C17 Reaper skeleton: Does Undeath have a colour scheme? And some more goodies...

Has it been another week already? Work has begun on our archaic home after so long. MFM and I have been stripping decades old wallpaper, pulling down dusty curtains that are probably older than us and clearing out the hideous bathroom to make way for tradesmen to begin work. Without boring you too much, we are having new French style doors, a new bathroom and the old fireplace ripped out and replaced with a more economical and environmentally friendly woodstove. Later on, we will need to replaster and lay flooring but it is all hands to the pumps. On top of all that, we just had SATs week in school and it is the last day on term on Friday.

As you will no doubt imagine, there hasn't been a huge amount of time for hobby. We did the garden today, and I got to play with some of the new tools we have had to purchase (though the lawnmower finally packed in) but there were a few hours spare this afternoon to get the paints out a crack on with a figure.

That super-gent extraordinaire (Sleepysod), who if you recall we met quite randomly at Salute a few months back, had a few spare skellies kicking about and he sent them my way. Opening any package is always fun but I was dumbfounded to see one of my all time favourite models in my hand. The Reaper skeleton from the C17 range. I've always admired this figure since seeing it the the WHFB Third edition rule book in one of the battle scenes. He never ever seemed to end up in my collection despite years of looking and so it was wonderful to finally have one of those 'never did get your hands on 'em figures'. 

Huge thanks to Sleepysod for being so generous AGAIN and I will have to salute him once more. Sleepysod.... I salute you for really brightening up this old grognard's life with a tiny, scraggly, skinny piece of lead.

I approached the figure in much the same way I would something from the skeleton Horde. Orc Brown base, Chestnut Ink wash and then highlight with Orc Brown and Bleached Bone. I'm still debating about adding a super-highlight of Skull White at some point on the skulls and hands of my boneyard brothers (especially now I can actually paint half-decently again) but the jury is very much out on that at the moment. 

I've got some pretty grotty metallics to work with here. It is well known that the old '80s silver and gold paints condense into a solid mass of gunk. Even so, I have a few survivors. Even so, I have to bite the bullet and get my hands on something more reliable. I've even heard some good things about the modern Citadel range!!! If any readers have any recommendations for silver and gold replacements please do let me know. 

Despite the challenging state of some of my paints, I dry-brushed over the tatty chainmail in Bolt-Gun Metal and washed with Chestnut Ink and them some Hobgoblin Orange for rust. It didn't really take to the chainmail itself though it worked well for the blade of the scythe. You may remember that metal work on my skellies is something I was keen to work on? 

Originally, I went for blue rags. But it just didn't look right. The shade was just too bright and happy, at least to my eye. This got me thinking... does undeath actually have a colour scheme? For me, black, bone, white, brown and orange seem to work and reflect the tattered remains of long dead corpses rising from their graves. I know others go for a more brightly coloured approach... and bizarre as it sounds, I am fine with bright, almost garish colours on a shield or banner. But never actually on an undead figure.

Surely I cannot be alone in my fastidious ways? 

Here are the rest of the figures that Sleepysod sent me. All now sleeping in the Dettol bath. I'm sure that the second figure from the left is a Marauder skeleton. I adore the musician model as well, with the multi-skulled drum set. He's most likely going to see paint before the end of the week as I'm rather excited about painting him up. Only problem is those drums... a bone finish or gold? Decisions.. decisions eh?

I also have to salute Stuart this week as he sent me a package of bits and bobs. Mostly modern castings of some Asgard classics. More about them in the future. But, Stuart... I salute you too. I'm intrigued by these early figures as I know very little about the range. I'll do a little research when time is more available and perhaps try and older old school paint approach with these... right back to the early '80s! 

One final note, Stuart let me know about the '80s Wood Elf beastmaster re-release over at the GW website. We spent Saturday morning messaging each other waiting for them to go online. If you haven't seen it yet, all the old animal keepers of old have been cast back up with their new Wood Elf Old World range. I must admit to having taken the plunge and bought the set. I'm optimistic about their quality. While I was on the site, I noticed a few other '80s classics were hanging about. Bugman's Cart among other things.

Ooh, I haven't checked to see if there is anything decent in the undead section! 

Speak soon,

Orlygg