From DaveV: Dimachaerus and dungeon dwellers (15 points)

A final post; hopefully it makes it.

FrederickC and I have demo'd Wiley Games' gladiator combat game Arena of Blood on a few occasions now. Crusader miniatures has a very nice line of metal Gladiators. One fighter type I did not have a painted example of was the Dimachaerus, a double-armed fighter.

The figure has a lot of different textures: cloth, leather, bronze armour, steel swords, and a tinned or silvered helmet. I burnished the sword blades, and used aluminum and silver paints for the base layers of the helmet. I sketched other colours in acrylics over zenithal highlights, and finished with oils for blending. shadows, and highlights.

Along with a couple more dungeon monsters for The Fantasy Trip, 3D prints of in imp and a wolf I painted in similar style, this brings this year's challenge to a close for me. 

Congrats to all the participants; your modelling abilities (and speed!) are inspiring.

XXX

I tried to get some more Talisman figures done, but only managed some base coats on the planned figures. 

3 x 28mm figures = 15 points.

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It's a bit past the deadline but I'll let it go because who doesn't love a well painted gladiator, a wolf and a green imp. Great work Dave!  :)

- Curt

 

From DaveV: Even More Talisman Adventurers (Wrath) (35 Points)

 

Real life has a way of getting in the way of hobby related activities. That being said, my latest post for The Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge XV shows a couple more classic, pewter Talisman figures from Games Workshop/Citadel, released for the board game back in the 1980's. 

Above, the Warrior of Chaos.

Long out of production, a friend found this figure for me on eBay, from the U.K. When I got it, it had thick layers of green and yellow paint over unprimed metal. I used paint remover, white spirits, and gun cleaner to get 95% of this gunk off, revealing mould lines and bits of flash. I went at it with a hobby knife and diamond dust files. I dug into my bitz collection and added an old Citadel plastic heater shaped shield, the ones with the hole in the middle. Some gap filling super glue and work with sanding sticks got the figure finally ready for priming. 

As with my previous entries, I used zenithal highlights to base coat the figure. I sketched in the basic colours with acrylics, then added highlights, shadows, and blending with tube oil paints. 

After painting, the shield got some suitable Chaos decals, aided by decal solution and Future Floor Polish. The elongated skull is a Citadel Dark Elf transfer, IIRC; I thought it would complement all the skulls and faces sculpted in the Chaos Warrior's armour. The Chaos script comes from a sheet of Chaos iconography from The Mighty Brush. I then chipped and weathered the shield with oils. 

The “steel” part of the axe/mace thingy I painted in NMM style, attempting to render a patina of age. 

Some chainmail links are missing from the figure's right elbow. Thinking that this had to be intentional on the part of the sculptor, I added some GW Blood from the Blood God over flesh tones, to show a minor wound. 

The figure stands a little taller than the other Talisman figures, creating an imposing impression. Below, the Warrior of Chaos compared to the Knight. 

I based the figure on a hexagon base to also be usable for Steve Jackson Games' classic TTRPG, The Fantasy Trip. This Warrior of Chaos leading the Sorceress, Assassin, and Thief would make an interesting (and evil) TTRPG adventuring party. 

I also managed to finish the Talisman Centaur. It's a neat, single-piece model, painted in similar fashion to my other Talisman figs, with the horsey part basically successive thin glazes of GW washes over the zenithal highlights.  

I think this figure will make a good addition to the party I plan to run through the old TFT programmed adventure, the Treasure of the Silver Dragon. There are a lot of outdoor encounters in that module.  Below, the Elf, Prophetess, Knight, Warrior, and Centaur, 

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GW seems to have gotten their concept of Chaos from the fantasy works of Michael Moorcock. No matter which deity they worship, Chaos Warriors all seem to be bloody exemplars of Wrath.

Painting Challenge Totals:

(28mm figure + 28mm mounted figure) + Wrath = 15 + 20 = 35 points  

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Hey Dave!

Lovely to see more of these Talisman figures …what great looking miniatures!

What a load of prep work on the Chaos Warrior, but definitely worth the hard work.

My favourite though is the Centaur … the ‘horsey part’ is really well painted and I do enjoy the centaurs Mohawk-like mane

35 points to your scoreboard

-Sarah

From DaveV: More Talisman Adventurers - (Gluttony) (50 points)

My latest post for The Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge XV are six more classic, pewter Talisman figures from Games Workshop/Citadel, released for their eponymous board game in the 1980's.

 Above, are the Ghoul, Halfling, and Assassin.

As with my previous entries, I used zenithal highlights to base coat the figures. I sketched in the flesh tones with acrylics, then highlight, shadow, and blend with tube oil paints. The rest of the figure is mostly acrylic or oil glazes, with details like spot highlights with oils.  The “steel” parts, are the burnished pewter of the figures, glazed with acrylics (Assassin's blade, Sorceress' medallion, and Druid's sickle).

I based the figures on hexagon bases to also be usable for Steve Jackson Games' classic TTRPG, The Fantasy Trip.

Below, the Sorceress, Thief, and Druid. 

I have now painted two dozen of the 50-odd pewter figures I have collected over the last 37 years. Twelve of those just in the last few weeks, LOL!

 

I am considering for my next Talisman figures the Gladiator, Satyr, Centaur, Warrior of Chaos, Gypsy, and Scout

One of the interesting characters from the game is the Ghoul. These loathsome fantasy creatures traditionally feast obscenely on the dead – and not just the freshly dead. Their other habits are too disgusting to describe. I thus submit these figures for the theme Gluttony.

Painting Challenge Totals:

(6 x 28mm figures) + Gluttony = 30 + 20 = 50 points 

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Hi Dave

Terrific figures and such a lovely paint job! I am in awe & wonderment at your use of oils, glazes and acrylics - very effective. The Talisman figures look great individually but en masse are superb. 

The Ghoul as representation of Gluttony is a good choice ... loathsome and obscenely hungry!

Looking forward to seeing which Talisman figures appear next 

Another 50 points to you!

Sarah

From DaveV: 28mm Flame Drake (a.k.a. 4-hex Dragon): 40 points

Dragons are traditionally known for their Greed. One series of fantasy novels assigns differently  coloured dragons to all of the Seven Sins. The Violet Dragon of Lust is a YA novel, an allegorical tale of a knight fighting an undying violet dragon. This WIZKIDS model, though not using that novel as its inspiration, caught my eye immediately when I saw it sitting on the shelf at GameKnight Games, here in Winnipeg.

The plastic model came pre-assembled and primed in white primer. Not my usual undercoat, but I forged ahead to paint it in a purpley-red scheme. I sketched in the basic colours in acrylics, adding shading with various GW and Army Painter washes, emphasizing the shapes of the scaly hide and picking out all the myriad claws, horns, and teeth. I then used tube oil paints both as washes and for some wet-on-wet blending. I tried to render the thin, leathery wings differently from the scales.

I based the model on a diamond shaped piece of thick plastic card. Below, the finished model compared with a cardboard counter from the Wizard microgame, one of the components of The Fantasy Trip:

As with my previous entry, it is based specifically for use with Steve Jackson Games' system, The Fantasy Trip ("TFT"). Such a large model takes up four hexes on the gaming surface; centaurs and horses take up two hexes, and humans, elves, or dwarves only one hex. So, this is a "4-hex Dragon". Larger in-game dragons cover 7 or even 14 hexes. (Note, the grey-edged parts of the base correspond to the model's 4 front facing hexes.)

I ended up super gluing on the groundwork; white glue just contracted as it dried and pulled away in a thin film from the plastic surface. 

Giants in TFT are 3-hex creatures. Below I have another couple of such monsters, pre-painted models from em4, ready for basing and groundwork. Also on the cutting mat can be seen the next 6 Talisman figures in my painting queue (the Sorceress, Assassin, Thief, Halfling, Druid, and Ghoul).

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Painting Challenge Total:

The Flame Drake is larger than a 28mm cavalry figure, about the size of a small vehicle or walker.

(1 x 28mm vehicle) + (Lust) = 20 + 20 = 40 points

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Hey Dave!

Beautiful Greedy Dragon! I love your attention to all the details of the scales, teeth, claws etc. The dragons pose is really dynamic and I think your colour choices have really helped emphasized a dragon in motion.

Well done!

40 points to your scoreboard

-Sarah

From DaveV: Talisman Adventurers - first post (Limbo) (50 points)

My first post for The Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge XV are six classic, pewter Talisman figures from GW, released for their eponymous board game.

(I meant to get these done over the Christmas holidays. Life and circumstances get in the way. Thank goodness for Chinese takeaway on Christmas Day, when most places are closed.)

I started collecting and painting Talisman figures when they were first released to supplement the game tokens, back in 1985(!). In recent years I painted a couple more, including a Warrior for a previous Challenge. Still and all, I only had a dozen painted figures from the game. Last year, after I painted an Elf, I prepared and primed a Troll figure for the Challenge, and looked at the 30-odd unpainted figures I still had, but never got to painting any of them.  

I finally got serious, and scoured the internet to complete my collection of metal Talisman figures. Mostly from eBay, I managed to complete collecting  the set, some 50-odd figures in total - including the ones I already painted. Now I have to paint the rest of them.

Yesterday I finished painting 6 Talisman figures, including that old Troll. 

Below, Talisman Dwarf, Amazon, and Barbarian. The “steel” parts are the burnished pewter of the figure, glazed with acrylics.

Below, Troll, Wizard, and Saracen. IIRC, the Saracen's shield is from Victrix, and the shield transfer from Little Big Men.

A recent article I read showed that prehistoric saber tooth tigers had reddish brown fur, which I rendered on the Amazon's fur, below:

I used zenithal highlights to base coat the figures. I sketched in the flesh tones with acrylics, then highlight, shadow, and blend with tube oil paints. The rest of the figure is mostly acrylic or oil glazes, with details like spot highlights with oils.

The weapon blades etc. were burnished with a soft nylon brush in a Dremel tool, finished with a rounded metal tool, then covered in painters’ tape before base coats.

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I based the figures to also be usable for Steve Jackson Games' classic TTRPG, The Fantasy Trip (comprising "Melee" for fantastical personal combat, "Wizard" for magical duels, "In the Labyrinth" for roleplaying, and various solo quests, adventure modules, and game aids). I based the figures for TFT. The hex bases are painted black, with the front facing sides painted grey for quick reference during battles. Adversaries gain advantages for striking at a model's sides or rear hex faces. 

I recently re-played Metagaming/Steve Jackson solo quest Death Test using my existing Talisman figs, and my 1st ed. rulebook from 1978!

I ordered some more solo adventures from Dark City Games. I also have the Silver Dragon and Unicorn Gold quests from Metagaming from the early 1980's, which I never played back in the day. As I recall, a high school friend did run a campaign for us that included the Metagaming (and now once again Steve Jackson Games') module  Tollenkar’s Lair. 

I look forward to pushing around these new figures in future solo quests. Below, an all-fighter beginning character party for Death Test, or to include in Treasure of the Silver Dragon:

Collecting these figures also prompted me during the past several months to collect, paint, and/or base various adversaries for my murder hobos, many of which I show below (but are not part of the Challenge).

The zom-bear is my favourite baddie, a 3D print I got on Esty.

Below, a rogue's gallery of adversaries I used when replaying the Death Test:

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Painting Challenge Totals:

(6 x 28mm figures) + Limbo = 30 + 20 = 50 points 

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Hey Dave!

Welcome back to the Challenge and what a great first post! (and just in the nick of time ... the dreaded cut off day is near)

It is true that all gamers/painters have such treasures waiting in the lead pile, each mini hoping to be found and wishing to be painted so beautifully. I particularly like both the  troll and the wizard! Your commitment to using oils, acrylics, glazes, burnishing and polishing wlth dremel tools  astonishes me, but the results are totally worth the time!

Well done and 50 points to put you on the scoreboard

Can't wait to see what you show us all next!

- Sarah

From DaveV - Jedi Master Luke - Fantasy (27 points)

The best laid plans and all that. 

This year has been challenging for painting so far. My wife Jen had a kitchen accident involving boiling water (she is recovering very well, but there were some scary moments at the hospital and follow-up visits). 

My IDOLS of Torment project was derailed. I was just about finished my Flayed Man, and was dry-brushing a horrifying ballerina with blades on her feet and hands when she snapped off her base, fell and shattered most of her right fingers. I will be having 18 models re-printed using a more flexible resin.   

Plus, work has been very busy. 

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It has been great to at least view everyone's cool models.

I did receive last week a new Star Wars model designed by Felipe Manivel of War Bear, and printed by Wargames3D in Spain. I figured, what the hell, and assembled, primed, zenithal highlighted, and painted this figure over the last couple of days.

I replaced the resin saber blade with brass wire. Otherwise the figure is stock.

It's a great design, with Luke raising rocks with the Force, ready to hurl at some hapless Imperial Remnant baddie. Luke is wearing his black Goth look, so I just needed to highlight the various black textures and tones - I don't shade black. 

The lightsaber was hand painted white and airbrushed Golden Fluorescent Green. Luke's head and the rocks got zenithal highlights. A quick sketch in acrylics, and I then finished his face in tube oils. Everything else was basically thin acrylic glazes, with some oils for detailing. Tamiya clear flat spray completed the figure.

 

It's a ~40mm figure. Star Wars is a space fantasy, not sci-fi, so 27 points for this last minute entry.

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Really lovely work on Luke, Dave. The sculpt looks to be a sturdy interpretation of him, which I quite like (though at some angles it seems like he's wearing BOG boots). Your work on his lightsaber and face is fantastic - so smooth. Well done!

- Curt