C06 Dwarf 'Bandit', Skeleton Horde and a Leadhead's Challenge

 

Well, the 'Bandit' dwarf is finally complete. With the help of some weekend daylight and the optivisor I've managed to get him finished. I'm still just using the nine colours of my recreated 'Citadel Colour' paintset so everything you see here is mixed from that. 

I've also had the time to get outside this weekend and use the natural light to take a proper photograph. Down the bottom of my garden there is a large pond. We've rebuilt much of the edge of the bank along one side and the wooden support is a perfect prop for a figure. Last year's rushes make a muted background colour that help hide my terrible painting skills.

Hmmm, time to be a little more constructive yet critical. I'm pleased with the chainmail (it took me two attempts) and I was after the 'look' of how things were done in our era. Surely just a black undercoat with a drybrush of silver over to top? So I tried that and it looked a little uneven. So I darkened things down with a black wash around the joins and folds of the chainmail and things look presentable. 

My flesh painting has got better and looks less bleached out. I've reduced the amount of white paint that I'm mixing in now and starting from a darker base. Years ago when old Orlygg and this blog where at their height, I used to feel that painting skin tones on big models was my signature style. How the mighty fall eh?

Still, things are going in the right direction. 

I am pleased with the highlighting I've done on the clothing too, especially the green folds on the tunic and cloak. I felt that some of my speed was returning too and I was able to keep adding in more paint to swiftly highlight edges. 

Freehand work on the shield tempted me and I had a go... but I don't have the skills to do anything justice anymore so a simple medieval style seems to suit. 

What do you think?

I've been lucky enough to receive loads more bits and bobs for my skeleton horde project too. David Cammack sent me lots of broken pieces of his leftover skellies, five bases and most importantly... a few '80s shields. Thank you so much David... I salute you.... Its going to make such a difference to add a few period shields to my models when my skills return to the level I want. 

A nice chap known only as Dan also sent me a bag of skeleton pieces from his multiple Skeleton Army projects. I salute you too... I reckon I can build around 20 odd skellies with a little luck so I'm not far off the goal of 24 now, though I am lacking in bases. I see Amazon do big job lots of bases so there shouldn't be any problems in solving that issue when the time comes.

H.Brockley has also helped with the project by sending me a rather battered, squashed and dusty original box of Skeleton Horde. Of course its was empty but I reckon I can find something to insert inside to give it some shape and make a bit of a hobby display. You never know, it might encourage to keep plugging away at improving the painting skills. 

I salute you as well.... Thank you so much for the box... it really made me smile when I opened it. 

The Leadhead Who Doesn't Wish to Be Named emailed me an appalling confession. He has piles of '80s preslotta just lying in a box in disgraceful condition. He sent me a lovely lead elemental a couple of weeks ago and boy was that thing heavy. I'm no scientist but those old lead sculpts pick up some kind of grime don't they... someone out there must know what I mean by this? Anyway, I cleaned it up as best I could and got an undercoat over the top of it. With such simple detail I'm pretty sure it's recoverable... but lets see in a future post.

The elemental wasn't the worst of it.... check this out!

I am guessing by the smell that these two have been trapped in dried up Dettol for many, many years. The orange stuff you can see is solid and rubbery and smells vile. As far as I can tell we have two wizards, though the figure at the bottom may be a Necromancer...? The Leadhead Who Doesn't Wish to Be Named has challenged me (as a desperate painter with no figures) to attempt to bring these miniatures back to life, if I can. After all, beggars cannot be choosers can they?

I'm not sure saluting you is appropriate if you leave models in this condition (:

I'm off to continue the elemental I mentioned earlier. I did the food shop this morning before rushing back to deal with a blocked toilet. Old Orlygg managed to slip in a bottle of Dettol alongside the milk. Those fellows above will be soaking away by the time you read this missive. 

Orlygg