From ArthurS: Mushrooms in Averland! (40 points?)

 Hello everyone,

I am sorry my posts have been a bit delayed lately, due to school and other hobbies. But luckily I finally had some time to do some painting.

I started painting my Averland warband for Mordheim and I painted these cute little mushrooms.

For my warband I chose black and teal. I know these colours don’t really fit Averland but I just thought they were a nice colour combination.

The figures are all plastic North Star Frostgrave knights miniatures and a converted Blood Bowl Halfling which I liked a lot. One of the reasons I like this warband for Mordheim is that you can add Halflings.

The mushrooms are 5 small ones and 1 big one with a frog on it. I thought it would be a nice idea to give the mushrooms a hardcoat (gloss varnish) on top to make it look a bit more magical.

Counting points is a bit tricky, because while the Frog magician and the Mordheim warband are all 28mm figures (6x 5 = 30 points) the little mushrooms are far smaller. I measured them and they are about 15mm so I reckon 2 points each? (5 x2 = 10) Together that makes 40 points to get me off the 5 points I have now. Curt persuaded me before the Challenge to set my target at 300 points instead of my own estimate of 100 and I do doubt that I am ever going to reach that 300, the 100 would be possible I guess.

Groetjes Arthur

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Greetings Arthur!

Great to see what you’ve been working on! I do like your teal and black colour scheme .. who cares if not exactly approval, you like the colours and that’s the best thing 😊

The magical mushrooms are aces, and I bet they will be well used as tabletop decor or objective markers.

Don’t worry too much about a 300point goal, Curt also talked me into that goal and I now know that there’s no way I’ll be meeting it … so you and I will be very happy with achieving what we can!

Thanks for sharing these

- Sarah

From SylvainR: 28mm Yellow Monsters for D&D (30 points)

 

This week, our fearless cleric encounters a family of yellow monsters: Mama Drider with two babies and their pet Hydra. All models are from Reaper and made of vinyl. I never used yellow on such large surfaces before, so I took this opportunity to paint a batch of big monsters in this "difficult" color.

Although small in height, the little "driders" or "arachnid centaurs", needed a wide base for their size, the same I used for my giants. I painted their eyes big and black in order to give them an "arachnoid" attitude. In the second picture, below, you can read "2013" on their rear end. I did not think that part would be visible when I was prepping the models and I should have scraped the writings off. Oh well...

When I assembled Mama Drider, I carefully filled the seam line in her abdomen with putty, but the filling material did not stick well when I used sand paper to soften the gap. Hopefully, players will pay more attention to her front end than to her rear end. Because of her size, I had to make a custom base for her out of mdf.

The thing with vinyl miniatures is that fitting is optional. After gluing the heads and filling the gaps with putty, I endeavored to "re-sculpt" the scales. Here she is in her bright yellow coat, ready to take five bites out of helpless adventurers. I custom made an mdf base for her as well.

 Points claimed:

2 x 28mm foot figurines at 5 points each = 10 points

2 x 28mm "mounted" figurines at 10 points each = 20 points

Total = 30 points

Thanks for reading!

***

Great work on your expanding monster menagerie here Sylvain. As you say, yellow is one of the more frustrating colours to work with. But it all looks go great in the end! This is how I ended up doing Imperial Fists for 30k even though painting yellow is so awful..

For all the trouble that yellow might cause painting-wise, however, it always seems like the vinyl material is always a bit of a bigger pain in the rear...well done handling all of the association modeling challenges that come with the vinyl material. 

30 points well-earned!

GregB

From SylvainR: Balrog and Lava Demonettes for D&D (45 points)

 

This week, the cleric encounters a Balrog and his posse of lava demonettes. All the above are vinyl models from Reaper.

I had this idea to create a group of "lava demonettes", so I gathered some figurines that could be "adapted" for that purpose. Except I had no idea how to paint "lava". I started with the model on the left, below. The grey rocks did not look right and I used the sponge effect too much. The next two figurines are naiad, I think, and their floating hair evoke flames. They look like they are spewed out from the magma. 

 

After a few trials, I developed a technique I felt comfortable with to create the lava effect, especially on the base. I am providing a short tutorial, so I can refer to it later, if I decide to do this kind of base again.
First, the model must be primed white and then completely painted yellow using ink, which makes it "glow". Rocks and other elements like the scorched tree are painted hull red instead of black or grey, as it gives the effect of some internal residual heat. Then the rocks are outlined with red ink (not paint), as you will want to be able to dilute and mix later.

Using diluted red ink in layers, I created variations in "temperature". In this case, the zones of the body closer to the source of the heat (the ground) are left yellow while the upper parts are more red.

 

Finally, using a sponge, I added speckles of black paint all over the model, but more generously on the tree. It makes the tree look "carbonized" instead of just "black".

Below, you can see the final result for the demonette used in the tutorial. I painted her hair black and her weapon copper. She was a dryad, but I think her new life as a "magmaiad" suits her well. For the demonette in the center, I was wondering what color I should paint her clothes, since she is made of lava. I opted to use metallic color, especially gold, since, at around 1000oC, metal becomes malleable like fabric. For the base of the "snake(d) lady", I aligned the stones in a circular pattern in an attempt to suggest some sort of magic power flowing from her.

After gaining confidence with smaller models, I was ready to tackle the boss. I wanted to avoid cloning the style of the Peter Jackson Balrog and instead tried to make the skin look like hot lava. I also wanted a base oozing earth's magma, pushing from beneath. The loin clothe is painted with metallic colors.

One wing is glowing, the other not. Must be the lighting...

 

Points claimed:

6 x 28mm foot figurines at 5 points each = 30 points

1 x 54mm foot figurines at 10 points each = 10 points

Total = 40 points

Thanks for reading!

***

Great work here Sylvain - well done once again on tackling new and different approaches to painting challenging subject. As Curt has often remarked to me, this is a Painting CHALLENGE after all, and good on you for exploring new techniques - and also sharing process as well as the results, so we can benefit from your work. This sort of reverse-lighting-glow called for by subjects which are meant to made from literal fire is really, really tricky to paint, and you should be pleased with your results!

And what D&D exploring party won't be...uh...thrilled to see a Balrog, right? I mean, I doubt any prior encounters with Lava Demonettes will have burns that were TOO awful, so no doubt the cleric and any friends will have plenty of strength and many options to..."cope with"...yes, let's say "cope with" a Balrog!

I am awarding five extra points for the hard work you have shown on these new and different painting approaches. 

GregB

From BrianC: Zombicide, Halfling Wrestlers, Werewolves, Chicks and cloaks, and a BIG Baddie! (Heresy, Violence, Fraud, Treachery) (130pts)

 Hello all! There's still hope of making my goal! Ha! Awesome painted minis from everyone! Keep at it! Well, more of this and that again. Let's begin with the Dante's circles. 

The 6th Circle: Heresy

It was considered heresy to believe in witches and werewolves because only God can be the source of supernatural powers. So, this resin werewolf miniature from Next Level Miniatures will fit perfectly in this circle.

Next, my entry for the Seventh Circle: Violence is the Dungeons and Dragons 54mm miniature, Grey Render. I can't wait to add this Big Baddy to my fantasy tabletop miniature games!

The Eighth Circle: Fraud. Well, can't go wrong with the Reaper Metal Miniature Big Bad Wolf of Little Red Riding Hood story. "Grandma, my what big teeth you have."

The Ninth Circle: Treachery. One of my favorite backstabbers of all time is Walter White of the TV series, Breaking Bad! This is a Zombicide Promo Survivor miniature.

That will complete my Dante's The Abyss entries. Now, I must figure out what minis to paint for Dante's Paradise entries. Hmm. Ok, next are a couple of pesky Halfling wrestlers from the game, Rumbleslam.

Ok, I only painted one more Zombicide Black Plague Fattie/Brute. Ugh. I'm hoping to have more zombies soon!

Next, are some old plastic Reaper Bones Miniatures. Oof! 

Here is Nightslip:

Human Ranger, Mi-Sher

That wraps this turn-in up.

8 x 28mm = 40pts.

1 x 54mm = 10pts.

4 Circles   = 80pts.

TOTAL     = 130pts.

Why, hello Brian! That's quite a run through the Circles of Hell! You have chosen your entries well. The werewolf is great, I love his blood-stained paws, and the Big Bad Wolf hiding the head of its victim behind its back is rather hilarious, in a funny sort of way. I had never heard of halfling wrestlers before, but you have done a fine job with them. My favourite is the ranger though, I like the colour palette you have chosen and the dynamic pose. All these goodies bring you 130 points further towards your total, which I am sure you will achieve before the Challenge ends. Good luck!

Martijn