Grenadier Fantasy Lord 500 series 505 Old World Dragon

Question: when is a dragon not a dragon? Answer: when it's a Grenadier Old World Dragon! The next nugget to be extracted from the lead mountain was this rather strange creature:

- which on first impression is neither fish nor fowl... nor dragon! Still, out with the paintbrushes. Standard techniques used, Games Workshop paints and washes, then lots and lots of dry brushing. The base was created by gluing three 25mm bases together, and then covering with flock and some small stones from the garden. The rock that the beastie is crouched upon is part of the original sculpture.

I was actually very pleased with the way this one turned out - it is a lovely sculpt, very sinuous, something like a cross between a lizard and a cat - which is what I always imagined a dragon to look like. In fact I'm so pleased with it, here is another pic:

For a long time I puzzled over what this figure was supposed to be - it has no wings, and looks more like a scaled dinosaur or strange crocodile. That, and the name - "Old World Dragon" - were the clues. I think it's supposed to be a dragon from the early stages of the evolution of the species - it hasn't developed wings yet (another couple of million years should see that right!). I should imagine it would give your average T.Rex a bit of a run for its money with those scales, especially if it had developed fire breathing. Imagine your average caveman turning the corner and running into this chappie!

Having said that... unless you were running a DnD campaign set in a "lost world" where dinosaurs still roamed the earth (and they were popular in the early days of the game), I would see limited game play for this figure. It's a shame, because as with a lot of the later Grenadier sculpts, it's a lovely figure... 

Asgard Fantasy Monsters FM27v2 Half Troll Chieftain

Asgard were one of the first manufacturers of fantasy figures, and as a consequence the quality of their sculpts varies from the dreadful to the excellent. The next figure to be extracted from the lead mountain leans more towards the better side of their sculpting, IMHO:

As with the majority of Asgard figures from the Fantasy Monsters (FM) range, you get a lot of figure for your money - however, that doesn't always mean you get detail in the sculpt, but this is one that I think they got nearly spot on. It was a pleasure to paint; mostly Citadel paints, and then a wash of The Army Painter Dark Tone Ink, followed by highlighting. 

You could argue that the figure falls foul of a common complaint about Asgard figures - the legs  look a little too short and thin, and the haft of the axe is way too thin for the figure to be used in RPG play on a regular basis before it would snap off - but on the whole I think it's a great figure. Very pleased with the way this turned out!

Grenadier Fantasy Warriors Blister Pack 941 War Troll Champion

And staying with Grenadier...

Next to be unearthed was a figure acquired as part of a job lot from a certain auction site. It was in a sorry state; caked with thick layers of paint, seemingly applied with a decorating brush, and missing its original weapons. After a couple of weeks soaking in Simple Green and the vigorous use of a nail brush, it was finally in a state where I could have a go at it:

The most pressing issue was the lack of weapons; originally the figure had a monstrous scimitar in its right hand, and a stone headed axe in the left. The only suitable weapons from the bits box that looked a likely match were a morning star and war hammer from the arm pieces of some Games Workshop Chaos cavalry, and I think that they don't look too out of place.

I decided to go for more of greyish-stone based approach for the skin; this also ties in with an alternative Winter Orc army I am working on, which will also have white/grey skin (and this chappie may well end up as part of it!). The armour was silver and GW Tin Bitz, highlighted with gold, with leather for the gauntlets, and red for the cloth.

It's an impressive figure; it towers over similar figures from the same era. If I had a criticism it's that the arms are a little stiff, but it's a minor grizzle. This would definitely work as the champion of an Orc army, or else as the boss/final encounter of a dungeon encounter!  

Grenadier Monster Manuscripts Vol 1 1501 MM8 Borer Serpent

The next nugget to be unearthed from the lead mountain was yet another Grenadier sculpt (they were the largest distributor of figures in the 1980's):

As with all of the later Grenadier sculpts, it is beautifully detailed and has an interesting pose - it looks as if it has just caught the scent of its next victim!

An easy figure to paint, too - base coats of red and yellow, then ink washes and finally dry brushing to finish. I put it on a 45mm base to be consistent with the rest of my mini's, but that left the ends of the base a bit bare - hence the skull and bones, which are just spare bits from a plastic skeleton.

Pleased with the way this one turned out!

Asgard Fantasy Monsters FM65 Flying Reptile And Wraith

Next up from the lead mountain... Asgard's take on the Nazgul from The Lord Of The Rings:

As with all Asgard sculpts from the early 70's and 80's, it's quite coarse compared to the fine detailed sculpts you see today. In particular, the Wraith is VERY crude - the folds in his cloak are acceptable, but on his legs (which unfortunately you can't see in the picture) I think he's supposed to be wearing chain mail leggings, when it fact it looks like he has a pair of woolly tights on!

The Nazgul/Reptile is a rather splendid sculpt though. The figure came in 3 parts - body and two wings - and I had to use an inordinate amount of super glue and patience to make them stick together, again due to the coarseness of the sculpting. Once assembled, it was a pleasure to paint - a surprising amount of detail, which came up well with washes over a base pink paint job for a suitably unpleasant effect.

The sculpt is something of a rarity - I've not seen another one - although I understand it's still available from Viking Forge in the States. I suspect that it didn't sell well on release for a number of reasons - firstly, Asgard didn't (or couldn't) advertise it as a Nazgul, and secondly it was an expensive sculpt when I acquired it. A third reason is that it was sold in a time when miniatures catalogues only had line drawings of the figures, not photos - and the line drawings from the Asgard didn't do it justice, and gave no indication of the size of the beast. Bit of a shame really, because I think it's an attractive "old school" mini, worthy of a place of honour in any Chaos army.

Grenadier Julie Guthrie's Personalities 881 Succubus

Next up was a fairly simple (but rather evocative) sculpt from Julie Guthrie, when she had her own range at Grenadier:

I am of the opinion that Julie's sculpts were a turning point for Grenadier - previously, a lot of them  had been a bit cartoon-ish, whilst her work heralded a more "realistic" style (if anything in a fantasy miniatures world can be described as "realistic"!).

The figure was really easy to paint; base colours, then simple washes, then highlighting. I was especially pleased with the way the bat-wings came out!

Grenadier Fantasy Lords 1st Series 105 Werebear

It's been a while since my last post - a combination of work, Christmas and New Year effectively preventing me from posting on a more frequent basis - but I've been been painting, which is why there will probably be several updates this month!

First up is this rather splendid sculpt from Grenadier:

 

Nice and easy to paint; white primer undercoat, then a mid brown base coat, then a wash of Devlan Mud, followed by drybrushing. The base is just flock, plus a couple of stones from the garden.

I really like this figure - it simply oozes power and savagery - and I can easy imagine it in a scenario like the Battle Of The Five Armies in "The Hobbit", ripping into the hapless goblin hordes! Rather than being stored away, this figure is going to be used as a Behemoth in my HOTT Wood Elf army.

Very pleased with the way this turned out!