Pale Rider

This is another case of truly fantastic artwork that's been turned into a run-of-the-mill miniature. The mount is large and clumsy and I simply don't get it. What exactly is its mouth supposed to be? Painting the model was a challenge as I didn't like it from start and I struggled to use right colors to keep it in line with my other Guild cemetery-themed minis.

I used various bits on the base. Some metal parts along with a plastic vulture from Hanging Tree. I've also added the paved path (I've done something similar for aJustice). 

The rider was pretty straightforward as far as painting is concerned. I used colors similar to my other Death Marshals and added a touch of red to have some variety going. The feathers (?) on his shoulders were confusing and I ended up painting them bright white with a light touch of blue. The mount was the most problematic part for me. I didn't really know where to start and how to go about painting it. In the end I went for a pale, sickly look and strengthened it with a couple of glazes along with carefully placed washes on areas like sores. And then there were the really weird horns. I had hard time deciding if these were actual horns or if they were covered by some kind of material.

Anyway, now that I look at it I guess it turned out OK and the mini doesn't look bad despite its bulkiness. While working on this one I also painted another mini for Puppet Wars - Bete Noire. I've used mainly black on her and when it was finished I went back over the hair with whitish colors to add a little variety. I know she's supposed to be dark but it's a puppet after all so I thought mop-like hair are legit.

Wastrel #2

I forgot to add these two pics to the previous post - a "mini Hooded Rider". That's a miniature from Puppet Wars. I like it a lot, it's actually kind of cute (my wife likes it more than the original sculpt ;). These miniatures are a lot of fun to work with but they require a different approach. There are more flat surfaces with fewer small details than the Malifaux minis. But they offer excellent opportunities for practicing smooth highlights.

Here's another member of the Relic Hunters crew. Like the previous one, he is also full of character and the quality of the model is excellent. While I was working on him I kept thinking that he reminds me of some character. It was only at the finishing stage that I realized it was Bill the Butcher from "Gangs of New York".

It was too late so I didn't change the color scheme. If I had good sculpting skills, I'd add a few conversions to the miniature and paint it over again to make him look like Bill.

This miniature gave me a chance to work with a new technical paint from GW - Blood for the Blood God. It is... the best "bloody" paint I've ever worked with. It's thick but it's also slightly transparent so that it leaves a very realistic, gory effect when applied.

I also used a bit of bright red and dark brown inks from P3 to add a bit depth to the blood effects. I'm pretty happy with his pants. I know they don't have pockets on the back but I decided to make them look like denim as I want each of the Wastrels to look completely different. This one is a big guy so I thought brighter colors would emphasize that effect nicely.

The base is from Micro Art Studio

One more Judge

I've finally finished painting the contents of "The Guild Judgement" box. The Judge was the last one I was left with. Similarly to other minis from this box, I used the classic color scheme. I like working with white on clothes, especially when the sculpt has many folds to play with shadows while highlighting. Also, adding the dirt effects using dry pigments is easier with this color.

To keep with the original color scheme, I also painted his bandanna blue. While it plays with the classic idea, now that I look at it, I think red might work better here. Maybe I'll repaint it one day but I guess I'll leave it this way for now.
Placing him on the base was a bit problematic as it was pretty much impossible to keep both of his feet within the base. I ended up using a resin base that has some broken tombstones. While working on this model, I also painted the puppet version.

 I found painting the hair a challenge as there's not much texture there and I needed several highlights to avoid a flat look there. I really like the plastic puppets. All seem to have their own personality and portray the original character with a pinch of salt.
I'll try to write a more detailed comparison of the old and new LJ crews (with pics) tomorrow so stay tuned.

Justified absence?

I guess there's no point starting with the obvious (long time no post, life getting in the way etc.). Let's just say that the last couple of weeks have been as busy as usually. Another thing that slows me down is that I'm working on a few different minis simultaneously.
First of all, I've finally painted the avatar version of Lady Justice. I bought it when... Maelstrom games was still around, so that must have been a longer while ago. For some reason I've been putting working on this one away.
LJ has always been one of my favorite Malifaux characters and the original metal box was the first one I bought for the game. I used the "classic" Justice color scheme and the greenish flame effect to match the rest of the new crew (I was inspired by the original artwork on the Guild's Judgement box). I also painted some OSL around the eyes of the monsters.
I'm really impressed with the design of this model as it's all cast it metal and everything has stayed perfectly intact since gluing the whole thing together. The only potential problem I predict is that if the Ram or Crow is touched and bent even slightly, the paint on LJ's forearms is bound to chip off.

As I was working on the avatar, I also painted the new plastic version of Justice. While I really like the dynamic pose, I'm not entirely sold on the way her hair go up. It might (how would I know, I'm practically bald myself ;) look like that if she's just landed from some considerable height but still it seems a bit odd to me. Her sword is another problematic bit. In the original design it's glued only at the place where the blade meets the hilt so it's bound to break at the first chance. In order to strengthen it, I also glued it to also to her fringe. It partly blocks her face now but that's not a big problem as she's wearing a band anyway.

Enough complaining. Other than those two bits I really like the miniature. She's dynamic, proportions are perfect (more natural compared to the original larger and busty metal version).Wyrd plastics offer a lot of possibilities for practicing highlighting. There are many smooth surfaces (skin, pants, boots) that need several layers of thinned down paint to look right.
I used Cemetery resin bases from Micro Art Studio as I thought they fit the theme of this Anti-Ressurectionist crew very well.

Aaaand, I also painted the puppet version of LJ. I won a sprue of sample plastic puppets in a painting competition a while ago. The one that you can see in the pic above is cast in one piece and the plastic has a very solid feel to it. I really like the sculpt, I think it does a fantastic job of portraying the original character in a tongue-in-cheek manner. The details look nice though once again, the smooth surfaces may be seen as a drawback for some. Personally, I don't mind them. I actually feel that they give me extra opportunities to practice working with thinned down paint and with applying smooth highlights but I can understand that for some it may be a lot of unnecessary hustle.

Last but not least, here's a group photo of all the LJ minis I own. I don't have the original metal puppet but I don't plan to get it as I really like the plastic one.
I currently have several Malifaux projects on my painting station in various stages of progress so if anyone's interested in seeing some more Guild stuff, check back soon.