WIP- minis for my D&D players

[CreganTur]

I'm currently DMing a D&D 4th ed. campaign for my friends and we're having a lot of fun, but none of them have ever shown intrest in painting minis for their characters- they always use some of the stock I keep for just such a purpose. I finally decided that I had had enough of an armored lizard man standing in for the party's Warforged Ranger, so I offered to do a little conversion and paint any mini they wanted to buy for their character.

I'm currently working on the mini for said Warforged Ranger- he picked out a Shadowhawk mech from Iron Wind's Battletech range. We discussed the conversions he wanted and this has turned into a fun project for me.

The original mini:

I cut off the sensor package on the side of the head and smoothed it all out. Then I removed all of the fins from the body and slimmed down the upper legs. Cutting the guns off the hands was pretty easy, and once all that was done I set about slimming down the leg armor so it didn't stick out so much. I've also filed down all of the hard edges so he will have more of a plate mail look:

He'll be wielding a pair of battle axes, which I am having a touch time scratchbuilding... but each failure is a learning process- once I get a decent start I'll add it to this WIP.

A quiver and bow will be added onto the back instead of the jet pack. Archie's in the second pic for more than just scale reference- he was one fo the first 4 minis I ever painted... I've come a long way! I've already cut off his hand and have trimmed it away to leave just the bow, and I'll be using the arrows for the quiver.

ps. Arms are held in place with sticky-tac

 

[exilesjjb]

looking good but if it is to be plate armour then the figure need a groin!! lacking in any family jewels at the moment.:bye:

 

[CreganTur]

I've made 5 attempts at sculpting an axe for the Warforged and I haven't even gotten close to a successful attempt. So, I broke down and ordered a couple of weapons packs from Reaper. I'm going to finish the rest of the body work that needs to be done, as well as creating the quiver, before they arrive (hopefully).

But, untill then, I want to introduce the other character I'm working on. This was picked out by my halfling rogue player- it's not a halfling model, but it fit the character perfectly and he's kind of short for a human mini, so it works out well:

I hacked off the broccoli base using my tiny hobby saw and cast a reproduction of my London Cobblestone base using Resin. He's pinned in place, but not glued yet. I'll be keeping him on a wine cork so I can paint the pieces seperately, then I'll combine when I'm done and touch up the base with shadows to match the body position.

 

[BPI]

It'll be nice to see those on the table CreganTur, I'm putting together some party members at the moment too. Difference being the players don't get to choose their own minis, I dread to think what I'd end up being expected to convert/paint! Cheers, B.

 

[CreganTur]

Another small upate today. I made a press mold of the shoulder armor and I cut off the lower angle to fill in where the jump jets were on the mech. I had to do a lot of cuttig and filing to remove all traces of the jump jets- I shaped the area so it mimics the same angles as the shoulder armor:

I also finished the quiver. The stitches are hard to see in the pics- they were a challenge to make- I sculpted them with a sewing needle. There was a hole on the back of the mech that I filled with green stuff, and that's what's holding the quiver in place. I had thought about putting a stap across the chest, but I've changed my mind- I'm going to add a couple straps on the back and make it look like the quiver is riveted in place.

It's been raining for a couple days. I hope it stops soon so I can prime the rogue.

 

[CreganTur]

I had a great Thanksgiving and was able to get in a little work during my holiday.

I was extremely surprised and pleased to find the weapon packs I ordered from Reaper in my mailbox last Wednesday. I picked out the axes I liked the best and converted them onto the hands. I cut out the handles and pinned everything in place. Drilling through the hands was a little time consuming- I think my bits are getting dull.

I also put together the major elements for the base. I cut up some wine cork for the rock ledge he'll be standing on and I rolled out some green stuff that will be mud. 100 points to anyone who can guess what those tracks are from (points have no value and mean nothing except for bragging rights):

I've blocked in the base metal color for our ranger and the leather for his quiver. He's going to have a lot of weathering and I'm going to work in a red glow effect into the right axe to match a magic item my player has for that character:

I also blocked in all of the major colors, except for skin tone, for the rogue. I've done most of the shading on the cloak, which is going to be black with some purple highlights. THe tunic will be a much darker blue when I'm done, and the boots and satchel will end up being a red leather: