So yeah, right after my first ReaperCon in 2013 (they were in the spring back then), I started on the LE model from that year, Ringmaster Sophie. I got down the base coats and then… stopped working on her. I was active on the Reaper Forums at the time and documented my progress here: https://forum.reapermini.com/index.php?/topic/49320-another-reapercon-2013-sophie/
This year, I decided to finish up several of the many in-progress minis I had lying around. I knew Sophie had been hanging out for a while, but I thought I had started her in 2015 or 2016. I searched Google to figure out exactly which year this mini was from, and Google pointed me back to my own post on the Reaper forums!
So without further ado, I present the finished Ringmaster Sophie.
I reworked most of the colors at least a little to give more shading and saturation, and to make the skin look a little more natural. The mini came out more satin than matte, so there is a little bit of extra shine helping the photos cheat.
I’m back in the Secret Sophie miniature exchange on the Reaper forums! This is Reaper’s limited edition “Christmas Eve” mini. Christmas Wreath for the Green, Big Top Red for the red, Nightsky Blue triad for the cloak, Sun Yellow + Oiled Leather for the hair, and various misc colors to round it out. Snowflakes on cloak were drawn by hand, leaves on dress are part of the sculpt.
Painted this lady up at ReaperCon testing out ProAcryl paints. Definitely love the white. Blue and red are nice, but not particularly nicer than the colors I already have. Also on display, Transparent Brown on the shield, and warm yellow on the shield/holy symbol. Definitely worth trying out, but still to be seen how much I integrate them into my painting.
This model was a color test for my Legion of Everblight Blighted Ogrun, particularly the skin and armor. I finished him up recently to get him off the shelf of shame.
Interestingly, I have painted this guy before, back in 2014.
His 2014 friend, which was one of my first attempts at NMM (the 2022 orc just has a regular metallic sword)
Started this iron golem a while ago with metal and washes and a heavy gloss coat… then he sat for a long, long time. The original intention was to weather the heck out of him with pigments, so I finally did that.
Overall, he came out so-so. The pigments aren’t placed in the most logical spots, just where it was easiest to put them. The gloss coat is showing through a little too much in places. I need to learn more ways to apply the pigments – mashing it on doesn’t always get the right effects.
Painted this up for a friend. Black primer, heavy drybrush of some iron-colored metals. Washed with some dark colors, then applied purple/brown/red/orange pigments, with some green on the gold. Put a little too much pigment on the iron so did a targeted drybrush of iron back over those parts.
Acquired for free at ReaperCon 2021 as a reward for visiting all the booths. I decided to use her to test out the Scale 75 Instant Colors.
First off, this new Bones USA material is fantastic. The detail beats Bones Black, and the rigidity was just right – a little flexible, but not floppy at all. It cuts as easily at original Bones (ie, very easily) which made trimming off the minimal flash and mold lines very easy.
I have actually painted this miniature before! Well, the original Bones sculpt, anyway. That particular model was a very good example of what original Bones was capable of in the right circumstances – good detail, non-floppy sword, etc. The new model is a resculpt, with better detail, slight scale-creep and IMO slightly better sculpting as well.
Since I was at ReaperCon and didn’t have access to my airbrush, I started with a “half-assed zenithal” prime. ie, prime black, then drybrush white. I then applied Instant Colors over that (green dress, red hair) and was not very impressed. Talking with the Scale75 guys, they designed it for off-white/white prime instead of black/white, and they also expect to require several coats with certain colors. I applied a few more coats, and the green cleaned up a bit, the red kind of never did. You can see 3-4 coats of green on the dress, but lightly brushing Carrot-top red on the hair almost completely covered the red. I think there might still be some in the deepest recesses, but overall the effect was not impressive. I will try it again on a “correctly” prepared mini, but overall I was not impressed. Combined with Scale 75’s distribution model where you get 8 mostly-similar colors packaged together (so you’d need to spend $100+ to get a decent range of colors), I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone. As much as I dislike GW, their Contrast paints do work amazingly when used properly, but I haven’t got the sense that Instant Colors share that trait.
Anyway, on to the mini. IIRC, Caucasian skin / GW flesh wash for the skin. Carrot-top red + blond triad for hair. Oiled Leather triad for belts and cuffs, Instant Color yellow + snakebite leather for pouches and staff wrap, Instant color blue for gem and flowers. Secret Weapon (RIP) armor wash for sword and metal bits on staff, some sort of brown + agrax earthshade for staff and shoes. Gold NMM triad for trip and button. laziness for dress lacing (ie, just the zenithal). Some red and brown liners for lining. thin Goregrunta Fur Contrast for scabbard
The Lysette I painted ages ago. EXIF says August 2013. I started painting in May 2012 so that’s pretty early on.
miniature from Reaper Minis, 03764: Merrowyn Lightstar, Female Elf Paladin
This is my character for a D&D one-shot with some local friends.
Ililen is the sort of elf who gives elves a bad name. She’s haughty, disdainful and arrogant to basically anyone who isn’t a direct superior. She’s more than competent as a paladin, but that still hasn’t kept her from getting kicked out of several adventuring groups. She comes from a noble line and makes sure that everyone knows it.
The Lemon Yellow on the tabard was an odd choice to work around. There’s a good reason I don’t use that color much. Mixing red and orange leathers was a suggestion from Cathy Wappel, so thanks for that!
There’s an Easter Egg on the mini which is tied to the use of Lemon Yellow.
A quick and fun paint job. Lots of browns and lots of washes. I believe the suit is mostly Rich Leather washed with VMC Smokey Ink. The skin is RMS Rosy Skin Triad washed with SW Flesh Wash.
And finally, a much larger picture, to show off all the flaws
Wicked Paintah 