New FR Campaign = New Characters to Paint!

In my last post, we wrapped up our long-running FR campaign. A brand-new FR campaign is spooling up, which means I get to pick and paint a new batch of characters for us to field against the DM's never-ending hordes of monsters. Once again, I'm going with Reaper minis to represent our band of intrepid explorers. Our new adventuring party consists of a druid, fighter, cleric, sorcerer, and a rogue. Here's some WIP pics, and my apologies for the quality. They are quick snaps from my phone.

with flash

no flash

My druid is the first 3E/3.5 tree-hugger since we started playing this ruleset. I can't recall the last time anyone played a druid, so I'm pretty sure we're talking way back in our 2E days. I'm really looking forward to this! At first I was going with 03484 Karlov Diedrich, Wizard because he just looks like a druid to me. I ended up choosing 03201 Damian Helthorne, Bandit because my druid serves Mielikki, and her druids are allowed to use the same weapons and armor available to rangers. So yeah, he looks more like a ranger than a druid, but that's my aim. Oh, and he's Aasimar, just to be different.

Dino is playing a human fighter, so I picked 03317 Kale Nolan, Heroic Warrior for him. He's been sitting on the lead pile, based and primed, because I knew I would use him sooner or later. His skin is too yellowish right now, but I'll work on that. Don't want him to look like a pirate with scurvy!

Matt is the medic this time, and 03365 Argonnite, Elf Cleric will be his half-drow cleric. I love the fact that Argonnite came with a weapons sprue so you could choose from a sword, mace, or bow. Maybe I'll stick a small spider on the base, just to remind him Lolth is not happy about a male half-drow cleric running around.

Steve wins the Best Prepared Dude Award for this campaign. Not only did he pick out and purchase 03381 Satheras, Elf Warlock on his own, he even told me he wants me to paint his sorcerer in a more neutral palette. That foiled my plans to paint him up in lovely shades of lavender and salmon.

The rogue pictured is 03062 Darnath, Male Elf Thief. That was before Craig decided his rogue is going to be a gnome, so I narrowed my choices down to 02959 Marius Burrowell, Gnome Thief or 03099 Klaus Copperthumb, Dwarf Thief. Klaus just arrived in the mail yesterday, so he'll be getting based and primed this weekend.

Oh, and I'm also working on some critters for Ned! Don't want the DM to feel left out. I'll post those WIPs next time.

Ral Partha 11-488 Cyclops repaint

I've always loved this particular sculpt from the AD&D 11-series. He's big, muscular, looks pissed off, and is about to ruin some adventurer's day with the rock in his hand. I wish I had taken a "before" pic so I had something to compare it to now, but I'll remember that down the road. I know it saw a lot of use on the gaming table, but time and a smallish base took their toll. The paint was chipped in strategic locations (the parts that made contact with the table every time it fell over) and he was starting to look quite ragged. So into the stripper he went, and then a new base was crafted to keep him stable. Look ma, no more tipovers!

I anticipate this newly refurbished cyclops will once again see a lot of use on the gaming table, terrorizing the PCs and causing mayhem, as giants are wont to do. Only this time, he won't be constantly tipping over!

Catalogs, Rulebooks, and Posters, Oh My!

The latest additions to my non-lead collection of mini-related ephemera make me happy both from a collecting standpoint (great artwork) as well as my bottom line (most were downright bargains, if not very affordable).

First up is a copy of the 1980 DragonTooth catalog. OK, so it is more of a pamphlet or flyer, really, given that it is digest size and consists of two folded pieces of paper for 8 pages total. Still, the black & white illustrations are lovely (most are by Mike Gilbert) and it does list available models and prices, so a catalog it is.

Next up is a Ral Partha poster featuring the artwork of Dean Morrissey. You might recognize the image from the Best of Ral Partha boxed sets (10-300 through 10-303). It measures about 25 x 22, nearly square. Too bad it was stored folded, but it is in great shape, creases aside. I read that having it linen-backed might help deal with the creases, so I'll have to take a closer look at that method. And I received two of them, so I have a copy to spare if you are interested. Looking for other mini posters or Superior Models catalogs, among other things.

Erol Otus is one of my favorite fantasy artists, like many gamers who grew up with his work burned into our retinas by hour upon hour of reading and re-reading various D&D books. So when I saw this Alma Mater poster I had to have it! It was only $3.50, so I couldn't say no at that price. It measures 22 x 17. You can read an Alma Mater review on RPG.net and an entry on Grognardia.

And rounding out the quartet is this smashing copy of Naval Battle Group by Superior Models. This was the most expensive acquisition of the four at $25, but I haven't seen it move for less than around $50 or so, which is too much for me.

The booklet is in outstanding shape - great color on the covers, no staple rust, no writing inside, and all the inserts and sheets are present. It is only 12 pages of text (16 total including covers) so it looks to be a fairly simple set of rules. I need to sit down and give it a thorough read one of these evenings. Now I just need to find myself a copy of Starfleet Wars that isn't grossly overpriced...and yes, I realize it is available from Monday Knight Productions as Galactic Knights.

New Additions To The Lead Pile

Every now and then, with equal parts persistence, patience, and luck, you unearth a nugget of gold, a little gem amongst the dirt, the chaff, the fool's gold. Sometimes it is only a small find, like a Grenadier Frost Giant (2nd series #071) you've been looking for but didn't want to pay an arm and a leg for (I paid $3.50 plus $3 shipping). Other times, it is a bit more fun - like a Ral Partha Remorhaz (11-504).

 Posed jauntily atop some craggy mountaintop.

A quick auction site search for the Remorhaz shows models being offered for $120. A search of completed listings shows models for $100+ that did not sell. The most recent sale was for $64 + $10 shipping. So when I picked up one for $35 (free shipping!) it pretty much made my day. The other minis in the lot included a couple of Mithril blisters - the Barrow-Wight King (M257) and Balin's Tomb (M285), a partial RP Black Prince's Chariot of Fear, and a couple other misc. items to boot. Score! Now begins the fun part - assembling a multi-part ralidium frost worm. Hours of fun, no doubt.

 Paint, glue, and patience not included.

Another small lot landed a WOTC Umber Hulk and the body of a Citadel C28 giant, with another eight minis included. That set me back $6.50 (+ $4 shipping). I do love bargains, mmm hmmm.

And to round things out, how about some heavy metal in the form of an armored juggernaut? The Heritage Panzertroops Centurion III is big and heavy! I've posed it next to a Matilda for scale reference, as well as with a WIP 1/72nd Hasegawa Tiger.

The Great Sro - An Impressive Dragon From The Legions of the Petal Throne

The Great Sro: Some Assembly Required

I recently picked up a large dragon that I couldn't readily identify, but still looked at least somewhat familiar - you know when you've seen something at least once, but you just can't put your finger on it? So after some poking around on LMW and SoL to no avail, I stopped by leadpoisoned.com and found what I was looking for: NH-005, the Great Sro armed with sword from the Legions of the Petal Throne line of miniatures.

This line appears to have been sold under several brands - The Old Guard, Murray Miniatures, and eventually Ral Partha. Mine says copyright 1975 T.O.G. - T.S.R. inside the right half and SRO by Murray inside the left half. I'm assuming TOG stands for The Old Guard.

Sro is pretty big hunk of lead, weighing in at almost 1 pound 9 ounces. He measures 9" from snout to tail, and each wing is 6.25" so his wingspan when assembled should be around 13.5" or so. I wasn't able to Bing/Google any particulars about Sro, so I'm pretty much in the dark about his background, stats, or how he fits into the grand scheme of all things Tekumel.

The pose isn't terribly dynamic, as all six legs are pretty much lined up the same. Where it does shine a bit is the arms: the left arm pointing right at YOU! and the right arm brandishing a nasty-looking sword that could be metal or could be a flaming sword. The overall sculpt is very nicely done and just screams old-school from just about any angle. The snout has a unique look, almost as if covered by a piece of plate armor. The only downside is he appears to be missing one of his two curved horns.

Overall, the Great Sro is a very, very cool dragon for your Empire of the Petal Throne or other fantasy game. I'll most likely trade or sell this magnificent fella, as I have no plans on starting a Legions of the Petal Throne collection.

They Might Be (Painted) Giants

Back in mid-December, I was trying to finish up a batch of giants for our D&D session. I nearly finished three minis, close enough to where I felt OK bringing them to the session. Fast-forward three months to mid-March, and I finally made the time to finish those three plus two more for our latest D&D gathering.



This is a Ral Partha Hill Giant, 01-121. Classic Tom Meier style, for sure. I painted mine up in a patchwork of blue, green, and yellow - my homage to the classic Citadel/Marauder giant. He is typically depicted on box art as wearing what looks like clothes made from a raid on the local jousting tournament or town fair. But then again, who makes giant bolts of cloth for giant clothing???



Next up is a Ral Partha Stone Giant, 11-403. I toned down the highlights on his tunic compared to the Grenadier Stone Giant who follows. I'm going to need to hit the blade of his axe with some more gloss I think - it is supposed to look like polished obsidian, but the dullcoat nullified that.



And here is his Grenadier brother from the Giant's Club line, 3502. This one is taller and bulkier than 11-403, but every tribe needs a chief, right? I think this is a great sculpt. To me, the Giant's Club giants are probably Grenadier's best giants, right up there with RP as far as I'm concerned. You can see how I went a little too heavy on highlighting his tunic, but it still looks good enough for the tabletop.



Staying with the Giant's Club theme, this is Forest Giant, 3504. I'm glad his spear was cast separately, otherwise I don't know how I would have finished the right side of his face! Lots of personality on this guy, from his head to the little mushrooms growing next to the log he's standing on. The only thing I didn't like was his feet. I can't tell if it's just not a clean casting, or if it the way his feet were sculpted, but there's not a lot of definition there. Oh well, now I'm just nitpicking.

Overall, I'm very pleased with my latest efforts. My painting is getting better, but there's still a lot of room for improvement. That could happen if I keep making time to paint on a more regular basis, instead of painting here and there in mad flurries, usually right before our D&D sessions.

I just realized I didn't take a picture of the RP Troll (11-408) that I finished. I'll have to snap a shot of him, along with his three clones. Next time!

A Remorhaz by any other name...

The good peeps over at Center Stage Miniatures are now accepting pre-orders for the long-awaited Glacial Wyrm! According to the CSM store, it will be in stock on or around January 31st, so get those pre-orders in ASAP. This huge Jason Wiebe sculpt should look totally killer all painted up and eating characters on the gaming table. Pre-order price is $29.95 and the retail price is $39.95 (I had this incorrectly listed at $34.95).

For comparison, there is Reaper's Frost Wyrm and Ral Partha's 11-504 Remorhaz. The Frost Wyrm is readily available, and roughly the same price (if not slightly higher) through various sources. The RP Remorhaz is quite rare, and commands prices in the $75+ neighborhood.

What I'd really like to see is a side-by-side-by-side comparison of all three models listed above. Anyone?

Congrats to Matt and the CSM crew.

The Many Faces of Drizzt Do'Urden

In just about every fantasy setting, you have your basic run-of-the-mill characters. Next we move up to iconic characters, and then finally at the very top of the pecking order are the titans of their respective domains. In D&D/AD&D, the list of famous names is long and star-studded: Bigby. Vecna. Tenser. Mordenkainen. Otiluke. Cuthbert. And I've always been fond of Emirikol the Chaotic, because without Trampier's illustration, he would be just another faceless evil mage, even though he doesn't have the same depth of background as the ones listed before him.

In the Forgotten Realms, you could field a couple of all-star football (soccer) squads with names of the rich, famous, and powerful. But for sheer star power, you pretty much have to give it up to the dark elf with a heart of gold, Mr. Drizzt Do'Urden. Books featuring Drizzt have been on the New York Times Best Seller list pretty much every time, I think. He's been featured in numerous AD&D, 3/3.5E, and 4th Edition products. His plastic minis appear to command above-average prices (in particular the one from Archfiends).


Will the real Drizzt Do'Urden please stand up?

Ral Partha has produced three different versions in metal: Forgotten Realms Heroes 10-550, Forgotten Realms Drow Elves of Menzoberranzan 10-551, and blister 11-068. Out of those three, I would pick the one from 11-068 as the one that best captures Drizzt in both look and spirit. The 10-551 version captures the look and feel from the books (at least when he was in the Underdark). I like how the 10-550 version depicts him when he is doing his ranger thing on the surface of Faerun, but his face and pose don't do it for me.


Ral Partha 11-068


Ral Partha 10-551


Ral Partha 10-550

If I was going to paint up a Drizzt to make an appearance in our FR campaign, I would choose Reaper's 2681 Half Elf Thief. Yes, I know he's 28mm, and not everyone out there is cool with mixing and matching 25/28mm minis. Except for not looking more elven (maybe a thinner face and slighter frame), I think this guy is a great choice for a metal Drizzt mini.


Reaper DHL 2681

Who would you choose to be your Drizzt? One of the four minis listed above, or something else? If you have other options, please share.

I'll be profiling more FR characters and personalities in the coming year, now that I've kicked things off with Drizzt.

Finieous Phigures

It's always fun when you complete a collection, isn't it? Back on Thanksgiving day, I won a small lot of older lead. The reason I was bidding on it was to FINALLY complete my set of Finieous Fingers miniatures. I had seven of the eight figures from the set, but that evil wizard Kask was proving to be a major pain in the butt to find. So now I'm the happy owner of one complete set, plus the almost-complete second set with a couple of duplicates for trade bait.


Fin, Fred, and Charly

Back in the day, I saw an ad for the FF minis in The Dragon. While flipping through the November 1982 issue, I found the ad in question. The ad reads as follows (my kingdom for a scanner!):

Rephuge Required phor Phamous Phighting Phellowship
Special Collector's Item: "Finieous & Friends" Phigures Set
Top Quality Lead Miniatures (shown actual size) - Available
until Dec. 31, 1982 - $10.00 plus $1.25 p&h/set


Bored-Flak, Ranger Rupert, and Mergatroid

So for a mere $11.25, I could have bought my own set and saved myself a lot of searching through countless eBay listings! Heh. I wonder how long they were available for? I guess I'd have to scan through my Dragon Magazine Archives CDs to see if I can figure that out.


Kask and Grond

And there are also a small number of gold-plated sets out there too. I'm pretty sure these were mentioned in a similar ad, so I have some research to do. And as long as I'm being bookish, I would like to determine who actually designed, sculpted, and produced these bad boys. Wikipedia says they are a Thunderbolt Mountain product, and that there were 10 gold-plated sets produced. I want to say I've also read that they were cast by Ral Partha. So were they designed and sculpted by Tom Meier and produced by Thunderbolt Mountain, or designed and sculpted by Tom Meier and produced by Ral Partha? Or some other scenario? According to Mr. Meier's bio, he left Ral Partha and started Thunderbolt Mountain in 1988, which makes me lean towards the "designed & sculpted by Tom Meir and produced by Ral Partha" theory. Hopefully my research turns up a definitive answer.

UPDATE: Thanks to Grodog, I have my answers! If you read Tim Kask's reply on this thread at Dragonsfoot, he pretty much spells it out in detail. Here's the Reader's Digest condensed version:

The character sketches were done by J.D. Webster, and the sculpting done by Tom Meier (who at the time was at Ral Partha). Tim Kask personally poured the lead for each and every miniature, using the Ral Partha equipment. The production costs were paid for by Manzakk Publishing (of Adventure Gaming magazine fame).

The minis were sent out in a small box that looks like this:


(Photo credit: eBay seller jfavretto)

The hallmark on the bottom of the bases should show two names: Finieous and Manzakk. It appears as though someone associated with Thunderbolt made a few unauthorized sets, so just keep that in mind if you come across any in Thunderbolt packaging.


The Apple Dumpling Gang these guys are not!

Hope you enjoy the pics of the set! You can also see some pics of a set painted up by Ed "Egg of Coot" Jendek of PrimEvil Studios on the Tome of Treasures forums, as well as a second set here on Dragonsfoot (also by Egg).

New Arrivals and some WIPs

Check out what I got in the mail the other day:

That's right, an OGRE! As in Mk. VI, and not as in Shrek. I believe it is an OGRE Mk. VI by Steve Jackson Games. When I first spotted it, I knew that it was an OGRE. What I didn't know was the type or manufacturer. A little detective work sorted that out.

The pic on the left is the Mk. VI (hull pieces sitting on treads, no guns or tower attached). The pic on the right shows scale: OGRE Mk. VI (approx. 3.5" long); Superior Models MAATAC Terran Federation Cyclops Medium Tank (1:285); GHQ T-72 (1:285).

I've been on the lookout for a Mk. V and/or Mk. III for a while now, so I had to snap up the Mk. VI when I saw it. I'm thinking it is going to require a high-visibility "look upon me and fear my armored wrath" sort of color scheme.

Next up are some minis to reassure my DM that our stable of D&D critters is indeed getting some love. Lots of unfinished love at the moment, but hopefully that will see a turnaround in the coming weeks and months.



Here's a gaggle of giants. That purple Reaper frost giantess will eventually look like the Ral Partha frost giant. The purple is the base color, gradually lightened up so that the purple is barely visible. At least that's the look I'm shooting for. And the green Superior cyclops in brown armor is going to be my first attempt at bronze NMM, so wish me luck on that!



That's Reaper's Boneflail and a Superior ogre that I'm thinking looks a bit more like an ogre-mage with the poleaxe and pantaloons.



Lastly we have a GW Mordheim vampire (sans sword) in some classic vampire colors. His face is totally washed out, so hopefully when it's done I'll take a better pic that shows off his pale, gaunt features.

That's it for now. Time to stop reading and start painting!