WHQ Silver Tower Minotaur w/ OG WHQ Head

Finally got some paint on this fella. I went with a Magic: The Gathering "Hurloon Minotaur" paint job. Click to embiggen!

I'm liking the clear bases, courtesy of Sally 4th. Since I go back and forth between quest- and fantasy battle-type games, this was the only option that made sense to me.

But WHY does he have an orange mohawk, not unlike those frequently seen on dwarven slayers? Hmmm...

WiP HeroQuest Ogres

In preparation for my coworkers' heroes breezing through the original HeroQuest system game pack, I'm starting to get the expansion pack monsters ready. (As is obvious from the glacial pace of previous updates, I'm going to have to plan far ahead!)

You'll see some classic HeroQuest ogres, with some minor greenstuff work to make them as close to the illustrations as possible, as well as Golgfag's Mercenary Ogres (the out-of-print metal guys) and even the most recent Games Workshop plastic kit. It might be heresy to some but I have mixed and matched some of the parts to create some unique models. I like variety! Painted versions inbound.

Warhammer Quest Critters

Boy, did summer get away from me there!

I finally got around to the penultimate (second to last) batch of Classic Warhammer Quest minis, the critters!

The splotchy grey bat on the far left is my son Kieran's first painted mini! Welcome to the hobby, little buddy. :) Knowing I was getting burnt out and that hobby time is at a premium these days, I went the quick route and sprayed them black, then went to town with the drybrushing.

I may still put a glaze or gloss varnish over the black eyes on the spiders to give them some shine, before the matt varnish they looked more "alive."

Now it's just the four classic WHQ heroes to do and my set will be fully painted! Last step will be to put them all on clear acrylic bases, since I got my order in from Sally 4th the other day. They'll allow me to use the minis in a dungeon quest, skirmish, or army battle and still have the bases match the terrain.

The chiropterologists (bat scientists) among you will recognize that some of my bats seem to be suffering from white nose syndrome, because what's more horrifying in a dungeon full of nasty creepy-crawlies more than injecting some depressing real-world diseases?

I couldn't have gotten to this point without the inspiration provided by Warseer and the Tale of Painters blog! Even though I've used more jokers than I have painted, it was still a great push to get this set completed.

Kickstarter: The Minotaur Horde

If you aren't already aware, some BEAUTIFUL new minotaur models are on kickstarter!



https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1207385459/twisting-catacombs-the-minotaur-horde

These guys are going straight into my dungeon. Tell 'em I sent ya!

ToBGP March/April: WHQ Skaven!

Last update snuck in under the wire... this one's kinda inching along slowly. Looks like the monthly goals on the Warseer Tale of Board Game Painters are getting farther apart too... I guess with the nice weather people are going outside like some kinda crazy weirdos. Works out for me though, the deadlines were starting to blend together!

Bought these skaven clanrats without swords, minus the yellowish guy on the black base. He was already basecoated, and I wanted to preserve the previous owner's work, so I just dipped him in Army Painter strong tone with the rest of 'em once I'd painted them. Stuck with my traditional palette so they'll fit in with the rest of my classic WHQ figures. The new swords are stolen from Dark Elf spear tops. I think they look pretty "stabby" although some are a bit long.

I tried a new technique with the metal and basecoated with Leadbelcher before dipping. I'm thinking now that it's a little dull. I might ultimately decide to add some silver highlights on the edges to scuff 'em up. Either way, trying to avoid the whole drybrushing thing these days.

Guy on the left has a "fiery" shield design stolen from my undead... could be the start of a fun quest if they decide they want it back at some point! White guy behind him has a red shield design with double white cross pinched from Battle Masters. That one will need some dirtying up to reflect typical Skaven defiling. "Smeared with poo" would be a fun experiment. (It's just paint I swear!)

They were quick and dirty, but I still might give the bunch a little more TLC at some point, don't think they're QUITE up to my standards yet.

ToBGP February: Gobbos/Snotlings

 Whew! Just snuck 'em in before the February deadline. Click to embiggen. My shields had all gone missing (that's going to be a common thread with these entries, keep your eyes out for the Skaven!) so I improvised. Two are pieces of plastic I cut out of my Plano tackle box, and two are some old putty filler that I "carved" with a knife to look like wood strips. I think it gives 'em a little character.

 Guy in the middle is the boss, found a chaos warrior's helmet crest and decided he needed to look more kingly! Did some other weapons swaps to add variety.

 If I never look at another snotling again, it'll be too soon. You can't see it in the pic but I definitely painted some of their loincloths to look a little "poopy" in the back. I figure these guys aren't too concerned with hygiene, living underground and all.

 The boss snotling (bossling?) has an axe I stole from a DnD orc. Forget the name of the board game but I think it's the one with the terrible VHS cassette. Definitely getting the hang of the Army Painter Strong Tone dip at this point. Brush application is the way to go.

WHQ Orcs for Warseer's Board Game Painters: January

I decided to take the plunge and join the recently-restored (yay!) Warseer.com's Tale of Board Game Painters Project Log. Figured having an expection of a new Warhammer Quest unit each month hanging over my head would help motivate me.

I'm going for fast and cheap here, so base colors and a painted-on "dip" using Army Painter Strong Tone and I'm done! Apparently I lost a bunch of the shields that come with the game, so I had to dig through my bitz box to find suitable pieces. 

 Click to embiggen.

 I figure everybody's gotta have a pale orc in there somewhere since the Hobbit films came out, right? Mine turned out a little more "smurf" and a little less "white," but oh well. Gave him some blood splashes for color, this is a 90's-themed paintjob, right?

 I repositioned the archer's arms just like with the goblins. It was about this time that I had the sudden realization that the things on the ends of the bows are probably just supposed to be a RING of the string, and not actually some sort of CAP like I had previously thought (and painted on the goblins...) Anybody want to vote on which it is? Either way, painting 'em this way is faster, so hey, one less color! SPEED PAINT

Bases will likely stay this way for a while, since I plan to eventually replace them all with clear (round?) bases. Haven't decided on a final form for them yet, but in the interest of speed, I'm leaving 'em for now! SPEED PAINT

WHQ WIP Gobbos Dipped N' Dirty

I wanted to speed-paint some WHQ figs since I've basically got the entire set to do. Of course, my hobby OCD set in and I just HAD to re-position some of their hats and bows to get a little variety throughout.

These fellas are still awaiting a dull coat, so apologies for the shiny goblins!

I used Army Painter's Strong Tone, but this time painted it on with a brush. It's been forever since I used enamel-based anything, and since I had to thin it with some paint thinner, I managed to scrub some of the base paints off. Now I'm remembering why I switched from the Testor's Enamels all those years ago. Didn't we all?

Minotaur from Silver Tower Ogroid

I bought Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower the instant pre-orders went up. Haven't had a chance to play the game yet, it'll have to wait for the Holidays, most likely. But the Ogroid Thaumaturge model finally fit the bill as the perfect minotaur that the original game always needed. Just one problem... that ugly ogre head and its improbably large horns!

You can see the black sharpie "cut line" on the donor's head. I'm not sure what possessed me to switch their arms, but I guess I'm getting a crash course in sculpting musculature... I swear, all the bodybuilder pics on my computer are for research.

The original minotaur's head and gloved hands are in the classic, chunky Warhammer "heroic scale" that made small details so much easier to paint. It's not the most detailed sculpt, but there's a lot of character there.

Size comparison of two original WHQ minotaurs with the head swap started... this was a lot of cutting to make everything fit underneath the ogroid's mohawk, but I think the new head fits pretty well and has a lot of character.

 Click to embiggen.

Starting to fill gaps with epoxy putty. I'm planning to make the ears longer. The club and arm got pinned with a paper clip I had laying around... not sure if they make those things out of stainless steel or what, but it fudged my clippers up something fierce... guess I should stick to brass rod.

Now both the new minotaur and whatever becomes of the old donor will be an homage to Michael Jackson with their singular gloves! Maybe they lost the mate in the labyrinth?

Temporarily positioned the arm with blu-tak to verify the fit.

Roughing in the musculature. I seem to have misplaced my trusty Kneadatite "green stuff" and without the time to run to the hobby store today I'm subbing in some "Kwik Wood" ::snicker:: auto body epoxy putty. It comes in the same tube as the larger portions of green stuff and dries in about a half hour, but it does the trick. And OH BOY does it stink. Won't make THAT mistake again!

HeroQuest Monsters Progress

I figured it was about time for a long overdue update! With my son having turned two, I've started thinking about all the figures I've got to get painted before he's old enough to play with me.

Trying out some new, quick strategies with the basing... the thought here was "camouflage." At least on the HeroQuest board. But as I continue to go back and forth between WFB and the "...Quest" games, the clear acrylic bases get more appealing...

Click to embiggen.

I figured everybody's got greenish fimir, but what if I want a POLAR swamp rapist? Frost fimir it is!

The "to-do" list... they've all been painted at least once, around my early teen years... the yellow ones have gotten a second try in my 20's/30's.