Friday 16 December 2011

Grenadier Action Art Series 8003 Mythological Creatures 8003g Unicorn

Grenadier released four large boxed sets complete with acrylic paints, paintbrush and painting guides, probably with the intention of attracting youngsters into the hobby. The paints and paint brushes were not great, but the miniatures were of a good standard. This figure is from the 8003 Mythological Creatures set:
I think it's an attractive figure, with good proportion and movement - it really looks as if it is starting into a canter - although the head does look a bit strange, to be honest! The figure is in a totally different style from the other Grenadier unicorn I've posted here (see my second post in the blog). The figure was comparatively easy to paint; a base coat of dark grey, then several layers of dry brushing. The eyes were enchanted blue mixed with white, and the horn is just dry brushed silver. The base is simply flock on PVC glue. Simple but effective!

Tuesday 6 December 2011

Grenadier Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 5002 Monsters Yeti

I'm fairly sure this figure also dates from the early 1980's, same as the Djinni - the style is very "AD&D 2nd edition":
Initially I wasn't enthused about the figure - it looked clumsy, and there were a number of issues with it. What is it doing with that boulder? It doesn't look like it's going to throw it. Also, it's a big hairy ape man that lives in the snow - so why does it need a loincloth? Either it has got localised alopecia, or it is shy about exposing its naughty bits. And bearing in mind that the last thing it would want to do is draw attention to itself on the white slopes, choosing to wear an item of clothing that might stand up against the snow seems a very odd thing to do, unless the loin cloth were white as well... but then that would make for a very dull figure. Hmm.

In the end I painted the loincloth a dull brown - assuming that it has been taken from some slaughtered adventurer - and then highlighted it with various lighter shades. I was pleased with the outcome; the cloth looks as if it has a layer of ice on it. The figure itself painted up quite nicely - basically lots of drybrushing - whilst the base and the boulder had a faint blue ink wash to suggest ice. The stones on the base are Milliput, again with a thin ink wash. On the whole I am pleased with this figure, considering I had such low expectations of it!