ME82 Hobbit Personalities: Gandalf the Grey

Good evening dear readers of the Realm of Chaos (80s). Or indeed, good anytime of the day this post reaches you. I'm been somewhat distracted by family matters of late, so I haven't been as busy as I have wanted to be. With another Bank Holiday around the corner, I may find some more time in the not to distant to get the next figure in this range painted: namely Gollum himself. 

Today with have the majestic Gandalf to talk about, and as you can see I've dared have a shot at painting in eyes as the final finishing touch... the first time I've attempted that little trick in many years... what do you think?

Despite buying some more brushes at Salute, I am still using my original veteran hairy wand. I'm a little put off replacing it because it is the last remnant of my old blogging life. No doubt, it's bristles will eventually fail and the new brushes will have to be popped from their packaging.

But that was not today. Additionally, this Gandalf figure is the first I've been happy enough with to post multiple side view shots.

As you can see here. I've been pretty traditional with my approach to this figure. Faded blue hat, silvery beard and grey travelling clothes are all archetypical grey wizard. I thought the flesh too was painted better than dear old Bilbo. Again, Bleached Bone has been my saviour here. 

As you may be able to tell, I quite enjoyed painting this figure and am pleased with him. I can see that my highlighting on clothes needs further practise but it is a huge difference from my output earlier on in the year. I've been tinkering with getting gold right after puzzling over the pommels and grips of the Skeleton Horde's handweapons. Gandalf's pipe (no doubt preplugged with Old Toby) gave me the opportunity to do this. Gold base, orange/chestnut ink was and simple highlight. I picked up some Humbrol metallics in acrylic in Hobbycraft and have been giving them a whirl. As you will know, I'm looking for viable alternatives to the decayed metallics from my beloved '80s paint sets. 

I was pleased with his bag. It looks like a decent leather colour and makes a useful contrast to all that grey and blue. I've found that I really appreciate Snakebite Leather and like Bleached Bone before it that shade is becoming a stalwart. Trouble is, I only have one pot of the stuff so matching it to some Coat d'arms paints in the future is a must. If anyone out there knows of another match, please do let me know. 

Just a whistlestop today in Middle Earth...

As I said, I have my eye on Gollum and some more skellies in the not to distant future. If I can scrape more wallpaper off the walls I might be a proper set up yet.

Wish me luck!

Orlygg 

ME82 Hobbit Personalities: Bilbo

 

Here we have a true hero. Bilbo Baggins. Legendary figure of childhood for many of us and a hero who no doubt persists into adulthood. I was lucky enough to have a teacher, Mrs Baker, who read my classmates and I much of the Hobbit in 1988. She told it with real gusto, with comedy voices and breathless delivery. Techniques I use today when reading to my class, though sadly I've never had the opportunity to study the hobbit in any depth with pupils. 

One day perhaps...

As you will know, I picked up the ME82 Hobbit personalities a few weeks back in a retro shop. They were mis-listed and unloved. Naturally, Old Orlygg snapped them up with enthusiasm in order to clean, restore and paint these lovely little sculpts. 

Bilbo proved a challenge, but a pleasurable one. I gave myself two hours to base, shade and paint the figure and just went for it with a similar gusto as Mrs Baker. He is clearly dressed for combat in the Mithril armour and brandishing Sting... so presumably ready for combat during the Battle of Five Armies. 

Getting a decent finish on metal is something that still alludes me so I used this figure as a bit of practise. The armour was Mithril Silver followed by a black ink was (a little water was mixed in) and a subsequent Hawk Turquoise glaze over that. I then highlighted with Mithril Silver once again. To give some contrast, his belt was picked out in Shining Gold and given a Brown Ink wash. I highlighted the gold with Mithril too. 

His jacket was Blood Red mixed with my new favourite paint - Snakebite Leather. I simply highlighted the coat back to red with a little Bleached Bone thrown in for good measure. The sleeves of the tunic were painted Ork Flesh and again were highlighted up with Bleached Bone but the photography has made them seem more brown than they actually look to the eye. 

His flesh was my usual mix of Blood Red and Bronzed Flesh but I duffed up the shading here and made it too light, especially around his hands and feet. A future target for me is to try and develop a richer tone for flesh. 

Finally, Sting was painted with Woodland Green, highlighted with Bilious Green and a little Bleached Bone. I gave the blade a thin glaze of Hawk Turquoise to blend it all together. 

The base hasn't come out as nicely as I thought it would, but no matter. Once the other figures are finished I can tweak these and try and make them tie in a little bit. 

And so ends Easter. I got little Bilbo here painted, along with three skeletons and an Epic Great Unclean One. Not bad considering MFM and I have been stripping our home of decades of wallpaper and paint, much of which is combined together. After two and a half years of brutal saving, the restoration of our home has begun. We aim to have the heating ripped out and fully replaced, including all of the pipes and old radiators. A new boiler somewhere outside in our derelict back garden too. New French doors, a patio, the chimney breast reduced with a new solid wood stove to boot. 

Oh, and we are having a new bathroom!

So over the next few months there is going to be a lot of coming and going from this blog. I'll put the computer away somewhere safe when major work commences but there should be suitable warning to you all long before. I don't intend to 'go dark again' for quite some time.

Here's hoping with all the ripping out and clearing, MFM might be persuaded to find me a little permanent spot for a retro set up... fingers crossed. 

I have started Gandalf now, so hoping can get him complete shortly. 

Until then...

Orlygg

The Skeleton Horde: First painted figures and free-hand shield designs

Using the original paints really helps capture the 'Eavy Metal feel of the old pages of White Dwarf.

I have hoped over the last few months, that Easter would bring me time to enjoy plenty of natural light and some free time to get some of those wonderful plastic skeletons painted. As you may recall, I had a crack at one way back in January and it was a total disaster. 

I had obviously forgotten how to paint. 

Over the last few months, old Orlygg has cracked on (with a lot of help from his friends) to reach this point. Three properly painted skeletons. As you can see, these boneyard brothers look much, much better than that desperate first attempt. 

One thing I didn't want to use was white. I felt that I'd overused white on those earlier models when highlighting. So the final highlight was going to be Bleached Bone all the way. Having picked up a couple of pots of the stuff at Salute, I've spent the last week tinkering with my recipe. So I don't forget, and if any of you dear readers are interested, this is my go-to method for the Skeleton Horde. 

Skull White undercoat. Orc Brown basecoat. Brown ink shading around ribs, skull, hands, feet and other joints. Second Orc Brown coat to tidy up the model. Finally, Bleached Bone over eighty percent of the figure. 

Very simple I know, but I think its highly effective. Considering there are another twenty figures left to do for the Horde whatever method I employ needs to to fast and foolproof. 

Let me know what you think of my progress. 

Nothing says Old School Citadel than homebrew painted shield designs. I really missed my old archive of WD when painting these shields, those old mags are just bursting with inspiration. 

While I was working on the figures the issue of shields came to mind. What would the Horde be without an array of hand-painted designs? Though I lacked the original shields for undead, I had several of same period examples to use. By chance, the first three I found were all the same size. As I was feeling a lot more confident about working on fantasy models, I just cracked on with some skull designs just like I did in the old days. 

The results are clear to see here. 

I chose Sunburst Yellow, Bilious Green and Electric Blue to be the background colours. As I progress, each new skull shield will have a different colour background. Of the three I've done so far, I'm most pleased with the yellow. It gives me Advanced Heroquest vibes for some reason. The skulls were quite straight forwards in the end. I used the brown ink to create the basic shape, highlighted with Orc Brown, then Bleached Bone before picking out the final details with Skull White. I found the white helped separate the bone of the shields with the bone of the skeleton figures. 

I hope you like the shields as I feel that there is a lot of the 'Old Orlygg' about them and that I am slowly rebuilding my knowledge and skill about how to best paint these classic models. 

pro-Painted plastik Warhamma Skeleton RARE 198'0s £14.99

For context, I've included my first attempt at a plastic skeleton. It looks like one of those old 'Pro-Painted' figures you used to see on eBay... I wonder if that tradition is still a thing? 

If you've followed me over the years, you will know that I cannot stick to one thing for very long. There are just too many beautifully imagined figures to work on, even in a tiny collection such as my own. I want to do some more of those Specialty Set Chaos Warriors in the near future but what has really caught my eye are those Hobbit Personalities I picked up a few weeks ago. 

They are the next figures on the table and I am hoping to get them finished before the end of the Easter Weekend. 

Wish me luck,

Orlygg

Orlygg at Salute '25, Bryan Ansell Remembered, Tim Prow's Diehard, Oakbound's The Woods and POWER-UP!

 

Lurching from our fetid graves (okay, our houses) early this morning, Stuart and I made a surprise return to Salute - Europe's largest miniature gaming show. Long ago, we were regular visitors and this year we decided to go on the spur of the moment (okay, a couple of weeks ago). I took the liberty to prebook the parking tickets and what was touted to be the 'Official Salute Car Park' on the website but in reality we just drove in and the barrier lifted to allow us to pass. We stuck the car in a quiet spot and made our way upstairs. 

Joining the queue, we had an nice chat with an Australian Grognard taking time out of his holiday to visit the show before we had our tickets scanned and received our swag bags. Peeing in, we saw it was the usual mix of special models, freebies (Stuart loved the mouse-mat) and advertising. With permission from 'my favourite miniature' (from this point on referred to as MFM) I had a modest budget to spend on brushes and other sundries that may help me improve my much maligned painting ability.

I was very pleased to see the late, great Bryan Ansell remembered by the South London Warlords. We spent some time looking at and discussing the set up some enthusiasts had put together of Bryan's 1980 quirky classic ruleset, Laserburn - a foreshadowing of Rogue Trader if you didn't know. 

The game was quite large in scale and we went back a few times to see how things were progressing. During this time we were lucky enough to bump into some old faces. I saw James Holloway, a long standing member of the BOYL events, and we discussed the importance of a little bit of creative anarchy in gaming. Something very evident in the Laserburn game and perhaps something lost in the modern world of miniature gaming. The generous Sleepysod, a regular contributor to this blog (and supplier of useful archaic items), was also there and it was nice to meet him face to face and thank him for his efforts in helping this blog getting going again. We also spotted artist extraordinaire Tony Hough from afar but never got the chance to chat to him this time though we did see a sole Oldhammer T-shirt wearing chap wandering the show. It was nice to talk with him too. 

This year's magazine contained a worthy article about Bryan and his enormous impact on miniature gaming not only in the United Kingdom, but also worldwide. I don't recall GW marking his passing in anyway so this was respectful and important tribute. And its always nice to see the Mighty Avenger picture from Warhammer Armies. 

Tim Prow had his Diehard Miniatures in tow. I was pleased to see how well his independent endeavour was going. The stall was packed from most of the time we were there and it wasn't hard to see why. Tim's sculpts are fantastic and are easily the best sculpted fantasy figures out there today. Many of those models are my preferred single cast sculpts that brim with character. I had my eye on a number of pieces but my modest budget only allowed for two beautifully designed Necromancers. Stuart threw in a suitably swarthy orc as a thank you for driving. Tim was as energic as ever, showing off future Kickstarters and painted models with plenty of help from his daughter. 

A closer look at those models. You will all know that I have a bit of a love of the undead. And with the Horde slowly growing it is necessary to start think about other models to suffer from instability with them. I am particularly fond of the skeleton with magical skulls radiating from his hands. 

Geoff Solomon-Sims, a true hobby veteran and an extremely talented craftsman of fantasy models, was manning his Oakbound Studio's 'The Woods' stand. Easily the most imaginative and creative models at the entire show and I could have purchased many of them. Again, some of these models are the all important single cast figures bursting with zany ideas and faerie magic. His limited run boxed game, complete with Heroquest style board pieces, was selling very well and there was a wealth of painted figures on show. Some of the larger pieces caught my eye and I hope to have the chance to paint a few of those in the not to distant future. It was also nice to see the Oldhammer Paul Douglas there too, one of the early pioneers of this brand of retro-gaming and a veteran of BOYL. 

Here is a closer look at the two figures I selected from the range. It was nice to see more of his fimir inspired models here too. I am a big fan of these swamp dwellers and I look forwards to getting this chap based and painted soon.

Today may have been all about wargames figures but yesterday was a retro extravaganza. MFM took myself and her son to the Science museum to check out the POWER-UP show. It is one of the paid exhibitions being put on there (I think £12.50 a ticket) but the event provides you with unparalleled access to the history of computer and video gaming. 

Inside you will find an enormous range of PC and console games (including a 16 player deathmatch of Halo: Combat Evolved) and of course the 8 and 16 bit systems that created magic in the early days. VR options are also available with an intriguing VR Tetris games that I was rubbish at. 

This Amiga made a welcome sight. I spent some time rather lovingly tapping the keys and feeling the warmth of the grate. Its been over 30 years since I last sat down with one of these and those long years just melted away as I dove straight back into DMA Designs' legendary Lemmings game. I received the Cartoon Classics edition of this machine way back in the early 1990s and this puzzle game was a real highlight of the experience. The game seems easier now and the solutions to many of the stages came back to me quickly. But being so popular, I couldn't remain on this glorious slice of 16 bit history for long. 

Sensational and worth the entry price for me!

The author of this blog gets to grips with the C64 version of Frogger. This was the version of the game I had as a kid in the '80s. I've got retro consoles of the C64 and Amiga and have been looking for this particular game for ages. A joy to play once more due to its immediacy and simplicity. Of course, the decades fell away and I recalled all my old strategies. What was noticeable in talking to other enthusiasts around me, is that younger gamers seem too preoccupied with joysticks and what not on these older machines. Using the keys was so much more effective and I enjoyed this particular walk down memory lane. 

Well that is my write up of the last few days. Here's looking forwards to a quieter Sunday and the chance to try out the new paint brushes I picked up at Salute. I also managed to track down some Bleached Bone paint from the Coat d'Arms range so I can crack open and pot and see if I have remembered how to highlight properly. 

Until then, 

Orlygg

Famous Familiars: Epic Scale Great Unclean One

 

It has been another sunny day here in Essex and I've been out in the garden again working through the Skeleton Horde, the Hobbit set and a few odds and ends I've got based up. I flit from one thing to another on a painting whim so I always have multiple things on the go at once. 

Today, this little chap took my fancy. He was part of the little cache of figures I found a few weeks back in the attic and was originally begun way back in 2020 when I was trying to paint up all of these magical sculpts to help endure lockdown. I rebased him with a 40k circular as he really belongs to Space Marine rather than Warhammer 3rd edition. 

He came together quite quickly and he is the first figure since Silts that I feel is close to my old work. I am really pleased with how he came out and how little effort he was to complete. Ork Flesh was the base (making good use of the Ork and Eldar Paint Set) with a wash of Brown Ink over the top. I then used Ork Flesh highlighted up with Rotting Flesh to create the skin. Worm Purple (again highlighted with Rotting Flesh) for the tongue with Go Fasta Red as the base for the open sores and wounds. Bad Moon Yellow was used to create the highlights for the festering sores and Bleached Bone and White to highlight the horns. The eyes are white with Sunburst Yellow over the top. The base is Snakebite Leather highlighted with Bleached Bone and Skull White. 

What made the difference for me was the use of the inks. I know I only have a handful, but I feel very at home in using them. It is clear I need to work on the shading of models as I move forwards. More depth is vital in supporting detail and highlights. 

I've included the figure in my ongoing series of posts about the familiars because they appear alongside them in this old ad. Later on, more sculpts were produced when Epic took off and more Chaos figures arrived for the first two editions of Space Marine but this is the original Greater Daemon of Nurgle. But then if you are reading this blog you'll know all of that.

Oh Space Marine... what a game!

What do you think? I feel like I am improving... I hope you agree with me. 

Orlygg

Restoring the Space Marine and Ork & Eldar Paint Sets

One of my few original things from the 1980s that has survived. Multiple house moves, university, marriage, divorce and its still with me... sadly no painting guide though. 

The dwarfs may have delved too deep and too greedily, but that isn't the case here at Orlygg's 1960s bungalows. I've struck it lucky while sorting through the tatty boxes of stuff from my former life. No lead, but a stash of paints including my original Space Marine paint set. At least I think it is...

Bought upon release along side the Big Box Game 'Space Marine' in 1989, I think that both were birthday or Christmas presents that year. The paints look untouched since I splodged colour on those classic sprues so many years ago. It may have been part of my wider Citadel collection but seems to have been separated and hence survived. Or I may have bought it on eBay back in the glory days and forgotten about it. It seems odd it wasn't stored with the bulk of my collection.

As you have no doubt noticed, the colours have settled somewhat and leave the pots discoloured but all the paints seem workable with a good shake. Bolt Gun Metal has separated and gummed up, but with a little stir it seems useable enough. This surprised me, as '80s GW metallics are notorious for partially solidifying, leaving only a watery slop behind. But the rest of the colours are there, though whoever was deriving the names of paints had clearly given up here. We have Terracotta and Blood Angel Orange (base and highlight for Blood Angel figures), Salamander Black and Green (again, base and highlight), Marine Dark Blue and Ultramarine, and finally Blue Grey and Space Wolf Grey. 

I wrote about these paints back in 2012 on this very blog and judging by the page views and spam comments Youtubers have been looting the information for years.

Polystyrene instead of the plastic paint tray? A change of approach for the final few sets. 

Alongside my old paints was an empty box. The Ork and Eldar Set originally belonged to a school friend who kept all of his modelling stuff in a blue toolbox. I liked the cover image and so it was given to me to save it from the bin. No recycling in those days. Not sure how it came to be paired up with my older paints but its great news to us. 

Chris, like Ian before him, has been so generous.

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, Chris was kind enough to wing a load of older paints my way. You can see what he sent unpacked in the image above. There was loads of stuff in there with much of it still very useable to the likes of me. There were a few pots from the original Colour and Monster sets, the surviving ones have been placed into storage but there were a large number of colours from the Space Marine sets and by chance the Ork and Eldar one too. 

I've also received a donation of older colours from a colleague whose son was into GW too. Trial and error comparisons has resulted in what I believe to be a perfect match. We have Tin Bitz (incredibly alive and well), Hawk Turquoise, Go Fasta Red, Ork Flesh, Bleached Bone (though it seemed to have darkened considerably on the inside of the pot), Fire Dragon Crimson, Snake Bite Leather, Striking Scorpion Green and Bad Moon Yellow. 

Storage, it seems to me the paints that lie on their sides have lasted and those standing up have separated. Hence why I am storing them like this.

As I mentioned, there are loads of pots now held in storage. Some of which I have no idea of yet exactly what they are. I am pleased to have back some of the older inks too, including Shadow Black. It seems at some point in time the Expert Set colours were rebranded and what were once just referred to as just colours were given suitable GW style names. Shadow Black was, obviously just Black, Chestnut became Skaven Ink, Green became Waaagh Green, Brown was Rust Brown, Blue became Vortex Blue, with Firestorm Yellow, Lava Orange and Plasma Red to follow. 

I didn't know this, and as I've said several times over, researching these colours has thrown up stuff that is new to me. I have no idea why, but I find it all rather fascinating. 

But hidden amongst Chris's old paints was a real treat. Three pots from the Metallic Paint Set. I've never even seen these up close. I did an internet search and found very little about them -I know when the Youtubers haven't bothered when all of the first hits are mine! (; - but a chap called Alex was kind enough to post a picture on a well known internet forum some years back. I've pinched his picture for our reference.

With the little we have to go on, I am guessing we have Glistening Green, Amethyst and Beaten Copper? Word on the street was these paints were pretty dire but they have survived admirably despite the passing of the decades. I'll be testing them out when I find something suitable to paint with them don't you worry. Let me know if you used these back in the day...

I'll be popping up to the storage room later to sort through Ian's foundry paints to see if there are any near matches to the Space Marine and Ork and Eldar sets (especially that Bleached Bone... I was saying how much I missed it) but before I go I'll share my first quality find of a commercial nature.

Got this little set at a fairly local Retro Store. They were bagged up alongside some other bits and bobs I'll get to in another post and were labelled 'Warhammer type figures'. They were obviously vintage Citadel to my eye and I said so, but the store owner was a self confessed '90s 40k guy and had no clue what they were. A glance at the tabs told me they were LotR figures of some sort and were part of the old Citadel licensed ranges of the mid-80s. 

Five quid later and they were mine. The disinterest surprised me, but they don't have plasma guns it seems. With a new bathroom to buy and install in the next month or so, money is as tight as ever here, but for a fiver a willing exception was made. 

They are of course the ME82 Hobbit Personalities Set. Lovely figures all and they have totally distracted me from my Easter blogging and painting plans. They are currently in a Dettol bath and will be based and painted in the near future. The examples on Stuff of Legends are magnificent so I will be basing my far inferior paint jobs on those. 

Orlygg

Famous Familiars: Homonculus and Mystery Imp

Yes, I am back that soon! We had an unexpected afternoon together so it was spent out in the garden with Citadel paint and cross-stitch (obviously not together). Feeling rather inspired and keen to give my new paints a whirl, I set about working on the two remaining Famous Familiars I found recently in an old box of art materials. 

I know, I know... the bases are not great, an ill timed gust of wind blew superglue and sand all over the place just as I was finishing off the models. But they will have to do until I buy some modelling files and clean them down. I've also forgotten my old recipe for doing bases and have been experimenting with various combinations to get a uniform look. After all, I might one day manage to retrieve my original collection of painted figures and I'll want them all to match. 

Looking back at the photographs, I can feel that I am improving. Both figures were painted in single sittings with a break in between. I've been finding getting consistent colours a challenge, especially when highlighting but I can see the improvement before me as I type these words. I've reduced the amount of white to create highlights... boy do I miss Bleached Bone!

The red on the hat and shoes of Mystery Imp I am most pleased with. They took about ten minutes to complete and use Red Gore as a base, highlighted with Blood Red and Hobgoblin Orange. Proper old school shades right there. His cloak is Worm/Imperial Purple highlighted with a little white. The green tail poking out from under his robe was also a quick little paint- here I used my proxy Goblin Green, followed by Bilious Green and Sunburst Yellow as a highlight. Long term readers will know I like to work fast and get figures finished in a few hours.

The very same recipe was used to paint up the body of the Homonculus. With Worm Purple highlighted with White to finish his long hair do. I'm disappointed that the photographs don't capture his barnet as I was able to pick out the strands of greasy hair with a little effort. Another improvement over that first godawful skeleton. 

Working with all three classic paint sets means I have access to a lot more colours and can use many of them in conjunction. The brown bag didn't come out as well as I hoped and I've got a dwarf figure cleaned up from the 'orrible lot Graham sent me recently next on the painting table to try and get my head around leather. 

All in all, a fun and constructive afternoon. With Easter around the corner I'm planning to get some decent hours in over the next few weeks in the hope that my skills improve further. I've also got Chris's paints to sort through and use too. 

Until then,

Orlygg