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It seems 2021 is to be the year of the "painting blehs", where many of us are struggling to find out just where our inspiration has wandered off to. The world seems to be going increasingly mad each passing day, so this isn't surprising. With so much uncertainty about, it's difficult to get back into painting mode with so many other things to worry over. Last year I was knocked out of any steady routine for long periods of time, and it appears that for this year that may hold true as well. So how to adapt is the question here. To begin with, to recognize how I wound up with a horde of half finished minis on the table nagging at me. Simple, for the last few years I've had the tendency to bite off far more than I can chew on a regular basis. Between juggling Undead, Witch Hunters, and the Witch/Halloween army, I've put myself in a place where I'm dealing with units on a regular basis, and using pretty much the same palette on all of them. Don't get me wrong, the limited palette achieves what look I'm going for with everything and I'm still just as much in love with all of my factions as I was when I started them, but like with all things there are consequences. My habit of opening a blister of something new to try and feed the motivation also doesn't help me here. Humans are to a greater or lesser extent novelty seeking creatures. Although I fall into the far end of lesser, sooner or later it catches up. Also part of why I fell into the current structure is logistical, I've lost the knack of small pours, and have a horror of wasting paint, so limiting colors to what can be spread far in the case of overspill makes sense. Another contributing factor is that having learned the hard way with drawing, I cannot and will not try to "force it" when it comes to artistic projects. All well and good, but it leaves me in a position where as soon as the muse decides to hide beneath the sofa, the project comes to a screeching halt whether it be painting or writing. So what to do about this now? Goal setting in the loosest possible sense of the word. Overall objective is to clear everything off of the table before unblistering or opening anything else. I've been doing good here, so it's just a matter of keeping this up. Outside of my faction projects, these are what's staring at me... Barbarian Mouslings... Viking Mouslings... Eastern Mouslings... Drangus the Duck Knight, meant as a Christmas gift two years in the running now, saving grace is that the recipient has no clue about this. Zombie Dragon, also meant as an unexpected gift. The snag here is that this is the first full size dragon I've ever attempted so scale got intimidating quickly and that I was having a difficult time trying to figure out what was rotted flesh and what was muscle. Gluing the wings on this early didn't do me any favors either. I have another one still in it's package that is destined for my undead army, so hopefully by tackling this one I can have an easier time when it comes up in rotation. Even here it's obvious as to how I go strongly with theme, even in my "random" minis. Since I tend to try and paint as large a batch as possible, with this the solution might be to focus on one or two, finishing them before moving on, even though my brain is going to screaming at me otherwise.

Just a few last miniatures completed before the new year. Maybe I'll get some individual shots of the free hand, maybe not. In the meantime, enjoy or ignore as you will

This was my second diorama for ReaperCon but was the one not judged. The idea behind it was a Mousling adventuring party finding treasure but also finding that others were already there. I wish I had done more with it, such as adding more elements on the Mousling side and possibly a back drop but I was sadly running out of time and this was the entry that suffered for it.

So I finished up the insane project of Mouslings just in time for my son's celebration at school, the WIP is here: https://forum.reapermini.com/index.php?/topic/86269-bones-mouslings-quite-an-assortment/ Overall it drove me crazy, mainly because they are without a doubt the smallest things I have ever worked on and were extremely hard to paint. The kids really made me feel good about the whole thing though, as many of the kids (almost the whole class?) came up and were really appreciative of the gift. The teacher was even in awe of the detail on them and that I had hand painted them for all the kids. So, here is which mouslings were done: 77286 Mousling King & Princess (3 each) 77287 Mousling Thief & Assassin (1) 77288 Mousling Sorcerer & Samurai (2) 77289 Mousling Ranger & Yeoman (2) 77290 Mousling Druid & Beekeeper (2) 77547 Mousling Eastern (2) 77548 Wizard Mouslings (3) Here is the first Group of 21 that were Clear coated first, followed by the 9 who got clear coated and returned to the kids the following day:) And now, closeups of the groups in no particular order :) As always, C&C is appreciated.

So, I am taking on a quite ambitious project, I need these 30 mouslings ready for my son's 4th grade class by Friday??? (maybe following Monday, which would be nice haha) so he can give them out when they celebrate his birthday. So, here's the mini's (I am short two, but it should work out since there are 30 in his class and that's what Miniature Market sent. I ordered 32): Here they are unpacked, after a good washing: Mr. Bones is there because he will be my test case once they are all painted, he will be the one getting a matte varnish through my airbrush to see if I have everything correct, then I will know I am safe to coat all the rest:) More pics to come once I mount these tonight and get a primer coat on them tomorrow so I can see details.

Welcome to my first ever WIP thread! Where I try and paint half as good as the rest of you! I love the mousling line Reaper does and the space mouslings were too cute to resist. I picked up the collector's set on a mystery site too. If I like this I might use it at Reapercon. Some assembly is required... so stay tuned.

Even as the forces of Old Night remain on the painting table, stalwart souls rise up to receive paint and do battle against them. Also there are mice. A lot of mice, who have been very patiently waiting on the table for almost a year now to be completed. Seeing as how the Thanksgiving season has room for festive rodents alongside bad*** gun slinging pilgrims of faith and fury, this month's WIP will be dedicated to both. The Witch Hunter Captain is a Mordheim mini that I started 14 years ago. (I feel old now) He's mostly completed and it's interesting to look at him and see just how far I'd gotten skill wise and compare my best work of then to my work now. I've levelled up a bit, but what I was able to accomplish with the GW paint pots which I'd never mastered the art of mixing colors with, rather suprised me. The mice to the front left are two of the three Thanksgiving Mouslings and the only actual Thanksgiving minis I have. The Pilgrim Mouse I did manage to get done last November as well as a few from the Mousling Tavern set. The others will be in the first batch not only because they have been very patient with me, but because they're also almost done and I've already squandered a bit of time this month getting my sleep schedule sorted out.

The second group of November Mice are done. It's good to be the king. Despite being labelled as a Druid, the mouse on the left reminds me more of a Necromancer type. The Samurai's colors were inspired by the costume for Blackthorne in the Shogun tv series. The Wizard's colors stem from the character of Alexander the Magical Mouse, although I've yet to paint up an alligator from him to befriend.

These were done in two batches, the first almost a year ago. The whole crowd. The Band. The Staff. These were part of last year's batch and I tried to give the Innkeeper the Perpetual Bartender Sneer. The Drunks. The two on the sides were last year's batch.

As the temperature drops the Mouslings begin to emerge...

Since the Mouslings have really taken off as a best seller for Reaper, I thought this might be a fun thread: I, for one, would like to see some modern/sci-fi mouslings, particularly NOVA Corp mouslings. Other ideas: Skier Mousling Sailor Mousling Indy Mousling.

Totally new to the Reaper brand, so forgive me if this is mentioned somewhere else..... When I look at the Mousling line of minis, I see a few different models that are listed as 2 separate SKUs and 2 different prices but there's zero information about them so I don't know what's up with that. For example with SKU 03744 it's $7.49, while — SKU 77290 is $2.99 (Mousling Druid & Beekeeper). I've also noticed this with the King & Princess, Ranger & Yeoman, etc. The cheaper models are shown with a B next to them on the table as well. The only other difference I've noticed is release dates. I saw one thread mention different SKU's for different materials but it didn't mention the 03XXX SKUs. Can someone help me? I want them all but don't want to buy the same thing at two different prices if they are, in fact, the same thing.

So this was supposed to be a Christmas gift for Mrs. Gargs but a combination of a bad shoulder injury in December and a crazy first three months of work this year resulted in these guys only just now getting done. That said, pretty happy with how they turned out given my meager skill level. Biggest problem I ran into was a nasty mold line on the snowman that just didn't want to go away. In retrospect I probably should have tried an X-Acto knife instead of just files but I was afraid of getting too much off of it so to speak. All that said, any and all comments, critiques, constructive criticism, etc. are very welcome as I continue to try to improve! Hope you enjoy!

So this is my Super Secret Christmas Project for Mrs. Gargs (don't worry, this isn't all she's getting). Holiday Mouslings wonderfully sculpted by Gene Van Horne. I'm going to be giving this a go as a stocking stuffer for Mrs. Gargs. Now, I have no hope in heck of matching the beautiful paint job seen here, in fact, I'll be thrilled with a high table top quality on this as I'm just still new at this and don't get near enough time to paint as much as I'd like to in order to improve. That said, I do think I can at least get a halfway decent job done on this (by my standards anyway). However, it won't be without its challenges. In fact, I've identified three major hurdles already: 1. The Super Secret. You see, my painting desk happens to be the dining room table and sits roughly 15 feet away from where Mrs. Gargs is usually sitting while I paint, and we very much have an open floor plan. So, keeping it a secret will be the first hurdle. I will at least have a decent amount of time on Saturday while she is at work in which to get a good start, but I am very much a slow painter, so in addition to trying to do the best I can, I will also likely be trying to get stuff done quickly. 2. Ummm, yeah, there's a snow man. He's white. I haven't ever gotten a handle on white (admittedly still new). No getting around though, gonna have to give white a go. (Yeah, sorry, not gonna do a yellow snow man ;P). 3. Basing. I'd love to do something a little fancier than the stock photo, but that's probably the best I can hope for. I may have to go searching for the main piece of base though as I don't think these guys are all going to fit on a 50 mm base, which is the largest I have at the moment. I'd gladly sculpt something (and will consider any and all suggestions) but the next thing I sculpt will pretty much be the first. That said though, for using snow on a base (I have some snow flock from Army Painter) do you normally put down a layer of green stuff for the ground, or just throw it on the plastic/wooden base directly? At any rate, I strongly encourage/appreciate/request/etc. any and all feedback along the way. Criticisms, critiques, suggestions, etc. Its all good. One of the things I hope to accomplish out of this is actually improving! And if I pick up some new skills along the way, even better! So don't hold back, I'm going to be trying a lot of new stuff along the way here, so I really do appreciate any comments and feedback! As always, thanks in advance!

So, as many of you may know, Mouse recently acquired a number of mouslings thanks to a couple of very generous benefactors and one ninja. Obviously, these Mouslings need some painting love. So, here it is. This is my project WIP for my mousling collection. Also, critiques, comments, and advice all appreciated! :D

So I have the holiday mouslings that I am currently working on and as I envision the base for them, I keep coming back to the idea of something like a park bench to put on the base. However, I can't find a bench that is even remotely the proper scale. Has anyone ever seen one somewhere? As always, any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Cheers, Gargs

So of course I painted some mouslings for them: (Sorry for the blurry photos. I didn't notice until after I gave them away) @Inarah got me some of the latest "Color Shifting" paint and I wasn't quite sure what I would do with it. I looked at this mousling and just knew this was the right figure for it.

Hi all, This is a model I painted quite some time ago. The mouslings simply stole my heart. This is a metal figure and not bones (i could not do the mouslings in bones i think). This is more for the photography set up than the painjob though....what do you guys think? I need to get a nice neutral back drop and the teal probably is a bit too busy but other than that i think the shot is nice and clear. If everyone approves of pics like that then I have a good reason to annoy the photographer (my spouse) to take more :D He's far better than me and has the proper camera. I'm sure lots of praise will help me convince him ^^

Hi all! Finally finished this Mousling that has been sitting on my desk for a week. Yes, you read that correctly...a week. I may be the worlds slowest painter and this took me way longer than I'd like to admit. This is now the fifth out of the set, that I have completed. I started this set years ago but took very long breaks from painting in between. Sorry for the poor quality, my phone camera really doesn't do him justice but he is just so dang tiny! Let me know what you guys think! How do you like the Mouslings? they are my favourites along the legion of justice and caeke!

I'd intended to run through these during the Labor Day Paint Binge, but failed. Still, I will keep working on them, so why not share here? The assassin is completed but for basing. The Samurai is nearly complete, with a substituted tail made of MagicSculpt since the one molded on the base was indistinct. Some of the others have colors blocked in. The archer with the hat had a badly distorted left eye, so I sculpted him an eyepatch.

Alright, with two months to go until ReaperCon, I need to get cracking on my entries. I currently have two maybe four entries for Painters, one for Open, and two for Diorama. My definite Painters entries are: Reaper 14131: Elsabeth, Necropolis Captain in purples and blues prancing through a graveyard. Dark Sword DSM7442 Wood Elf Gooddess-Avatar Form in green among forest ruins (started in my previous WIP) My maybe Painters entries are: Kabuki's The Hunter in black and red on a simple base Reaper 03730: Jahenna, Female Vampire, back and white study. This is a commission for a friend and I may bring it with me if I finish in time My Open entry is: Hasslefree HFX004 Gen. I will need to link her actual pictures as she is nude. I am going to be converting her into a blue fairy. I have removed her horns and will be adding fairy wings. My Diorama entries are: "The Toad Bridge" which will feature some of Dark Sword Anthropomorphics facing off against each other. "The Hunt" featuring two Mouslings and a spider, but who is the hunter and who is the prey? I have ambitious plans but unlike last year, I am not going to force myself to finish everything. I will work on what I feel like working on and if I get it done, it goes. I won't stress about trying to get everything done as I have a few finished pieces already that I can easily bring. So now onto the pictures. First up is a group shot of all the models except for Gen, followed by a group shot of their bases. I have the bases on my Tablewar tray to make sure everthing fits. I did have to rethink the base for "The Toad Bridge" as the original took up half of the tray.

So way back, y'all probably remember that I got all excited about snow globes. Yeah. I haven't tested any of those materials. I started sealing my test pieces and kept seeing terrifying warnings everywhere. So the water part is on hold, but pleeease add to that post if you have any waterproof suggestions! Here's my sketch for it. I'm unsure about the fence. I'm hoping that running it next to the little guy in the front will lead you to the middle so they feel connected. I've been watching some art videos and they said that guiding your viewer's eye is important! I think I will -not- cross the bars on the fence. Then the fence will go in an easy direction to the middle of the globe without your eye stopping to figure out the X's. Save the detail for the "focal point," right? I've also got to figure out which side the slanted end of the fence should be. I'd also like to sculpt in little things on the side, like an empty mug of hot chocolate or a scarf, excitedly cast aside when the friends decided to make a snowman! Maybe add some teeny little pawprints in the snow.... If I have time, I'd like to add in a surprise.... Here they were as of last Friday! Over the weekend I cleaned and primed them. The snowman got some green stuff on his head because those mold lines were tough. I've started a basic ring of air dry clay on the base. It should be dry today and I can keep building it up. Next, the color scheme. I tried to color some ideas in a few weeks ago, but it's been difficult to not accidentally copy parts of the amazing one featured in the store. I end up adding too much yellow and green.... :S

Here's something I acquired and painted a long time ago. It was made by Reaper in the early '90s but is no longer in the catalog as far as I could find. It's rather primitive compared to the modern mouslings, but still quite nice. Note the worm-like segmented tail. The mousling is cast as a separate piece from the kangaroo rat, but its tail is not. Also this mousling has slender, human-like hand and feet, whereas the current ones have more teddy bear-like extremities.

So I'm painting up some of the Bones II Mouslings to be used as ship's crew and NPCs in a fairly weird game. These aren't all of them. There's also a mouse king and queen (with pointy hat with veil), a samurai, and a classic wizard, all nice but not quite for my purposes. To be honest, I have mixed feelings about the buxom little "girl" mice. I prefer to think of all Mouslings as something you'd have to be a mouse to tell the difference, like in real life. But gosh, they are cute. At the moment I am referencing real mice for coloring. One Mousling is going to be black, one white, and four a kind of mousy brown. There will probably be some variation on this. Here the six I'm doing are, cleaned up and washed with Reaper's Brown Liner, and a bit of paint added to the white mouse. Here the basic colors of the fur are blocked in and I've painted their tails and ears pink. Black mice seem to have a slightly darker pink, but on the whole all mice seem to have delicate pink tails and ears. Real mice have tiny, pink, handlike feet, while the Mouslings have more teddybear-like paws. I am compromising by painting their fingers and toes pink.

I painted these for my mom for Xmas. I need to put them on a base. Any tips for basing?