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We’re through May already! I can’t quite believe it, and neither can my still quite full unpainted shelf of miniatures. They whisper to me you know, judging me, taunting me. One day…one day they’ll get their comeuppance, but it is not this day. Until that day we’ll just have to look at what some of the other bloggers have been cooking up in Miniature of the Month!
Harlequins (40k) by Neil Parker
I’ve finally got around to painting my harlequins! I was originally going to paint them according to a single scheme, but I decided to have different themes going on. I built three male figures with dark uniforms and swords and three female figures each with a harlequins’ kiss and a metallic looking bodysuit.
The paints I used were mostly Citadel shades – Nuln Oil, Casandora Yellow, Fuegan Orange, Druchii violet and Drakenhof Nightshade. I also used Vallejo’s metallics mixed in some cases with plain colours to give a vibrant but metallic look to the female harlequins.
After priming, I started on metallics, adding a couple of coats with the second being a lighter one and after the washes were applied, I used highlighting to bring out features and additional work to give a worn look. I then added transfers from the box to give that traditional harlequin look.
I really like these miniatures. They are not cheap, but they are exquisite to look at and whilst they can be tricky to paint, I opted for an easier solution and avoided a lot of check pattern work! Ultimately, if these miniatures are used at all, it’ll be for Warhammer 40k RPG or even fantasy masquerade scenarios.
Tanks (Achtung Panzer!) by Peter Bartlam
Sherman ‘Firefly’ and Sherman Mark V of the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry (left)
Panzerkampfwagen V ‘Panther’ Ausf. A of the 12 th SS Panzer ‘Hitlerjugend’ (right)
These are the tanks and ruined farmhouse scenery that come with the Achtung Panzer! Fire and Steel starter set. All the models were washed in warm soapy water before constructing to remove any moulding film residue.
The Panthers were spray painted with Halfords White Primer and the Shermans and scenery with Halfords Grey Primer. MGs and crew primed with Matt Black Primer. Tracks were treated and painted prior to construction.
After construction the Shermans were just spray painted with Humbrol Acrylic Light Olive 86 and various details picked out as appropriate, mostly the black tyres. Note the ‘Firefly’ (on the left in the picture) has the longer length of its gun barrel disguised with black and white paint to trick the enemy into thinking it was just a basic Mark V. The picture shows, quite well, how effective it is. The Panther was more or less immune from frontal attack by the Mark V but the ‘Firefly’ with its 17 pdr gun was a real threat.
The Panthers had a spray coat of Humbrol Acrylic Desert Yellow 93 followed by random patches of a mixed brown and orange patches with German tank green centres. Again black tyres and other details picked out. Note both models tracks and suspension have some of my patent earth applied – this is dried fine coffee grounds!
The stonework on the ruined farmhouses was built up in several layers of ochre earth tones and washes. I found a very useful picture when I Googled “Old Normandy Farmhouses” which looked very like Warlord’s model and helped me to balance the colours of the stonework. The finished models were sprinkled with flock grass scatter, fine sand and again my patent earth.
There were a lot more detailed bits and pieces provided that could be added to the tanks and I’ll probably get around to putting them on sometime – probably!
Wyvern (D&D) by Suzanne Bradley
When I purchased this little wee dragon, I assumed foolishly it was going to be much larger. Upon its arrival I remembered a Wyvern isn’t a large creature, and compared with Adult dragons it appears quite small. It has quite the menacing pose with its two wings curved over and its sharp claws at the ready.
After much thought I decided I wanted a green Wyvern despite the art being brown. So I figured I would use the Venom Worm paint from Army Painter. I used Army Painter Skeleton Bones and a wash of Treant Green with the help of the Army Painter Quick shade wash. For its mouth, pixie pink and Glistening blood. The base was a mix of matt black and matt white with a military shader to give it a bit of green tinge. I also gave its back and chest a light coat of the Green Stuff World Tropical green shimmer paint.
This is one of my favourite miniatures. It's just a very tiny angry dragon. Love the detail on the wings and the scales on its legs and chest. It was a lot of fun and easy to paint.
Croxin Beast (Shadows of Brimstone) by Sam de Smith
I'm lost in Shadows of Brimstone Adventures at the moment, trying to get the two new mini campaigns - Gates of Valhalla and Valley of the Serpent Kings - painted up. To get my eye back in for Serpentmen I decided to tackle the giant Croxin Beast, the XL boss.
I started with Colour Forge Ghoul Grey primer (my new go-to) then drybrushed the whole model Vallejo Deck Tan (my old go-to). The whole model then got a coat of Vallejo Model Air Olive Green brushed on - a bit like using contrast or speed paint. This was washed with VJ Green-Black ink and shaded further with Agrax earthshade, before VJ Livery green highlights and then 50/50 Livery green / deck tan. The Eyes, Scales, claws and teeth were picked out with Averland sunset
(mustard yellow, and all bar eyes then deck tan and washed sepia, whilst the mouth was VJ Hexed Lichen washed with Druchi violet. The drool was done with UHU glue, a neat simple trick. The base was covered in gw technical Stirland mud, some splodges of nurgle's rot with a Livery green rim, plus some greenstuffworld tufts, a tiny cowboy hat from the bits box and a resin twig. Now - onto the Serpentmen!
Lion El’Jonson (40k) by Thomas Gorner
With a trip to Warhammer World planned for the end of May, I had a goal set to finally paint the great primarch, Lion El’Jonson! This magnificent mini was last year and has sat primed, ready for painting for many months. Poor guy has only just awoken and he’s just stood there for a year doing nothing! I’m sorry!
With the task in hand, I started on the epic journey of painting the Lion himself. The mini was primed in black, since most of the armour was to remain a dark colour with a slightly green accent to bring out a more Dark Angel look. I then went on to highlight the armour plates with a light grey, adding small details to make the armour appear to shine in the corners of the plating.
Moving on to the gold aspects of the model, I used Retributor armour while highlighting with light silver to give it an almost tarnished look.
The shield was based in Khorne red, with most details also being painted with Retributor Armour. All gold accents across the model were then washed with Reikland Fleshade to give it a darker, redder hue.
The face was done with Cadian Fleshtone and washed again with Reikland. The hair was based with Wraithbone and highlighted with Corax White and washed with a watered-down Agrax Earthshade wash.
The Watchers were based in Barak-nar Burgundy and washed with Agrax again. The highlights were done with a mix of Barak and a small amount of Corax White.
The cloak was perhaps the hardest part of the model, requiring a base of Warpstone Glow and then wash with Dark Angels Green contrast mixed with some medium. This gave the cloak some real life and highlighting the folds again with Warpstone meant that it really popped. The inside of the cloak was done with Wraithbone and then washed with Agrax Earthshade to darken the colour slightly. The accents on the cloak were then finished with Retributor armour.
I am so happy with the result and think I have certainly done the Lion justice! He looks great on the battlefield and certainly brings my whole army together!
Book keeper - Malifaux Third Edition: Matthew Morgan
For my mini of the month, I’ve decided to showcase the newest addition to my Red Library Malifaux crew; the Book Keeper.
As one of the newest keywords that Wyrd have introduced to the game, the Red Library models benefit by having some of the most dynamic poses and styles out of all the models already in the game. It almost looks as if this librarian might start moving again at any moment.
For the colour scheme, I wanted to make the person stand out as the focus of the model and have the books as the afterthought. To do this, I used the newest Army Paint range which is fantastic for blending different tones of the same colour. Having different complementary shades of blue really made the body sculpt pop whilst making the clothing look natural at the same time. Pairing that with dark gray shoes and soft skin tones rounded the main part of the model off nicely.
For the books, I wanted to use soft monotone colours that stood out from one another but didn’t draw the eye away from the centerpiece. What’s more, I wanted to take inspiration from one of my favourite first edition books that I own, and bring the old binding colours from Penguin books alive in this model. After a bit of hunting through my paint collection, I was able to match the exact colours to the old classics and dotted them randomly around the main character.
It goes without saying that I’m incredibly happy with how this model turned out, and I can’t wait to get the rest of the crew finished so I can showcase them in the future.