The Worms Have Turned

Fractured Dimensions' Larvae are done. While a bit tricky to base they were certainly enjoyable to paint. I aimed for sickly yellow, as described in the original Monster Manual but somehow wound up with sickly green; a curious occurrence as there was no green paint used. No worries. I like how they turned out and consider them as a success.

No green paint... honest

Awaiting final assembly

Simulates barren shale quite nicely

Yikes! Two per base gave me enough trouble, thank you very much.

The product of my labors, in all their sickly yellow (or green) glory:

Up and Running

Good news, campers...Fractured Dimensions Miniatures are now available through Mortal Arrow. This includes both FD's old catalog as well as the insanely good stuff from the IMotOP Kickstarter. Lots to see on the site; not least of all, painted minis by the likes of Martin Jones, Andrew Taylor and some joker named Finch.

Speaking of which, Finch needs to get it in gear. (Evidently, I've moved beyond simply using a pseudonym to referring to myself in the third person. Fascinating.) He has a lot of miniatures in need of paint.

Back in the land of first person narrative, I've got FD's larvae on the paint table. They suffered through a false start when I painted them black and attempted to base them in pairs. This ended badly with scuffed paint, basing materials in all the wrong places, and considerable swearing.

Off the bases and into the Simple Green they went. Stripped down to bare metal, they were ready for another attempt.

This time I applied mica gel to two 25mm bases, allowed them to dry, attached each of the lowermost larvae to its base, and pinned the uppermost larvae in such a way that they can be painted separately and added later.

This seems like a workable arrangement. I have my fingers crossed.

Zedvember 2015/1: Ghoul Power

* Zedvember being a chance to complete some not-quite-done undead...  the brainchild of Bob Kinnear at BZA Bob's Zombie Apocalypse in 28mm and Chris Hird at Chris's Miniature Woes.

By my estimation, the first installment of Zedvember equals the sixth of Zomtober. Loose ends have been tied and hatches battened, t's crossed and i's dotted. Translation: the red-ghouls are done. Many pictures to follow.

The whole red-ghoul pack is pictured up top. The last member completed was the boss, a Reaper miniature featuring the world's largest meat-tenderizing hammer and a lovely belt ensemble made of flayed skin, severed heads, and assorted viscera. Yum:

The ghoul-hag is, at long last, truly done:

 The boss with the hag & with the original Fractured Dimensions perribos:

The grunt-level ghouls by Otherworld as well as a side-by-side comparison with one of the same minis painted some years ago:

I've said it before, I'll say it again: Paul Muller can do no wrong. The sculptor did an especially good job on all the faces. Some yearbook photos to illustrate the point:

One final piece of good news: anyone wishing to get some perribos of their own is in luck. Fractured Dimensions miniatures are now available through Mortal Arrow. More on this next time.

Zomtober 2015/5: End of the Line

Not quite ready for his closeup

Officially, Zomtober 2015 ended last Sunday. That won't prevent one last bite of the apple.

In that spirit, here are some WIP shots of the Boss Red Ghoul, Reaper's Dreg Chieftain; a Paul Muller sculpt with some seriously crazy hair. That hair was key in showing that the clown ghoul theme could, nay should, be carried beyond FD's Perribos.

 

 

The washes are complete, establishing the shadows. For the flesh, the darkest of these went to the usual suspects (armpits, groin, and under the jaw). This guy also sports a goiter, pot-belly and man-boobs, all of which received similar treatment.

A fair amount still needs to be done to re-establish the midtones and highlights plus some detailing and the base.

There will be at least one more post featuring all five minis once they're all truly completed.

Thanks are due to Pulp Citizen of Eclectic Gentleman Tabletop Gamer, Simon Brummie Quinton of Brummie's Wargaming Blog and Rob Bresnen of Four Colour Super Minis, for organizing another successful Zomtober. Well done, one and all.

Zomtober 2015/4: The Next in Line

Another week... another red ghoul in the bag (fourth overall, the third and final from Otherworld Miniatures). In terms of painting, he's similar to the two previous OW minis except that both green and fleshtone washes were used (in addition to purple and blue). The first used fleshtone but no green, the second green but no fleshtone.

As is typical with Paul Muller's work, the face is outstanding. Last week I had a fiendish grin to work with, this week a full-on snarl. Great fun to paint.

Like his compatriots, the base needs further attention. Unlike his compatriots, I finished with time to spare. This may allow me to complete a fifth boss ghoul by Halloween. Time will tell.

Zomtober 2015/3: A Modest Proposal

The subject of today's excursion is one of three minis (that I know of) by the incomparable Paul Muller featuring an infant in imminent danger of becoming lunch. What exactly does this Muller guy have against babies, anyway?

All kidding aside, this mini from Reaper is one of the sculptor's finest (and for the record, I'm sure Mr Muller thinks babies are just swell... as do I).

It's vile. It's horrid. That's the whole point. Representing an irredeemably evil, undead cannibal leaves no room for nice.

I threw squeamishness to the wind and tried to make the piece as harsh and nasty as possible. Lots of very hard shadows, a skintone like rotting meat, a subdued palette except for the baby (I want the viewer's attention immediately drawn there). 

Base Colors

Highlights

Shading

Touch-ups & Details

The base still needs attention. I'm saving it for the end when I'll do all five minis currently in the works together.

The Ghoul-Hag in all her repulsiveness:

Is it normal to feel like one should take a shower upon completing a miniature? Am I going straight to Hell because it occurs to me that what this mini really needs is a bubbling cauldron? After Zomtober should I paint nothing but unicorns and pixies as a form of penance?

The answers to these and other burning questions in our next episode. (or not.)

Zomtober 2015/2: The Green Experiment

The second week of Zomtober sees another red ghoul join the pack. As to the post-title, I added a little green to the washes to take the edge off the purple being used. The end result is darker and less saturated than last week's submission. They look good side by side though. The third member of the trio will hopefully wind up somewhere in between.

Some touch-ups around the hairline and brow are needed.

Zomtober 2015/1: Red Ghouls Revisited

My first Zomtober submission is done. (Well, nearly done... the base needs some work.)

My efforts this year center on 1) painting some of the numerous Paul Muller sculpted ghouls that have been languishing on the lead pile, and 2) revisiting the clown-inspired color scheme recently used on Fractured Dimensions' Peribos.

Muller has many ghouls to his credit, falling roughly into two categories: with hair and without. Red hair being a key component of the plan, some less follically challenged individuals were selected.

First up is an Otherworld ghoul. His two blister-mates will follow.