Marienburg vs. the Undeadish (update: undead & spooky stuff)

[von Lucky]

Hah! I lolled.

I like the way you dealt with painting the horns. Very subtle.

[DeafNala]

It looks like Hagar's family, Helga & Hamlet at least, has turned to Chaos. The minis are COOL & BEAUTIFULLY painted. OUTSTANDING WORK!

[ZeroTwentythree]

Haha, I hadn't thought of them like that, but can definitely see the resemblance!


I had planned on at least molding these four heads tonight, but it didn't happen. I definitely like two of them. The other two I'm not sure about. But I will wait to see a few painted. Just did a few final touch-ups & prep for the mold but probably won't pour til tomorrow.

Making progress on tails. These are better, but still not right. Two had textures, but I filed them off because they looked awful. I'll try a few more from scratch. And even more after that, if that's what it takes.



I'm also making some progress on some commission stuff. Both figures (some are for trades) and vinyl toys.

At the beginning of the year, I posted a pic of some of the things I wanted to work on in 2016 and I've made surprising progress! I finished the wights, the beasty skeletons (and more!) and the old dwarf artillery. Now I'm reviewing my plans (especially in light of The Fomorian Sidequest) an reconsidering how I'd like to proceed. The one big thing in my mind is that I really want to play a game of some sort ASAP!

[ZeroTwentythree]

Over the weekend I made a block mold for those four heads. The next evening I tried a bit of casting and... that didn't go so well. I hit a lot of trouble getting figures out of molds, and the older block mold of four heads tore pretty badly in several places trying to retrieve some of them. I also couldn't seem to keep the syringes clean, and had to use a new one for each set of castings. But I did manage to get three decent sets of the new heads.

I'm learning quite a bit of the subtleties of molding & casting so far -- from both successes and failures. I think that I am ready to move forward, in several ways. I am interested in trying out some of the other varieties of silicone for molds, and I also think that I'm ready to try a two-piece mold!

So here are the new heads....



Again, I like some, but not others. Some small differences in the way I sculpted these. Going to keep G & H, but will cast fewer of I & J. Just small details. Out of the 10 I sculpted, I think 5 or 6 turned out decent.

Haven't had time to work on tails any more. Nor have I purchased any of the orc figures -- which I need in-hand if I plan on sculpting separate feet that will match the existing figures. And I am now out of silicone. I might have to put the Fomorian Plan aside for a bit, until finances allow for those supplies. So I may go back to working on some other stuff for a while.

[beefcake]

Two piece molds should work a treat for these guys. Hope it goes well for you.

[ZeroTwentythree]

I painted a few gobbos in anticipation of using them for my planned (soon, I hope) experiment with a solo skirmish game.





The little guys in the top photo are "Chaos Goblins" from RAFM. Quirky figures, but I like them & wish there were more than this single pack. I like the idea of goblins being a heterogeneous species, so I see no problems mixing styles.

I'm not 100% certain of the pedigree of the armoured guy with a helm to rival his massive sword (how he swings that without snapping his own neck, I don't know...) He's available from Ral Partha Europe, but I got a casting from ZN Games via Noble Knight. Unfortunately this one is resin. I'm trying to Learn to Stop Worrying and Love the Resin, but this wasn't the best example. He has a few bubbles, and it took three vigorous scrubs to get primer to adhere to the entire figure -- and even then I'm still hoping that it doesn't rub off. (I'm going to encase him in layers of varnish...)

Quick & dirty paint jobs. Literally. I used multiple black washes, hoping to get a dark & sinister look, and a somewhat oily appearance to the steel.

[DeafNala]

COOL BEANS! The RAFM & Mystery (I thinks he's a Harlequin. I got him & a cigar smoking Goblin wit a Big Club as a set a long time ago) look FANTASTIC...VERY WELL DONE!

[beefcake]

I like those RAFM ones. The Ral Partha one is on my to get list also. In metal though.

[ZeroTwentythree]

One other item I recently picked up, along with the goblins in the previous update, and the soon-to-be-former-orcs, was the Reaper Bones "Frog Demon." I thought it would make a good summoned or bound critter for the Fomorians.

For a very, very long time I have stuck with painting techniques that I'm comfortable with, and that have usually worked well with me. Generally speaking, I work from dark to light, and build up a lot of layers, use some feathering, wet blending, and some vague mix of all three at once. When I was (much) younger I experimented more with translucent techniques, washes and what I know understand as glazing. But for the most part, it never caught on with me, other than some limited use of washes. (And some experimenting with dip/wash a few years back, that never really went anywhere.)

Since I've started painting again recently, and since I've been painting a lot of undead and trying to paint them quickly, I've started using washes quite a bit more and it's worked out well. SO I've been doing a little bit of reading (and watching a few YouTube videos) on washes and particularly glazes the past couple of weeks.


I thought the Frog Demon (or Bog Demon, as I think I prefer) would be a good test subject for an all translucent painting experiment. Right from my initial wash it didn't go as planned. Then the first glaze on the body was just as bad... until I decided it was good. So I went with it. I did some more, and more... It's more like a sloppy wash, and looks more like I've painted a three dimensional watercolor. As I was painting, I just let that sort of drive my technique -- very fast, free and fluid brushwork with thin & translucent color. And that's completely OK with me. In fact, I'm really fond of the way it looks, especially on this figure. So I think I might try this "watercolor on miniatures" thing again.

[beefcake]

Looks great. That's a mini I've been after for a Bit too.

[von Lucky]

It has worked out well. Moist skin look suits it.

[Comsquare]

Looks fantastic 

Is that Toad Demon a Bones only or is there a metallversion too?

[ZeroTwentythree]

Strangely, looks like Bones only.

Also looks like it's a toad demon, not frog (whoops.)

[Vermis]

Blimey, that's nice!

It's more like a sloppy wash, and looks more like I've painted a three dimensional watercolor.

Aye, that. I think there's room for more 'painterly' techniques in mini painting, with John Blanche as just one example. I never set aside the time to try it, though.

[Shaved Dwarf]

I think that watercolour-look suits very well on a creature assumed to have a moist skin.