Something Newish This Way Comes

Three additions to the Red Ghouls are done. As the title suggests, the painting here isn't entirely new. The penanggalan was nearly complete last October while the boy and dog had their base colors blocked in at about the same time.

These, and a couple others, were intended for Zomtober '16. I'm either quite tardy with that or getting an early start on Zomtober '17.

All three miniatures were sculpted by the incomparable Paul Muller.

The Penanggalan is from Otherworld... a strange Malayan vampire that appears in the old Fiend Folio. The sculpt is a nice homage to the Russ Nicholson artwork from that book.

The boy/dog combo is something of an undead tribute to Dennis the Menace and his dog Ruff. I may be dating myself with this, I suppose. In my defense, I am rather old... cut me some slack.

Truthfully, it was mostly the sling that lead to this notion. My first impulse was to remove it so the mini would better match Otherworld's unarmed ghouls I'd already painted. Then inspiration struck... Dennis the Menace carried a slingshot... he was small in stature... so was the mini... he had a dog... I had a suitable dog mini languishing in the lead-pile. In short, one thing led to another and here we are.

The boy is from Reaper while the dog is from Wyrd's sadly discontinued line of metal miniatures.

The two were painted in the evil-clown scheme I've been using for the Red Ghouls; the only problem being that red hair was required while they were both bald. I addressed this by sculpting some hair on Dennis and, after rejecting red ears, painting Ruff's tail the appropriate hue.

Yes, Ruff is lifting his leg. Would undead canines need to relieve themselves in this fashion? Perhaps not. I guess old habits are hard to break.

Weasel Words

A weasel by any other name would smell as foul.

I came across these Otherworld giant weasels while doing some tidying-up around the paint cave (a rare occurrence, but that's a story for another day). They were painted some years ago and, if I recall, only ever appeared on OW's currently deactivated forum.

Concurrently, I find myself learning to use a new computer (replacing one with an operating system from the last century... also a story for another day). Before shipping my old machine off to the Museum of Antiquities, I unearthed the references used when painting these three. As actual weasels are rather boring (visually that is... they're the life of the party in most other respects) African civets filled in admirably.

Nothing beats good reference photos.

As the time seemed right, I grabbed my camera and took some pictures.

LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU!!!

Zomtober 2016/2: Making Headway

I nearly finished on time... nearly.

My contribution to this week's Zomtober festivities is Otherworld Miniatures' Penanggalan. An unusual mini and a triple threat: 1) Zomtober appropriate, 2) Sculpted by Paul Muller, 3) Found in the Fiend Folio.

The Penanggalan is from Malaysian folklore. A bizarre beastie to be sure.

This has been painted in the same scheme as last Zomtober's red ghouls. More to follow.

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 2015/4: 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 2015/2: 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.