Ebob Knight and GW Dunedain

[Funghy-Fipps]

I know it's rather half-bothered to put up photos of unfinished miniatures for your esteemed appraisal, but I'm rather pleased with these fellas and wanted to share.  They are for a generic high fantasy project I'm working on (I plan to go into more detail re. this on my blog at some point (I stress the word some)), 'though in brief I'm attempting to eschew the comical GW-style miniatures that abound in this sphere of gaming and am influenced conceptually by writers like Tolkien, Anderson and Dunsany.  Manufacturers from which I've sourced what I consider to be suitable miniatures include GW (LotR), Ral Partha, Ebob, Denizen, Thunderbolt Mountain, Otherworld and Reaper.  I've stuck to my guns and painted a fair bit since Christmas (by my standards, at any rate!), but need to finish bases and varnish (looking for a nice, flat matte, if anybody has any suggestions ). 

Okay, so here we go.  First up is Ebob's Sir William Wallace, Guardian of Scotland (finished this morning):

Next are six GW Dunedain of the North, which obviously work very well as general woodsmen/ranger/outlaw-types.  I ordered these guys just after Christmas and was lucky to get all six variants as the chap on the GW 'helpline' cheerfully informed me that he couldn't guarantee that I wouldn't get three pairs of duplicates  .  Although they're nothing overly fancy I have to say that these are probably my favourite GW LotR miniatures.  Apologies about the dust that appears to have settled on a couple of them in the bottom pic  .

That's all for now. 

[JollyBob]

Those are really nice, I'm always tempted by Ebob's knights and that one looks great.

Re matt varnish, I'm currently using Windsor & Newton artist's acrylic matt. Flat as you like and pretty hardwearing if you seal with gloss first. I think Orctrader and Captain Blood use it too.

[Lowtardog]

Very nice indeed and they fot well together, I was never sure what to match the Ebob highlanders with, hadnt thought of LOTR figures

[Operator5]

Great project and excellent paint jobs.

I also tend to avoid the more comical aspects of fantasy and look for more "realistic" styles. That's why I did my Broadsword figures with more of an "ancients" look to them.

[Orctrader]

...I'm currently using Windsor & Newton artist's acrylic matt...I think Orctrader uses it...

I don't actually.  Others seem to obtain "flat" results but I don't.  And I don't really trust water-based varnish.  I do this LINK

Nice figures.  Like the Ebob gent especially.  (Does the figure have separate heads?  The one on the site appears bare-headed.)  Might gave to get some.

[Super_Gibbon]

Those are super nice. I also much prefer that sort of thing to the huge weapon and shoulder pad style of fantasy.

[UncleRhino]

I also tend to avoid the more comical aspects of fantasy and look for more "realistic" styles. That's why I did my Broadsword figures with more of an "ancients" look to them.

I can not agree more with that statement.  I base my model choices upon Howard, who modeled Hyboria after history.  To me, it makes all the difference to see Hyboria the way Howard wrote it as opposed to a more Hollywooded-up Beastmaster or Conan the Barbarian look. 

It is really a matter of personal preference, and a good game will shine with either sort of models...as long as they are not World of Warcraft silly looking...

I do like the way the Dunedain turned out, those are fine models.  I always try and find a way to fit purple into a color scheme...

Ryan

[Funghy-Fipps]

Thanks for your kind comments and advice RE. suitable varnishes and techniques.  JollyBob, you recommend the W&N Artists (not All Purpose?) varnish, is that the spray or brush-on? 

I also tend to avoid the more comical aspects of fantasy and look for more "realistic" styles. That's why I did my Broadsword figures with more of an "ancients" look to them.

As I pointed out in my initial post this project was conceived after my reading plenty of 'old-school' fantasy works, which - in short - tend to be a blending of North-West European (id est Celtic and Germanic) mythology along with associated folklore/fables et cetera.  I wanted miniatures to reflect this darker and more serious tone and although I do honestly appreciate GW's comical approach to, for instance, Orcs and Goblins, I get exasperated  by virtually every other manufacturer's attempts to slavishly copy them.  I mean I had to really hunt around to find pertinent models for this project, which gave me cause for thought...

Incidentally, would Broadsword Adventures be a suitable system for what I'm trying got do?  I've heard it's more human-orientated.  Any advice would be much appreciated.  Currently I'm using SoBH, which are fun but don't always provide the depth I would like. 

Like the Ebob gent especially.  (Does the figure have separate heads?  The one on the site appears bare-headed.)  Might gave to get some.

All the Ebob Knights come with separate heads (in this instance, one bare and one helmeted).  The mounted English knights also have separate arms grasping assorted weapons, providing for endless variations.  They are very nice figures, but don't scale in well with many other ranges.

[abhorsen950]

Really nice stuff, gorgeus painting Bravoo!!

[thenamelessdead]

Good use of purple, not often you see that.  I look forward to wounding him grievously in a future conflict!

[bc99]

I've got the same Dunedain on the workbench. I'm going to have some "Dunedain-envy" here now that I've seen how nice yours have turned out. Grade A job!