HeroQuest Hellion

HeroQuest Necromancer ("Skeletor")
28 mm



Finally done. I wasn't sure what that sphere on his helmet is supposed to be, so I painted it as a Palantir-type black orb with point reflections.

I suppose an alternate name for him could be Lord Zuthulu ;D

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Some Christmas swag from my brother:



A Reaper "Reptus Sergeant" and Confrontation "Orhain the Erudite". I believe I asked him not to buy me minis... so he compromised and dug these out of the FLGS's bargain bin for a few bucks each. I especially like the turtle guy.

And i just picked up some RAFM Call of Cthulhu Deep Ones. ♫ ♫ It's beginning to look a lot like fish men ♫ ♫...

Happy Holidays

Well I didn't manage to get any more painting done before the holiday descended on us... so Merry Christmas everyone!

And I hereby resolve to paint more in the new year, no matter what happens. Let's see how that works.

Gingerbread 2010

A yearly tradition of mine. Yes, it takes away painting time, but it's a lot tastier in the end! These were all made as gifts for friends.

Toronto, Ontario
350 mm



Christmas trees
250 mm

Screaming, screaming for vengeance

Some work on the Necromancer, much-delayed by Christmas stuff. It turns out that if my wife goes out for a few hours and I can blare 80's metal through the house, I actually don't mind fussy layering on smooth surfaces:



OK, so the music didn't improve my ability any. I think the Skeletor look will actually turn out okay, maybe a bit cartoony but I don't mind that. His green skull face actually looks genuinely sinister.

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Also, a very geeky paper Xmas ornament I came up with, using some internet papercraft and clipart designs printed off and hand-coloured:



Yeah, that's a Stargate :D

Basing, with candles

Some basework for my Necromancer:



Cork isn't very imaginative, but it is pretty easy, and I like the way it looks.

And... Bonus content! NSA's totally amazing simple method for sculpting candles!

Now, I'm neither skilled at nor enthusiastic about sculpting, but we often have to do it to get the miniatures we want. In this case, I wanted a skull with a drippy wax candle on it; something that says "sinister ritual" without taking up too much space. Anyway, this method isn't Golden Demon quality, but it does produce credible-looking drippy candles in only a couple of minutes.



Obviously, before you start this process, you can just fix the wire into the surface on the mini that the candle will be sitting on, or you can hold it in a pin vice or forceps.

Hell hath no fury like...

...a small pewter woman, well-painted. The Chick Challenge 2010 entries have finally all been posted, and they are an interesting bunch! My "Victoria" is in the Open category, where the competition includes things like this... and this... and this.

Yeah, this is why I don't play to win :P Fortunately, seeing such amazing work by others is a pleasure in itself.

End Zone Interception!

HeroQuest Necromancer
32 mm



I've wanted to paint one of these for a long time... I never figured I'd get my hands on one. (And yeah, he does look like he's waiting for a football to fly out of the sky)



I'm not sure what to do with the base now that I've extracted his feet from it... Pentagram? Some Chaos-y torn cork rocks? Skulls and bones? I'm a little short on ideas.

Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, Empress of India

Queen Victoria
25mm




So here is my Chick Challenge entry, presumably okay to reveal since today is the contest deadline. The miniature is a Victoria Lamb sculpt, which I bought from Eureka, though VL also sells them through her own website. I really enjoyed a lot of aspects of painting this figure - figuring out what all her medals and things were, rendering the rich purple, and just generally doing something a little different. As mentioned before I don't think I really have a chance of winning anything, but that's not the point... I think painting for contests, as rarely as I do it, really does bring out my best work.

(The plinth is a wooden toy makers' train wheel, stained with GW Chestnut ink. Worked perfectly!)

Sick Day(s) Project

HeroQuest Mummy
28 mm



I did most of the work on this guy while laid up with a cold, and then (unrelatedly) recovering from having a long skinny medical instrument jammed through my body via some of my larger blood vessels. Not optimal painting conditions, but this wasn't exactly a groundbreaking paint job either. Still, I like the results.

Size comparison with an old Citadel mummy from "Curse of the Mummy's Tomb". HeroQuest figures are a lot closer to modern "heroic 25/28mm":