Some miniatures for Song of Blades and Heroes (start of a greyscale experiment)

[Diablo Jon]

Those look pretty good.

When I saw the first post  I thought maybe you were going with a Sin city style vibe of all black and white miniatures with the odd red sash or some such. Something I've long toyed with doing for a Cyber punk style project. So I'm slightly disappointed you coloured them   

[Hobgoblin]

Those look pretty good.

When I saw the first post  I thought maybe you were going with a Sin city style vibe of all black and white miniatures with the odd red sash or some such. Something I've long toyed with doing for a Cyber punk style project. So I'm slightly disappointed you coloured them   

Thanks! It's just the left-hand one that was greyscaled; the other was done normally (and took much longer). In the 'flesh', I think I prefer the new guy - though I think a few dabs of ivory or white are needed to complete him.

Ha! That's a great idea! I might try it with the next one - at least temporarily! Next time around, I think I need to start with a much lighter overall grey - closer to white with shadows than grey with white highlights. I've got quite a few of these hobgoblins lying around, so I've got plenty to practice with!

[mr ed]

Sin city style vibe of all black and white miniatures with the odd red sash or some such. Something I've long toyed with doing for a Cyber punk style project.

Back when  Cursed City was released there were quite a lot of this sort of thing. It's cool if done well

http://lillegendstudio.com/blog/cursed-city-skeletons-commission-piece/

[Elbows]

I always like "artsy" paint styles like that.  While I don't have the ability to do stuff like that, I like when someone can do a kind of minimalist paintjob that delivers the full impact of the miniature or a really cool vibe, etc.

Shows you how much you can do with only a few colours, and the use of light and shadow, etc.

[Hobgoblin]

Yeah, those skeletons are amazing! Like Elbows, I love seeing that kind of stuff but could never hope to emulate it.

Here are some better shots of how the experiment turned out. I'm going to add a few pure-white highlights to the armour and some dots of ivory to the skin and yellow to the eyes. And then he needs to be matted down - all the gloss is from the contrast paints.

My son pointed out that I should have the highlight on the tip of the mace in line with the one on the main part of the head. That led me to the curious observation that the two hobgoblins had differently aligned mace-spikes; the sharp edge of the spike is in line with the edge of the mace-head on the conventionally painted one but rotated higher for the guy I used the greyscale technique on. God knows why!

One thing that the photos don't capture is how much more striking the greyscale guy is at a distance. So I'm going to get a few more painted up this way. They'll all mix in nicely as 25mm ogres, and the greyscale guys can form separate units for Saga, etc.

[Hobgoblin]

It occurs to me that this approach might be a good way to tackle Bob Olley's miniatures. I've struggled with some of those in the past because traditional wash-based approaches tend to 'disaggregate' all the detail and layered approaches can often look a bit clumsy. This might be the best of both worlds. I'll try it out on an Essex orc or two.

[Hobgoblin]

Painted up another one in greyscale yesterday lunchtime. This fellow needs a bit more white still - especially on the armour. I'm still trying to figure out quite how non-metallic metal works.

I must say that this method of painting is hugely fun - regardless of the results. There's a certain purity about working entirely in black, white and grey. And it's definitely quicker than conventional methods.

[Hobgoblin]

Here's the second one, along with a slightly retouched original.

The yellow contrast paint I used for the skin needed to be thinned even further than the dose of medium I used; next time, I'll try 1:5 paint:medium.

I used Vallejo ivory to add select highlights to the skin. I might also add some extra white highlights to the metal,.

These guys will be great as 28mm Saga hearthguards. I reckon I can get a full all-elite force out of the ones I have - 24 figures plus a warlord (quite possibly a Chronicle ogre).

One thing I hadn't realised is how big these fellows are next to the original Chronicle hobgoblins. I acquired one of those recently and am painting it to go with my small Chronicle orcs. The later hobgoblins are at least twice the mass and probably bigger - which makes them perfect as ogres in 25mm.

[DivisMal]

Those ogres look awesome. I’m right now doing a TYW/30YW project that is very much inspired by your thread. Really nice!

Edit: I meed to try the ivory highlights with the skin!

[Grumpy Gnome]

Looking good mate!

[Hobgoblin]

Thanks, both!

I've got two more just about ready to meet the contrast paints - just another round of strong white highlights first. I keep uncovering more caches of these Chronicle hobgoblins that I must have snaffled from eBay during lockdown. I'm going to have no trouble fielding a full-size Saga force of them.

[fred]

Great painting method, and a great set of figures. I used to have some of these, but pretty sure I sold them

[Hobgoblin]

Thanks, fred. Yes, they are a terrific range. Even though they're fairly diminutive by the standards of modern 28s, they just exude bulk and menace.

I managed to get the first few colours on the latest two before dinner. I thinned down the yellow for the skin a lot more, which should mean a bit less messing around with ivory highlights. The eyes will still need a yellow dot and neatening up, as will the teeth, but the first Saga unit is almost done. Eventually, I'll split them into 'great weapons' and normal, of course. The dual wielders will slot into either category.

[Pattus Magnus]

That painting method is working very well, they look great! I like those older sculpts a lot.

[Dr Mathias]

Interesting, I always thought that greyscale miniatures have a cool look. Yours look really good.