An Exercise in Flames

 I tried out a painting technique that I've never tried before, flame effects. It's sort of a backwards layering technique. White base coat, yellow, orange, red, and then black at the tips of the flames. My wife didn't really get the black effect at the ends but I think it's because we're used to seeing flames on torches and such in the dark and we don't appreciate the swirling tendrils of smoke coming from the flame.

Regardless, I was pretty happy with the results, being the first time I attempted it and all. Color me proud!

100th post!

Yes, it has only taken almost 9 years to reach this point but hey, what can I say? I'm an over achiever. 😎 I thought I would go back to where it all began and post some pictures of my recently painted miniatures! I recently taken up the brush again, mostly to try and generate some income as I'm not employed right now.

Here's to another 100 posts! Cheers!

I've been busy painting, what can I say!!!

To make it quick, for a couple months I've been hard at work painting. I wanted to share what all I've been up to. I'll keep it brief and let the pictures speak for themselves. Enjoy!

Foundry Secutor

 Tons more ahead!

Song of Blades and Heroes solitaire photo highlights, Orcs vs. Humans!

 It's been a while! I've been meaning to get a blog post up and now I actually have some worthwhile content. I've played a couple solitaire games of Song of Blades and Heroes against, well, myself. Here's some highlights of a battle I fought with a raiding party of orcs and a detachment of knights with a wizard battling over a "Place of Power."...Also, I wanted to test out my new Black Friday deal camera, so here's a quick highlight reel!

The battling was fierce at this point, when I remembered "Hey, I've got a new camera to try out!" You can see casualties mounting off the table to the right.

The orcs get stuck in with a knight..The ever out of range (and out of focus!) wizard watches on.

The blue and red knight keeps the orcs at bay whilst the human leader (purple guy) and his trusty companion survey the fight.

The orc leader rallies his archers near the forest with shaman in tow.

Just showing off my scratch-built mausoleum, well, aside from the doors.

Finally, the wizard joins the fray attempting a transfix...The green knight steps up as the red/blue one gets pushed out of combat!

Both human and orc combatants are thrown to the ground as the orc leader engages the wizard, oh no!

I didn't get a pic of it but the next turn the axe-wielding human leader dealt the orcs a decisive blow when he charged the leader and cut him in two causing most of the orcs to flee and the rest to quit the field. See, he wasn't just hanging back to give orders, just waiting for the right moment to show the humans who's boss!

 I really like playing Song of Blades and Heroes solo. Playing both sides can kind of seem drab in a lot of games but with the activation system in SOBAH, it keeps things tense. I just need to work on my skirmish tactics. Even playing alone I'm not that great!

 Hopefully I'll get a bunch of pics of the plethora of new minis I've finished painting up. Happy holidays, folks!

The classic six heroes from Dragon Quest by Ral Partha!

 I'm a vintage collector, be it miniatures, books, video games, whatever. The sad thing is, a guy my age (33 next month!) calling stuff vintage from when he was a kid is just sad since it was only in the 80's and 90's that's not that far off is it?! Well, I suppose it is...

 The six player characters from Dragon Quest were made in both plastic and metal versions. Presented here are the metal versions. They came free with the sealed game box I got last year for only $40...Well, I guess that's a good price. It was vintage, it had cool box art, the cards had awesome old D&D art on it, I was a sucker, what can I say! I bet if my wife were an old flabby hag tatted up with old D&D art with a Ral Partha or Citadel Miniatures brand on her, I'd have gone for it! Thankfully, she's quite beautiful and not at all hag-like, nor old and flabby. The point is, I love vintage stuff! Anyway, I'm rambling, here's the pics!

Love these three!

The dwarf is definitely my least favorite...

  I really like these guys. The dwarf is a bit lacking but he's still got some charm. Some people don't like the thief because he's a little small but what he lacks in height he makes up in pure unadulterated codpiece! The other guys are pretty standard fantasy fair but I like that. The elf, however, definitely reminds me of old Citadel GW stuff.

 Until next time bloggers, have a great weekend!

On the Dwarven Forge bandwagon!

So over the past year I've been looking for a nice 3D dungeon and I've tried various types. First I tried Hirst Arts and while awesome, it was a bit too time consuming for me and I was looking for something more durable, what with kids being planned in the near future. If a kid drops a cast dungeon piece, it's done for!

Then I tried out Fat Dragon Games E-Z Dungeons. Again, they were pretty cool and I love Fat Dragon's stuff but the dungeon just didn't do it for me. The dungeon dressing stuff though is really nice and I use it in my games currently!

 Then I remembered Dwarven Forge had a kickstarter a year or two back so I decided to check them out again. I was always reluctant for some reason to buy them. Mostly because I thought they were pretty spendy. Reservations aside, I decided to blow part of my tax return on six basic sets and a stair set!! Best decision I've made in a hell of a long time.

Stuffed to the brim!

Magnus, Wizard of Hope

 I haven't been doing a whole lot of painting the last week or so but I did manage to get this guy finished up last week. He's my all time favorite Reaper Miniatures sculpt and maybe my all-time favorite miniature. I hope I did him justice!

 As we're getting closer to fall, I decided to go with kind of fall colors, so I went with mostly brown, as you can see. Personally, I prefer natural tones when doing miniatures but sometimes they just don't capture the essence of a sculpt but I think my color choices really made him shine.

Magnus, Wizard of Hope by Reaper Miniatures

 I actually got him "free" as part of the Reaper 12 Days of Christmas deal they had last year. If you bought $65 or more worth of stuff, you got a free hard to find miniature, a different one each day. Well worth it!

Back in the warhorse saddle!

 I decided I'd get some serious painting done and finished up two Bones minis in pretty quick order! I also decided to start selling my painted minis as well. You can find them here if interested.:) My E-bay page!

A pretty bulky dude for a cleric!

A dwarf ranger...I think she makes a better thief though!

Not a Bones but definitely a cool warrior. Really digging that armor!

Really fast paint job and even faster seller. He wasn't even on E-bay for 15 minutes before he sold!

And so it begins...

 This is my first blog entry! Here at Fantasy Miniature Painter I'll mostly focus on older fantasy miniatures that I've come across in my collecting and that I've painted. I'll occasionally have modern miniatures, so keep a look out. I've been been painting and collecting miniatures since I was about 16 when my parents bought me my first wizard "pewter piece" as I called them back in the old days. Nowadays I'm just a casual painter and collector. A good chunk of my miniatures are purchased through Mega Miniatures for dirt cheap when it comes to miniatures ($1.89 for standard-size!). Without further-ado, here are some pictures! I hope you enjoy!
                                          Bofore Pinenut the Druid by Ral Partha

  I bought this guy off E-Bay after searching years for him. He's part of a three-stage character growth progression with this being the first stage (and coolest looking might I add!). He's also my current favorite paint job, so a rightful place as the first picture.

                                  Julie Guthrie's Personalities Dwarf Fighter by Grenadier 

   Here's another really old guy. If I remember correctly, the original mold was 1987. I picked him up at Mega Miniatures and I just fell in love with the sculpt! He looks like a really early version of a fantasy dwarf. He doesn't even have a mustache, which I think is pretty unique, for a dwarf.


                                   Wizard with staff and pointed hat by Metal Magic

   This guy really reminds me a lot of Gandalf; in fact, I have another version of him painted up just like Gandalf, which I'll post here soon! He's got a great pose and personality going on. The little mushrooms are made of a nail with the sharp end stuck in the base, turned out pretty cool. This guy can be bought at Mega Miniatures as well!


                                     Ranger with Bow and Sword by Metal Magic

      This guy was kind of cool to paint. I wasn't sure what to paint, so I just closed my eyes, stuck my hand in the miniatures bin and I randomly chose him! He reminds me a lot of the old Citadel wood elves. Bought cheap through Mega Miniatures.