Nine Lives
28mm scale
Even the smallest feline is a masterpiece of nature.
In the overgrown ruins of a long-abandoned human city, a colony of cats are living their best lives...
Most of the cat miniatures are from Bad Squiddo Games. The diorama base is made from thin plywood and foamcore board, coated with polyfilla. This piece was inspired by playing the video game "Stray", as well as a couple of stunning dioramas by Roman Lappat:
Indy, Ragdoll Bard
28 mm scale
Tomorrow will take us away
Far from home
No one will ever know our names
But the bards' songs will remain
A bard's coin and living rest on their reputation, and Indy's songs and sagas are certainly well-reknowned. His passage through town always leaves behind happy, entertained folk purring a new song or two... and the occasional unexpected litter of kittens...
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| Come, for the dusk is our own; let us fare forth together, With a quiet delight in our hearts for the ripe, still, autumn weather, Through the rustling valley and wood and over the crisping meadow, Under a high-sprung sky, winnowed of mist and shadow. |
Solan, Persian Warlock
28mm scale
Solan paced the perimeter of the summoning circle, uttering the words of power that would draw forth an entity from the planes beyond ours. One mistake and the spell would fail, or worse, the spirit would escape, free to perform whatever mischief it chose on our world... and the spellcaster who sought to bind it. Solan's protective wards and potions were formulated with this in mind...
I had a hard time deciding which of my Cats & Catacombs figures to paint after my monk and fighter pair... but since I tend to have a shortage of magic-users in my display case, this guy was a great choice! He has a distinctive pacing, slightly curved posture, which fits perfectly with a summoning circle on his base to give him a bit of a story.
Removing this little guy from his attached base was a very good idea; I don't know if you could even paint his belly completely without doing it.
The bottles are from the same WizKids Deep Cuts purchase as the lighted cauldron I posted earlier (though these are from the wizard's accessories). I drilled them out and painted the inside surfaces to make them look filled with liquid; the plastic's a bit soft and oddly hard to drill cleanly. But the result works, I think.
Cats & Catacombs - Fighter and Monk
28mm scale
Having unsuccessfully searched the castle library for the necromancer's grimoire or any useful magical items, Sonya and Han were taking a moment to plan their next move when suddenly, the heavy oaken door began to creak open...
A few months ago I snagged a small pack of these amazing Cats and Catacombs figures at my FLGS. They're AMAZING! I love cats so really, anything cat-related is a pretty easy sell, but cat versions of D&D characters? As the meme says, "shut up and take my money".
I had previously painted some "Dungeons and Doggies" figures for a friend, and they went very well, but I felt that I should have done something with the attached bases. So for these, I snipped the bases off and based them properly, with a bit of dungeon or castle flavour, adding stone floors and the coins and candle (unlit, to spare Sonya's fluffy tail!) beside the stack of books.
I'm particularly proud of the fish snack hanging from the monk's belt:
