Ferox Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 So I need a new figure for one of the PCs in my on-again off-again online D&D campaign. The character is a female Goliath Warden (sort of a cross between a druid and a fighter, for those of you who don't marinate in 4th Edition) who fights hard (with longsword and shield) and parties hard, sometimes both at once. I had been using 02339: Templar Knight -- maybe the seventh or eighth figure I'd painted after an eight-year hiatus -- which the Warden's player had used for her Fighter in a different campaign. Anyway, I found Alaine at the FLGS (I was just stopping in to chat on my way to the liquor store; not ten seconds later I was playing someone's character "just for one encounter, until he shows up") and with a bit of judicious mangling of metal this is what I ended up with. Obviously I'm going to paint it, too. Wardens, being all nature-y and stuff, don't hold with noisy rust-covered things like heavy armour. This makes figures a bit of a challenge to shop for, but I'm the DM and I can do what I please. Alaine's going to get her meticulously crafted and fantastically expensive suit of plate turned into overlapping segments of heavy boiled leather (that is, hide) by the simple expedient of me painting it brown. Nalla (the PC) is a Goliath, so I'll end up painting grey skin-tones with black markings. I'm thinking something cheetah-like for the face, being that the character could probably hit fifty miles an hour in cleats (sixty if there's beer at the finish line). The shield's from Weapons Pack #7, held in place with a delicate little paperclip-wire pin (and CA) and some green stuff which may prove to be purely ornamental. The Alaine sculpt has a helmet in her left hand, which I'll handwave away with some midtones and a bunch of shading. Now that I think of it, I should've tried to green-stuff it into a flask, or maybe a leg of roast boar. Posing figures slightly off-centre on a rock formation, mounted on a nickel, is starting to become a trend for me. This is the first time I've completely clipped away a figure's base. While I was at it, I clipped away the bottom segment of Alaine's right boot. Whoops. That's where the green stuff comes in. Let's have a cheer for epoxy putty! Besides my remarkably decent remedial sculpting effort, Alaine's held on by a rather less than delicate pin up about 5mm into her left leg and down another 8mm (I'm guessing -- I didn't actually measure) into the cork. I love the attitude this figure has, particularly from this angle. So I guess this'll be distracting me from the chaos spawn for a few days. Or a few months, seeing as how my painting schedule is wildly inconsistent. Either way, I'm looking forward to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mini Killer Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 Cant wait to see more. This is one of my favorite figures from Reaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swanton Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 Good luck! I learning how to paint but the basing side of things is also really interesting. Looking forward to see the color scheme you come up with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercius Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 Good job with the green stuff...I just found out where the local hobby shop hides it and picked up some yesterday for a mini I am painting for a friend, which will be my next WIP. This really is a great sculpt, did you clip the base with tin snips or use a jeweller's saw? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferox Posted March 3, 2010 Author Share Posted March 3, 2010 did you clip the base with tin snips or use a jeweller's saw? I have some chisel-ground clippers with one flat side which I've been using for significant metal removal. (They're also good for clipping parts off of sprues.) Cutting away the sides of the base wasn't a problem; I ran into trouble when I clipped off the metal under her feet. In retrospect, perhaps I should've left that in place and hollowed out the cork a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercius Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 I ask because I am doing my first base removal on my next project, I found a jeweller saw at my hobby shop for about 15 bucks and was wondering if I should get snips or the saw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferox Posted March 4, 2010 Author Share Posted March 4, 2010 I'd suggest you ask in the Conversions, Presentation, and Terrain forum; I don't have any experience with the jeweler's saw, so I can't compare the two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maltique Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 I love this fig. Cork is one of my favorite basing materials too. My sister works for a cork flooring company so I get all her discontinued stuff. it's worked out amazingly!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferox Posted March 5, 2010 Author Share Posted March 5, 2010 And here she is, mostly basecoated. I realized after taking these photos that I've neglected to paint the straps across her biceps. Ah well. Remember how I complained that Fiara had a lot of fiddly bits? T'weren't nothin compared to this figure. I brought some of it upon myself by pinning the shield on before painting, but still... I ended up doing almost all of the basecoat with a 00 brush, just because it's easier to maneuver in close quarters. After painting the pack-horses, it's a bit of a relief to get back to a limited palette. I darklined the figure before basecoating, but I ended up painting over most of the lines regardless. Still, it helped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercius Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 Looking awesome so far, great color choices! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mini Killer Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 I like the colors, it is a new take on this figurer and i can't wait to see more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimwolf Posted March 6, 2010 Share Posted March 6, 2010 I really like the base coats. Going to be interesting to see how this fleshes out. Keep it up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferox Posted March 7, 2010 Author Share Posted March 7, 2010 Here she is, highlighted and shaded. The character has black hair, grey skin, and dark facial markings. This makes the figure's face and hair a bit indistinct, but after messing with it for a bit I'm starting to become okay with that. Goliaths also don't have pupils or irises, for which I'm grateful: those eyes are tough to get to. I highlighted the green by mixing in Clear Green and shaded it by mixing in Blue Liner. I'm seriously considering painting a figure with nothing but those two. Damn they're good. Now I just have to figure out how to paint the base. Off to Flickr and GIS I go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferox Posted March 7, 2010 Author Share Posted March 7, 2010 Since taking these photos, I got annoyed with the face -- particularly the way the hair and the markings blend together. I couldn't come up with a fix that didn't either look like a football player's anti-glare stripes or something from a KISS tribute band, so I said "screw it, I'm the DM" and got rid of the markings altogether. I think her player will dig it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercius Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 That was going to be my only CC on this was the markings on the face blending with the hair....other than that it looks great...your player will be thrilled, I know I would be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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