Saturday, January 7, 2017

Bones Goblins

These are my first Reaper Bones models. I thought I would try them out since they are so inexpensive.

Bones Goblins, front
Bones Goblins, back
These photos are actually of my second attempt...

On my first try, after washing in soap and water, I painted directly onto the Bones material, as recommended. Initially they painted up fine using Reaper paints. I did a simple paint scheme and then thought I would wash with Army Painter Quickshade.

Big mistake. They never dried...stayed tacky for days afterwards. I let them sit for about a month and they were a little less tacky, but not much better. So I thought maybe a spray coat of matte finish would help.

Bigger mistake. They fogged and then, when handled, the finish and paint cracked right off. What a mess! I almost relegated them to my son's toy bin, but after a little reading on the forums I thought I'd try again. They went into a soak of Simple Green and I started over. The pics above are the result.

Once again I painted directly onto the Bones material, using Reaper paints. Then I gave them a wash of Vallejo sepia wash. Once this dried I went back and picked out a few simple highlights. Then I coated with Liquitex gloss varnish. After this dried, I coated again with Liquitex matte varnish. Et, voila! There they are.

These models are fine for basic troops and D&D monsters. The detail is not as good as their metal counterparts, but it is still serviceable. I've bought a few other Bones models and will paint them simply like these. They are a cheap way to flesh out your collection.

Anyway, here's a few action shots...

A High Elf paladin and Elf archer defend the bridge from goblin raiders.
Meanwhile, help is on the way in the form of a dwarf, a human paladin, and a wizard.
The battle rages on!
Until next time, carry on!

Sunday, January 1, 2017

High Elf Paladin

Here is another Reaper mini I finished recently...



This time I didn't use spray finish. I don't think I will use spray finish for any character models again. It's fine for units of basic troops, but I hate to risk it with a model I've spent a lot of time on. Instead, I'm switching to using Liquitex matte varnish over a coat of their gloss varnish. Works well.

Clear coated and acrylic base added.
Sword looks HUGE at this angle...just a trick of the photo.
Here he is defending the Holy Elf Caves from an incursion of Bullywugs.
Until next time, carry on!