that I have finished painting my Buccaneer Captain I have been giving serious thought to what to do next. The only problem is I have far too much choice. Like many gamers I have a quite 'substantial' collection of unpainted miniatures gathering dust. To be fair I had a good clear out a few years ago but the collection still remains larger than my ability to finish painting. It has been said that if a gamer were to paint his last model he would probably expire on the spot. I'm not sure if that is true but my wife would probably want me checked out by the Doc to see if I was OK.

So what have I got lurking in my model box that begs attention? For a start I have two half finished projects that make me feel guilty whenever I look at them. The first is a Reaper Cavern Worm by Jason Wiebe. The second is the Salute 04 free figure, Hannibal, sculpted by Mark Sims. Both projects didn't get past base coating because other jobs (for upcoming games) took precedence.

Possibly my biggest crime of neglect goes to a set of Games Workshop LoTR figures that includes Tom Bombadil and Goldberry. I bought the Barrow Downs box set just for these two models and then didn't paint them. Also in my model box are a number of resin scenery and buildings, including some excellent neanderthal huts by Hovels Ltd. I also have a few barricades by Ainsty that I should have painted ages ago. Then there are the Amazon Warriors that I bought from the bring-and-buy stall at Salute, a Ral Partha Hydra given by a friend and a collection of early Space Marine models that I got at a local Boot Sale.

It's a sad litany of neglect and overspending that could go on and on. And I'd wager my best brushes that I'm not the only gamer out there with a similar story. Indeed this very subject was recently discussed on the blog A Year of Frugal Gaming. So, what am I going to do about this? For a start I'm going to ask myself some serious questions before buying new models. That's not to say I won't buy any (get real folks!) but I will try to buy quality rather than quantity. And I must also try to paint more miniatures this year and reduce that lead mountain... even if it is deleterious to my health.

Owlbear

Once again I have dug into the vault to find a model that I painted many years ago. This is a Reaper Miniatures Owlbear sculpted by Jason Wiebe. that I bought from Orcs Nest. The Owlbear is a magical beast in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. These fierce creatures attack on sight and always fight to the death - usually their own when they encounter a group of adventurers.

This was a model painted specifically as a game piece and when I painted it (probably five or six years ago) I was quite happy with the end result. But looking back I can see lots of ways to improve the model. Using a wash would have helped bring the model together for instance. Also I usually finish with a Matt varnish on my display models, but in this case I used a gloss varnish for toughness. I also experimented with a sculpted rather than dressed base. This was fine for a model expected to have a lot of handling but isn't as good to look at.

Fallen One

I painted this model for my D&D Campaign. It is a multi part model sculpted by Andy Foster and produced by Heresy Miniatures. I bought it at Salute 07 and started work on it the very next day. This was quite a challenging model to construct as well as paint but I am very happy with the end result. Having said that I think I could have done the base differently. I have seen a number of bases on other models representing glowing coals or lava. I started with a black base and dry brushed the coals in layers of red, orange and yellow. However a more realistic looking effect can be achieved by making the exposed coals black (because they have cooled) and making the cracks between them glowing red and orange.

Thrud the Barbarian

This is a model I completed last year and one that harks back to the early days of my hobby. Thrud the Barbarian was created by Carl Critchlow in 1981 and stalked the pages of White Dwarf Magazine in the early 80's.





This model is a multi part figure sculpted by Andy Foster and made by Heresy Miniatures. I actually bought two of these models by mistake (how dim is that?). The second one now rests in my model case awaiting a 'special' paint job at some point in the future.