First day of Orctober - the Horde

Just one picture for the first day of Orctober.

Don't they look fierce ?

Wild Orc - test shot

I keep on preparing Orctober. After the Dark Alliance sets, I wanted to try to paint the Caesar figures.
Their style are very different from one another: the Dark Alliances ones are much smaller than the Caesar, which are sculpted in the spirit of the Games Workshop green horde.

At first, I wondered whether I would paint these ones in green, so that I would get two different hordes, from two different orc people, but I eventually decided to stick to the initial color scheme, and use other items to represent different people: the clothes of course, and also, why not... warpaints.

Here you are the first of my Wild Orcs, as a test shot.

A close-up to have a look at the warpaints. White for the skull and some stylized bones, with red lines and hands for blood (of course).

And last, a picture of the Wild Orc as a bodyguard for the orc queen.

What do you think ? Is the color scheme convincing ? And the warpaints ?
Thank you in advance for your wise comments, my fellow painters :)

Last days of september...

... preparing Orctober :)

From times to times, I keep on painting Orcs and Goblins for my Orc army. Remember the color scheme I chose ? A yellow skin, as you can see here or there, not the usual green we see everywhere, even on this very blog !

So I've just added a few Orcs from Dark Alliance set 3, the best Orcs by this producer by far.

As usual, a few individual pictures. First of all, the queen of Orcs, ruler of the great hord I want to paint this Orctober.

The general of the army, at least the foot warriors (I'm thinking of a conversion of this guy on a small dragon). I must say that I didn't like this mini because of his shield that I found ridiculous, but once painted it is ok to me.

Two warriors as guards, or maybe vanguard, since they're lightly equipped.

And a closer view of these fierce warriors. Can't wait for next month!

So, who's in for painting hordes for Orctober ?

The Mummy returns

An update on this blog, at last!

I must explain that I wasn't interested in figures any longer. I have been away from the community for almost 9 months, which has given me a lot of time for other hobbies, such as collecting Japanese woodblock prints, or playing music in a small band.

Since I was away, I didn't even visit the blogs of my fellow figure painters - I hope you don't hold it against me too much. Well, it seems that a break was necessary.

A few days ago, I had a look at Benno's, and I discovered that Dark Alliance was about to release a set of Mummies. Mummies ? That was completely unexpected (at least to me)... but absolutely necessary for a painter whose nickname's Philotep :)

So I left a very small comment at Benno's, ordered this set as soon as I could, received the package a few days later, opened the box with excitement (a feeling long gone), and begun to paint the first minis this afternoon.

The first mummy is finished, I have taken a few pictures so that I can show you. Here you are:

Well, not my best, but I haven't touched a paintbrush for a long time. And I had difficulties removing the mold lines - something I have never been good at, but it is obvious that I must change my blade.

Some other mummies are on their way. I will take time to finish them properly, take better pictures, and write a small review about this set.

Hope you like this one anyway :)

A few more Goblins

In the previous post introducing a Goblin drummer as the musician of the month, I wrote that I was also painting other Goblins from the same set. I could spend some time today to finish 3 of them, so that I could take pictures and show them as reinforcement for the lonely drummer.

Here they are:

To tell the truth, I was not very happy with the drummer. Remember, I wanted to paint a very pale skin for this underground dweller, but there was a lack of contrast in the result - the skin looked the same everywhere - too plain, too clean.

So for the next Goblins, I decided to add a layer of watery white, with only a little bit of red - and I painted that layer on the drummer too. I also used yellow and blue washes in some places on the skin to simulate skin disorders. And last but not least, I painted some dirt on their legs, arms and bellies.

Some close-ups to see the result:

I think that this one might represent a halfling, with another color scheme

These minis were an excuse to paint some rusty weapons - once again, I wanted to go a bit further than usual, and added some orange highlights to the rusty parts.

Maybe you would be interested in a size comparison with other minis ?

First picture: Goblins and Orcs, same manufacturer (Dark Alliance):

They are approximately the same size - the Goblins look much uglier, is it the figures or the painting? :D

Second picture: Goblins from two different manufacturers (Dark Alliance and Caesar):

The Caesar are much smaller. In my eye, they really look like Imps rather than Goblins. And the color scheme I chose in not that interesting, I should find another.

As a conclusion, I would like to list what I've learnt with these minis:
- a very pale skin with a lot of white is possible, but you need contrast and splatters of color in some places - it is a bit boring without
- the rust can be very orange
- I like monsters

That's all folks!

Musician of the month: Goblin drummer

Hi everyone! For the first post of 2019, since we're are already late in the month, I must carefully choose my priority, so let me introduce you the musician of the month: a Goblin drummer.

This guy comes from one of the last sets by Dark Alliance, Goblins set 2, that I bought 2 days ago.

I've chosen a color scheme that is meant to recall the Goblins from Goblin-town as we can see them in "the Hobbit" first opus. These creatures live in the depths of the Misty mountains, so we can imagine that their skin is very pale - I never used so much white to paint a skin.

Some more pics:

Oh, I've just realized that I chose the same colors as Paul (from Paul's Bods) for the drum! It must be the only common colors :-)

Well, I hope I find time to finish the others soon.

My plans for 2019 are still vague, but this is a first wishlist:

- finish my Late Crusader army: I didn't take pictures recently, but I only need to paint 2 minis (1 foot, 1 horseman) to finish this army according to DBA (with some personal adaptation), so I should write a post about them rather soon

- paint some ACW figures: YES, something very unusal on this blog, but I see so many interesting pictures everywhere... 6 old references are already painted

- paint a lizardmen troop, including conversions to get some cavalry... I mean, lizardry :)

- add some Mayas to my 3 men Maya warband (a bit short)

- paint a second Frost Giant (work in progress!!)

And I don't say anything about 28mm figures, I have at least fantasy 4 armies for Kings of War to paint.

I wish you a year full of minis, and of many other good things too !!

Frost Giant

First of all, let me announce you that you are reading the 100th article of this blog!!

Everything began 2 years ago, in december 2016. After having watched so many cool blogs dedicated to minis, I was not sure that I had something more to add... but I tried anyway, and I receive enough feedback from you, dear readers, to believe that it was, and still is worth updating it regularly, and that it really helps me to paint more and more.
And I particularly enjoy to write to,and read from people from all around the world. 

So: thank you very much !!

Well, ok, let's go to the subject: the Frost Giant !

The Frost Giants are characters mentionned in the Scandinavian mythology, in which they are called Hrimthursar. They are endlessly fighting the Gods. Their ancestor is Ymir, the first of the giants. They are the oldest inhabitants of the world, of which they know every secrets and magic.

This giant is probably the last mini that I will paint this year. Here you a few other pictures, alone and with a Orion viking for size comparison.

This mini was originally designed as a character for Zombicide: Black Plague boardgame. When I first saw it, I immediately imagined the color scheme to turn it into a blue giant, and I must that the result does not disappoint me.

What do you think of that big guy ? Your comments will be once more very appreciated. Oh, he is meant to have a fellow giant, but I will paint that one next year. Happy new year everyone :)