Figurine: Rogue and Bard

Once again more figurines have been painted! These ones come with a twist. About every five figures or so, I repaint old figures that I did years ago.

I don't know why I do this - I have plenty of new ones waiting, I guess I just like the nostalgia of it all, and it is nice to see what you can do with limited options.

These two figures are from the eighties. The guy on the left is a rogue made in the late eighties by a company called Mithril, that did a lot of imagining of Lord of the Rings scenes - and many of them are very cool. This guy is not a famous character, and therefore a bit rare.

The guy on the right is a bard from an old set called "Thieves, Monks, and Bards" that came out in the early eighties. So here they are in their original paint jobs (o, the embarrassment):


To start over all you need is some extra strength oven cleaner and a tupperware container.

This and a bit of a scrub with a toothbrush takes off all the old paint (Easy Off works on oven grease, and so oil based paint is not a problem):

Then, they get a coat of primer so I can start over. Both of these guys had lost their original swords over the years, so I cannibalized some parts from some more recent figures and gave them new swords (and hands):

And, voila! Here they are with the newest painting techniques. Still not likely to win any beauty contests, but a hell of a lot better than they were.

And of course, from the back. I really like the Mithril figure (guy on the left). These figures were ahead of their time, and I wish I could find them now, but they are hard to come by. Note that while I update them, I try to honour my original colour palette. I dunno why - it is a thing I do.

Next up on the painting table - a sphinx!

Figurine: Desert Ranger

Another figure painted! For some reason I got bogged down a little on this one. Maybe it was being away for two weeks, or maybe it was that I had done something similar a couple years ago, so there wasn't anything novel about it.

Anyway, here she is - a female desert ranger!

I liked this figure's pose, and the detail on her arm and leg bracers (look closely and you can see they feature protective 'scarab' motifs). I also gave her a purple sash, for just a dash of colour. Here she is from the back:I am pretty happy with how this figure turned out. I imagine her as a bit of loner among her people, but still fiercely protective of them. Finally, here are the three similar figures I painted back in 2008. I wanted her to have a similar feel to them, and I think it worked out OK.
Next up: A standard bearer and a drummer in full plate mail. Groovy...

Hireling

I finally finished another figure - this time it is a hireling or henchman of some kind. He stands about 1 inch tall.

I did an OK job on this guy, but he is one of those figurines where you wonder what possessed you to purchase him in the first place. He's not exactly heroic. I was probably inspired by the raw turkey he is carrying around. You can see it up in the top left of this shot:

Here he is from behind. This guy is totally laden down. He is carrying 2 quivers, a bow, a warhammer, a longsword, an axe, a book, a shield, rope, a lantern, 2 sleeping bags, a frying pan, a bottle, a barrel, a backpack, 2 satchels, 2 sacks and a dagger.

I like to imagine a backstory when I paint a fig. I think this guy works for some conceited knight who makes him carry everything. The knight is a "Knight of the Hart" from Furyondy. Their coat of arms is antlers d'or on a field vert (he said, showing off his heraldic know-how). I painted the arms on both the shield and on the quiver hanging from his belt. Here's a third shot showing this (the shield's arms are obscured by the turkey).

This guy needs a new job, but I guess in the medieval era, this was probably considered a good gig.