Re: Idle Fantasies - Orc Cultists - 12th Jan

[Idle Doodler]

My collection of fantasy miniatures, accumulated over many years of aimless impulse buying, are for the most part unpainted. In fact, they are all - barring a very small Warhammer Dogs of War army - incomplete in one way or another. Some are primed, others have a base coat or two, but I've rarely taken them the full journey to based and varnished completion. With so little to show for a good fifteen years (oh boy!) dipping in and out of the hobby, I feel I ought make a concerted effort to produce something which might actually appeal to a visitor - I need to source some gaming buddies somehow!

So, I need to start small. I'm a very slow painter - owing more to a short attention span than anything else - so enough for small skirmishes will suffice to begin with. A couple of villagers interspersed with a few more colourful characters should allow for some low stakes-based games.

These are my efforts up 'til now:

[Hobgoblin]

Great stuff! I particularly like the shields and the expression on the duellist. The transparent bases are a nice touch.

Have you experimented with any speed-painting techniques (pre-shading, etc.)? That might be one way to kickstart your collection.

[PhilB]

I second the kudos for the fine work on the duelist. I like his expression almost as much as his scabbard. The other figures are good too. Don't worry about slow painting progress. It is what it is. But you've got a fine start here.

[Idle Doodler]

Thank you both! The Antediluvian Miniatures 'Pirate' set which the duellist comes from has a wonderful range of expressions. They're just cartoony enough that the googly eyes I can just about manage works on them. The rest of the models...not so much. They to make do with low-hanging eyebrows.

I've not tried pre-shading - our flat is wonderful for providing enough room for a hobby desk, but we don't have any outdoor space (or indoor space, for that matter) for sprays. I have tried drybrushing white onto black, but struggled to make the end product look decent. I do, however, have some Army Painter Quickshade for the hordes of critters besetting these village folk, which has produced passable results for me in the past.

[Hobgoblin]

I've not tried pre-shading - our flat is wonderful for providing enough room for a hobby desk, but we don't have any outdoor space (or indoor space, for that matter) for sprays. I have tried drybrushing white onto black, but struggled to make the end product look decent.

A method that I've found useful is white undercoat (just paint, not spray) and then a wash of GW's Agrax Earthshade. And then a white drybrush on top of that. After that, you can just 'tint' the various colours with heavily thinned paint and 'seal' them with a wash of ink or GW washes (or whatever) if need be. I did a bit of a step-by-step here; this approach avoids the harshness of the white-on-black approach. I have played around with white on black (a few pages earlier in that thread), but I used an intermediate shade of grey and still had to paint flesh tones from scratch on top. The white/Agrax/white method gives a much softer preshading and is really, really quick: most of the work is done for you in those initial stages.

Quickshade probably does the job just as well, though. I look forward to seeing the critters!

[boneio]

They're looking very nice!
I empathise entirely - I paint very slowly and buy rather rapidly, so I'm glad to see someone breaking the 'curse' and in style too.

[Idle Doodler]

I did a bit of a step-by-step here; this approach avoids the harshness of the white-on-black approach.

I have to confess I hadn't read through that thread, but I'm making up for lost time now! I'll certainly give that style of pre-shading ago, and it just so happens I've some of those Caesar Miniatures ratmen to practice on. Watch this space for end results!

They're looking very nice!
I empathise entirely - I paint very slowly and buy rather rapidly, so I'm glad to see someone breaking the 'curse' and in style too.

Thanks! We've recently moved flat, and it was a bit (and really ought to have been far more) embarrassing when the boxes of my hobby goodies were stacked up next to the boxes of basically everything else in our lives, and were in no way overshadowed...

And I've just received another box set...

[Lord Borjado]

Great minis, I like specially the swashbuckler. Which company is it?

[Idle Doodler]

Great minis, I like specially the swashbuckler. Which company is it?

It's from the fantasy range of Antediluvian Miniatures, which has some quite excellent sculpts.

Speaking of which, I've just finished another from the same company:

[Lord Borjado]

The Princess Bride! 

[Idle Doodler]

Inconceivably so!

[Idle Doodler]

Still struggling for consistency in the photographs...

Here's an unarmed travelling companion / bachelor-in-distress.

[Idle Doodler]

Next villager added, a slightly modified version of Hasslefree's Alicia, rescued after a transport incident left her with a large gash across her face and torso...

[Severian]

Marvellous work on the face - really characterful.

[Idle Doodler]

Thanks!

Next up a more battle-hardened villager, a Warlord Games celt with her left arm - holding aloft a dismembered head - swapped out for an old Wargames Factory Saxon arm and shield.