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!

Unknown Greek Centaur

And a bonus post, along with a request for help. I'm also painting up a 25mm army for HOTT based on Greek fantasy, and one of the figures I'm using is this fabulous looking Greek centaur. The only trouble is - who is the manufacturer? It's not a slotta - the figure is based - but there is no manufacturers mark to ID it. Any ideas, anyone?

 

The figure came from a certain auction site, but weaponless - so he is using a plastic spear acquired from Wargames Foundry Amazons. The shield is an integral part of the figure. Quality of the sculpt is good, nice and crisp, and the style suggest late Grenadier - possibly Mark Copplestone? It was a pleasure to paint - simple base colours (I used gold to suggest polished bronze), then a wash of Army Painter Soft Tone, followed by dry brushing and use of white to pick out the clothing. The base is just standard flock glued on.

Really pleased with this figure - it fits in well with the rest of the Greek Fantasy units - but if anyone can ID him, I'd be really grateful.

Ral Partha Personalities and Things... 01-045 Earth Demon (Elemental)

Sticking with Ral Partha, this was next out of the Lead Mountain. Again, the quality of the sculpting is excellent, especially when you compare it to other manufacturers from the same period - although one has to raise an eyebrow at the anatomical correctness of the figure. And with that out, out with the brushes (so to speak). This was really easy to paint - gray primer, black wash, and then dry brushing with light grays, which really brought out the quality of the sculpting. The base is just Milliput with some GW sand glued on, and then paint gray. Simples!

This is a terrific figure - as most of the early Ral Partha's are - and I can see this getting a lot of tabletop time.

Ral Partha Personalities and Things 01-69a Djinn

I like Ral Partha sculpts, especially the larger creatures - quality of sculpting and level of detail was light years ahead of the competition in the late 70s and early 80's. If I had a minor quibble it was that their smaller figures (e.g. the adventurers) always looked a bit too small, especially when placed against their contemporaries from Citadel and Grenadier. This figure is a great example of a larger RP figure - stylish, good detail, great pose - what's not to like? Well, now that you mention it - it is prone to falling over, so the first thing was to attach it to a plastic base to give some stability. After that, on with the paint job. Good quality sculpting = easy paint job - base colours, GW washes, and then highlighting, especially for the white areas on the figure. The base is just cotton wool to try and give the impression of the djinn appearing in a cloud of smoke.

I like this figure a lot - unfortunately I can't see it getting a lot of tabletop time, purely because the D&D campaign I run has a definite Nordic/British Dark Ages slant, and the figure is definitely Arabic in appearance. Might need some lateral thinking to bring him in to the campaign...

Asgard Fantasy Monsters FM66 Large Troll with club

A combination of holidays, work and ferrying kids to see universities has meant that I haven't had time to post recently. That doesn't mean I haven't had time to paint though. Next up from the Lead Mountain was this chappie from Asgard. My guess is that he was sculpted by the same person who did the Silent Shambler, as there are definite similarities between the two figures, and this probably influenced the paint job.

The actual figure is one of the better Asgard efforts - quite detailed, no flash marking - although it does suffer from a common issue of Asgard minis, in that the haft of the club is very thin, and prone to snapping. It is fairly rare to find this figure in one piece. The actual figure was pretty easy to paint, just muted colours, then Army Painter Soft tone to bring out the detail, then highlighting. The base is just flock. I like this figure - as a generic, brooding, bad tempered troll (presumably set to guard treasure) I can see this getting a lot of table top time. Not bad for a figure that is nearly 40 years old!

RAFM 3949 (b) Gargoyle

And a bonus posting. I obtained this figure from a job lot on e-bay, and I've been unable to identify it fully. The base is clearly marked RAFM, but nothing else. I've checked Lost Minis, but I can't spot it anywhere - anyone with any ideas? As with all the RAFM sculpts, it is lovely and clean, and cast in good crisp metal- a real pleasure to deal with. The figure came in 3 parts - two wings, and the torso - and my only criticism was that the base was originally very narrow, making it prone to falling over. In the end I glued it to standard GW base and used Milliput to give the impression of stone flags. The actual paint job was very simple - yellow for the underside of the tail, then base red, then a GW ink wash with dry brushing to bring out the fabulous detail. Simples! This was a really easy figure to paint, with very little effort, and I'm pleased with the result - I can see this getting a lot of table top time as a generic winged demon. 

Edit: finally identified as RAFM 3949 (b) Gargoyle by the good people at Lost Minis!

Asgard Fantasy Monsters FM40 Troll Champion

And back to Asgard. Their Fantasy Monsters range has lots of trolls and half-trolls in it, but from two different sculptors. I think one of the sculptors was Jes Goodwin, who did the later, fine detailed "good" troll sculpts, and the earlier, coarser sculpts were done by someone else. This is one of the earlier sculpts.

 

As with so many of the early Asgard sculpts, it is really coarse - there is some detail, especially on the chain mail and the gauntlets, but the rest of it is very poorly done. In particular, the face is just two holes poked in for the eyes, and a gaping hole for the mouth. Still, out with the brushes. For early Asgard's I've found it best to keep it simple - in this case, silver and dull gold for the armour (I wanted to suggest brass, but it came out a bit too light for my liking), leather for the gauntlets and red to give a bit of impact. The original weapon (which I understand to be a stone mallet) was missing, so this chappie ended up with a plastic mace from a GW Chaos knight. After that, standard washes, and highlighting.

It's a brute of a thing, with real presence - look at it in comparison to the Asgard dwarf from the same era - but ultimately I think the quality of the sculpting lets it down. I think it's supposed to be a centre piece, a War Champion to lead your armies, and I think it lacks the detail to make it that stand-out piece. It will probably see some table top time as a guardian of a treasure room for low level adventurers, though.