Stately Strumpets

Brinewind Doxies

28 mm

Brinewind... a bustling port city where traders, mariners, and adventurers arrive, weary of the road and with gold in their pockets. Many professions, including the oldest, flourish by catering to their needs, and lightening those purses.

Colorful umbrellas, a traditional gift from favored regulars, are the trade symbol of the Strumpets' Guild.

I had a lot of fun painting these figures, "Brinewind Doxies" from Reaper. Between the skin tones, the hair, and the sumptuous, folded dress fabric, there's a lot to work on, and the sculpts imply some interesting personalities.

The building is "The Widow's House" from Dave Graffam models.  I added the balcony for the strumpets to lure patrons.

The dead rise again!

The Headless Horseman!

28mm scale

In the dark shadow of the grove, on the margin of the brook, he beheld something huge, misshapen, black, and towering. It stirred not, but seemed gathered up in the gloom, like some gigantic monster ready to spring upon the traveller.

The ghostly Hessian rides through Sleepy Hollow again, seeking a replacement for his head, shot off in battle!

This was painted as a gift for a horror- and Halloween-loving friend.  I don't do mounted figures very often, but this was a pleasure.  The dark, glossy black coat of the horse came together surprisingly easily, and it's just such a dramatic figure overall.  Dark undercoating did a lot of work towards the mood here too.  

I have no idea where the figure itself is from, I received it in an exchange many years ago.

Skeleton Warband

28mm

 Do this rattling squad of undead freebooters obey the foul will of some evil overlord?  Or do they roam of their own accord, seeking to pillage and kill?  They may be "lowly skeletons" but don't ever underestimate their menace...

A fun assortment of Reaper figures, led by Rictus the Undying.  The three mooks were modified for character with the addition of various items, and a weapon swap.  I especially like the axeman with the afro, he's inspired by "Brook" from the anime One Piece 😁

Science Fiction Double Feature

Astro Princess Warrior

28mm

Must be an alien, swear to god I am
dropped down, from another planet

With her laser jezail, this alien princess warrior is ready to defend her space kingdom from all enemies!

I deliberately went with a highly colorful campy look for this character, because the whole concept is pretty reminiscent of something from Buck Rogers or even "John Carter of Mars".  Or... Astonishing Science Fiction.

Slade, Cyborg Hero

28 mm

Man Machine
Pseudo-human being
Man Machine
Superhuman being

I knew I had to add some color accents to this figure, because otherwise he's extraordinarily similar to the DC comics character Cyborg, from the Teen Titans.  And since orange is the best color... 😄

Both of these are Reaper Bones miniatures, acquired in my very first expedition to the incredible Meeplemart in Toronto.

Afterlife Guardian

The Protector of Souls

28mm

"YOU HAVE ARRIVED, SOUL. THERE IS NO GOING BACK...
FOLLOW ME. AND I BEG YOU, DO NOT STRAY FROM THE PATH."

This is a great Reaper figure that is, unfortunately, out of production.  I started painting it a long time ago, but after base coating I never finished it.  I'm glad I dug it out of the vault, because now I remember why I really liked it in the first place.  Sinister but not openly aggressive, and that cloak is amazing!  (It was a lot of work to paint, admittedly)

Early Men and the Mother of All

The Mother Goddess and her Guardians

28mm scale

A goddess on a mountain top
Was burning like a silver flame
The summit of beauty and love
And Venus was her name 

 

The ancestors had carved the tribe's idol of the Mother-Goddess Lah with awe-inspiring skill.   From her womb had sprung the moon and sun, the world, all the animals, and finally, the People.  To their protector and creator they bring offerings, in the hopes of good hunting, good health, and safety in a world full of daily perils.

Today, Bergar the Elder and Vorlu the Fire Holder guard the idol
and its sacred grove from desecration by outsiders

The Goddess is a Reaper Bones model, the Neolithics are from Pulp Figures... a very deep dive into my lead pile!  These were passed on to me in 2002 by Bob Murch, when I worked with his wife.

"Thag no!  Is not good idea!"

Future Freelancers

Devo Ranks, Cyberist

28mm

I saw this amazing cyberpunk hacker sculpt online a couple of times, and just had to have it!  It was surprisingly hard to get, but shipping from the US was more than worth it.  It's from Reaper's new Bones USA line, which are cast in extraordinary detail from some kind of resin-plastic mix.  Really quite amazing!

Since the sculpt is quite androgynous, I painted Devo up to mark International Non-Binary People's Day on July 14.  The jacket is inspired by modern Japanese street fashion.

 

Jeb Underscore, free agent

28 mm 

 

Rain or shine, Jeb always gets the job done.  He's not a bad guy, mind you, he's got standards.  Professional like.  Bodyguarding, debt collection, bounty hunting, light to medium larceny, that sort of thing.  If you pay him to babysit, he'll gladly play with your kids for a few hours and shoot anyone who tries to hurt them.  Accompanying him on most jobs is Boo, his pet Denebian devil, all teeth and claws and very protective of his owner.

Jeb is a Mark Copplestone sculpt from North Star Military Figures

 

"I won't lie, I prefer shine."

Deaf forever to the battle's din

Scrap Thrall and Necro Captain
28mm

Win or lose, naught to choose
All men are equal when their memory fades
No one knows, friend or foes
if Valhalla lies beyond the grave

The undead come in many forms... whether reanimated by sheer will and hatred, arcane necromancy, or the unnatural sciences, they lurch malevolently through the world, formidable foes for the living...

 

These two figures have been stuck in my lead pile for many years, because I just don't paint many skeletons!  But I wanted something spooky to paint for October, so here they are.  An odd couple, to be sure; I went with thematically matching paint jobs while giving each one a distinctive look.  I'm glad I'd learned the foam smoke technique I used here, I can't imagine the Thrall looking right without it.

The creaking, smoking minion wasn't much help searching the
swamp, but the Necro Captain did rely on it to mindlessly savage
any enemies they might encounter

Urban protector

Foxy Detective
28mm

There's no pretending it goes away
With every step that you take, you pay your dues
And I ain't lying
You got to struggle to see the light
Cause someone's looking to steal your right to choose

Maybe her little sister got hooked on drugs... or her friend got shot.  Maybe she found out her man double-crossed her and was mixed up in some corrupt business.   Or maybe she just got tired of the good people in her neighborhood living in fear of the pimps and pushers.  Whatever it is, she's going to teach criminals a lesson... any way it takes!

 

 

The figure is Reaper's "Ebony Foxx, Modern Heroine", a lovely Bob Ridolfi sculpted homage to the "blaxploitation" genre of 70's action films.  As lovely as it is, I think the part of this I'm happiest with is the fire hydrant, which I made from scratch after poring over photos of New York City fire hydrants.

Inspired by, of course, the incomparable
Pam Grier, star of "Foxy Brown" and "Coffy".

Bump in the Night

HP Lovecraft, Paranormal Investigator
28mm

I opened the door and went out in the gallery toward the stairs to my study, ******-Man following at my heels. Before we had reached the stone steps, however, the cat darted ahead of me and vanished down the ancient flight. As I descended the stairs myself, I became suddenly aware of sounds in the great room below; sounds of a nature which could not be mistaken. The oak-panelled walls were alive with rats, scampering and milling, whilst ******-Man was racing about with the fury of a baffled hunter.  
- "The Rats in the Walls"

Another great Bears Head figure, of the (in)famous horror writer H.P. Lovecraft as an investigator in his own mythos. Accompanying him here is his brave cat of unspeakable name, ready to take on any paranormal threat to his master.

This is actually the second figure of Lovecraft I've painted.  It's perhaps less dramatic than the first, but I think I might actually like it even more.  The face is less gaunt and exaggerated and he has a lot of gaming potential for those who play mythos games.  The cat is an old Reaper familiar which I think really adds a lot to his character (as well as referencing the classic HPL story "The Rats in the Walls").

"He went that way!"

(Cultists courtesy of winnipegmichael!)

Stag Party

Peryton
28 mm

Here's another model that's a bit different from my usual fare.  It's not often that I have a chance to tout fantastic(al) Latin-American author Jorge Luis Borges on this blog, but here's my chance.  The griffon-like Peryton is his creation, from his 1957 Book of Imaginary Beings.  If you read one Latin-American author ever... maybe it should be Gabriel Garcia Marquez, but Borges seems a lot more fun ;)

The figure is Reaper Bones Peryton (A Julie Guthrie sculpt!); it was a Christmas gift from my daughter :)

As usual, I'm seeing a lot of things I should improve or fix now that I've taken photos, but that will have to wait for another time...

Protoplasmic Terror

Shoggoth
no scale

Formless protoplasm able to mock and reflect all forms and organs and processes - viscous agglutinations of bubbling cells - rubbery fifteen-foot spheroids infinitely plastic and ductile - slaves of suggestion, builders of cities - more and more sullen, more and more intelligent, more and more amphibious, more and more imitative! Great God! What madness made even those blasphemous Old Ones willing to use and carve such things? - "At the Mountains of Madness" by H.P. Lovecraft

This Reaper Bones miniature is a weird and convoluted sculpt that captures the amorphous spirit of the powerful bioengineered creatures that Lovecraft wisely described in vague terms.  I've seen various interpretations, but this one definitely fits the bill.  It is small for 28 mm but perhaps it's an immature specimen, and consequently the Bones figure is "priced to sell", as they say.  A quick, fun paint job!

"Don't worry Leela, they're quite harmless if you know how to talk to
them... Would you like a jelly baby, teke-li-li?"

Birthday Monster

Lizardman Soldier
28 mm

You hear the door come crashing down
The birthday monsters are in town!

This is kind of a special project for me.  My 4 year old daughter thoughtfully selected this Reaper Bones mini for me for my birthday this year, and I wanted to paint it up as soon as I could to show my appreciation.  It's a good figure, a bit "flat" but still exhibiting a dynamic character.  The Bones plastic was even softer than I'd expected, but the hot water trick worked to straighten the spear and generally make him stand more upright.

I'll admit you can tell my skills have slipped in the last few years, but on the other hand, painting 15 mm has made me accustomed to using strong contrast, which I think suits this scaly guy.  The other figure she got me might have to wait a bit, I have some 15 mm projects I'm anxious to get going on once the back-to-school madness settles down.