77246 Pillar of Good, 77247 Pillar of Evil, and 77016 Dire Rats

[Grumpy Cave Bear]

Part of my goal for the year was to reduce my literal Shelf of Shame:  The minis that I started and put down and never came back to.  Some of those minis are recent, some extend all the way back to when i started painting minis in about 2014 or so.

 

So as the first installment, here are a few things I've painted since the beginning of the year:

 

First up is the Pillar of Good and Pillar of Evil:

 

 

I forget why I had these on the shelf.  I think I was intending to paint them along with the rest of the dungeon decor from the second Reaper Kickstarter.  While the barrels and crates were finished long ago, these languished until now.

 

They are painted with a green-stone mixture:  Vallejo's Model Air Dark SeaGreen and US Light Grey , and drybrushed with a mix of US Light Grey and Model Color Dark Sand.

 

I did the Pillar of Evil quickly, but then needed something to practice Reaper's NMM Gold Triad on, so the Pillar of Good got the treatment.  Flowers are Reaper Punk Rock Pink, with Breast Cancer Awareness Pink highlights.

Second up is a collection of large vermin Dire Rats:

 

 

Not every mini can be a hero.  Some have to be rats.

These have been on the self of shame since the start.  They were painted and stripped several times, and even served as test minis for various primers.  I didn't care much about them, but they were on the shelf and are a quick-and-dirty (!) painting task.  The paint job is table-top quality, but I did like the final coloration, so I'll record it here for the Giant Rats I have to paint later:

 

Fur:  Layer up with dry-brushing:
MSP Walnut Brown
MSP Russet Brown 
MSP Intense Brown
MSP Intense Brown mixed with any ivory color on your palette  

 

Tail:
Base: HD Entrail Pink
Highlight: MSP Old West Rose
Detail: MSP New Copper

 

Finally, here is the current state of the Shelf of Shame:

 

 

 

(I told you, it was a literal shelf!  It's a shadowbox made from a plastic 12" x 12" picture frame and foam core board.  See: GCB Tries Foam Core Joinery.)

 

They're mostly Reaper minis I have to finish/repaint.  The notable exception are the Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion figures on the top shelf.  This group should be entirely doable, by the end of the year.  Then I get to pull out new minis to paint!

 

Edited January 18, 2022 by Grumpy Cave Bear
Replaced "Shelf of Shame" with correct photo

[Peithetairos]

That is a very humble cabinet of shame . Really liek the rats. Great contrast with the pink tails and kudos for painting the eyes, too. Fur pattern is also well realised.

 

I really enjoy the pillars. Something else, reminiscent of relics adorned with cloth or flowers during medieval times.

[Darcstaar]

Great rats!  Nice even stone effect on the terrain also.

[Chaoswolf]

Good work on finishing these figures up!

 

I have both of those pillars hanging around waiting to get finished as well, I haven't been able to come up with an interesting paint scheme.

 

 

[Grumpy Cave Bear]

6 minutes ago, Chaoswolf said:

Good work on finishing these figures up!

 

I have both of those pillars hanging around waiting to get finished as well, I haven't been able to come up with an interesting paint scheme.

 

The alternate color scheme I was considering for the Pillar of Good was sky blue flowers & details with NMM gold trim; and if I had to do it again, I'd do the Pillar of Evil with dark purple robes and NMM brass trim.  So there's some schemes to consider...

[ShortHistorian]

How was your experience with the NMM gold triad? It looks like it turned out well.

[Grumpy Cave Bear]

19 minutes ago, ShortHistorian said:

How was your experience with the NMM gold triad? It looks like it turned out well.

 

It's not the first time I've painted NMM, but it certainly was the easiest.  The NMM Gold Triad and Pure White is really all you need for a very yellowy gold NMM finish that fits well with my brighter cartoonish style.  As you can see, I did well enough that I'm going to start using that triad instead of metallics for most of my gold painting now. 

 

Next time I purchase from Reaper, I'm going to pick up the Grey Blues triad to try NMM steel also.

 

[ShortHistorian]

21 minutes ago, Grumpy Cave Bear said:

 

It's not the first time I've painted NMM, but it certainly was the easiest.  The NMM Gold Triad and Pure White is really all you need for a very yellowy gold NMM finish that fits well with my brighter cartoonish style.  As you can see, I did well enough that I'm going to start using that triad instead of metallics for most of my gold painting now. 

 

Next time I purchase from Reaper, I'm going to pick up the Grey Blues triad to try NMM steel also.

 

That's exactly what I wanted to know. Thank you! I haven't done any NMM and it sounds like this would be a good starting place. (Inspired by getting in a fight with 9051 New Gold while painting yesterday.)

[Grumpy Cave Bear]

23 minutes ago, ShortHistorian said:

That's exactly what I wanted to know. Thank you! I haven't done any NMM and it sounds like this would be a good starting place. (Inspired by getting in a fight with 9051 New Gold while painting yesterday.)

 

Let me recommend Kujo Painting's Youtube video titled: "The REAL Ultimate Guide To Non Metallic Metal (NMM)".  A short, sweet overview of the whole process that helped me out considerably.

[Metalchaos]

Great work, I like the way you painted all the details on the pillars.

[Glitterwolf]

Good job!

 

 

[Iridil]

Nice work - really like your stone mix and especially the pillar of good - the nmm and the roses are beautiful!