Continued works Quarter 1 results:

As I reported earlier, I finished the Dragon Knights of Caledor in January. This left me two other projects to finish by the end of the first quarter – Arkhan the Black and the dragon from Reaper miniatures Dragons Don’t Share. Much to my dismay, February went by quickly. Not to say that work was not done, but most of it was planning on how to deal with the Arkhan the Black model.

This model sat unfinished due to all the problems spoken about in the last blog. My solution to the problem of support – a brass rod to suspend the body. All to keep the leaping look the model has. With that solution on hand, I began to brainstorm how to increase the contrast of the model. The painted studio model had colored skulls, and frankly I wished to avoid that. However, it did provide the contrast needed. So, I decided to color the beast made of bones instead. The color choice took me a bit as I wanted it to really pop on the base. I eventually settled on Army Painters Speedpaint 2.0 Blood Red.

This process was a bit more work intensive than anticipated. Despite my best efforts, there were a few times the speed paint still touched skulls. In those cases, I cleaned up the areas with Skeleton Bone by Army Painter and worked the highlights back up. The process  – while easy just consumed time due to trying to avoid spilling ivory unto the beast’s bones.

 Near the head I decided to use Blood for the Blood God by Games Workshop to give the beast a more gruesome/gory feel. As if the duo recently fought and won a battle.  I then finished up the gem and smoke on the staff, as well as some minor clean up on Arkhan’s cloak. After that, I worked on the model’s base to accentuate the pose and provide a barren backdrop.

As to the last model for quarter 1 – the dragon from Dragons Don’t Share 2013, I failed to complete it. I touched on that possibility in my last blog post, though I hoped to be further along. My vision of dragon’s appearance stays the same. Despite the failure, I made progress forward and the dragon no longer appears Reaper Bones white.

So, what do I want to accomplish in the new quarter? For me it must be a project started already – either primed, part of a set I worked on or some of it has paint. With these criteria I chose my projects. Of course, the dragon from last quarter screams to be finished and mandatory for the list. The other two come from very different lists. The first being the Ironskull’s Boys from Warhammer Underworlds. I started painting these models about 3.5 years ago and stopped after starting only 1 of the 4 models. The other project consists of painting up a regiment of Forest Guard for my Elf army for Kings of War. I have painted 2 of the models and the unit mascot. This set of projects will keep me busy in between the current commissions on my docket.

I’ll try to provide updates for projects during this quarter. Some of that depends on how life, work and commissions affect my free time. Either way I’m looking forward to sharing how this journey progresses. Till next time – paint fearlessly.