Saturday 17 October 2015

Grenadier 8003 Action Art Mythological Creatures 8003e Cyclops

And staying with a Greek Mythology theme... Grenadier released four large boxed sets of figures complete with acrylic paints, paintbrush and painting guides, in an attempt to lure in hobbyists. The paints and paint brushes were not good, but some of the miniatures were terrific. This was one of them. I've no idea who the sculptor was, but they did a terrific job - I think this is one of the best figures Grenadier produced, a great pose, everything in proportion, lots of detail - what's not to like?

The figure didn't need much cleaning up - I had to tidy up up a few flash lines on the right shoulder - but after that, it was a pleasure to paint. The main challenge was picking out the colours for the patches on the trousers, and trying to ensure that they didn't clash too much. After that, an Army painter soft tone wash, which really brought out the detail, followed by dry brushing and high lighting. It took some time, but I think it worked out really well. If I had a criticism, it was the job I did on the base - I did my usual trick of building it up with Milliput and then glueing sand on top, but unfortunately some of the same dropped off and I ended up painting the exposed Milliput dark gray with a dark wash to suggest stone. My main concern is that there isn't enough of a contrast with the light gray fur effect on the feet, but it is something I can live with. I really enjoyed painting this figure, and I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. I just just love everything about it - I think the pose is fantastic, as if he's just about to dash some poor adventurer's brain out with the rock.  I can see this one getting plenty of table top time!


4 comments:

  1. A classic Grenadier sculpt. I think your basing looks great. I also love the pants. Well done.

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    1. Many thanks for the kind words - a lot of the credit has to go to the sculpt tho!

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  2. Never owned this min but I had the earlier version of the mythological creatures boxed set. A friend bought the same one but it had the resculpts (though the same box, IIRC) including this guy. The centaur had a crossbow and armor instead of the unarmored archer in the original, and overall the minis were a bit bulkier and better armed. I still like the original (slightly pot-bellied, hurling skulls) but this is a great one too. Nice paint job.

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    1. Thanks for the kind words! I saw this sculpt and fell in love with it as soon as I saw it. The Action Art set has got some real gems in it, as well as some stinkers - this one was the standout figure for me. I'll have to keep an eye out for the original cyclops...

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