Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Fantasy Adventures => Topic started by: Michka on April 27, 2014, 12:57:20 AM
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For about three years now I've been basing my fantasy figures on 30mm rounded edge bases with vinyl cobblestone matte inserted into it. It comes out looking like this...
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/RE-BASINGPROJECT1004_crop_zpsbc573ee5.jpg~original)
Recently I decided I didn't want my figures on such big bases. This meant I would have to make some new bases. It was time to learn how to use green stuff. The results look like this...
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/RE-BASINGPROJECT1002_crop_zps7731db9f.jpg~original)
These are not the same figures. Just the first batch of Otherworlds Ghouls to get the re-basing treatment.
I have since moved on to re-base some of my Otherworlds Pig-Faced Orcs...
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Re-basingProject1006_crop_zps8ce525fe.jpg~original)
I also started re-basing my old GW metal Skeletons. By the way, pulling Skeletons off bases and pinning them again is a giant pain in the ass. Those are some damn thin ankles. It gets even worse when you realize you painting style changed halfway through painting them, so you'll have to re-paint a bunch of them too.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Re-basingProject1010_crop_zpsa67e4d38.jpg~original)
And of course other undead leaders had to be re-based as well. At least these guys had decent paint jobs, and thick ankles.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Re-basingProject1008_crop_zps3269efa0.jpg~original)
One of the great advantages of making your own bases is, you can do neat bases for special figures, like Slain Adventurers...
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Re-basingProject1012_crop_zps0bc15f21.jpg~original)
I promise, there are many more to come.
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Now that is dedication! I can't conceive of rebasing my figures when the ranks of the unpainted call out so loudly. lol
Nice work on the bases. Maybe you can mold a few and cast them in resin?
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Very cool, and I applaud moving to smaller bases. Bases are one of those things which drive me absolutely nuts. lol I really like the direction you've gone with yours. Very cool. Can't wait to see the rest.
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I love doing bases which is a prejudice to keep in mind when reading my comments. Your cobblestones are better than the inserts both for the sculpting & an escape from identical stone patterns. If you're doing the bases for an outdoor setting running a line of static grass growing between the stone looks cool. That aside the Various Lads look FANTASTIC on their new bases...those Orcs are really BEAUTIFULLY painted. GREAT WORK!
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Much prefer the new bases over the old in size and style.
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Thank you all for the kind compliments. DeafNala, I'll have to remember the idea of using a touch of static grass to spice things up. I can always justify some green growth in dungeons and in the streets. Syrinx0 and Elbows, I have always been driven by my obsession with bases. In fact, when I started this project my buddy Mike couldn't help laughing at me. He's seen me go through this with many of my Sci-Fi projects. I'm building quite the collection of old discarded bases.
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The slain adventurers are great. I have casualties for my armies but never thought to create some for my dungeon parties. I have had twinges of thoughts about rebasing when adding to my decades old GW IG army but so far inertia has won.
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Quite an undertaking! Nice paintjobs on those minis as well! :)
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Really like the bases you made here. How exactly did you make them?
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Really like the bases you made here. How exactly did you make them?
I'll post some how-to photos as soon as I work on some more.
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As promised, how I make my bases.
1. Cut the slotta supports out of the slotta bases. Trim around the inside edges of the base so the washer fits inside the base in step three. (Don't forget to scrap off all the logos and other unnecessary printing inside the base.)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Makingdungeonbases003_zps7aff61df.jpg~original)
2. Draw a circle around a 3/4inch washer onto a piece of .040 sheet plastic. This should fit inside the top of a hollowed out slotta base.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Makingdungeonbases001_zpsdb0f3986.jpg~original)
3. Glue the plastic circle into the hollowed out slotta base. Then glue a 7/8th inch washer on top of the plastic circle inside the base. Flip the base over and putty up the slot on top. Wait for the putty to dry. The washer provides weight to the base, and gives the base something to attach it to magnet sheet for transport.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Makingdungeonbases005_zpsd206e24e.jpg~original)
4. Mix up some green stuff. Then press it in place on top of the base. Flatten the top on wax paper or other non-stick surface. Trim the excess green stuff from around the edge of the top of the base. (You have to trim that edge a couple times throughout the process.)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Makingdungeonbases006_zpsfb6a7b15.jpg~original)
5. Press the smooth green stuff topping onto a chunk of concrete you find in your backyard (or garden if you live in the UK). Lift and repeat till you're happy with the surface detail. Do NOT leave the green stuff pressed into the chunk of concrete too long or it will stick to the chunk of concrete.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Makingdungeonbases008_zps538e5a67.jpg~original)
6. Cut a pattern into the surface with an X-acto knife. Be careful, blood and greens stuff don't mix well.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Makingdungeonbases009_zps20614167.jpg~original)
7. Wait a few minutes. Then follow the X-acto lines with a sculpting tool blade edge to widen the groove.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Makingdungeonbases010_zps08703fa4.jpg~original)
8. Do one final trim along the edge and that's all there is to it.
There are many better ways of doing this, I'm sure. And not everyone needs washers sunk into their slotta-bases like I do. I'm sure there are a number of real sculptors who are cringing at this process, and I can't blame them. This is my first sculpting project. I'm just showing off how I make these bases.
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Yep...that's a lot of friggin' work. lol
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There are many better ways of doing this, I'm sure. And not everyone needs washers sunk into their slotta-bases like I do. I'm sure there are a number of real sculptors who are cringing at this process, and I can't blame them. This is my first sculpting project. I'm just showing off how I make these bases.
Well honestly i dont see it as a lot of work. 8 steps for sure, but a lot of work, not really.
I would love to hear from "real" sculptors on alternate ways. And i say it because you dont seem to think yours is a real way. I say kudos to you and enjoyed it. Looks good to me and as a first project you should be damned pleased.
Grimm
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That's cool. Did you ever think of making a press mold for it. Pinkysil putty would work well, you would just need to make one large cobblestone area, make an impression of it in the pinkysil putty (it's a silicone based putty for small casts) then you could use it for a huge amount of bases. A little bit of a cheat way I guess though and probably a bit more expensive.
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I was just talking to a friend about using press-mold to make bases. At first I wasn't interested. Now I'm warming up to the idea. I might be making dungeon floor tiles for a terrain project, and it would save a lot of time if I didn't have to sculpt every single floor tile.
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I appreciated the hints you've passed on that you seem to have learned first-hand, ie. blood and green stuff don't mix, green stuff will stay in the concrete if left too long, little things like that.
I checked out your Doctor Who thread too and have seen your timeline of bases there. Good luck with this project that looks like it will provide you with plenty of answers to the "What will I work on today?" question!
Jevenkah
oh, and the paintjobs are pretty fine as well!
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I use a variation of this technique for my bases. I dispense with the slotta-base, and start off by choosing a fender washer of the proper size for the figure. Usually this ends up being a ¾” or 7/8” washer. I cover the central hole with clear tape, then cover the washer with a layer of green stuff and proceed pretty much the same way Michka does his. I use a more irregular pattern for the floor, though.
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I was just talking to a friend about using press-mold to make bases. At first I wasn't interested. Now I'm warming up to the idea. I might be making dungeon floor tiles for a terrain project, and it would save a lot of time if I didn't have to sculpt every single floor tile.
With what your looking to do have you looked into the Happy Seppuku press molds? Too Boo was showing his love for them recently.
I use a variation of this technique for my bases. I dispense with the slotta-base, and start off by choosing a fender washer of the proper size for the figure. Usually this ends up being a ¾” or 7/8” washer. I cover the central hole with clear tape, then cover the washer with a layer of green stuff and proceed pretty much the same way Michka does his. I use a more irregular pattern for the floor, though.
What are you doing out of your room? Aren't you supposed to be slaving away making more goodies for the masses? I haven't seen any goodies released from you in a while. Is it because your out socializing? :-)
Grimm
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Oh MPennock is working diligently on more goodies for the great unwashed. Trust me. He just gets distracted every once in a while actually playing games. All work on no play makes Mike a grumpy guy.
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It finally stopped raining long enough to take some pictures outside. The light isn't great but I've been wanting to show these off for a week now. To start I have a group of three Trolls. The first two are Otherworlds. The third is an old metal WOTC figure. It's not great, but you never know when you'll need a group of three trolls.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases2002_crop_zps3672c965.jpg~original)
The ghouls you've seen before. I just wanted to post one shot of all six on the same bases.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases2008_crop_zps3d6114f1.jpg~original)
Here's a bunch of GW metal Zombies. If you look closely you'll notice half of them are actually from Necromunda. I think the paint scheme hides this well enough.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases2010_crop_zpsbc61aa0f.jpg~original)
This is one of my favorite Otherworlds miniatures, the Owlbear. He's menacing a Grenadier barbarian. The barbarian is there mostly to show size.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases2004_crop_zps81e40284.jpg~original)
And finally I have an Otherworlds Hook Horror. Sure it's a goofy monster, but wouldn't this thing be scary as hell if you ran into it in a dark dungeon?
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases2006_crop_zps897a08db.jpg~original)
More to come.
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Awesome the Owl Bear and Hook Monster are definitely two of the minis I want from OW. Awesome stuff!
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That Owlbear has a real goofy charm to it. I'm defiantly adding it to the shopping list.
Great work on the project btw - you have some very pretty toys!
MM.
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Yeah, I just love that Owlbear. Maybe I'll re-base the other two from other manufacturers soon. Then I can do a comparison shot.
I remember the first time a GM friend tried to describe what an Owl-Bear was.
"It's a monster with the body of a Bear, and the head of an Owl."
I couldn't get the image of this giant Bear body with a tiny Owl head on top of it. I remained unimpressed till this miniature came out.
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When you pin your figures, are you just drilling a tiny hole into the green stuff on top of the base, or are you actually going all the way to or even through the washer?
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When you pin your figures, are you just drilling a tiny hole into the green stuff on top of the base, or are you actually going all the way to or even through the washer?
I drill the pin hole through the green stuff, the slotta-base and the plastic insert. Basically I stop drilling when the pin vise reaches the washer.
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This update is way later then I expected it to be. I've had some figures re-based for a while now, but just didn't feel like taking the pictures. This is not all of the stuff I've re-based since the last update. I have some more Skeletons and Pig-Faced Orcs to show off. I just need to finish off a last step or paint the last figure in a set before I post the pictures. But that's not important right now. Lets see some minis...
First is a bad photo of a GW Banshee. I just painted it this week. In fact I just bought it last Saturday, which makes this miniature one of the fastest turn-arounds I've ever done. I swear she looks better in person.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases3015_crop_zps078d1146.jpg~original)
Then there's an old Rat-Man magic user. I got this figure out of a random lot of miniatures at a gaming convention flea market, so I know next to nothing about where it comes from. I do like him though.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases3013_crop_zps40e99e39.jpg~original)
This rather big fellow is an Otherworlds Minotaur. Not much to explain. He kinda speaks for himself.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases3020_crop_zps63db83fb.jpg~original)
Here's a pair of Otherworlds Shadows. I love these figures. So much creepy wrapped in such a simple design. I wish Otherworlds would make a few more variants of monsters like these, cause two just isn't enough.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases3019_crop_zpsddd63a8d.jpg~original)
Finally, a pair of Otherworlds Wights. One of these guys just killed my best friend's dwarf player character recently, so he might be a little more smug then usual.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases3011_crop_zps12f857f9.jpg~original)
That's it for today. As always, more to come, and maybe a little sooner too.
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I have a couple new shots of my skeletons. Seven of these guys were seen in a previous post, but I wanted to do a group shot of all the skeletons I've re-based so far.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases4008_crop_zps65d15260.jpg~original)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases4010_crop_zpsc0c2467a.jpg~original)
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It's time for a long overdue update. Here goes...
Otherworlds Drow Warriors...
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases5012_crop_zps090458d3.jpg~original)
Another Otherworlds Slain Adventurer, the Dead Thief...
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases5006_crop_zps3a13d38b.jpg~original)
One last Skeleton. I found him after taking the "last" skeleton group shot.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases5005_crop_zpsa0fbcf54.jpg~original)
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Wow!
Some really cool minis and paintjobs there.
Nice work.
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Thank you Aggro84. Kind comments always make my day.
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I just figured out what I'm doing wrong when taking pictures!!! There's a setting called "Close-Up", and it works great. I'm an idiot. Anyway, after finding the setting, I just had to take some more pictures. This time it's my entire Otherworlds Pig-Faced Orcs collection. For some reason I decided they needed to be grouped together with their blister mates. At the end there's a big group shot. Here goes...
Pig-Faced Orcs I
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases6005_crop_zps4fe86368.jpg)
Pig-Faced Orcs II
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases6006_crop_zps5da619c8.jpg)
Pig-Faced Orcs III
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases6008_crop_zps571448cc.jpg)
Pig-Faced Orc Archers
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases6010_crop_zpsc80eba47.jpg)
Pig-Faced Orc Command Pack II
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases6013_crop_zps887f541e.jpg)
and the group shot
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases6023_crop_zps48910cb5.jpg)
I also shot some non-PFO miniatures. Here is a pair of Otherworlds Wraiths
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases6020_crop_zpsb9997770.jpg)
and some Otherworlds Men of Evil
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases6015_crop_zpscf86349d.jpg)
and finally a non-Otherworlds miniature. It's a WOTC Orc. He's pictured with the PFO Shaman to show off just how huge he is.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases6024_crop_zps9e9633be.jpg)
Sorry if I'm posting too many pictures, but I got excited to see my miniatures looking right on the screen for once.
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Keep the pics comin!
The pig faced orcs look great!
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I would agree. Very nice. More pics!
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Thank you Aggro84 and Syrinx0. I'll keep posting pics when I have the minis to show off.
I've been in a serious fantasy mood lately. I've been using this re-basing project as an excuse to finish off projects that have languished in the basement. The Pig-Faced Orc Shaman has been primed and waiting to paint for over a year. The WOTC orc was painted, but his shield wasn't even primed till March, and he needed some TLC. I'm also using this as an excuse to re-paint some of my older figures that could use improvement. I figure if I've got the miniatures out I might as well make them look as good as I'm capable. I'm also buying more miniatures, because I'm a lead addict just like the rest of you. It doesn't help that my favorite game store has been running it's bi-annual sale lately. Let the lead mountain raise to new glorious heights. Just don't tell my wife I said that. :D
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This is one of my favourite threads. :-*
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The Grand Rebasing Project does allow us to see all these SPLENDIDLY painted minis now bonded together by a common basing technique. The Pig Boys are really OUTSTANDING; that was the style that was in vogue when I first started playing D&D. Keep up the WONDERFUL WORK!
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Elbows, You make me blush. Thank you for such a generous compliment. I'm loving your thread as well. The hovering spiders really gave me the creeps.
And DeafNala, you are one of my miniature heroes. ??? (That sounded better in my head.) Long may your mushrooms rule.
The Pig-Faced Orcs are the reason I started collecting Otherworlds miniatures. I saw an article about the company in an issue of Knights of the Dinner Table with pictures of the PFOs and the Demon Idol. I bought that comic book for one dollar. It has since cost me hundreds.
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Sure the miniatures are now better with their new bases :)
Your paint job and choice of miniatures is intriguing, I especially like the skeleton army :-*
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Thank you Katsuhiko JiNNai. I'm rather partial to the Skeletons too. That's why I have so damn many. Best of all, they're all metal. Mostly older Citadel and Marauder figures if memory serves.
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I'm a bit late to this party, but oh what a thread! :-* I just had to show my mrs your basing techniques and as a total non-gamer who just about tolerates my interests she was well impressed (pardon the pun!). Your painting is also blooming good. I am looking forward to seeing the next bunch of minis. Keep up the fantastic work.
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Thank you Little Odo. I made a big batch of bases a couple weeks ago, but I seem to be burning through them at a fast pace. Guess I'll be making bases this weekend. Tell the Missus I appreciate her praise too. Warms my heart, it does.
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This time I have some big figures, but first off, I re-painted the banshee I posted earlier. It took me some time to realize that an ethereal, ghostly being shouldn't have so much black paint on it. I went back and hit most of the black areas with medium blue, and followed that with a more subtle intermediate blue to tone down the harsh lines. I've kept the black for the eyes and mouth just to give those areas impact.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases7002_crop_zpsf284abbc.jpg)
Next up is a Ral Partha Owl Bear, on the right. The Otherworlds Owl Bear on the left has been seen already. I took this shot to show the size difference. Surprisingly close in scale, especially when you use the same size bases.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases7009_crop_zps6dcb94e0.jpg)
Next is a GW River Troll. He's facing a Grenadeir Barbarian.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases7011_crop_zps1bc3fbfb.jpg)
Finally there is this pair of Otherworlds Ogres.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases7014_crop_zps304d78ce.jpg)
And a shot with the poor Barbarian, to show scale. (He's just not having a good day.)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases7013_crop_zps9eadacb0.jpg)
I really like how these guys turned out. My only fear is that I'll never get this skin color right again.
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OOH! MORE COOL STUFF! The Blue Lady is far more striking in her new colors...a truly Spooky Woman. AND the Monstrous Fellow looks TERRIFIC...GREAT brushwork. VERY WELL DONE!
I've made it a habit of forgetting the color combinations I use for flesh, but I manage to stumble across them when I give up & just go for something close.
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Thank you DeafNala. I'm much happier with how ghost-girl turned out. Now I need to go back and repaint a whole lot of other ghost figures. Shouldn't be a problem, since they will also need new bases.
I've made it a habit of forgetting the color combinations I use for flesh, but I manage to stumble across them when I give up & just go for something close.
I'll probably end up somewhere close on the skin tones when I finally give the next ogres a try. I'm having to figure out new ways to paint my figures anyway, since Reaper went and changed half their squeezy bottle colors without consulting me. It did force me to check out Vallejo paints, which are turning out to be a dream, so I shouldn't complain.
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Very nice. I have most of those minis in my lead pile. Must get to them.
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This is an awesome thread and a spectacular undertaking. I would loose what little sanity I have left if I were to rebase that manny minis like you do.
But keep the pictures flowing they are great and highly inspiring.
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Thank You Beefcake. I say dig out your old minis and let the paint fly. I've enjoyed coming back to my fantasy project so much that I haven't thought about my Aliens stuff in months. That is, till I just mentioned it here. Now I'm thinking...
Thank You Dr. Zombie. I've been checking out your thread in the Workbench section recently and was amazed by how many projects you're not only working on, but finishing too. That's some drive.
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It's well past time to add some pictures, so here goes...
First up, the third and final version (that I own at least) of an Owlbear. I can't remember which company made the guy in the middle, but my theory of matching bases holds up with this guy. These are three very different Owlbears that don't look as mis-matched as you would expect. (other then the completely different way each era of D&D depicts this creature)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases8003_crop_zpsf653d8a9.jpg)
Next up, a Cave Fisher. I love this mini. I didn't even know what the hell a Cave Fisher was till I asked a friend what the mini was. What a great monster to use in a cavern. It sure surprised my group, and they've been playing D&D for decades longer then I have.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases8004_crop_zps628510cd.jpg)
Then there's a D&D 3rd edition Troll. This guy came from the first WOTC Monsters box set that I'm slowly working through. I have been working on that box set for quite a few years now.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases8010_crop_zps350bc866.jpg)
The 3rd ed. troll, the old Owlbear and Cave Fisher were all figures I'd painted long ago, so they are only sporting new bases. These next two images are of brand new painted figures. Two new packs of Drow. These are the second and third set of Otherworlds Drow Warriors. I'm hoping to have the Drow Captain and Priestess done soon too.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases8013_crop_zps4eb42c9e.jpg)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases8014_crop_zps6a44a6cd.jpg)
I have a more figures to show off, but need a chance to get them photographed. Real life has been getting in the way a lot lately.
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Both the old & new minis look WONDERFUL on their shiny new bases. I love the pose on the Owl Bear in the center. GREAT WORK!
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Thank you DeafNala. There's something fun about having three very different Owlbears available to use. All of them still have an old school look about them which is my preference for fantasy.
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Gorgeous stuff, particularly the Drow (which I've never been a big fan of, but you did some marvelous work there!). Well done!
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Finally!!!
I finally had a chance to take some damn photos. I'll start out with some minis I've shown off before, Harlequin Lord of the Rings characters. Now with new dungeon bases. I'd feel guilty for posting these a second time, but this thread was supposed to be about the re-basing project originally. First off, Bilbo and Frodo. These just might be my favorite hobbit/halfling figures ever.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases9024_crop_zps673e472c.jpg)
Next up on the Harlequin Lord of the Rings theme, a soldier of Minas Tirith (I forget his name), Radagast the Brown and Barliman Butterburr. Not exactly a logical grouping, but they do look good together. Still the best Radagast figure by far.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases9031_crop_zps26969ced.jpg)
Then there is this completely arbitrary grouping of player character figures. The first guy is a Wizards of the Coast 3rd edition D&D Rogue. This was back when WOTC still made metal miniatures. The next one is a GW Dwarf. At least I think it's a GW dwarf. I think it might even be a White Dwarf, but I can't be sure. Someone let me know if you have an idea. The last guy is the Warhammer Quest Witch Hunter. I never got the box set he came in but I did score the figure in a blister pack. (Now if only I can find and affordable box set.)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases9022_crop_zpsdf73abfb.jpg)
Here we have a Displacer Beast. This is another 3rd edition D&D metal figure from WOTC. He comes out of the same Monsters box set the Troll comes from. I painted him purple to match his 3rd edition colors. I had originally painted him is shades of blue, but it just didn't look right on this skinny fgure. He's kind of a mangy critter, ain't he?
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases9032_crop_zps49c321f6.jpg)
And now for something completely different. The first Otherworlds miniature I ever bought was the Demon Idol. I saw a picture of this guy in an old issue of Knights of the Dinner Table. I found the comic in a 50 cent box. Since finding that "great deal", I've spent literally hundreds and hundreds of dollars on Otherworlds miniatures. What a bargain.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases9038_crop_zpsb9459904.jpg)
About two years ago, Otherworlds made a special fifth anniversary add-on to the Demon Idol kit. It had an alter, two braisers, two thieves attempting to steal the eyes out of the idol, and a tiny little version of the Idol, just the right size for stealing. When this set showed up at my favorite game store I wanted it immediately. Unfortunately they had already sold the add-on kit, but they had the set with the add-on and the Demon Idol. Guess who ended up buying a second Demon Idol. Fast forward two years and I still haven't finished the add-on kit, but the second Idol is painted. This time I chose to stick closer to the original inspiration to the statue. This time it had to be red. I think it was the right decision.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases9041_crop_zpsc474de19.jpg)
Now all I have to do is decided if I'm going to re-paint the first Idol red, or maybe green or blue, or chose something else completely. What do you guys think?
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Your rebasing project does allow all of us an opportunity to see some of your WONDERFULLY painted pieces...GREAT WORKS ONE & ALL!
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Thanks DeafNala. I'm really enjoying this re-basing project, and it's getting me to finish old minis that have sat for far too long.
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Wow! The demon idols in particular are fantastic!
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Thank you Hubminator. I've said it before and I'll say it again. The Otherworlds Demon Idol is my favorite fantasy miniature. Now what shall I do with the older grey one?
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And a shot with the poor Barbarian, to show scale. (He's just not having a good day.)
Huh, what? if he's anything like Conan, he's having a terrific day!!
I love those Otherworld wights you panted in greyscales; I guess I need them for my GoB Lords of Undeath project (there's always a good reason for buying more stuff completing one's collections ::) )
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Now what shall I do with the older grey one?
For a Dungeon Crawl/R.P.G., I think 'd use the Grey Idol as the way it normally looks & the Red one when the Evil Doers have performed some dastardly ritual...or when tampered with by the Bold Adventurers. They are both SPLENDIDLY painted pieces.
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Great stuff here. Love the owlbears and the various adventurer types. Nice warm colours.
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Wow!!! Back to back compliments from Argonor, DeafNala and freakin' Stone-Cold-Lead... I feel my head swelling to unreasonable proportions. Thank you to all of you.
DeafNala, I'm tempted to go along with your idea of keeping the first Idol grey. But the idea of having a green or blue idol is tempting too. Matakishi has a green idol for his Conan project that always intrigues me. Maybe I should just buy another one. It wouldn't be weird to have three Demon Idols, right? (I can see Mrs. Michka shaking her head and laughing at me right now.)
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Why not go all the way and have 5 to be placed sitting at the points of a BIG pentacle, staring menacingly at the conjurer chanting away in a long forgotten tongue? lol
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That last idol is something really special mate. Love the light sourcing.
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Awesome collection! You did a fantastic job with those demon idols. I like the grey stone effect very much, so I'm in favor of adding more idols! (As long as you're sure that's laughter coming from Mrs. Michka!)
My favorite of your last batch is that Dwarf. He has a great glow about him. The beard and armor and flesh all compliment each other well.
Keep 'em coming!
Jevenkah
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Thank You Commander. I am pretty damn happy with the red idol too. That's the reason I'm so tempted to re-paint the grey one. Given the number of unpainted miniatures I have already I think the grey one is safe. (For now at least.)
Thank you Jevenkah. I really do like the dwarf. I just wish I knew what he was. As I said above, the grey idol is safe for now.
Argonor, the idea of getting five idols is insane. Not exactly impossible, but insane. I'm sure Richard from Otherworlds Miniatures would love the idea.
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Argonor, the idea of getting five idols is insane.
Thank you! ;D lol
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The next one is a GW Dwarf. At least I think it's a GW dwarf. I think it might even be a White Dwarf, but I can't be sure. Someone let me know if you have an idea.
Michka,
Yes the dwarf is a GW dwarf. It is not the White Dwarf. It is infact Skag the Stealthy from the Grudge Of Drong series. :-)
Grimm
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Thank you Grammar. I've been trying to figure that out for ages. Now I have to wonder how stealthy a dwarf can be with an eye-patch.
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Thank you Grammar.
:-(
Grimm
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:-(
Grimm
I just love when auto-correct screws up a person's name. I remember being so careful about getting all the M's and N's in the right spot too.
Thank You GRIMMNAR.
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That's a lot of great stuff!!
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Thank you bandit86. (Checks to see if auto-correct messed up the name...)
I need to get some older minis re-based soon. I made too many of these dungeon bases, and now I'm running out of small magnet sheets to store them on. See...
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases002_crop_zps99c9161d.jpg~original)
The larger magnet sheet is grey because I end up covering the thing with excess paint when I dry-brush all the bases while they're attached to the sheet. I get all my magnet sheets from advertising give-aways, like promo refrigerator magnets and such.
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Hello everyone. I have a nice little batch of older re-based figures. Most of these have been seen in other threads on the forum before. I'm posting them purely as part of the re-basing project, although there might be a new one in here somewhere. Anyway, here goes...
First up, a GW character set that looks suspiciously like a band of merry thieves found in the Sherwood Forrest. Can't remember their Warhammer names, but I sure do like the minis.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases10006_crop_zps5e9edcb5.jpg~original)
Next up, a nice simple female magic-user. She comes from the Reaper Dark Haven line, but doesn't have the big ugly base. Can't remember her name either.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases10010_crop_zps9f9a5ff6.jpg~original)
Here are a pair of Harlequin Lord of the Rings figures. Once again I can't remember what there names are. I really should write these things down on the bottom of the base. Then again I'd just loose the information the next time I re-base them.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases10012_crop_zpse65b30ec.jpg~original)
This is Shalelu Andosana. This is a Reaper Pathfinder miniature based on the illustration in the original Rise of the Runelords book one. They changed her design for the hardback, but I really like the paintings from the first version. I will be posting more Pathfinder miniatures on this thread soon.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases10013_crop_zpsa814f170.jpg~original)
And finally, this is a Thug. He's a figure from the Reaper Warlord line that I found in a sale bin. Bought in on a whim, and now it's one of my favorite figures.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases10015_crop_zps12705de5.jpg~original)
That's it for today. Hopefully I'll have some more stuff posted soon, including some minis I've been painting lately.
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This is one of my favourite threads. Keep going! lol
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From the Merry Men right through the Ubercool Thug, your creations on their new bases are WONDERFULLY WELL DONE!
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Thank you Elbows. I quite like your Heroquest thread as well.
Thank you Deafnala. I have been working on my own terrain project lately, which has been slowing down my figure painting. I blame you and Peithetairos for this.
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Excellent work on all those minis. The demon idol on the other page looks great. Your source lighting is amazing :)
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Now it might be the excellent way you've painted them, but those old Harlequin LOTR figures look way nicer than I remember.
The rest of the stuff on here is ace too.
J
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Thank you Beefcake. As I've said before, the Demon Idol is my favorite fantasy miniature.
Thank you Mystic Spiral. I really loved the Harlequin LOTR range. The human troops are rather basic, but the Orcs are pretty great (Come to think of it, have I posted pictures of the Orcs yet?) and I love all the character. I'll never have a complete set of Harlequin LOTR characters, but that just means I can take my time on the ones I have.
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Can't remember their Warhammer names, but I sure do like the minis.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases10006_crop_zps5e9edcb5.jpg)
Bertrand le Brigand & Hugo Le Petit & Guy le Gros. I once planned to use them as my coaching team for Oakhill Rangers, my BB human team (Motto: Protect and Survive) lol
I still have them primed... somewhere... in an old GW transport case with the rest of the team.
Love the females!
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Thanks Argonor. I knew it started with 'B' and sounded French. (I had to ask my wife if "French" was capitalized. I probably shouldn't be writing so early in the morning.) I love GW fantasy figures from this era. Wish I picked up more of the Dogs Of War line from this period too. So many good sculpts.
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Thank you Deafnala. I have been working on my own terrain project lately, which has been slowing down my figure painting. I blame you and Peithetairos for this.
You are most welcome...thank you for an inspiring thread.
Feel free to blame me for your terrain madness...I've become accustomed to being a bad example. AND, if you need any advice, I'd be delighted too be of assistance.
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DeafNala, I will remember your offer. I'll try to post some WIP shots soon.
So, I'm actually doing an update in less then a week. I'm on a roll. First up, I finally can show off my Otherworlds Shambling Mound. I've had the miniature painted for a couple months now, but had to make a different base for this guy. I just couldn't see a vegetable monster on a standard dungeon base. He needed vines and green stuff under foot. His base turned out so well I may have to do some more outdoor encounter bases. Two shots for this guy, both front and back.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Dungeonbases11a005_crop_zpsc6ea5524.jpg~original)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Dungeonbases11a002_crop_zps5fdd5a8c.jpg~original)
Next we have a pair of Lord of the Rings figures. This time some GW characters. I never did find a Harlequin Gandalf and I don't know if they made Denathor. Gandalf's robes are bugging me, so there may be some re-painting in his future.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Dungeonbases11a022_crop_zps417bfa39.jpg~original)
Here are a pair of Pathfinder characters from Reaper. They are Tsuto Kaijitsu and Queen Ileosa.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Dungeonbases11a028_crop_zpsee108830.jpg~original)
Also from Reaper's Pathfinder line, a pair of Sinspawn. There is only one sculpt of this creature but a little judicious bending gives me a bit of variety.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases11002_crop_zps7b11af6d.jpg~original)
And finally I have an Evil Sorcerer with his Sacrificial Victim on Alter from Bronze Age miniatures. He is assisted by three Otherworlds Evil Acolytes. I had the robed dudes and the Sorcerer painted up with purple robes before. I was going for an Erol Otis look. Instead I got a pretty silly group that wouldn't have scared a first level adventuring party. So when it was time to chose a new color scheme I defaulted to your basic red. (There's a reason stereotypes hang around for so long.)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Dungeonbases11a019_crop_zps807fcab8.jpg~original)
I wasn't sure how worried I should be about the naked victim, so I draped a blanket over her for modesty. Mind you it may not be the most effective blanket ever.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DUNGEONBASES11018_crop_zps4fb1ab12.jpg~original)
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When you are about to be a sacrifice, modesty is of little or no concern...VERY NICE sheer effect. The quality & variety of your creations is breath taking. GREAT WORK!
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Fantastic work :-*
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Awesome work, I've "almost bought" those acolytes a half dozen times. One of these days I may actually pull the trigger.
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Thank you DeafNala. The shear blanket is something of a cheat. I just used a single ply from a Kleenex, dampened with a bit of water. After taking the picture I removed the 'blanket'. She looks better without it.
Thank you Mick_in_Switzerland and Elbows. I really love the Otherworlds Evil Acolytes. Then again I love most of the Otherworlds range, so that's not a surprise. They aren't cheap here in the States, but they're worth it.
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"It came from beyond the... vegetable garden!" lol
Great swamp thing, shambler, whatever :)
I think Gandalf's robes are nice, but his face/beard could do with a bit more definition - at least as shown by the pic (could be the light).
Is it the 'black-lining'/deep shading that's bothering you?
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Very nice painting!
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Thank you Argonor. I'm really happy with the Shambler too.
I think Gandalf's robes are nice, but his face/beard could do with a bit more definition - at least as shown by the pic (could be the light).
Is it the 'black-lining'/deep shading that's bothering you?
Yeah, it's the black lining. I used to do a black line on everything. Now I'm trying to cut back on that. I still like the effect on some work, but Gandalf's robes are so light that it comes off poorly. I agree about the face too. He doesn't look as bad in some photos, or in real life, so it's definitely the on-camera flash. I need to improve my photography skills. I used to be a professional for Pete's sake.
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Thank you Argonor. I'm really happy with the Shambler too.
Yeah, it's the black lining. I used to do a black line on everything. Now I'm trying to cut back on that. I still like the effect on some work, but Gandalf's robes are so light that it comes off poorly. I agree about the face too. He doesn't look as bad in some photos, or in real life, so it's definitely the on-camera flash. I need to improve my photography skills. I used to be a professional for Pete's sake.
I find that using flash is a bad way to light a miniature for photography;
I'm doing it like this, with really nice results:
http://argonor-wargames.blogspot.dk/search/label/Photography
As for the black-lining, yes, it's a bit 'hard'. I find that a notably darker shade of the base colour works better for definition.
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Thank You Warburton.
I checked out your photography set-up Argonor, and there are some ideas I will be stealing. What I really need to do is set up a space in the basement to take pictures. At the moment I just shoot on the dining room table whenever I have enough stuff to show off. I end up taking lots of shots and picking out the good ones. If I'm not happy I re-shoot before I've put the figures away. I also agree on the black line work. I've been working away from that style for some time.
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Another update in just two days!!! I'm on a roll. Anyway, I'll start out with a miniature I already showed here before. See if you can spot the difference.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases12016_crop_zpsf05a988a.jpg~original)
The difference is I re-based the displacer beast. Originally I had it on a 50mm round base. Such a skinny creature just didn't look right on that type of base. I tried a GW Bike base but it was too long, so I cut a Bike base down the a more reasonable size, 50mm long instead of 72mm. Here's a comparison photo with the bike base on the left side and the 50mm base on the right. (Note: I'm already re-basing things I've put on a dungeon base. I might be obsessed.)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases12017_crop_zps741cbdc9.jpg~original)
And here is a GW Lord of the Rings Nazgul on horseback. I used another cut down dungeon base for this one. I've had this figure painted for two years but could never find the right base for it. Now it has a nice road to race along.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases12012_crop_zpsa38b452f.jpg~original)
Next up, a WOTC metal Umber Hulk. I love this figure. I just wish WOTC hadn't switched to collectible plastic, because the plastic version of this creature just doesn't make the cut for me.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases12001_crop_zpsa748c8ff.jpg~original)
I took another picture of the Umber Hulk facing off against the poor barbarian to show the size of this thing.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases12021_crop_zpsda086787.jpg~original)
And finally I have a group of four Reaper Gremlins. These guys had integral bases and really thin legs, so my usual method wasn't going to work. Instead I trimmed the bases down to a minimal size and used the remaining slab of integral base as a flagstone worked into the base design. It wasn't completely seamless, but at the size of these figures you really can't see the difference.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases12025_crop_zps5199ac76.jpg~original)
and one last shot of the barbarian facing the Gremlins. I guess he survived the Umber Hulk.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases12028_crop_zps8a0153cc.jpg~original)
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Great stuff - I really like your collection and painting style ;)
Mick
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Another update in just two days!!! I'm on a roll. Anyway, I'll start out with a miniature I already showed here before. See if you can spot the difference.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases12016_crop_zpsf05a988a.jpg)
The difference is I re-based the displacer beast. Originally I had it on a 50mm round base. Such a skinny creature just didn't look right on that type of base. I tried a GW Bike base but it was too long, so I cut a Bike base down the a more reasonable size, 50mm long instead of 72mm. Here's a comparison photo with the bike base on the left side and the 50mm base on the right. (Note: I'm already re-basing things I've put on a dungeon base. I might be obsessed.)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases12017_crop_zps741cbdc9.jpg)
And here is a GW Lord of the Rings Nazgul on horseback. I used another cut down dungeon base for this one. I've had this figure painted for two years but could never find the right base for it. Now it has a nice road to race along.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases12012_crop_zpsa38b452f.jpg)
Next up, a WOTC metal Umber Hulk. I love this figure. I just wish WOTC hadn't switched to collectible plastic, because the plastic version of this creature just doesn't make the cut for me.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases12001_crop_zpsa748c8ff.jpg)
I took another picture of the Umber Hulk facing off against the poor barbarian to show the size of this thing.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases12021_crop_zpsda086787.jpg)
And finally I have a group of four Reaper Gremlins. These guys had integral bases and really thin legs, so my usual method wasn't going to work. Instead I trimmed the bases down to a minimal size and used the remaining slab of integral base as a flagstone worked into the base design. It wasn't completely seamless, but at the size of these figures you really can't see the difference.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases12025_crop_zps5199ac76.jpg)
and one last shot of the barbarian facing the Gremlins. I guess he survived the Umber Hulk.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases12028_crop_zps8a0153cc.jpg)
Gale force Nine has a Umber Hulk that is really nice. http://www.flamesofwar.com/gf9online_store.aspx?CategoryID=13326
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Another VERY COOL & diverse Group of Fantasy Folk! The Umber Hulk & the Gremlin with the eye patch lead in coolness points. GREAT WORK ONCE MORE!
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Thank You Mick-In-Switzerland. One of the fun things about doing a re-basing project is you find all these old minis that you haven't seen in a while. I never thought I had a decent collection till I had to dig out the old stuff.
Chuck1372, That is a nice Umber Hulk. I assume it's made out of resin, which I'm not excited about. Has anyone built this thing? Has anyone posted pictures of it next to a 28mm miniature of a known quantity?
DeafNala, I like the gremlins too. Thanks for the kind comments.
It'll probably be a while before my next batch. I've got plenty of bases made, but not as many ready to go minis.
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A quick update with a few figures I re-based. (There's something else in the works too, but my players haven't seen it and I don't want to ruin the surprise.) Anyway, I'll start off with a pair of Pathfinder bad guys, or girls as the case may be. The gal with the red hand is Nualia, who plays a big part in the beginning of Rise of the Runelords. The winged critter is a quasit named Erylium.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases14withMammy013_crop_zpsb76daf39.jpg~original)
Next we have a low level magic-user named Lyrie Akenja. She also plays a part in the beginning of Rise of the Runelords. It's a small part. This is a nice mini that the photo is not helping.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases14withMammy015_crop_zps8ee30961.jpg~original)
The last Pathfinder figure is a Plague Doctor. I pick this guy up way before we started playing Pathfinder, just because I liked him.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases14withMammy020_crop_zpsb3686894.jpg~original)
Last but not least, some Stirges from Otherworlds. Such nasty little buggers.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases14withMammy008_crop_zps379e21fc.jpg~original)
and there you have it. Hopefully I'll have something more exciting soon, as I'm deep into prepping for the up coming campaign.
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Wow! It's been a month since I added any photos. I've been working furiously on miniatures for the Pathfinder campaign I'm running right now. For those of you who know Pathfinder, I'm running Rise of the Runelord part 3: the Hook Mountain Massacre. Since many of the characters in this campaign don't exist I needed to make some. This means it's time to learn how to sculpt. My very first sculpt is Mammy Graul, a humungous Ogrekin woman. You can easily look up the original artwork for her, but this is my interpretation.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases15withLightBox010_crop_zps3134b86c.jpg~original)
I'm sorry the photo is so large. I would change the size, but Photbucket is giving me problems right now. That also means I can't show off any more images. I also apologize for the quality of the photo. I'm experimenting with a new light box set up, and it isn't going great. I need to learn more about white balancing my camera.
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Let's try this again. I've taken a couple more photos of Mammy Graul. These should be a bit better. I still can't re-size anything without loosing Photobucket, so more giant pictures.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/LightBoxTest2006_crop_zpsd55ac880.jpg~original)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/LightBoxTest2007_crop_zps843477ad.jpg~original)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/LightBoxTest2005_crop_zpsdb237053.jpg~original)
and a couple shots of the WIP. I started with FIMO for the initial shape. Then I added details with green stuff.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/WIPGIJoeandMammysculpt012_crop_zps5f32e965.jpg~original)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/WIPGIJoeandMammysculpt017_crop_zps43fba81a.jpg~original)
It just wouldn't be the Graul Homestead without some of Mammy's Boys. I converted three of these Ogrekin from Heroclix, with the fourth being an original Pathfinder Ogrekin. All of them were repainted and re-based so they would match.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases15withLightBox016_crop_zpse618ce66.jpg~original)
And finally I have a shot of my measure sticks. These are just wooden dowels, cut to six inches and marked off at each inch.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases15withLightBox017_crop_zpsf594331d.jpg~original)
I got the idea from The DM Craft, a You Tube series with lots of cool ideas for quick and dirty terrain making for RPGs.
More pictures soon.
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Cool Mammy, very great sculpting for a first time!
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Nice, characterful sculpt; and a beautiful project overall.
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Thank you von Lucky and LordOdo. I'm having a blast learning to sculpt. I've sculpted a few more things since Mammy, a few pieces of furniture as well as another monster. I left the furniture over at the house we game at, so it has to wait. My new monster will have to wait till I've unveiled it to the game group, since one of my players visits this board often.
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this post is just going better everytime I look at it ! Great work ;)
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That's your first sculpt? I'm very impressed; she's got bags of character.
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Thank you Penchour and Garnhir. It's fun sculpting monsters and other creatures. I'll have to learn a lot more before I'm ready to make anything humanoid.
I do have a couple more photos to show. Here is a set piece I made to decorate the house, and give it that creepy feeling I'm always looking for.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases15withLightBox019_crop_zpsbc5c4870.jpg~original)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases15withLightBox021_crop_zps3cc535fa.jpg~original)
And these are some doors I made for the house.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases15withLightBox022_crop_zps692566ae.jpg~original)
To get the doors to match I made a jig out of Styrofoam and old Xacto blades. Just line the bottom of the cut pieces of balsa wood up with a line between the blades, glue strips of thin wood to the front and presto, door. Then I glue another thin piece of wood for the base, tapered at the edges, which I reinforce with a thin piece of plastic. I add the rounded ends of coffee stirrers to the door to represent door handles.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases15withLightBox025_crop_zps2d4e2d32.jpg~original)
This idea is modified version of something I saw on the DMG Info You Tube series. Watching You Tube videos while making stuff has been very inspiring.
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OOOH! LOTS OF COOL STUFF since last I stopped in. I LOVE your original creation, Mammy Graul...GREAT WORK!
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Thank you DeafNala. You realize you are partially to blame for this. I never would have gone this far overboard if I hadn't been so inspired by your land of mushrooms, grave yards, and creepy back alleys. Between You, Peithetairos, and Jevenkah, a simple game on an erasable grid map just doesn't cut it anymore.
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Thank you DeafNala. You realize you are partially to blame for this. I never would have gone this far overboard if I hadn't been so inspired by your land of mushrooms, grave yards, and creepy back alleys. Between You, Peithetairos, and Jevenkah, a simple game on an erasable grid map just doesn't cut it anymore.
Thanks, Michka...it's always nice to find out I've been useful for something. Getting carried away with things can be a very satisfying experience.
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Well that's a heck of a job for a first sculpt. Don't believe I have the eyes (nor the talent) to attempt such an undertaking. This thread has been equally inspiring to me as I toil away on my own dungeon crawl monsters...(I suppose I should post some more huh?). Very cool stuff.
The big fat broad is not invited to my dungeon (posts a sign out front "no fat chicks").
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Thank you Elbows. No fear of Mammy Gaul showing up at your dungeon. She can barely get out of her bed. I'll show said bed when I get it back later this week, along with some more furniture.
Now when do we get top see some more of your monsters? (I can't really talk. It was a month between posts for me.)
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I ran another game last night, so I can reveal more goodies. First off, one of my players recommended I take a picture of Mammy Graul with a normal sized character to show off the size difference. Good idea Mike. These are the Harlequin LOTR figures Radagast, and that Gondorian Soldier guy I can never remember the name of.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases16Tendriculos006_crop_zps4fa183f7.jpg)
My big reveal of the night was the most ambitious sculpt I've done so far, a Tendriculos.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases16Tendriculos010_crop_zps41e78039.jpg)
Now I'd never ever heard of a Tendriculos before seeing the stat line for this thing in the module. With a quick web search I found a couple different versions of this monster. One was obviously a Pathfinder reference painting. I based my sculpt on that picture. Here is a shot of the sculpt before it was primed.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/LightBoxTest2009_crop_zps6d3b8f21.jpg)
The base shapes were made from Super Sculpey. That's the flesh colored stuff used for the trunk and the mouth. The rest of it is Green Stuff and Brown Stuff. I was able to make the base shapes in one night. I added Green Stuff/Brown Stuff details the next night. This is not a good way to do sculpting. The amount of detail I lost while mishandling the fresh, uncured Green Stuff is sad. Not to mention the many, many finger prints that appear on the surface.
After getting the thing painted on the third night, I wasn't satisfied with how it looked. I wanted it to be more menacing, so at the last minute I decided to make a base with some extra tentacles.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases16Tendriculos017_crop_zps22e1f891.jpg)
And I mean the last minute. I sculpted the tentacles out of Super Sculpey, baked the tentacles, attached the tentacles to a large base covered in textured Green Stuff, added more Green Stuff vines and such to the base, primed it and painted it in FIVE HOURS. See, game was at 6:30 last night, and I hadn't gone to bed yet. (I work third shift, so I don't sleep at normal times.) I'm sure there's a lesson her, but hell if I know what it is. Here are some more shots of the Tendriculos, including some scale pictures. Sorry there are no WIP shots of the base. There just wasn't time.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases16Tendriculos013_crop_zps92c647a0.jpg)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases16Tendriculos021_crop_zps0722c851.jpg)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases16Tendriculos022_crop_zpsfb48b26d.jpg)
That's all for now. I have some more pictures of furniture and decor from the Graul house coming soon. There will also be some pictures of the actual building, just as soon as I figure out the best way to take those pictures.
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Now that is cool. I like that even better than the Maul chick.
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Yeah, totally awesome. And it's not even one of my gaming genres!
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I think the lesson to be learned is, sleep deprivation makes waaaaaay cool sculpts! It's been a while since I got to visit your thread. Your original sculpts are great! Nothing says creepy like a stopped clock. Mammy Graul is awesome, nice character. I especially love all the greens and browns on the Tendriculos (I was unfamiliar with the monster as well, sounded like something from my son's Poke-deck).
The Sacrificial gang is a fine set. We've almost bought that unlucky lady a few times, and your purple acolyte story gave me a chuckle.
I'm excited our game can inspire/obsess others! It's a fun part of the hobby when one realizes, "This is about whatever I want to create!" and if you want a 12-foot-tall giant green ogress in your game, you go make one! And if you want a temple for her to be worshipped in, you make that too. And if you want that temple to be in a lush, overgrown jungle, with mud huts dotting the 4' x 6' landscape...well, it doesn't ever stop!
Thanks for sharing!
Jevenkah
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Thank you Elbows and von Lucky. You can probably tell I'm pretty darn happy with how the Tendriculos turned out.
And Thank You Jevenkah. Learning that you can make the monsters instead of finding someone else's version, and hoping you can find or afford to get them, has been a real eye opener. I'm deep into running Rise of the Runelords right now, so all my focus is on prepping for that game. though when I have some free time I'll be looking for more monsters that don't exist in miniature. I'm thinking about starting with the Stupidest Monsters in D&D lists. Plenty of creatures that need homes on those lists.
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The latest Beasty is a BEAUTY...so to speak. The addition of the tentacles &, of course the mushrooms, make the mini. VERY WELL DONE!
You may have noticed that green stuff & sculpting in general is highly addictive, AND without a 12 Step Program in sight.
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Thank you DeafNala. I was thinking of you while I was making those mushrooms you know.
And yes, sculpting is addictive as hell. I like working with Green Stuff, and I'm learning to use Pro Create and Brown Stuff too, but I need to give up the Super Sculpey soon if I ever want to have anything cast.
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Jaw dropping, superb, Tendriculous!
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Your Tendriculous is meticulous & ridiculous.
Sorry, I had to. It's a beautiful sculpt, and all the more impressive for the speed at which you executed. This thing could clearly be used in Cthulhu mythos games as well. Congrats.
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Thank You joshuaslater. I understand Doomsdave. Sometimes word play will not go away till it's shared with many. Come to think of it, I've always wanted to run a Cthulhu Mythos dominated D&D game. I've got stats for most of the mythos for many, many systems, including Pathfinder, AD&D, Savage Worlds and so on. It should be very do-able.
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I finally got a few extra minutes, so here are a few more photos of set pieces and furniture from my game.
This is the second sculpt I did, the bear skin rug. A really easy little exercise with Super Sculpey.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/a78b7fdf-2be1-47f9-9357-aeb63cefe74d_zps0844477f.jpg)
A hearth and a couch. It took longer to find a reference for the couch then it took to sculpt it.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases16Tendriculos031_crop_zpseb8359e6.jpg)
I needed seven beds for one room. Unfortunately the beds were taking too long to make, so I just made mattresses. I figured Ogrekin wouldn't be picky about where they slept.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases16Tendriculos034_crop_zpscb1d38bc.jpg)
Tables. You can't have enough tables. These were made out of balsa wood, toothpicks, even Green Stuff on plastic.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases16Tendriculos039_crop_zps086c4d4c.jpg)
And finally, I made some rather disturbing piles of stuff to leave in rooms for the player to find. Describing a pile of human skins is one thing. Seeing it on the table is a whole other level of creepy.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases16Tendriculos037_crop_zpsded589e0.jpg)
Next up (when I figure out how to take the picture) the actually Graul Family homestead.
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COOL STUFF! It's the little touches that make a Dungeon/terrain piece interesting...the gory bits add a different interpretation of "interesting". GREAT WORK on them all!
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I agree, wonderfully creepy stuff.
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Amazing work, altogether. Thanks for sharing.
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Very nice stuff, keep up the good work.
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Absolutely awesome. Love those bits...all of them. (gets in car to come rob you)
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Thank you DeafNala. A different interpretation of interesting is what I'm looking for.
Thank you von Lucky, Bayushieseni and Beefcake. It's great to be able to show this stuff off finally.
Elbows, please don't steal my stuff. If all my gaming stuff disappears my wife will realize how much room it takes up and I'll never be given room to store miniatures again.
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Michka,
Nice sculpting. I particularly like the fireplace and Victorian coach. Nice painting on the sculpts too. The skin and organ piles are a bit disturbing but should be very effective on your game table.
LB
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Cracking work Michka! Your own sculpts are great! They must be some fun games!! 8) 8)
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Top stuff! :o
I can't decide if your last few sculpts are disturbingly brilliant or brilliantly disturbing.... lol
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Thank you marianas_gamer. Most of the disturbing stuff, like the pile of skins, is actually mentioned in the module. I'm not usually inclined to gore, but when the adventure calls for a mood I'm up to the task.
Thank You Andym. The game was indeed fun. The characters can't wait to burn the house down when they get the chance.
And Thank you to Modhail. My wife agrees. She can't decide either.
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This game has been a lot of fun. Michka's really done a fine job on the figures and terrain. Moments of note:
Elf Rogue: "I open the door."
Michka: "This is what you see." (Places Mammy Graul figure on board).
Elf Rogue: "I close the door."
A bit later the ranger tried to jump across a table and fell into the pile of innards with the face on top...
We are so burning this place down. lol
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lol
LAF has reinforced the value of battlefield clutter on the table in adding an extra layer.
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OK, after some technical errors on my part, I have some photos of the terrain for the Graul Family Homestead. I've only included a few bad guys in the shots. These are mostly to show off where the baddies could be found. Warning: If you ever plan to play this module there are some serious spoilers here. Actually the last few pages of this thread are spoilers, but this will really show you how the sausage is made. You've been warned...
Anyway, The main floor...
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases19GraulMainFloor002_crop_zpsfb2bf8b8.jpg)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases19GraulMainFloor006_crop_zps11138eb9.jpg)
Next up, the second floor...
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases18GraulHomesteadredux014_crop_zps87a78416.jpg)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases18GraulHomesteadredux016_crop_zps4f9313c2.jpg)
And my favorite level, the Basement...
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases18GraulHomesteadredux020_crop_zps9181492a.jpg)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases18GraulHomesteadredux027_crop_zps185c26db.jpg)
This close up of the Tendriculos lair shows off the shiny goo effect I got by leaving lots of white glue on the walls, so it pooled in the corners. The whole basement is coated in white glue to give it that moist look.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases18GraulHomesteadredux022_crop_zps053e1abc.jpg)
and finally, the Barn. This was a last minute addition, and it shows.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases18GraulHomesteadredux033_crop_zpsf709cb02.jpg)
The ends of the barn were made by cutting a farm toy in half. These halves came off, so players could see what was going on inside. Also, Mammy Graul makes her triumphant return at this stage.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases18GraulHomesteadredux035_crop_zps85db7afc.jpg)
and the last room, which was the lair of a huge spider. The webs area was removable. The removable web was not a success, but the players got the idea. The two guys in the corner were prisoners supposedly held in a cell. I didn't get the cell made in time. Like I said, last minute.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/DungeonBases18GraulHomesteadredux036_crop_zps0440024b.jpg)
I learned a lot putting this together. For one, I learned I'm capable of working far faster then I expect. I also learned that no matter how fast I work, it still takes time to do the project right. The biggest discovery is that staying slavishly close to the original map from the module is a pan in the ass. It's a lot easier to draw a corner on a map then it is to make one out of foamcore. Next time I will be making some serious modifications.
I wish I'd done a more interesting paint job on the main and second floors. I wish I had a few more days to work on the barn. All in all, I'm happy with how it all turned out, and I can't wait to get more work done on the next installment.
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All I can say is wow!
When I played D&D, we came never further then using a plastic sheet with 1" grid and markers in all kind of colors. While I know soem people prefer to leave everything up to their imagination (which I like as well), having props or even entire setups can help a lot in setting the mood.
Your stuff looks so nice that it make me want to start my own project as well as restart D&D, but I'll keep it easy and just incorporate parts into the Descent campaign that we are going to run. Thanks for all the inspiration!
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Thank you Braxandur. I enjoy gaming without miniatures too, but every once in a while I have a need to depict what's happening in three dimensions. I've been fascinated with using miniatures in role playing games since I played Twilight 2000 in Mike Pennock's basement almost thirty years ago. Green felt fields and lichen trees will always have a place in my heart.
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The Old Homestead looks TERRIFIC...I LOVE the basement. GREAT WORK!
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Very cool. Are the boxes from Pegasus? They look rather large - but neat. Love the detail you put into this (though I've never much agreed with big pre-planned RPG books/adventures). Awesome attention to detail.
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Thank you DeafNalla. I'm glad to finally get these shots up. One thing I learned from making the basement, a coat of white glue makes foamcore really sturdy. I may be doing that to everything in the future. I'll do the painting over the glue coat though. Not everything needs to look moist.
Thank you Elbows. I can't remember where I got the crates from. They are obnoxiously large, but it helps fills space really well.
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Nice work.
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This isn't exactly part of the fantasy project, but I didn't want to start a new thread for one frog. My mother-in-law collects frogs. She's also interested in genealogy. So the obvious thing to do is sculpt a frog looking at a family tree, right? Well, maybe not, but that's what I did. Here it is.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/TardisandGayespresent087_crop_zps87c1e201.jpg)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/TardisandGayespresent088_crop_zps53356ca7.jpg)
and a better look at the Family Tree.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/TardisandGayespresent090_crop_zps94db7bf2.jpg)
I sculpted the frog out of Super Sculpey, then added the eye lids and repaired a couple spots with Green Stuff. Here's a shot from before it got painted.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/TardisandGayespresent080_crop_zpsbeb0c135.jpg)
The base is a piece of foamcore with coffee stir sticks glued to it. The Family Tree is a piece of plasticard, curled on itself a few dozen times. Then it was sprayed, painted in tan and browns. I used a Micron pen to write out the lines and names. It was a quick little project that I think my Mom in law will get a kick out of.
Let me know what you think.
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Cute, I am sure she will love it :D
You should have made it a tree-frog. And have him sitting in a tree, looking at the family tree... Too much? Yeah, maybe.
Good job though!
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Cool! :)
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That is one UBERCOOL Little Frog...GREAT IDEA & VERY WELL DONE! This ought to put you in your Mother In-laws good graces.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
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Nice work.
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Thank you Warburton and Von Lucky. I'm happy with him.
Thank you Timbor. The original idea for this was having the frog sitting at a desk, looking through books and charts. The project was radically simplified as the deadline approached. There's nothing like the last minute to inspire and refine artwork.
Thank You DeafNala. I'm really lucky to have a Mother-In-Law that I actually like. She's worth making a gift for. Besides, it keeps my sculpting skills from atrophying.
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Cool. Simple definetly worked best well in this case.
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Looking very cool!
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Thanks Syrinx0 and LordOdo. I'll let you all know what she thought of the gift tomorrow.
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Before I get started, my mother-in-law really liked her frog. My step-father really liked his sculpture too, but I forgot to take pictures of that one, so details will have to wait.
I finally have something new to show from my Pathfinder campaign. These are shots of the terrain I built for the second chapter of the Hook Mountain Massacre, which is part of the Rise of the Runelords adventure path. The terrain was made using the 2.5D crafting method that DM Scotty invented. DM Scotty is a YouTube host that makes terrain for fantasy role playing games. You can look him up under the title of The DM's Craft. The other site I get ideas from often is The DMG Info. Much of the furniture is based on ideas I got from him. These methods may not be as useful in traditional wargaming, but for games like Heroquest, Watrhammer Quest and RPGs it works splendidly.
OK, enough of the exposition. Here's the main floor of Fort Rannick.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/EttinandRannick25main012_crop_zps27477c92.jpg)
Here is an overhead view of the fort. The lay-out was heavily modified so I could make re-usable tiles, rather the a dedicated map of this one site.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/EttinandRannick25main016_crop_zpsf0ed8fb3.jpg)
The base of the tiles are made with foam core. The walls are 1/4" by 1/4" balsa wood strips. The doors are the same ones used in the farm house from an earlier post. The braziers are tea lights with hot glue added to the flame piece, and wooden pieces set around the flame. The rest of the furniture is either made from balsa wood or Super Sculpey. You can find videos for most of these on YouTube. That's where I got the ideas.
Next up is the second floor.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/25Rannick2ndfloor004_crop_zps7195d8e6.jpg)
Here is the overhead view. This lay out was also heavily modified from the maps, mainly so I didn't have to make a round building, and so the stairs lined up with the ones from the main floor.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/25Rannick2ndfloor001_crop_zpsd777a9d9.jpg)
This particular chapter is rather grizzly. Actually, this whole module has been grizzly, as can be seen in the Graul Family homestead. To sell the mood, I made a bunch of mangled corpses in pools of blood. These were simple sculpts made from Super Sculpey glued to plasticard that was painted red and gloss coated.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/25Bodiesandstorage002_crop_zps674ce5a9.jpg)
and finally, here is a shot of all this terrain, contained in two boxes. Well, I should say almost contained.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/25Bodiesandstorage004_crop_zps9646f8fc.jpg)
And that's all I have for today. Let me know what you think. If you're interested, I can explain what I did in more detail. I can even take some closer shots of the furniture if anyone is interested.
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That looks SPLENDID; so much better than the minimalist methods of my long gone AD&D days. You have a pleasant place for looting & slaying things there...so to speak. GREAT WORK!
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I like the way you have done this. Well done :)
I may copy your idea for dead based on plasticard blood pools. ;)
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Thank you DeafNala and Mick_in_Switzerland. Mick, I'm proud to say the dead guys in pools of blood was my creation. Well, proud and a little disturbed.
I've been running this Pathfinder campaign now for a couple years now. Using the 2.5D terrain has certainly added something to the game. My biggest problem now is getting the terrain made quickly enough for the games every week. Fortunately a set up like this one will get used for a month at a time. All the furniture can be used over and over, and if I ever settle on how I want the tiles to look they will be re-usable too.
After looking at the photos on my tablet, I need to re-paint the doors and maybe a couple furniture pieces. All the brown tends to mend together at a distance.
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The braziers are tea lights with hot glue added to the flame piece, and wooden pieces set around the flame.
I've been wanting to do some tea light based flaming altars and such and wondering what to use for the actual flame. I'd vaguely considered hot glue but not pursued the idea, I shall now have to break out the hot glue gun soon and give it a try, seeing how good your braziers look!
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Thank you Wirelizard. The braziers are based on a DM's Craft video I found on YouTube.
Well it's finally time for another update. I've been fighting some serious Fantasy burn-out lately, so I haven't been visiting these threads lately. Here's hoping I can get back in the swing soon. Here are a couple pictures from the basement level of Fort Rannick.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/SkullRippergreenandRannickbasement005_crop_zpsc6100bd9.jpg)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/SkullRippergreenandRannickbasement006_crop_zpsf6b40d7d.jpg)
And here is the villain of the scene. She's a Lamia, so I needed a human form and a snake form. The base on the snake form was a last minute addition. It looks terrible in the picture, but no one really notices it when you're playing. (See, I said I was burned out.)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/SkullRippergreenandRannickbasement015_crop_zps56c7de92.jpg)
This dungeon tile is made form two different styles of foam core. The top layer is cheap dollar store foam core that you can peal the paper off of easily. Then you can engrave the surface with a ball point pen and roll an aluminum foil ball over it for texture. Cover in thinned down white glue to strengthen it. Add the 1/4" by 1/4" balsa wood strips to the edge for that 2.5D effect and you're golden. The cages were made from hair curlers. Hot glued a piece of plasticard to the top, more hot glue to make it creepy and paint the thing.
Let me know what you think. More to come soon.
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The Lamia is a little out of focus, but looks LOVELY anyway. AND the basement digs look WONDERFUL. The hot glue work on the cages does add a certain creepy ambiance. GREAT WORK!
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Thank you DeafNala. I noticed the focus issue late last night, but since these're just re-painted collectible plastic figures I figured they didn't need a re-shoot.
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Photobucket must just be bugging out today. I can't see the third image and tried on both my PC and my phone. Happened in another thread earlier.
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Fortunately the third picture is the worst of the bunch. Blurry photo of two basic plastic re-paints. Not really worth the extra effort.
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Hey,
I just love the cages. Did you nip your mothers curlers for them? Looks like curlers.
Or what are they made from?
Btw: Great dungeon!
Cheers GS
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Thank you **GS**. Those are indeed curlers. Actually I bought them from a dollar store. (Mom didn't have any lying about.) These are the big ones with the felt stuff wrapped around them. The felt stuff comes off easy. After all, what do you expect from a dollar store.
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Great Idea!
I might borrow it though.
Cheers
GS
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Bloody brilliant idea for cages!
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I have to be honest. I got the idea from the DM's Craft forums. Using too much hot glue and making it look icky though, now that was my idea.
Well, it was my accident, that got turned into an idea. I am being honest after all.
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Those cages are awesome. I love the goopiness of them.
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This whole thread is fantastic. I love the diversity of miniatures on show, and your terrain is brilliant.
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Fantastic scenery! I love the 2.5d work you've done. It has a neat old-school vibe while being a great excuse to use more minis.
Jevenkah
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Thank you Beefcake. 'Goopiness' is the perfect description of that look. Consider it appropriated. (I had to teach my tablet the word 'Goopiness' just now, because 'Goofiness' does not mean the same thing.)
Thank You Duke Donald. I'm enjoying terrain making more then I ever have before.
Thank you Jerenkah. I will never have the impressive, high quality set up you have. That said, using the 2.5D method means I can come up with something new fairly quickly. That's a good thing for my RPG group.
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And now for the next chapter of the Hook Mountain Massacre...
We start with the top of the dam known as Skull's Crossing.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/SkullsCrossingDamandBuilding007_crop_zps979ca09e.jpg)
The gaps in the dam caused much enjoyment (for the GM), as the wet, slick surface and missing ledge meant anyone who got to close to the edge ran the risk of falling off the side. At least half the party did go over the edge at one time or another.
And here is a rough approximation of the cover of the module. The human character figures are stand-ins for the player characters, as those are at the house we game at.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/SkullsCrossingDamandBuilding005_crop_zps5aef4393.jpg)
After defeating the ogres the characters head off to the building at the center of the dam.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/SkullsCrossingDamandBuilding010_crop_zpsea8299fc.jpg)
and here is a shot of the building with some characters for scale.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/SkullsCrossingDamandBuilding012_crop_zps24d4730d.jpg)
I wasn't happy with the way the building turned out. The bottoms warped on me. I have an idea why it did this (Two different styles of foam core), but it was a lot of work for such a short encounter. The dam worked out much better, and for half the effort. There's a lesson here. Oh, and I made the building and dam at the wrong scale. I didn't figure this out till I was sitting at the gaming table.
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The Ogres look like they are enjoying themselves. AND the dam & house look TERRIFIC. GREAT STUFF!
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Thank you DeafNala. The ogres were the miniatures I was most looking forward to painting. Between the metal Reaper minis, the collectible ones, and a couple Reaper Bones to beef up their numbers, I painted something like ten of these guys just for this module. Maybe when I'm finished running the module I'll do a shot of all the miniatures I used for each chapter.
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Maybe when I'm finished running the module I'll do a shot of all the miniatures I used for each chapter.
LOL he says "maybe" like he has a choice in the matter. :-)
Of course you gots to do this. I personally, and i know i am NOT alone, and others will of course love to see the denizens of these adventures all lined up like good little boys and girls.
Grimm
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Excellent work all around !!!! :-*
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Thank you Grimm. Looks like I have something to look forward to. And Thank you Verd.
I just realized I hadn't posted pictures of the Ettin sculpt I did for this chapter of the Hook Mountain Massacre. Here it is...
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/SkullRippergreenandRannickbasement009_crop_zps5f0bf251.jpg)
and one for scale.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/SkullRippergreenandRannickbasement013_crop_zps262987d2.jpg)
He's not the most sophisticated sculpting I've ever done, but the end result was so creepy I had to keep it. I've also got to W.I.P. shots.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/EttinandRannick25main004_crop_zpsbc5831b8.jpg)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/EttinandRannick25main006_crop_zps5f310b9c.jpg)
It's my typical Super-Sculpey base with Green Stuff details. I added brass rod to one of the clubs. They look nice and shape that way. The downside is they are actually sharp. I've stuck my finger on them a couple times.
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Fantastic. Your gaming group better realise how lucky they are.
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The Ettin is WONDERFULLY creepy with a DELIGHTFULLY dim witted expression(s). He/they remind me of Sloth from The Goonies. GREAT WORK!
Now I'm starting to miss my long ago AD&D days.
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Thank you Von Lucky. I half my group seem to enjoy the extra work and half really don't care. I think they'd rather be playing something else. At least I'm having fun.
Thank you DeafNala. The Sloth look was what I saw when I made him. Originally I planned to add green stuff details to the face, but when this look showed up I couldn't bring myself to change it.
I didn't even plan to make the Ettin. I was going to buy a Reaper figure over the weekend to paint for the game. I forgot to get it, so I just tried to whip something up in the two days I had. Now I'm filled with the feeling I can make anything. (That's not true, but I won't believe it till I make something awful and embarrass myself.)
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The terrain and miniatures for the next installment of Hook Mountain Massacre are still at the house we game at, so no progress there. Instead I have a lovely picture of a side project.
Many years ago, I told my wife her Christmas present was going to be late. I said her Pasta Weasel was taking longer to arrive then expected. Since then we have joked about the Pasta Weasel often. She regularly asks when the Pasta Weasel is going to show up. I decided this year, for her birthday, I was going to make a Pasta Weasel. And here it is...
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/PastaWeasel2015004_crop_zpsecff5cde.jpg)
The Weasel is sculpted out of Super Sculpey and a bit of Green Stuff. The Pasta is also made from long strands of Super Sculpey. The bowl was purchased from Good Will for 49 cents. I ended up painting the weasel first. Then I made a bed of pasta for the weasel to sit in. Then I made individual noodles that would lay across the weasel to sell that the critter squirms around in the pasta, ensuring that all the noodles are equally covered in butter. The pasta, some of the bowl and some of the weasel were coated with acrylic gloss coat to give it that wet look. Here are a couple more shots of the thing.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/PastaWeasel2015002_crop_zps085c921e.jpg)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/PastaWeasel2015003_crop_zpsd5228bde.jpg)
I am happy to say that my wife actually likes her new Pasta Weasel. She told me I could say that.
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lol Inspiring.
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lol Inspiring.
...agreed! That is an UBERCOOL creation & gift! VERY WELL & IMAGINATIVELY DONE!
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That's so cool.
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lol Nice!
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Thank you von Lucky, DeafNala, beefcake and warburton. I'm truly having a blast doing all this sculpting. The upside of sculpting is I'm saving a lot in miniatures purchases. The downside is I'm not getting any of the lead mountain painted.
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You did the right thing keeping the ettin as creepy as it is.
Great work on this project over all. Very cool.
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Thank you Knightofspades. He ended up being a big hit at the table. And I learned I can sculpt most monsters if I need/want to. (So long as they're large enough.)
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I finally finished running the basement area of the Skull's Crossing. I got a lot of sculpting done for this one, as well as some new terrain. I really can't explain all of the set up, because I don't want to give away everything. There are still lots of spoilers here, so consider yourself warned. Lots of photos are coming. Lots and lots of photos. Lets kick this pig...
First room: a large pool in the middle, with doors at either end. This pool and all the others were painted like the DM Scotty method, but without the Hot Glue raised areas. the gloss coat was Mod Podge, which was coated with Acrylic Gloss Coat. Oh, and I finally got some new larger doors made. (Hee Hee Hee. Oh look. The party is all split up.)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/HillgreenandSkullsCrossingbasement008_crop_zpsd0f489cb.jpg)
Suddenly a Skrag Troll bursts out of the water. (It's an old GW sculpts that I just love.)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/HillgreenandSkullsCrossingbasement012_crop_zpsb78b04a3.jpg)
Room Two: A pair of Pit Fiends on glowing rune circles. Their horns and wings have been torn from their bodies. One is dead and the other is nearly so.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/HillgreenandSkullsCrossingbasement015_crop_zps300d575d.jpg)
Close up of the Pit Fiend sculpts. I made the bodies out of Super-Sculpey. The ripped off horns and wings, the ears and the tail are all Green Stuff applied afterwards.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/HillgreenandSkullsCrossingbasement017_crop_zps37302fdc.jpg)
Different angle. Sorry I didn't take work in progress shots. I was running out of time and needed to get these guys painted. Not my best sculpts.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/HillgreenandSkullsCrossingbasement019_crop_zps3e67f3e2.jpg)
Here are details of the room and circles. The Rune Circles were painted on thin cardboard (comic book backing boards), so I can move them to other locations. The raised details in the rooms were a failed attempt at making the rune circles with hot glue. The effect didn't work, but placing the cardboard circles on top of the hot glue gives it a nice almost floating look.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/HillgreenandSkullsCrossingbasement021_crop_zpsd0dbf8f0.jpg)
Room Three: An architectural model sits on a raised area across from a pool of water. (I didn't get the architectural model made. There were some serious time crunches here.)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/HillgreenandSkullsCrossingbasement024_crop_zps2dfe268a.jpg)
The party hears a sound above. They see a Skull Ripper skitter down a wall. This construct is made from skulls and bones, given life by foul magics.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/HillgreenandSkullsCrossingbasement025_crop_zpscdc4ca24.jpg)
I got a lot of shots of this thing. You can tell I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. Here's a shot of the ripper without the terrain.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/HillgreenandSkullsCrossingbasement030_crop_zps250f927b.jpg)
Here is a work in progress shot of the Ripper. The main body, claws, tail and legs were made out of Super-Sculpey. The legs were sculpted around brass rod bent into the leg shape. This gives them strength enough to support the body. Originally the tail was attached, but it broke off a number of times, till it was pinned in place. Green Stuff was used to add details and hide mistakes and such. The 'fangs' on the tail are two BBQ skewers cut down to size and driven through the snake-like head. The snake head was my creation.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/SkullRippergreenandRannickbasement003_crop_zps247cdac4.jpg)
Underside shot. This part was never seen in the game. This thing is still very fragile. One of the problems with making it out of Super-Sculpey. Even if it was made of metal the legs would probably still brake.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/SkullRippergreenandRannickbasement004_crop_zps5081062a.jpg)
Room Four: Another large pool.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/HillgreenandSkullsCrossingbasement032_crop_zps55ebb4f4.jpg)
As the heroes crawl out of the water to investigate the box at the other end, a series of Buzz Saw traps spring out of the floor. (This room was empty in the module. I hate crafting empty rooms, and I really wanted to make some DM Scotty Buzz Saws.)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/HillgreenandSkullsCrossingbasement035_crop_zps0aa9f18d.jpg)
and a final shot of the whole Skull's Crossing basement action play-set. (Figures sold separately.)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/HillgreenandSkullsCrossingbasement040_crop_zps1171f236.jpg)
I hope people like this. Let me know what you think.
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Oh, wow, fantastic! Love the Pit Fiends. That's a very inspiring dungeon set-up that looks like loads of old school fun.
Jevenkah
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Cute and sinister. What a weird balance.
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Now that's the way D&D was meant to be played. All your efforts have produced a memorable game for your Brave Adventures. FANTASTICALLY WELL DONE!
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Great and inspirational collection: thank you for sharing.
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Thank you Jevenkah, von Lucky, DeafNala, and Funghy-Fipps. I'm proud to say I got a definite reaction when I put the Skull Ripper out of the table. There's nothing like a gigantic scorpion made out of skulls to wake the party up.
Jevenkah, While I'm not 100% happy with the pit fiend sculpts, I learned a lot from making them. And the red bodies on the green circles does make a nice contrast. And I did get the players to feel bad for the pit fiends.
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Hey Michka! Crazy seeing you here. Great stuff as always.
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The moral of this week's game was, "Even if you don't think you have time, give it a try". The problem: the party wanted to go back to the nearby town. I had been planning on a trip to the last location in the module. I had not finished said last location, and here they were headed somewhere else. I was all ready to run the town visit as a 'theater of the mind' experience. Then on Sunday night it hits me, I can still run the two monster encounters I originally skipped over. All I needed were some boats, a snake and a really big monster. The game is on Tuesday night. Hey, I had two days. Why not. Here's what I got done in the past two days...
Three Boats, Ala DM Scotty's 2.5D method. Foam Core with Balsa wood mast and rudder.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Black%20Magga%20amp%20way%20old%20pics%20143_crop_zpsrvb3hk6b.jpg)
The sails weren't needed, as this encounter took place in a flooded city during a terrific thunderstorm. (I'll make the sails later.) The odd shaped green boat is a ferryboat made from a giant turtle shell. The town is famous for it's turtle shell ferryboats, hence the town's name: Turtleback Ferry. The PCs find a schoolmarm and her students stranded in one of these ferryboats in the middle of the storm. (Schoolmarm and students, along with the buildings for this encounter, provided by my buddy Mike. Never forget you can borrow minis and terrain in a pinch.)
While the heroes are rescuing the schoolmarm and students, a 16 foot boa constrictor attacks one of the kids.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Black%20Magga%20amp%20way%20old%20pics%20145_crop_zps60jobkdo.jpg)
I almost hate to show this one off. It's not a great sculpts. Hell, it's not even a good sculpts. This thing was sculpted, baked and painted in the span of 25 minutes. Can you say Rush Job?
After the boa is dispatched, the party finds out there's one more menace to be faced, and this is a big one. Tentacles burst from the flood water all around them.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Black20Magga20220005_crop_zpsfbs1iyow.jpg)
and one of the tentacles has an eye on it!!!
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Black%20Magga%20amp%20way%20old%20pics%20155_crop_zpsfjksbghe.jpg)
These things are absolutely huge, easily dwarfing everything in the town.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Black%20Magga%20amp%20way%20old%20pics%20148_crop_zps0zxm4yf5.jpg)
I won't explain what the party did, other then to say none of them were killed, and their efforts did save many lives.
OK, now to the "How did you make that" part. The tentacles are a simple variant of the DM Scotty Pine Tree project. First a picture, then some explanation...
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Black20Magga20amp20way20old20pics20136_crop_zpsaziucu1q.jpg)
At the center of the tentacles are a clear green pony beads, strung over a white pipe cleaner that's been covered with white glue. Then the pony beads-pipe cleaner string is bent into a suitably creepy tentacle shape, and covered from top to bottom with hot glue. A couple of layers will be needed to give these some strength. Then take two washers, a 1" and a 1 1/2", and glue them together with Goop. Cover the washer with concentric circles of hot glue, radiating out from the center hole. Fill the hole with a plug of hot glue. Once those are hardened, hot glue the tentacle shape to the base. (DM Scotty uses Goop for this on his pine trees. Since I wasn't trying to simulate flat ground on the washer, I could use lots of hot glue.) Once the tentacle is firmly attached to the base, go over the whole thing a bunch more times. You should blend the base into the tentacle so it sells the frothy water being disturbed by the tentacle erupting out of the water. The trickiest part was holding the tentacle on the base while the hot glue dried. Until you have a decent number of hot glue coats on this thing, each layer of hot glue added reactivates the hot glue underneath it. This let the tentacle sag, and nobody wants a saggy tentacle. I found the best way to quick dry the hot glue was to walk outside with the tentacle. See, while I was working on this thing at 3 o'clock in the morning, it was 6 degrees outside. It's amazing how fast hot glue hardens at 6 degrees.
Finally, to make the eye tentacle, just find the one with the smoothest front, and add two green stuff eye lids. Actually, seeing the white pipe cleaner at the center of the green pony beads showing through the translucent hot glue gave me the idea for the eye.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Black20Magga20amp20way20old20pics20135_crop_zpsdgerband.jpg)
And there you have it. The game went great, and everyone was rather creeped out by the tentacles. I wouldn't recommend doing every DM craft project at the last minute. For one thing, I'm really tired. And if Mike hadn't had the schoolmarm and kid figures, as well as a church and buildings, the tentacles wouldn't have been very impressive. There's nothing like seeing a bright green tentacle taller then the town church suddenly appear out of nowhere. Anyway, that's it for this week. Let me know what you think.
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EXCELLENT STUFF! I can see your 2.5D boats blown up to ships size would work better for naval skirmishes than the 3D variety. AND I love the Weird Water Whatever...VERY IMAGINATIVE WORK!
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Haha - crazy.
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Thank you DeafNala and Von Lucky.
The Weird Water Whatever's turned out so much better then I ever expected them to.
DeafNala, you should give the DMs Craft forum a look-see. I've seen a couple people make some amazing multi-level ships using this method. I've even seen a really nice looking Traveller Beowulf class spaceship done this way, and it's awesome.
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DeafNala, you should give the DMs Craft forum a look-see. I've seen a couple people make some amazing multi-level ships using this method. I've even seen a really nice looking Traveller Beowulf class spaceship done this way, and it's awesome.
I had a little walk through the DM's Craft site since you had mentioned it in one of your previous posts. It does seem like a pleasant group with some very interesting ideas. I'm still unsure about signing up as all my stuff is 3D.
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More really neat pieces! I love the scale of the Weird Water Whatever. Great mini tutorial too.
Nothing like a deadline to inspire imagination! That, and the players springing a major change of scene at the last minute.
Keep the inspiration coming please!
Jevenkah
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I want to improve my tutorial skills. Thank you for noticing Jevenkah.
DeafNala, I'm sure they would love your work. As you say, they're very friendly, which I've come to expect from my forums. I've been spoiled by the people on LAF.
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Sorry for the double post. I have a bunch of photos I want to get posted, but my time is limited. Here are my Stone Giants.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Stone20Giants20002_crop_zpswbgqrryr.jpg)
and here is a shot for scale.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Stone20Giants20005_crop_zpsric3qmhi.jpg)
I need these for the next chapter of my Rise of the Runelords campaign, The Fortress of the Stone Giants. They do make official Pathfinder stone giant miniatures for the collectible boxes. I even have a few. the problem is, they don't look that giant. Here's an example...
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Stone20Giants20008_crop_zpscwqk3zw6.jpg)
They just don't look like much of a threat. If you compare them with the Pathfinder Ogres, they just look little and sick.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Stone20Giants20017_crop_zpsfmkzkgrp.jpg)
That just wasn't going to work for me. I did take some work in progress shots. I really need to do a better job of documenting in the future.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Hill20green20and20Skulls20Crossing20basement20004_crop_zpswgmqozbq.jpg)
Ignore the clutter in the back of this next shot. I forgot to crop it before loading it onto Photobucket.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Hill20green20and20Skulls20Crossing20basement20005_zpsrocwkibk.jpg)
In as few words as possible, I sculpted the basic bodies out of Super Sculpey. Then I added embellishment such as clothing, jewelry, and such with green stuff. On the first three giants I had to add the ears on afterwards. I just hadn't figured out how to make ears yet. (That's why the Ettin has ear holes instead of ears.) The heads were sculpted as a separate piece. With some judicious trimming I can match the head to the body. You can probably tell I changed the kilt and discarded the neck chain on tall guy shown in the W.I.P. shots. They just didn't match the look of the rest of them. Anyway, that's what I got for today. Let me know what you think.
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VERY COOL! In addition to lacking the height, the Pathfinder Giant also lacks the unique charm of your SPLENDID creations. The BIG Guys remind me of the better aspects of the original Monster Manuals' drawings. GREAT WORK!
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Again, your group better appreciate how good they have it.
...
Unless you're failing to tell really how malicious as a GM you are lol
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Thanks DeafNala and von Lucky. I have to admit my love for old school D&D art. I was investing lots of money into Otherworlds miniatures for years, mainly on the strength of their old school style. I haven't been buying much from them lately. Instead I'm spending my hobby money on Super Sculpey, green stuff, foam core, and hot glue.
As for my game mastering style, I've been meaner lately. If I'm gonna spend time and effort to make these things, it had better take some effort to kill them. Besides, who likes to cake walk a dungeon? There needs to be a challenge. (Hey, no one has died... yet.)
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Those stone giants are great! I agree with what has been said about the old school vibe. There's nothing better than having some good minis and playing some old school dungeon crawls. Are you mainly a Pathfinder type? I still use old B/X rules with a dash of 1e DMG thrown in. Congratulations on great sculpts!
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Thanks Doomsdave. I'm running an ongoing Pathfinder campaign for my main group. A buddy started running Pathfinder a couple years back, and it's been our mainstay since that first game. I'm running the Rise of the Runelords adventure path. Mike is running The Shattered Star adventure path. Tim, the guy who got us into this in the first place, has run a few different modules, and there are a couple more GM's on deck.
I'm a lazy GM (at least when it comes to reading rules) so I like the simplicity of the older games. I love running Labyrinth Lord, which is an OSR 1e emulator. I've got a small group that I play LL with when I have the time. The good news is, when I get back to running Labyrinth Lord, I'll have plenty of new monsters to throw at that group.
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Sounds like a good group. I haven't played LL yet but I've rocked some Swords and Wizardry.
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Those stone giants are GREAT. They're very charming as they are, (and I mean this in no way as a criticism), if they had just a bit higher level of finish I think you could probably sell them commercially.
I've just now discovered this thread, and I'm deeply envious of your gaming group! Thank you for all the awesome updates - I look forward to seeing the next posts!
-Alex in Alaska
www.facebook.com/ForgeofIce
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Thank you Alxbates. I know what you mean. I'd like to make sculpts that are worth casting someday, but so far I'm having too much fun sculpting for the game. It takes so long to make green stuff sculpts. With the Super Sculpey I have the freedom to work fast and have a completed figure in a day or two.
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I have a request. My favorite YouTube channel, The DMG Info, suffered a calamity recently. A glitch created by the system messed up his channel and lost all of his subscribers. All 9,649 subscribers. DMG has recovered most of his videos, but now he has to rebuild his subscriber base. As of this writing he is at 471 subscribers. He has asked all of his loyal fans, of which I count myself, to get the word out.
If you like what I've been doing for the past few months, if you like learning new ways to make terrain, if you like to listen to a crazy Australian guy babble about cardboard and hot glue, give him a view. If you like what you see, subscribe. I tend to listen to his videos while I'm painting, sculpting, and making terrain. Here is the link...
https://www.youtube.com/user/thedmginfo
#helpthedmginfo
and Thank You.
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I subscribed now - didn't know the channel beforehand, but it seems interesting.
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Yeah!!! I think you'll enjoy it. Welcome to the madness.
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Yeah!!! I think you'll enjoy it. Welcome to the madness.
I'm working nights at a mental institution, so I'm kinda used to that lol
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It's been a while since I updated this thread. We gamed last night, so now I can show off my newest additions. First off is the Hill Giant.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Video2003191520and20Hill20Giant20015_crop_zpsq3g2qu89.jpg)
and here are some other angles...
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Video2003191520and20Hill20Giant20017_crop_zps1s2k1h8d.jpg)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Video2003191520and20Hill20Giant20016_crop_zpse9dt5ojj.jpg)
Here are some Work In Progress shots...
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/HILL20GREEN20AND20SKULLS20CROSSING20BASEMENT20001_crop_zpsut55vv9h.jpg)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/HILL20GREEN20AND20SKULLS20CROSSING20BASEMENT20003_crop_zpsbj9ki44u.jpg)
And here are some shots from our game last night. Lunderbud the Hill Giant is part of an Ogre clan.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Game%20night%20photos%20032415%20027_zpsysjro4jp.jpg)
Lastly, I have a shot of the Rune Giant statue that was standing at the end of a cavern. Yet another last minute solution. It started as a DC comics Blue Devil action figure. I wrapped a piece of white-glue-soaked paper towel around his waist, sprayed it black and texture painted it. A few brushes of brown craft paint. Another coat of texture paint and you have a statue. I was planning to fill in all the joint that give away the toy-ness of the thing, but once again I ran out of time. I did start putting green stuff into the leg joints, but it was taking far too long. For a piece of set dressing that I can't use that often, I figured I'd go with something quick. If I change my mind I can fill the gaps and texture paint it again later. Here's a shot for scale. He's supposed to be a 40 Foot tale Rune Giant from out of ancient Pathfinder history.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Game%20night%20photos%20032415%20025_zpskoniiubc.jpg)
There's also some 2.5d terrain there, along with some stone columns that are supposed to be 20 foot high Dragon Bones. Anyone want to calculate how large a dragon is supposed to be if it has twenty foot tall rib bones? Get the feeling some module writers don't always consider scale when they're typing? The columns are cut out of pink insulation, painted with craft paint and hit with texture paint before getting some more paint to match the tiles. I'll do some more shots of the terrain once I've finished the chapter and have all the tiles together.
Let me know what you think.
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I wouldn't have noticed the toy joints on the Rune Giant statue if you had not mentioned them. Nice work indeed! I also really like your Hill Giant - especially the comb-over.
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Simple yet very effective rendition of the Hill Giant. Congratulations.
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The Big Guy certainly has an abundance of personality if a hint of not too much in the way of intelligence. He & the Statue are VERY IMAGINATIVE creations. VERY WELL DONE!
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All your giants have bucket loads of charm. They have an old school feel which is very nice. The stone giants look like living Moai! :)
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Thank you Little Odo. The comb-over turned out better then I expected. The statue's toy joints don't really bother me either. I just wanted to explain them.
Thank you Metternich. The simple look was actually the goal here. I'm an old school D&D guy, so I like my figures to be as basic as possible.
Thank you DeafNala. After making the head, I realized it looked too much like a fat Stone Giant head. He needed hair. The idea of a traditionally hairy creature that was going bald was fun, so I made the hair ring around his head. I didn't want a full beard, so the long side burns seemed the next rational step. And of course if he's going to have long sideburns he really needed some bushy eye brows.
And Thank you Blackstone. As I said, I'm an old school guy, so that's the way I sculpt. It also has something to do with me being a beginner. The stone giants looking like Moai was a very happy accident. I noticed how long and thin the first giant's head came out and figured that was the way I wanted them to look.
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Quick update from last night's Rise of the Runelords game. First off, some more Bear Skin Rugs. These were bedding from the Ogre Clanhold Cave the players cleared out last game.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Ropeer20and20rugs203-31-1520018_crop_zpsvrkeoy2z.jpg)
and here are some stalagmites from the same cave.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Ropeer20and20rugs203-31-1520027_crop_zpsriqydvkd.jpg)
but one of the stalagmites wasn't what it seemed to be...
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Ropeer20and20rugs203-31-1520023_crop_zps8deowbtl.jpg)
I love the idea of making before and after transformation sculpts for monsters. It's something you can afford to do with cheap materials like Scupley or Fimo or Air Dry Clay. I do have to be careful not to over do this trick though.
Here's a shot from the game last night. This one shows the size of this beasty.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/game20night203-31-1520009_crop_zpsfqnbepan.jpg)
Let me know what you think.
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Love it. You can always play the double bluff - make scenery to look like it could become a monster.
Isn't a GM's role to make the players paranoid with hemorrhoids?
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lol
Wonderful!
8)
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Thanks von Lucky. You know, you have a point. I do enjoy being a bit unpredictable.
Thank you Mason. One of the great advantages to making my own monsters and terrain is I can make transformation figures without having to cut up expensive or rare lead. I now have an Otherworlds Roper that will never get painted. There's just no point.
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Quality stuff. The roper is excellent.
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The Roper is a WONDERFUL piece...one doesn't often see a Rock with an abundance of personality. The bearskin rugs are just as SPLENDID sans the personality. I can picture one transforming into a ticked off Grizzly Bear a la The Far Side. GREAT STUFF...VERY WELL DONE...ENCORE!
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More great work. :-*
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Thank you matakishi. You honor me sir.
Thank you DeafNala. I'm considering that rug idea a lot. Either as an animated bear skin rug, or a thief that sneaks around with a bear skin strapped to his back. It's the perfect camouflage. Maybe a goblin thief, or a pair of goblin thieves.
Thank you verd. I've got another post to make in the next couple days. It's a special banner that I wasn't sure I wanted my players to see. I was going to throw it at them in the next couple weeks. I've since decided they could use a break... this time.
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This sculpt was made for a miniatures contest on the DM's Craft. I don't plan to use it in my Rise of the Runelords campaign. At least I wasn't planning on it before. Here is a simple banner.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/MIMIC20BANNER20045_crop_zpskkzuner7.jpg)
But as the players approach it, something doesn't look right about it...
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Mimic20Banner20044_crop_zpsey0c8rwo.jpg)
That's right folks. It's a Mimic pretending to be a banner.
Here are the work in progress shots.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/MIMIC%20BANNER%20010_crop_zpsgprf7okh.jpg)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/MIMIC%20BANNER%20011_crop_zpskyvmxak5.jpg)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/MIMIC%20BANNER%20013_crop_zpse85h9phv.jpg)
Please let me know what you think.
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I can see your Player Characters developing phobias for inanimate objects...hopefully no little children will wear a sheet to their homes this Halloween. That aside, an UBERCOOL idea brought to life in FINE fashion...I really like the Flag Fiend revealed. VERY WELL & IMAGINATIVELY DONE!
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Your sculpting is really coming along.
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That is very cool. The mimic looks terrifying!
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Thank you DeafNala. I decided not to use this in the campaign just so the players wouldn't spend half the game checking every single object in a room. If they did, I'd have myself to blame.
Thank you von Lucky. I'm really enjoying this new aspect of miniatures gaming. It's cutting into my paint time, but it's also saving me lots of money on purchased miniatures. I haven't bought a large monster in half a year.
Thank you Beefcake. Since my sculpting has a rather cartoon quality I'm never sure if the scare will work or not.
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I really love the billowing to the cloak. It adds to the intimidation.
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The mimic looks great! It's my favourite now!
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That mimic should've been turned into a set of moulds! :)
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Really great old skool fun. If you need a specific model, just make it yourself. And it turned out quite nicely, especially on the 2nd mimic :).
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That mimic is brilliant - very spooky!
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Thank you Verd. The mimic turned out better then I expected.
Thank you Argonor. I've heard Super Sculpey won't survive the molding process. I'd use a different material, but this stuff is just too easy to work with. I wouldn't finish a third of my projects if I was working with Green Stuff.
Thank you Duncan McDane. My favorite look is old school, so that worked out. Making your own monsters is the way of the future. Well, it is for me I think.
Thank you Affun. I hope to have some more spooky goodness up soon.
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That mimic is awesome, great work!
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I have to agree with everyone else - that mimic is awesome :-* :o
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Another +1 for the banner Mimic. Wicked kool.
Grimm
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Thank you Dijit, Little Odo, and Grimmnar. I'm completely blown away by how many people like this little project.
I have another quick update from the game last night. This was the penultimate scene to the last chapter of the Hook Mountain Massacre. Just one week left. All I have for now is shots from the table, as I left the terrain and minis at the house we game at. I'll post proper pictures of the miniatures in the coming weeks.
First up, the three Annis Hags huddled over their cauldron.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/GAME20NIGHT20APRIL207TH20010_crop_zpsvf55utdw.jpg)
The hags are not my best work. I'll explain when I post the close ups. I am rather happy with the cauldron though.
Next we have the cavern with all the mushrooms. Made the mushrooms out of Super Sculpey. No surprise there.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Game20Night20April207th20015_crop_zpskr8qedoq.jpg)
After the Rogue scouted out the area, and the Ranger determined that the mushrooms were not Violet Fungi or Shriekers, they carefully approached the area to confront the Frost Wight. Here, the Rogue distracts the Wight while the Half-Orc Paladin sneaks up on it to smash it over the head.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Game20Night20April207th20019_crop_zps5bgiiaee.jpg)
and here is a shot of me being a GM. I'm holding up the book to show the nifty picture of the monster they are facing. If the module comes with cool pictures, I'm gonna show everyone those pictures. Notice the picture matches the mini. That's because I was using the official Pathfinder Rise of the Runelords plastic miniature of this bad guy. See, I don't re-paint everything.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Game20Night20April207th20016_crop_zpspxxwn2ir.jpg)
and that's it for today. Let me know what you think.
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OUTSTANDING! From my Ravenloft days/nights I developed a fondness for the Hags; your versions are IMAGINATIVE & just plain COOL.
AND the Mushrooms are GLORIOUS creations. I like the thick stems; that will be something that I'll imitate/steal...inspiration is a FINE thing. VERY WELL DONE all around!
There is nothing wrong with prepaints. While they might not be up to your own standard, they are infinitely better than using unpainted minis. AND, if you are moved to do so, you can always upgrade the brushwork.
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This entire thread is just a goldmine! All your sculpts are amazing but that Roper does it for me the most. It looks like the old school monster manual drawing and perfectly straddles the creepy/whimsy * line, with just a dash of Harryhausen.
*apologies to Zak Smith for cribbing his turn of phrase.
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Thank you DeafNala. I will be making a Mushroom making tutorial video for YouTube eventually. All I need to do is figure out where to place the camera, how to edit, why my camera keeps shutting off while I'm shooting, and a raft of other problems I've run into lately. There's a Roper making tutorial coming as well.
Thank you Doomsdave. I really like how the Roper came out. I'm a gigantic fan of the Old School style. That description from Zak Smith is perfect. Is here the guy from D&D with Porn Stars?
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Thank you DeafNala. I will be making a Mushroom making tutorial video for YouTube eventually. All I need to do is figure out where to place the camera, how to edit, why my camera keeps shutting off while I'm shooting, and a raft of other problems I've run into lately. There's a Roper making tutorial coming as well.
Thank you Doomsdave. I really like how the Roper came out. I'm a gigantic fan of the Old School style. That description from Zak Smith is perfect. Is here the guy from D&D with Porn Stars?
That's the one. The paraphrase is from his latest book:A Red and Pleasant Land, which is about vampire factions warring in Wonderland with Alice to boot. It is great RPG fodder in the OSR style.
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I have that book, but I haven't read it yet. His Vornhiem book is a go-to for every game I run.
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I have that book, but I haven't read it yet. His Vornhiem book is a go-to for every game I run.
I have that one too! It is extremely useful and his drop tables are great.
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This thread is great. I love the mimic in particular; really excellent sculpting and a brilliant concept.
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Thank you Duke Donald. I'm really enjoying this sculpting stuff.
And now, some closer shots of the Annis Hags. First up, a group shot...
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Hag20Sisters20Totems20amp20Throne20037_crop_zpsrr3gboqe.jpg)
Next, a hag who wears a burlap mask because she thinks she's so repulsive that even hags would find her hideous. She's right. Hidden beneath the mask numerous eyes and gaping mouths sprout from unlikely places on her misshapen head.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Hag20sisters20totems20giants20amp20throne20220007_crop_zpspll2gc5r.jpg)
And then there's the hag with the white dress. She tortures her male victims by telling them they never should've left her at the alter. How could they leave her with this poor innocent baby? It isn't a delusion. She just likes the look of utter confusion on their faces as try to figure out what's happening.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Hag%20sisters%20totems%20giants%20amp%20throne%202%20011_crop_zpsnbj2g7yr.jpg)
And finally we have the leader of the hags. She is much shorter then her sisters, yet much wider. The face of an angry baby hides a cunning mind and awesome power.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Hag20sisters20totems20giants20amp20throne20220010_crop_zpso8rdp2w9.jpg)
Hang on folks, as I blather on about what I learned from this phase of the project.
Of the three sisters, the leader is my favorite. Of course she's the one I had the least interesting back story on. Of course that's the one I'm happy with.
I love the idea behind the burlap mask hag, but the sculpt is just lame. It started out well, but I really needed to make a full body and drape the robes over it. The lesson learned here was, there are no short cuts when it comes to proportion. Even when it's a distorted body, it needs some structure. Oh, and the arms are ridiculous. Who wears a sleeveless robe? And if you look closely you'll notice she has two left hands.
The hag in white is a mixed bag of good parts and bad. I'm really happy with the face, and most of the body. Her hair just didn't turn out, and the arm that reaches up to her face is screwed up completely. I had originally sculpted that arm to hang by her side. The other arm that's clutching at her breast looked so interesting that I decided to move the dangling hand up to her face. Well I didn't pay attention to what was happening to the arm, and ended up with a spaghetti noodle attached the the shoulder and the hand. I cut the offending arm off and replaced it with green stuff, but it still wouldn't hang correctly. That's when I got the idea of covering the arm up. I made the doll purely to cover the mess I made of that arm. It still isn't right, but it's not as bad as it started out. The first time I painted the dolly, I made it green. One of my players thought it looked like an unpainted piece of green stuff. He wasn't being mean. He just said what he saw. Fortunately I had a week to fix the problem before the actual combat started. I'm now pretty happy with the dolly, but over all I know I can do better.
The real kicker of it all is, screwy arm hag is a replacement for the first white dress hag. The original is so bad I wasn't sure I wanted to show it off. Crappy proportions, the worst head I've made so far, and a terrible paint job to tie it all together. Eventually I decided to just show the damn thing and admit I have bad sculpting days too. (I hope that doesn't sound arrogant.)
Here she is in all her glory...
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Hag%20sisters%20totems%20giants%20amp%20throne%202%20015_crop_zpsrsassjgw.jpg)
and here are both the white dress hags, side by side.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Hag%20sisters%20totems%20giants%20amp%20throne%202%20014_crop_zps7fqghoyc.jpg)
And because I want to end this installment on an up beat, a close up of some mushrooms.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Hag20Sisters20Totems20amp20Throne20023_crop_zpsogobtkrq.jpg)
Let me know what you think. I'll have photos from last night's game up in the next couple days.
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One of my players thought it looked like an unpainted piece of green stuff.
Sorry, man. The color matched perfectly.... :?
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That's OK Mike. Like I said, you just said what you saw, and you weren't wrong. I think the re-paint is a big improvement anyway.
Update time. On Tuesday night we had our final game of the Hook Mountain Massacre. It was the last chamber in the Ogre Caves of the Hook Mountain. A Stone Giant named Barl and two bodyguards faced our heroes in the throne room. There are a number of familiar sculpts in this cave, along with a couple new pieces. I'll start with some in-game shots to establish what's going on.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/game%20night%204-14-15%20finale%20002_crop_zpscghwq9mi.jpg)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/game%20night%204-14-15%20finale%20004_crop_zpsxredefpe.jpg)
So to start off, I'll show the throne with the Stone Giants for scale. (Great photography Michka. You covered the throne, which is the reason for taking this photo.)
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/8c1dd02d-0fa4-4dfc-9bdf-817bcbf8567d_zpssz7zrxnc.jpg)
This was a simple build using foam core and hot glue. I primed it black, sprayed texture paint on it, painted it grey with some darker shadows, then an additional texture spray. The second texture spray was because the first pass didn't really add much texture. I think that can is running out. Here's a shot of the throne before I started spraying.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Hag20Sisters20Totems20amp20Throne20006_crop_zps5qh4hgee.jpg)
Next we have the totems. These were a last minute replacement for some statues that are meant to line the upper walkway. I decided that statues were kinda boring, and not really primitive enough for décor that ogres would have in their throne room. (Barl the Stone Giant took the throne room from the leader of the Ogre tribe.) Here's a close up of the totems.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/c8824e71-e2a3-4184-a724-2f8b7b289cf7_zpsyrz0jbuh.jpg)
The totems were made with metal skull beads my wife found at Micheals around Halloween. The post was made from Super Sculpey, which I formed into a column, twisted to get the cool shape, the pushed the top of the post through the hole in the skull bead. I added a dab of Sculpey to the top to cover the hole. Then I added small skull beads, also found by my wife, to the base along with little balls of clay. I wrapped thin strings of clay around the posts to add texture. It was only after priming the things that I decided they should be snakes. After cooking the original posts I realized the bases were too small, so I quickly made larger bases which I pushed the baked totems into and baked again. I'm really having fun with re-baking Super Sculpey. Here is a shot of the totems from before I primed them black.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/HAG%20SISTERS%20TOTEMS%20amp%20THRONE%20008_crop_zpsc42umvb9.jpg)
I painted these with Americana Dark Chocolate, followed by an Americana Burnt Sienna heavy wet brush. Then a quick dry brush of Americana Cocoa. I wasn't happy with how this was coming out, so I hit then with another shot of Burnt Sienna, focusing on the top skull area. The dry brush was too heavy and chalky, so I brushed on GW Nuln Oil wash. (which is quickly becoming one of my favorite tricks) To get a streaky look I dripped some Army Painter Red Tone straight out of the dropper bottle, just on one side of the skulls. Finally I painted the snakes: Black, then Reaper Meadow Green with Vallejo Model Color Stone Grey spots.
Here's another shot from the game. The flame markers were provided by the sorcerer player who chucks fire balls like they're going out of style. She used them to show the edges of area of effect of the fire ball. The small red ball on the one giant's base was the center point. By this point they had killed one giant and were well on their way to taking out the second. The Banner did not become a mimic this time. It seems my players had all seen this trick on the internet somewhere. It was just a clue to where the next chapter would be taking place. Good thing the elf had a Mend spell to repair all that fire damage.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/game%20night%204-14-15%20finale%20010_crop_zpspkkcj3i7.jpg)
As I said, this was the last installment of this chapter. The other GMs will be running for a while, so I probably won't be any more Runelords stuff for some time. Instead I'll be focusing on some Science Fiction projects I've been wanting to get back to. But I promise, this isn't the end. I still have three more chapter of the Rise of the Runelords to work through.
Coming soon, Fortress of the Stone Giants!
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This sculpt was made for a miniatures contest on the DM's Craft. I don't plan to use it in my Rise of the Runelords campaign. At least I wasn't planning on it before. Here is a simple banner.
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/MIMIC20BANNER20045_crop_zpskkzuner7.jpg)
But as the players approach it, something doesn't look right about it...
(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x480/Michka5000/Mimic20Banner20044_crop_zpsey0c8rwo.jpg)
That's right folks. It's a Mimic pretending to be a banner.
I love this idea so much I want to steal it!!