From the workbench of Zebraoutrider
Recommendations: 754
About the Project
This blog details my attempts to reduce my own ‘pile of shame’ which is totalling 100s of miniatures that need constructing, basing and painting. The blog will focus on 25mm and 28mm fantasy minis from Reaper, Dark Sword, Diehard, Dunkeldorf, Midlam, Grenadier and ‘Oldhammer’ Citadel Miniatures. I won’t be necessarily logging the preparation of the miniatures, as you can read about WIP on other projects that I have completed, so this blog will focus on the end product of my painting efforts. I don’t use an airbrush, preferring to use blending, dry brushing and washes to get these guys to the table top as playable characters rather than display or competition pieces. My painting style is rather grim-dark and gothic, normally utilising black under coats and with some influence of Blanchitsu to create a ‘dirty’ impression. I paint for pleasure and not for profit. I will be seeking inspiration as I go along from what I see, read and from those I interact with in this great hobby. Hope you enjoy my adventures…
Related Game: Dungeons & Dragons
Related Genre: Fantasy
This Project is Active
The Tavern Folk take a Seat at the Table (Phase 3)
First up we have three companions relaxing after an adventure. The veteran soldier, the young bard and the joyful sergeant are all in the black and yellow colours of the colours of the mercenary unit that set off into the dessert. Perhaps this trio has either returned successfully or is waiting for their companions. Either way they are currently enjoying the tavern food and song. Miniatures Chosen: Dunkeldorf Miniatures - Uwe the Old "Sailor"; Guidobaldo de'Foscari the Merchant; Ulrike the Bard.
The Dunkeldorf Patrons enjoy the tavern offerings. 
Next up we have the drunken companion of the floored drunkard. Miniature chosen: Dunkeldorf Miniatures - Helmut the Drunkard. He’s very reminiscent of an old Citadel Miniatures FS68 ‘Grumpy Old Boozer’ from 1982 - I may have this chap in a box somewhere and if so I may add him to the scene?
In the snug we have Dunkeldorf Miniatures - Bertha and Bull (the cat) conspiring with Mischa the Courtesan. Perhaps they will prey on the mercenary trio once they have consumed enough liquor and enjoyed sufficient food to ensure that a nap is in order? 
I was absolutely gobsmacked to receive a Golden Button in November. Thank you so much…. Thank you so much for the Golden Button and your enthusiasm for my collection on the CoGs Sunday Weekender… I am very, very humbled. ? I will shout out to young Thomas who inspired this project and for me to paint and give him a set of minis for his D&D campaign and reduce my pile of shame. Thanks to him I got to 50 minis painted by September and now I’m onto the next 50 to hopefully paint by Xmas… we’ll see ? Many thanks again.Painting the Tavern Furniture (Phase 2)
After a bit of a slow couple of weeks due to work commitments, I’ve managed to get the fine detailing done on the Grendel Miniatures tavern scenery. In essence, I’ve used plain, primary colours using a foundation and wash to get the effect that I’m looking for… I need the scenery to look good, but to not detract from the Dunkeldorf Miniatures for Phase 3 of this mini project within the project. Citadel Paints used: Abaddon Black, Nuln Oil, Macgrabbe Blue, Drakenhof Nightshade, Lothern Blue, Leadbelcher, Averland Sunset, Carriburg Crimson, Retributor Armour, Mephiston Red, Blazing Orange, Reikland Fleshshade, Cadian Fleshtone, Agrax Earthshade, Dark Angels Green, Thraka Green, white Scar, Wraithbone.
Painted as a batch to try and keep a consistency of colours and tones throughout the vignettes. A bit of ‘ardcoat here and there represented spillages of food and wine. The house speciality is Chicken Tikka Bara Korma… a delicacy I used to enjoy in Leicester, UK - a mild, yellow curry with a creamy topping and sliced, hard-boiled eggs… delicious (see the mini cauldrons on the corner boxes of two of the vignettes)! I like the idea of incorporating great memories into my painting. ??
These are 50mm square vignettes and the actual detail from the floorboards to the tableware is absolutely fantastic. There are a couple of manufacturing defects in a couple of the pieces, but nothing significant. A real joy to ‘bring them to life’ with the touch of colour. 
The sculpts of the two seated customers is not the best in resin - the faces are not particularly striking, but this is a dated piece and computer-based sculpting has pushed the detailing and potential quality much further. None-the-less, with a sympathetic paint job, these integral minis will merge into the background. 
I may add a bit of weathering powder to this vignette and the fallen chap once I’ve added some companions to complete the scene.
I used a 005 Micron Archival Ink fine pen to create the table cloth lines 
Next up… Dunkeldorf bar flies to populate the tavern as ‘permanent’ fixtures. Painting the tavern furniture (Phase 1)
Before I can start to paint up some barflies and customers, I really need to paint up some tavern furniture. In my pile of shame I’ve had a load of resin tavern vignettes for at least 10 years, but probably longer. So it’s time to get them painted ready for some Dunkeldorf patrons…
In effect, this is a mini project within this project so perhaps is worthy of a bit of Work In Progress reporting as it will probably take me around three weeks to complete…
Phase 1 is painting up the tavern furniture woodwork.
Phase 2 will be fine detailing the bottles, barrels and bar detritus.
Phase 3 will be painting up the Dunkeldorf seated patrons.
Resin tavern furniture and other scenic items all from Grendel Miniatures. The tavern stuff all come from the original Griffin Inn kit which is not available SKU: F0002 Green Griffon Tavern sculpted by Peter Flannery and Steve Trinket, but other items that you can still get from Scotia Grendel Miniatures are: SKU: 10006 Pub Snug SKU: 10023 Apothecary’s Shop SKU: 10035 Tavern Kitchen SKU: 10038 Treasure Piles SKU: 10067 Tables and Chair SKU: 10106 Barrel Cluster
After washing the resin pieces in warm, soapy water and left to dry, the furniture was undercoated with black spray paint. 
Dry brush with Mornfang Brown followed by a wash of Reikland Fleshshade and a further highlighting of Zandri Dust, wash of Seraphim Sepia and another dry brush highlighting with Wraithbone.
A final wash of Agrax Earthshade to darken the floorboards and snug walls and allowed to dry before I can move on to Phase 2 - fine detailing.Batch painting by using one colour and moving through the items allows for enough drying time before moving onto the next colour. I also want a consistent set of vignettes so that they all appear to come from the same location.
Next up I need to add non-brown colours by detailing the metalwork on the barrels, and vibrancy to the curtains, cushions, food and bottles and goblets…
A trio of tavern talent worth saving…
I think the intimidating innkeeper probably surrounds himself with people he can manipulate, coerce and bully, hence here are three more bar staff who perhaps have no choice but to work in this tavern due to their circumstances and use their ‘social skills’ to keep the patrons happy, when the adventurers arrive they may be able to discover what hold the innkeeper has over them and liberate them or at least change the ‘management’?
L-R ‘Strumpet’, ‘Brigitte’, ‘Gretchen’…. First up we have the Reaper Miniatures - Townsfolk II (Strumpet) SKU: 02584 Sculpted by Bobby Jackson. She is mounted on a 30mm lipped round dungeon base most likely from Fenris? Although she does have an integral base, it was sufficiently small and thin to reduce and enable the mini to be incorporated into the resin base. Like the previous bar staff, I’ve tried to keep the paint pallet simple to reflect her status. Next is Reaper Miniatures - Gretchen, Oktoberfest, Fraulein SKU: 50118 Sculpted by Werner Klocke. Mounted on a 30mm lipped round dungeon base again from Fenris (I think?) I know Klocke’s sculpts can be an acquired taste, but he actually packs a huge amount of character and detail into his minis and I hope I have done justice to the sculpt with my actual painting and style of painting? You’ll have to decide… but I think she’s ready for the bar room. The final one in the trio is Reaper Miniatures - Brigitte, Naughty French Maid SKU: 50084 Sculpted by Werner Klocke. Also mounted on a 30mm lipped round dungeon base probably from Fenris. This is a Chronoscope Steampunk mini, but I think she fits in with the bar staff, especially as the base I’ve mounted her on has an integral spilt bottle. The mini comes with a tab, so it was easy enough to clip off before affixing her to the base. 
L-R (Reaper Miniatures) Strumpet, Innkeeper, Gretchen, Wench, Barmaid, Brigitte 
Oh… that Lloyd Shot is a must to behold!Next up, the bar flies and other assorted tavern patrons…
And now onto the next 50…
I’ve decided not to prepare an entry for GW’s Armies on Parade this year, instead I’m taking instruction from young Thomas who inspired this project. He congratulated me on creating and painting 50 miniatures in two months and set me the challenge to paint another 50 by Christmas. Challenge accepted Thomas… but what theme? Back to the Arabian Adventures? Across the wilderness? Down to the beach or further Beauties with Beasts? Well, all great D&D adventures seem to start in a tavern or inn… so that’s where we will go! I think some NPC Dunkeldorf pub customers may be useful for our adventuring party… but first let’s meet some of the tavern staff…
Reaper Miniatures - Townsfolk I (Innkeeper, Wench, Barmaid) SKU: 02583 Sculpted by Bobby Jackson. Mounted on 30mm lipped round bases as trying to remove their integral bases was too much faff. I’ve deliberately given the barmaid with the tray a black eye as if the Innkeeper is not that nice a bloke - hopefully some honourable adventurers will teach him a lesson for being a bully? I’ve painted this trio with simple, plain colours to reflect their status and dirtied their aprons to suggest that they work hard for their customers. 
Lloyd Shot…Next up… some extra help for the bar?
The 50th Miniature…
‘The 50th Miniature Painted…’ Model selected Dunkeldorf Miniatures - ‘Dieter the Scribe’ sculpted by Sonny Bundgaard. To mark this painting milestone I decided to capture myself as ‘The Chronicler’. In my day job, I spend a lot of time at a desk, particularly during the last 18 months thanks to the pandemic with restricted access to people in the ‘physical’ world. So it seems apt that this miniature can symbolise my existence. The desk and chair is taken from the Mantic Dungeon accessories, along with the stack of books. The items on the desk are mainly Dunkeldorf Miniatures accessories including ‘Adler, Dieter’s Cat’, which I was originally tempted to paint as ‘Bagpuss’ (c1970s) but instead went for a ginger Tom. The little black chest on the desk comes from the Citadel Miniatures Bretonnian Men-at-Arms sprue. The loose papers are images reduced in size via the computer and printed out in an appropriate size. The base is a 50mm round and plain lipped base that I have sculpted floorboards onto using green stuff. I’ve painted the chap (me) with yellow and black livery to tie in with the mercenary unit I sent out into the desert earlier in this project. To accompany the Chronicler, I’ve mounted two Dark Sword Miniatures ‘Fae Greyhounds’ SKU: DSM7645 sculpted by Patrick Keith, onto the base to represent my own two rescue dogs (Bingo and Anjee) that I adopted after the passing of my previous greyhound (Ollie) last year. These two are inseparable and spend a lot time sleeping in my office or chewing the furniture! So, we ought to say they are now minis 51 and 52! The adventure continues…
The messy desk, loose papers, stacks of books, etc. lends itself to my dirty style of grim dark painting. Really enjoyed bringing this together and indeed forgetting about company-restrictions on competition entries and mixing minis from different manufacturers has enabled me to be more creative and unburdened. These guys are for playing with rather than as painting competition entries…
Not in picture… the Hydra, The Thief and the Dragon Moneylender…two months to complete 50 minis whilst working on my day job and with other distractions, I think is not too bad going. Now I have the big decision to continue with this project or turn my attention to GW’s Armies on Parade which I’ve not done during the pandemic - some degree of reticence here because in-store rather than on-line would be my preferred choice of submission and display. Hey ho… I’ll probably go with what inspires me…Beauty and the Beast - Take 3!
Beauty and the Beast Take 3 - models chosen Dark Sword Miniatures Female Assassin - Easley SKU: DSM4108 sculpted by Jeff Grace and Citadel Miniatures C23 Ogre Warrior Priest (1985) sculpted by Jes Goodwin. I wanted these two to be absolute, polar contrasts with this Ogre lending itself to being extremely dirty and bestial in appearance, while the Assassin is the epitome of cleanliness and perfection. Hence the dirty colours and dried blood on the Ogre and the clean, flower-patterned leggings and clothing on the Assassin. I’ve given the Ogre a ‘dirty’ rat familiar from the OOP Citadel Miniatures Rat Swarm to accompany him but also to suggest he may have magical abilities? The Ogre is mounted on a 40mm lipped round Micro Arts Troglodyte base while his counterpart is mounted on a plain 30mm lipped round base with some green stuff to hide the integral base and some Citadel Miniatures brass ferns as decoration and to link the context of the two miniatures. Again, the aim is to create some playable characters (and NPCs) for D&D., etc. and hopefully I’m achieving that… well I’m having fun anyway before Autumn ends, Winter sets in and COVID rears its head again!
Lloyd Shot… Beauty and the Beast - take 2
Beauty and the Beast Take 2- Models chosen Dark Sword Miniatures 5th Anniversary Mini - ‘Melissa’ SKU:DSM1309 Sculpted by Tom Meier, Citadel Miniatures C23 ‘Oriental Ogre’ (July 1985) Sculpted by Jes Goodwin and Dunkeldorf Miniatures ‘Isolde the Guard Chicken’ sculpted by Sonny Bundgaard. Following on in the same style as the previous Beauty and the Beast entry, here we have another great sculpt from Dark Sword Miniatures. She captures that ‘Conan the Barbarian’ or D&D feel through her rather revealing outfit which I guess reflects the perceptions of heroines during the the 1980s hay day in fantasy war gaming. As with the Elven Princess, I’ve used x3 Citadel Miniatures Bretonnian Knight’s Dear shield transfers to give added detail to the cloak. She is accompanied by two Schnauzers that come with the mini, but I’ve discarded her original base for a stepped 40mm Fenris? dungeon base. The same style of base has been used to mount the Oriental Ogre who has a really horrible flash/mould line across his face, that I had to incorporate it as a big scar. Similarly to Skrag, I wanted to give this ogre a companion and chose the similarly simply-armoured chicken from the recent Dunkeldorf Kickstarter. maybe this Ogre is a follower of the Rooster? I’ve got a load of Dunkeldorf Miniatures in my pile of shame from their Kickstartera, so perhaps they need to jump the queue to be seen next?
Lastly… the Lloyd shot!
