Friday 23 December 2016

From BillA : Opening Moves (22 Points)

I thought I'd start off my Challenge this year with a few one-offs, some odds and ends that had been sitting for a while, waiting their turn in my lead pile.


First up, Reaper Miniatures' "Spirit" (#77098) from their Bones line.  Cast in translucent yellow-green material, I wanted to keep a little bit of the transparency while still applying paint.  I basecoated him in Reaper's Clear Green, followed by a heavy drybrush of Viper Green, then a subsequent drybrush of Pale Green.  After that, it was building up highlights with progressively whiter mixes of Pale Green and Pure White.










Second, the Bones version of Reaper's "Vanja, Fire Giant Queen" (#77100).  I've ogled this figure since it was first released in metal, but could never justify dropping that kind of coin on a single figure.  It dawned on me as I was basecoating this figure that she's wearing lingerie.  Thigh-high armored leggings, held up by a chain-link garter belt and an ironclad tube top.  She's not dressed for battle, she's dressed for the boudoir! Yowza! I tried to keep the metallics subdued with darker iron and bronze tones rather than silver and gold so as not to take attention away from her flaming hair.  Likewise I went with a blue gray for her skin tones to provide a cooler contrast.  She's a big beauty too; standing almost three inches tall from heels to crown.







Finally, "Cactus Joe, Gorilla Gunslinger" (#50318), a metal figure from Reaper's Chronoscope line.  This was a Christmas present from Gina last year, the last of the figures she'd bought me that I hadn't painted yet.  Because of Cactus Joe's bulk and stance, I based him on a 50mm base, despite not being particularly taller than the average 28mm figure, and added a Pegasus Hobbies' cactus to the base to give him some cover while shooting.  I've seen a number of people paint Cactus Joe's serape to match the one worn by Clint Eastwood in the Dollars trilogy, so I wanted to do something different; I went with a medium-dark blue, and gave it a simple wide band of "Stained Ivory," followed by a narrower band of "Blood Red," finally a thin band of "Pure Black" that didn't end up as thin as I wanted, but I foresaw only making things worse in attempting to fix it.








All in all, I think this is a solid start for me, and with a pair of 28mm figures and one that tops out at almost 70mm, I'm guessing this entry should garner me 20-something points. 

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It's great to see your first submission of this year, Bill! Lovely figures. I like the green of the ghost, and Vanja is undoubtedly formidable (armoured foundation garments, yikes!), but I'm particularly taken by 'Cactus Joe' and his natty poncho. Nevertheless, I think that cactus, while very fine indeed and casting cooling shade, would provide dubious cover, unless of course his opponents are shooting elastics. :)

Great to have you back Bill!


18 comments:

  1. All three are great. I like the gorilla the best but the fire giantess is fairly magnificent. I have the same model and haven't had the guts to paint her yet. Nice work.

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  2. Love the spirit, I think you got him just right. The golden chain mail looks really good too. Cactus Joe is also really nice and good choices on the poncho but I keep going back to the spirit as the best of a good bunch

    Ian

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  3. What a weird and wonderful trio! The ghost is my fave, great job on the layering of colours.

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  4. As an aficionado of cacti, I can only approve of Cactus Joe, but the spirit really looks the business!

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  5. Fiesty looking Fire Giantess!

    Another one for Curt and/or minions to tag/label as Sarah's Choice.

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  6. Great start some real character in these figures

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  7. A Gorilla Gunfighter.... well I never! They all look good and I await more goodies from you.

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  8. Great stuff. Cactus Joe is brilliant!

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  9. They are all great in their own right, but the trio of them is hilarious and a riot of colours well done.

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  10. That Cactus Joe is awesome. Haven't seen that one before. Really nice work on these.

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  11. Cracking collection of figures, I do like cactus Joe.

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  12. "eclectic" with a capital E. All well done. Vanja makes me think of the Snoo Snoo episode from Futurama. Best, M.

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  13. A very fine mix of models, Bill!
    Besides the giant-ess taste in undergarments, I'm really taken by simian cowboy. Nice poncho for him too! ;)

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  14. Lovely painting on these three Bill :)

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