Thorin's company #5 Fili

Those dwarven names are confusing. Not only do they rhyme but they're also similar to one another. Anyway, here's another member of Thorin's company - Fili.

While I enjoyed painting this one, there were still the same issues I had with some of the other plastic dwarves, i.s. lack of texture on hair and clothes. Highlighting these was a bit of a challenge but I think it worked out pretty well in the end.

Who let the dogs out?

Two more additions to my Guild force - the hounds. Fast and potentially very useful in some scenarios.

These minis are actually pretty small and were's easy to put together in the first place. Their legs are very thin so pinning them to the base was't possible.

My three latest additions 

I simply couldn't resist ;)

A rotting sorcerer

This mini has been sitting half painted on my shelf for several months and I pretty much had to force myself to finish it. Much as I like the sculpt, I struggled to keep the colors dark and still distinct from one another. In the end it turned out OK I guess.

I used Vallejo still water in the puddle on the base and some glowing medium for the symbols on his cloak and whatever it is that is dripping from the staff.

Keeping watch

Time for another piece from my Malifaux backlog. This one has been waiting for painting for a few months and I finally decided to deal with it.

Watcher is a relatively cheap model in game that has quite a few uses. He can help with card control and he can also be an efficient objective grabber. I wanted to make sure that the way the model is prepared reflects these so I glued him to a tall column, making it look as if he was gliding. I also added some vine as I felt that the column looked empty without it.

I used Vallejo Old Gold for the basecoat on the metallic parts and then highlighted these using paints from Andrea gold set. After that it was just a matter of a few  glazes of green and brown. I also added a simple OSL effect, nothing too fancy but I'm pleased with the effect nonetheless.

Watcher and his good old pal Guardian

Thorin's company #4 Two old friends

Just a quick update on the progress on my Hobbit stuff. While I enjoyed painting both of them a lot, I had some problems getting Bilbo's eyes right as they're poorly sculpted. Other than that, the minis are really nice.

Now back to more Hobbit stuff. I also try to catch up on my other projects (mainly Malifaux) so more updates should follow soon :)

Thorin's company #3 Balin, at your service

I really liked the way this character was portrayed in the movie. I think Ken Stott did a great job and managed to capture the essential feel of age, fierceness and a kind of grace that is immediately associated with Balin. These also include the way he fought, using very elegant, swift cuts rather than heavy hits.

GW's sculpt of this dwarf is my favorite so far (at least compared to other ones I've already painted). His face with its large nose and bushy eyebrows, is really well sculpted and evokes the feelings I mentioned earlier.

I worked on his clothes using two shades of red to make sure his inner robe looks different that the jacket. Since the pose of this mini is rather static I placed him on the edge of platform to make him look as if he was waiting for a fight.

A terrifying dandy

Lucius doesn't look like a warrior but he can be one if it's needed. Despite his inconspicuous looks, he is one of the most terrifying creatures in Malifaux. It's also hard to actually land a hit on him and make him bleed. Other than that he has some very nice tricks up his sleeve that allow him to quickly slingshot reinforcements where they're most needed. This skill should suit Lady Justice pretty well.

So, without further ado, here's Lucious, the power behind the throne.

   

I had another mishap while painting him as I applied varnish brush-on and followed with a light spray of matt varnish. It created some nasty residue in placed where the first varnish hadn't dried completely and I needed to repaint the red jacket.

I painted the golden embellishments on his sleeves and collar using NMM as I think this technique works well for materials. The mask was painted using darker gold to add an element of contrast that I thought was necessary.

            

I'm making slow but steady progress with my Malifaux backlog. I try to paint them while working on the Hobbit stuff. The first quarter of the year is almost over and I've already painted 9 of the remaining 36 minis. I may actually be able to complete the rest by the end of the year!