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This was my entry into the Quarterly Bones contest on facebook. I liked painting him, but he was a bit challenging, what with all the little separate details. I'm really looking forward to the next one!

Here are the latest PC models chosen by my players, painted quickly to get them ready for the game. They are all escaped slaves in the Underdark. I don't recall what names they gave them, just the class. 77047 Goldar - Fighter 77149 Damien - Sorceror 89014 Seltyiel - Druid 77061 Kord - Barbarian 77040 Satheras - Warlock

"Know, oh prince, that between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the Sons of Aryas, there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the star... Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandalled feet."* Greetings and welcome to yet another Group/Open WIP on the Reaper forums! This time around, we're doing 77061: Kord the Destroyer, dual-wielding barbarian bad-butt. He's a hero, he's a villain, he's a berserker, he's the wolf-wearing herald of the horde - he's many things to many people, but one thing he's not, is simple to paint! Since Talae was having issues getting started painting him, and since painted examples are so hard to find, we thought we'd do up a Group/WIP thread - besides, it's been a while since the last one! So, join us, won't you? *From The Phoenix on the Sword, R. E. Howard. No, I'm not painting up my Kord as Conan; but from the moment I first laid brush to plastic, this was running through my head, so I feel compelled to place it here. Behold, Kord! Plain white plastic does not do him justice, and the butt-cape of his wolf fur is a huge pain in the tukhus for painting details! Fortunately, like many Bones, it has not come well glued from the factory... a little effort, and it pops right off, granting access to the sword sheath and less well-defined details on his back. Step one; a complete undercoat of Brown Liner! Bones are infamous for "not needing" primer, but I've never had much luck starting without some sort of surface coating; if my paint doesn't flake or refuse to stick in the first place, then inevitably I miss some spot while I'm painting and it becomes a little sunbeam, glaring out at me. Careless painter! Clumsy! A good, thin coat of Brown Liner removes that shame, and helps increase the durability of the finished paint job. We can call this step one-Alpha, since it's a subset of our priming/undercoating stage; a drybrush of Linen White to bring out the details of the mini, mark where highlights should go, &c. I've been a fan of drybrushed-white-over-black-primer pretty much since I came back into the hobby in late 2012, post-Bones I, but for some reason I never thought to apply it to Brown Liner-ed Bones until Talae mentioned it. The difference is amazing. I waffled back and forth on how to do his skin for a little bit, but ultimately settled on a fair-skinned Northern barbarian; a Celt or a Norseman, someone from cold climes. On the left, we have a basecoat of Rosy Skin laid down; on the right, rough shadows and highlights with Rosy Shade and Rosy Highlight, respectively. More colour waffling! There were many different ways this could have gone, and originally I was thinking brown for the wolf-skin, maybe even a sort of tan; but given the amount of leather he's wearing, I figured too much brown might be a bit overwhelming. So, I decided to paint the wolf gray - P3 Greatcoat Gray, to be precise, and that determined what colour the little cloth he's wearing should be; P3 Khador Red (base to start). Our Kord will fit right into Glorious Army of Mother Khador, a perfect proxy for a Manhunter... if I still played Warmachine, or if ever I played Khador. But he might work out well as an IKRPG character, so I'll keep it in mind... Right, so... I quote Conan, who's black-haired. I talk about Khador, faux-Russians, which would indicate black or blonde. So what do I make him...? That's right. He's a ginger. This is straight up Red Hair Triad, because I it so. Shade coat Auburn Shadow, midtones Carrot Top Red, highlights Highlight Orange. Accept no substitutes. So where does this leave us? Well, now that he's got his carrot Fu-Manchu goin' on, I need to go back with his skin colour and touch up his face, do his lips, &c. He's got a metric butt-load of leather going on there - seriously, this guy could make a club-hopping leather daddy sit up and say, "Whoa, dude. Chill!" - not to mention the metallics on his weapons. Those runes on his sword cry out to be magical - P3 Arcane Blue or Necrotite Green, perhaps, or a wash of Blue and/or Turquoise Ink. His furs still need to be washed and dried(brushed); we're probably looking at P3s there again, although I'll have to look up the recommended shade/highlight colours for Greatcoat. His red cloth needs its shade and highlight - I'm thinking a wash of Christmas Wreath, and then the midtone brought back up, followed by P3 Khador Red Highlight. But not bad for about two hours worth of work, I think - in between other activities - and a good stopping point for tonight.