[null, null, null, {"document_url": "http://leadmenagerie.blogspot.co.uk/2013_01_01_archive.html", "unformatted_src": "http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cCHKb_tl5J4/UQBpdU3UK3I/AAAAAAAAALM/4e83JUrbvN8/s320/Asgard+Fantasy+Monsters+FM65+Flying+Reptile+And+Wraith.jpg", "src": "http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cCHKb_tl5J4/UQBpdU3UK3I/AAAAAAAAALM/4e83JUrbvN8/s320/Asgard+Fantasy+Monsters+FM65+Flying+Reptile+And+Wraith.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Asgard Fantasy Monsters FM  Flying Reptile And Wraith", "rendered_width": 320, "rendered_height": 269}, {"document_url": "http://leadmenagerie.blogspot.co.uk/2013_01_01_archive.html", "unformatted_src": "http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iXTUNMt-bMo/UQBmOFzzUgI/AAAAAAAAAK8/OBDdMS2brHY/s320/Asgard+Fantasy+Monsters+FM65+Flying+Reptile+And+Wraith2.jpg", "src": "http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iXTUNMt-bMo/UQBmOFzzUgI/AAAAAAAAAK8/OBDdMS2brHY/s320/Asgard+Fantasy+Monsters+FM65+Flying+Reptile+And+Wraith2.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Asgard Fantasy Monsters FM  Flying Reptile And Wraith", "rendered_width": 320, "rendered_height": 280}, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null]

Grenadier Monster Manuscripts Vol 1 1501 MM8 Borer Serpent

The next nugget to be unearthed from the lead mountain was yet another Grenadier sculpt (they were the largest distributor of figures in the 1980's): As with all of the later Grenadier sculpts, it is beautifully detailed and has an interesting pose - it looks as if it has just caught the scent of its next victim!

An easy figure to paint, too - base coats of red and yellow, then ink washes and finally dry brushing to finish. I put it on a 45mm base to be consistent with the rest of my mini's, but that left the ends of the base a bit bare - hence the skull and bones, which are just spare bits from a plastic skeleton.

Pleased with the way this one turned out!

Posted by Caliburn at 09:30 4 comments: 

Asgard Fantasy Monsters FM65 Flying Reptile And Wraith

Next up from the lead mountain... Asgard's take on the Nazgul from The Lord Of The Rings: As with all Asgard sculpts from the early 70's and 80's, it's quite coarse compared to the fine detailed sculpts you see today. In particular, the Wraith is VERY crude - the folds in his cloak are acceptable, but on his legs (which unfortunately you can't see in the picture) I think he's supposed to be wearing chain mail leggings, when it fact it looks like he has a pair of woolly tights on!

The Nazgul/Reptile is a rather splendid sculpt though. The figure came in 3 parts - body and two wings - and I had to use an inordinate amount of super glue and patience to make them stick together, again due to the coarseness of the sculpting. Once assembled, it was a pleasure to paint - a surprising amount of detail, which came up well with washes over a base pink paint job for a suitably unpleasant effect.

The sculpt is something of a rarity - I've not seen another one - although I understand it's still available from Viking Forge in the States. I suspect that it didn't sell well on release for a number of reasons - firstly, Asgard didn't (or couldn't) advertise it as a Nazgul, and secondly it was an expensive sculpt when I acquired it. A third reason is that it was sold in a time when miniatures catalogues only had line drawings of the figures, not photos - and the line drawings from the Asgard didn't do it justice, and gave no indication of the size of the beast. Bit of a shame really, because I think it's an attractive "old school" mini, worthy of a place of honour in any Chaos army.

Posted by Caliburn at 14:50 1 comment: 

Grenadier Julie Guthrie's Personalities 881 Succubus

Next up was a fairly simple (but rather evocative) sculpt from Julie Guthrie, when she had her own range at Grenadier: I am of the opinion that Julie's sculpts were a turning point for Grenadier - previously, a lot of them  had been a bit cartoon-ish, whilst her work heralded a more "realistic" style (if anything in a fantasy miniatures world can be described as "realistic"!).

The figure was really easy to paint; base colours, then simple washes, then highlighting. I was especially pleased with the way the bat-wings came out!
Posted by Caliburn at 08:11 1 comment: 

Grenadier Fantasy Lords 1st Series 105 Werebear

It's been a while since my last post - a combination of work, Christmas and New Year effectively preventing me from posting on a more frequent basis - but I've been been painting, which is why there will probably be several updates this month!

First up is this rather splendid sculpt from Grenadier: Nice and easy to paint; white primer undercoat, then a mid brown base coat, then a wash of Devlan Mud, followed by drybrushing. The base is just flock, plus a couple of stones from the garden.

I really like this figure - it simply oozes power and savagery - and I can easy imagine it in a scenario like the Battle Of The Five Armies in "The Hobbit", ripping into the hapless goblin hordes! Rather than being stored away, this figure is going to be used as a Behemoth in my HOTT Wood Elf army.

Very pleased with the way this turned out!
Posted by Caliburn at 04:23 1 comment: