Agramon the Pit Fiend Red Paint Sponge

I don’t know why, but I tend to spill/pour out more than I need with red paints. Which is odd, but it seems to be a trend. Back around when Bones 1 was delivered I had a fairly major spill, and decided that rather than just wiping it all up, I’d use it. And what else are you going to use a bunch of red paint on but a demon! Agramon the Pit Fiend was the perfect choice. Over the years I’ve spilled a bunch of different reds, and It’s finally gotten to the point where he’s about almost totally covered.




I think it’s time to finish painting him up…

First up is to base him. This is the look I’m going for with the base.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/813/25987534697_98da278cc3.jpg

Pit Fiends are pretty up there in the demon hierarchy, and powerful, so I figure where ever they go, the ground under them becomes more hellish…

One downside to all the different reds is that it’s VERY uneven. So I’m going to give him a Red Liner coat over it all to smooth out the colors a bit. Going to try to keep it simple as far as the paint scheme goes. Maybe something like this?


https://i.pinimg.com/originals/77/49/63/7749635fa3b3befda76b40b6abd00d31.jpg

I am debating a different colored Fireball though… Blue? Green? We'll see... Maybe just more yellow than red?

Stonehell: Side Delve

Session 97 was played on 5/11

Eiric, wizard 8 (Kat)
   Brie, wizard 5 (Apprentice to Eiric)
   A-A-Ron, Thief 7 (Henchman) (stayed in town)
   Orpheus, Human Fighter 6 (Henchman)
   Darryl, Cleric 7 (Henchman)
   Linkman (Hilwik)
   M@A (Vog, Bolden, Buford)
Karl, Dwarf 8 (Julia)
   Lex the Cheeseman, Fighter 5 (Henchman)
   Men at Arms (Rawin, Kildrik, Lamgo)
Koltic, Cleric 5 (Chris)
   Jurda, wizard 1 (henchman)
   Robin the Bard (0 level human)
Kili, Dwarf Cleric 5 (Matt)


Digging through the loot that had long gone dusty, Eiric rediscovered a Scroll of Truth, and wondered if it would work on Rocky… Only one way to find out. So she gathered everyone up, and they headed for the box canyon, wanting to get to Rocky as quickly as possible. At the end of the boxed canyon, the entrance was still swarming with scarab beetles. Rather than go around, Eiric decided to use a fireball on them. It was incredibly effective, killing the vast majority of the bugs, and sending the rest scurrying away.

Down the stairs, and through the demon mouth hall, they made it to Rocky without problem. They chatted a bit, and then got to it. Eiric pulled out the scroll and asked…

Q: How do we find the heart in the riddle to stab it; more specifically what are the exact directions and measurements to get to the heart?

And Rocky answered as he had before…
A: Where the Sect of the Rampant Green went too far, where their shadows burn eternal, where now grows hot and wild and the queen reigns, you'll find the heart.

However, on the scroll appeared these words…
“Under the scorching heat of the Black Sun,
From the Throne upon which Ka’Nefer rules,
There you will find the heart”

Thanking Rocky, they decided to head out, wanting to be fully prepared for their assault on Ka’Nefer’s throne… However, rather than head back to town, they listened to Robin the Bard tell of the dungeon that he’d shown Koltic just the day before. And off they went!

The hike to the cave entrance, under the ruins of some old fortified building was a pleasant one, and the cave was cool. Koltic explained which direction they’d gone before, and the party started off that way, but quickly stopped and took a side passage, and were immediately set upon by some very angry giant ferrets. Karl wanted to keep one, in spite of the nasty bloody bite it gave him. Darryl bashed in the creature’s skull before it could continue to nosh upon Karl’s arm.

Next they came to a set of natural stairs heading down, and so they went… finding shredded giant rat corpses, a messy nest of giant rats (which they exterminated) that included a baby giant rat (that seemed to take an unexpected liking to Karl, and he kept, saving it from Kili who wanted to smash it).

They were jumped by a very hungry ghoul, which didn’t go so well for the well dressed abomination. Made for the first treasure they’d recovered though… and then natural more stairs going down. Karl avoided getting his brains bashed in by a loose rock, then some zombies were destroyed by the overwhelming power of Darryl’s drunken faith. A door set into the wall opened into a worked hallways, and more dead were discovered in alcoves lining the walls. Thankfully most of them stayed dead, and the ghouls that attacked didn’t last long enough to scream. The party noted a set of worked stairs heading up.

In one alcove they discovered a locked box with some treasure, and then a secret door. Koltic opens the door, and there’s a blinding flash of light… and he goes blind. In the chamber beyond was a circular chamber with murals of ships upon a stormy sea, and monsters hidden in the clouds and under the water. The sarcophagus in the center of the chamber emitted a magical glow when Eiric checked it, and then revealed that it was also trapped with the same blinding spell as the door. Since Koltic was already blind, he was the one to open it while everyone else looked away. Within was a sack containing coins and a magic Sleep scroll. Jurda claimed the scroll, and Eiric shrugged as she already has that spell,

Taking the stairs up, they came to a door partly open. Within were half a dozen goblins playing at dice and cooking a giant rat in a stew pot. Karl decided to try to go in alone with beer, and avoid fighting them. Unfortunately Karl doesn’t speak goblin, and a heavily armed and armored dwarf walking in was a little too much for them. The cookpot was tossed at him, splashing him with not quite boiling stew and semi-cooked chunks of rat meat, and then he was jabbed with several rusty blades before Eiric rushed in behind yelling in goblin to stop! Seeing they were vastly outnumbered, they did stop fighting, the pot was recovered, and rations were added to it, and they chatted, discovering that the goblins tribe had recently split, and that there are other humans in the dungeon that they call “elementalists”. One goblin is sent off to go get their boss.

Gains: Scroll of Sleep, jewelry worth 3,800gp, significant quantities of low value coinage
Kills: Zombies, Goblins, Giant Rats
Losses:

Sunday Inspirational Image: Abandoned

All empires fall...


by Oliver Wetter

New Monster: Terracotta Warrior

Arrows rained down from the walls, and clacked off the figure charging toward the rapidly closing gate. The guards standing by with spears at the ready looked ready to break, but they held as the terracotta warrior reached the gate just before it closed, plowing through the guards standing in the gap.

Pulling the halberd from the body of one guard, the warrior spins it around, cutting deeply into the body of the next. More arrows pelted ineffectively against it, and even a large stone did little more than nudge it to the side as it continued to cleave it’s way through everything sent against it… until it suddenly stopped, and shrank down into a small statue. It was shattered seconds later as several different weapons came crashing down onto it.



Terracotta Warrior

Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 4* (+1 per caster level)
Move: 90 (30)
Attacks: 1 polearm
Damage: 1d10
No. Appearing: 1 (1)
Save As: F6
Morale: 12
Treasure Type:
Intelligence: 0
Alignment: Neutral
XP Value:

Monster Type: Construct (Rare)

Terracotta warriors are enchanted statues that serve at a wizards command. When activated via the Terracotta Warrior 3rd level Magic-User spell, the statue grows to 6’ tall, and follows whatever mental commands the wizard makes. Terracotta warriors are usually armed with polearms, but some wizards prefer other weapons. The terracotta warrior is immune to non-magical attacks, or the attacks of creatures with less than 5HD. The terracotta warrior counts as armed with a magical weapon and attacks as a 6HD creature.

Creation of a Terracotta Warrior costs 100gp and takes 2d4 days.

Elquin part 3

With my last post about minis I hated, I talked a bit about Elquin, and how I had to push through till I reached a point where I thought he was starting to look okay. Elquin did finally reach that stage. All it took was highlighting and more highlighting… Unfortunately I didn’t really keep track of how many stages it took to get here.



And after getting to this stage I also cut him off his base and used my Happy Seppuku (now defunct) base stamp to give him something better to stand on.





Another highlight, and then painting the base.









From here… I’m still not super thrilled with the face, but then I rarely am. I think he's done. Or at least as done as I'm gonna get him.

Stonehell: Crypt of Saint Ulther

Session 96 was played on 5/4

Koltic, Cleric 5 (Chris)
Jurda, wizard 1 (henchman)
Robin the Bard (0 Level human)

Koltic, following the return to town spent his time in the bars with his newly hired “bard” who told him of another dungeon, a small tomb of an ancient saint… Everyone else was busy, and Koltic was itching to do something… so off they went.

Near some old ruins, Robin showed him a cave behind some bushes. Within the limestone cave were some old bones, and footprints, both goblin and human. Navigating a tight passage, he emerges into a worked dungeon hall… Picking a door at random, he opened it, finding a dusty old devotional. Beyond was a simple tomb. Daring to open the sarcophagus, a skeletal hand wrapped in chainmail rached out. Koltic turned the skeleton to dust, and retried the suit of mail. Within it was a dagger, the pommel containing a tiny fragment of a saint's bone… a relic!

Of the 2 doors leading out of the tomb, one was sealed with wax, and Koltic decided not to open that one. The other door brought them to the tomb of the saint. The wall decorated with a mural of a bulging eyed man leading a ship to safety in a storm. Something… unnerving seemed to be hidden in the waters. The sarcophagus itself was more decorated than the previous one, but the body within was quieter. The saint had clearly moved on, and no treasure was entombed with his earthly remains.

Deeper into the tomb, they came to a door, barred from within. Goblin voices would be heard, but they didn’t reply to the “hello” that Jurda tried in Orc or common. Heading back around they stopped at another door (not the one sealed with wax) and opened it to reveal a long corridor of interred bodies resting in small niches. Unfortunately they were more restless than the saint. Thankfully Koltic’s turning dusted them before they could do any harm.

Circling back around to the hall, the goblin voices could be heard to the west. Quietly heading that way, Koltic saw a largish room, and within 4 goblins, and a giant ferret. The goblin holding the leash of the ferrit dropped it, and they all drew weapons. The ferret charged, with 3 of the 4 following right behind it. The 4th ran from the room out the back door.

The fight was fast and bloody, with one goblin landing a painful crit on Koltic, but they were cut down efficiently. However 5 more goblins came into the room just as the last of their friends was cut down. Koltic ran back to the devotional with his followers, and slammed the door shut behind him. The goblins seemed unwilling to try to enter on their own…

Grabbing the lid of the tomb, they set it up to half barricade the hallway into the devotional room… and then pull open the door. The goblins hesitate half a second before their hobgoblin master orders them in. The first goblin is dropped as it reaches the tomb lid, while Jurda takes a rusty blade to the leg, and she falls with a scream, the goblin on top of her. Robin skewers it on his rapier, but Jurda is out of the fight. Koltic takes another hard hit, Robin gets scratched, and the hobgoblin shoves his way forward over the dead goblins at his feat. Koltic takes the brunt of the attack, and then drives his mace solidly into the hobgoblin’s face with a meaty and messy swing.

It was enough… the goblins were dead… Calling on his god, he healed Jurda’s wounds, and she returned to consciousness. Next order of business was stripping the nice scale mail from the hobgoblin, and taking his sword, and then getting out of the dungeon. Koltic’s wounds were aching, and Robin needed a change of pants.

Gains: rusty chain mail, nice scale mail, serviceable broadsword (40gp in value total) magic dagger
Kills: Skeletons, Zombie, Goblins, Hobgoblin
Losses:

Sunday Inspirational Image: Crash Site

by Etienne Beaulieu

When you hate what you’re working on...

I’m really not enjoying Elquin (Bones version). He’s coming along, and the progress is enough that I feel like I’ll be close to done with him soonish, but he isn’t fun to work on.

I’ve also been poking at Nella Cailean, and while I was generally happy with how her outfit was coming along, her face… I didn’t even bother taking pictures. I was seriously unhappy with her. I’m not great at painting female faces to begin with (and I’m only okay with male faces), but it just became a mess. My paint got too thick and chalky, and she ended up looking like she’d had a stroke, and a 30 year chain smoking habit, with caked on makeup. So I dumped her head first into a jar of simple green. Gonna have to start over. While I’m at it I might give her a staff… I'm hoping that I can get into a "Painting Female Faces" class at ReaperCon...

So those are my thoughts on 2 specific minis. In general, when working on a mini that I’ve come to hate (and really hate is too strong a word) I have to either junk it and start over like I’m doing with Nella, push through until I get to a spot where I think it’s starting to look okay (Elquin), or just walk away.

And I hate just walking away. I feel bad abandoning a mini I’m working on. Which is weird, because there are some minis I don’t mind walking away from, but those are ones that I don’t have strong feelings about. Like the giants I’ve painted. They’re just… eh. Done enough for tabletop.

Bones Gnolls part 1

As with the bugbears I wanted to swap out some of the weapons for the figures I have multiples of. In this case the gnolls had flails. Unfortunately their shield arms aren’t as conversion friendly as the bugbears, so I just left them alone. The goal this time is to keep it simple. One gnoll got a bretonnian polearm, the other a beastman club.




After the conversions, and some minor mold line removal, I slapped on a thinned coat of Brown Liner. When that was dry I mounted them on bases. While smaller than the bugbears, they still don’t fit well on a 1” base, so I went a bit bigger. And because I was out of the 40mm GW bases that I used on the bugbears, I used 45mm Reaper bases, which were the next best option and a couple of other random 40mm bases from... somewhere... Kinda wish I’d swapped them, and put the bugbears on the larger, and the gnolls on the smaller… oh well…



This was the point I stopped and remembered that I’ve painted some of these guys already, and I should probably review what I did, so that they can be at least somewhat consistent.


I can’t believe that was 2 years ago… time flies.

But hey, I took good notes! And also, hey I never based the other gnolls! So let’s get them based too!




Next, out comes the Void Blue, Cloudy Grey, Linen White, Dragon Red, Nut Brown, and Marigold Yellow, Polished Leather, Leather Brown, and my “crappy armor colors” Scorched Metal and Armor. Following the notes from Blacktongue, these guys should paint up pretty quickly.

Stonehell: Disco Fever!

Session 95 was played on 4/20

Eiric, wizard 7 (Kat)
Brie, wizard 4 (Apprentice to Eiric)
A-A-Ron, Thief 6 (Henchman) (stayed in town)
Orpheus, Human Fighter 6 (Henchman)
Darryl, Cleric 6 (Henchman)
Linkman (Lolmox)
Karl, Dwarf 7 (Julia)
Lex the Cheeseman, Fighter 4 (Henchman)
Men at Arms (Rawin)
Koltic, Cleric 3 (Chris)
Jurda, wizard 1 (henchman)
Kili, Dwarf Cleric 3 (Matt)
Lucrecia Thief 2 (Henchman)

Having found a magical bounty, but still lacking the heart of Ka’Nefer, they decided to head back to town. The party makes it successfully back to the elevator, but find it full of mummies! Darryl’s attempt to turn them failed, both from the dark pressure of the dungeon, and also because the mummies have nowhere to run to! Lex is infected with mummy rot, as does Kili when after the mummies are killed he chops off their heads.

Taking the elevator up, the next challenge they face is the disco room. They pause… and then rush through the flashing lights! Kili and Eiric are both struck by beams, and they stumble out of the room. Kili with his mind expanded (Wisdom +1) while Eiric’s understanding of everything blown open (+1 level!).

Through the hobgoblin caves the party emerges from the dungeon into the light of day, and safely to the road and back to town. Darryl cures Lex’s and Kili’s mummy rot. Eiric studies the magical items and spellbook. While she’s holed up on her estate, she has a visit from one of the rich people in town who wants a poison brewed up, and is willing to pay for it… 800gp later, Eiric delivers a nasty, but non-lethal, poison.

Kili finds his shop robbed, hires 24/7 security. A-A-Ron swears his guild had nothing to do with it. Karl hires a guard for his semi-fancy hat shop.

Gains:
Kills: Mummies
Losses:

Sunday Inspirational Image: VCX-100

By Shane Molina

Bugbear Shock Troopers

“There’s just 4 of them ahead. 2 armored, 2 not, all mounted.” Scout Korloth reported.

“We can catch them in the brush, take out their mounts, drag them down before they can react.” Sgt. Grug suggested.

“The unarmored ones need to be watched. One might be a spellslinger.” Korloth warned.

“It’s been a while since we had horse meat... “ one of the troopers grinned, practically drooling at the thought.

“We have to bring them to Captain Garr’Nith ‘with all due speed.’ We don’t have time for the horses.” Master Sgt. Gor’eth reminded them.

“Do we have to kill them then?” Grug asked.

The furry hulking form nodded. “Fine. Sweep them off the mounts, try not to startle or kill the horses.”

With surprising grace, the massive bugbears slipped away from their camp toward the little traveled path.



Bugbear Shock Troopers
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 3+2
Move: 90 (30)
Attacks: 1 weapon
Damage: 2d4+2
No. Appearing: 2d4
Save As: F4
Morale: 10
Treasure Type: (P+Q) B
Intelligence: 9
Alignment: Neutral
XP Value: 50

Monster Type: Humanoid, Common

Bugbears, who often work as the “muscle” of a goblin tribe, when raised in a more orderly hobgoblin force are better equipped and trained, and can rival (small) ogres in their size. Due to their innate ability to sneak in spite of their size, they’re used by hobgoblin generals to sneak around to the flank or rear of an opposing force, and cause a shocking amount of destruction/disruption.

Bugbear shock troopers are armed with a variety of large weapons that can be used one or two handed that can cleave or crush the average orc or human in a single blow.

Stonehell: Hothouse Antics

Session 94 was played on 4/13

Eiric, wizard 7 (Kat)
Brie, wizard 4 (Apprentice to Eiric)
A-A-Ron, Thief 6 (Henchman) (stayed in town)
Orpheus, Human Fighter 6 (Henchman)
Darryl, Cleric 6 (Henchman)
Linkman (Lolmox)
Karl, Dwarf 7 (Julia)
Lex the Cheeseman, Fighter 4 (Henchman)
Men at Arms (Rawin)
Koltic, Cleric 3 (Chris)
Jurda, wizard 1 (henchman)
Kili, Dwarf Cleric 3 (Matt)
Lucrecia Thief 2 (Henchman)

After a rest, the party emerges from the proto-matter room, smelling slightly from the pink-grey sludge. They make their way over and around past the were-rat den, and down into the Hothouse. The first door they come to is locked, and they pass it by. The next opens into a moldy ruined library.

Next they come to a partly collapsed wet room, and within are 3 large toads with hypnotic eyes… They’re denied a meal, as those not immediately affected drag out those who begin to limply walk to their death. Deeper into the hothouse, they come to a room with some giant purple mushrooms growing among the various other plants. Small openings appear in the caps, and a loud screaming echoes down the halls.

While Koltic pokes at the screaming mushrooms, the Queen of the Hothouse arrives with her guards who fling a sleeping pot into the room, while the queen attempts to charm the party. Eiric has everyone hold off and tries to talk to the queen. The Queen is still angry at the death of her subjects, but also frustrated that the undead flesh is coming into her territory. She doesn’t know anything about the heart that Rocky speaks off. Eventually Eiric trades her magical snake staff for access to the hothouse, only to look for the heart.

Starting with the fertilizer prep room, they search through the bodies but don’t find anything. Next they go to a metal door that is remarkably clear of rust or plant growth. Karl touches the door, and gets zapped hard. Eiric uses magic to open it. Within is a small study in remarkably good condition. The statue of the old guy in a toga in the corner doesn’t take kindly to the invasion, but against the whole party is quickly destroyed. Eiric recovers a book of arcane formulas, a wand, and several potions.

Gains: spell book, wand of magic missiles, potion of extra healing x2, potion of invisibility, 700gp.
Kills: Iron Statue
Losses:

Bugbears part 3

This is where I left off on my last post. Nearly done, but needing more work... So let's get on with it!



I dry brushed all the metal bits with Warpaints Armor (a dark silvery color), did a little highlighting on the red, weathered the leather with sepia wash, and cleaned up the wood on the various weapons and shields.



Then it was flocking time, starting with coffee grounds for texture so that the flock didn't look super flat on the base. It really makes the base of the mini painfully obvious. It's less a problem when I but the base off, but I didn't bother for these minis.



Then, after the coffee grounds had a day to dry, it was time for the flock.



And then a second application for the spots that didn't cover like I wanted. And here they are all finished. As is the case with table top quality minis, there's more I could do, but I'm ready to move onto the next project... whatever that ends up being.

Total Minis Painted in 2019: 21

Sunday Inspirational Image: Ciena Ree

The stories of characters beyond the Skywalkers are really what makes the Star Wars universe come alive, even when (or especially when?) those characters find themselves on the imperial side, like Ciena Ree.


by Aurore Folny

May the Fourth Be With You

It's a sad day today, having just lost Peter Mayhew. I met him once, at a convention. It was in the dealers room, before the doors opened to the public. He was... sweet. Kind. Happy to be there. A gentle giant. I'm glad to have even briefly crossed paths with him.

Scarecrows

As usual, these fine figures were washed in warm soapy water, and then given a base coat of brown liner. Going for a creepy muted look for these guys, which, honestly, is kinda what I generally paint anyway… I wanted to make them distinguishable on the table, even though they’re exactly the same mini, and the easiest way to do that was to give them different colored jackets and hats. Utilizing the same colors that have been on my painting tray for a couple of months now, I used Muddy Olive, Denim Blue, Tanned Shadow for the straw, Dirty Bone, Walnut and Nut Browns for anything wood, leather, or bone. Brilliant Red for the hat bands and handkerchiefs. Just about everything was given a sepia wash at some point in the process.



They were based on 1.25" washers. They're just a little big for a 1" base. Not sure what skeleton was used to make them, but it wasn't human...





And here they are all based.





They're table top quality, but good enough, and I've got other things to work on!

Bones IV Review

Now that I’ve had a chance to go through just about everything, I have some thoughts on the minis. Gonna go through them by expansion… hang on. This is gonna take a bit.

Chronoscape
My first hands on look at the new Bones Black material for standard sized figures. Overall first impression is WOW!! They managed to get a whole lot of detail in these minis!! Aside from the space-dino minis, these are all older figures from Reaper’s catalog. Thankfully there aren’t many repeats from what I already have in metal, so this set was worth it for me. I was very surprised that just about everything here comes with a blank integrated base. I’m gonna have to think about how I want to deal with this… likely I’ll just cut it off, which is a shame. If there had been some sort of detailing on them, it would have been great.

Favorite Figure: Pudgy short alien dude with attitude
Least Favorite Figure: robot with big guns
Pleasant Surprise: Bulldog options!

Dreadmere
Once again, top notch for the Bones Black material. I already have a significant number of these minis in metal, but with everything else in the set, and the conversion potential, again well worth it. There’s some delightful characters in this themed set, from the turtle and alligator buddies to the various townsfolk. The monsters are creative, and well sculpted. The pack tortoise was a bit of a problem. The pack was miscast/warped. I’m going to attempt to get it into shape, but if not, I’ll have to ask for a replacement bit.

Favorite Figure: Hard to pick, but the brain one is just a great sculpt
Least Favorite Figure: Guards - they’re okay, just kinda cartoonish.
Pleasant Surprise: The herbalist came out way better than I expected.

Darkreach
Another mix of old and new minis, but not a single figure I had in my collection. There’s a nice mix of underdark monsters, fungal creatures, and humanoids, perfect for an underdark campaign. I’m gonna need more of the little rock gnome/goblin dudes. I really like the new dark elf sculpts too. Such crisp detailing.

Favorite Figure: Gloom Stalker and Burrowing Behemoth
Least Favorite Figure: Dark elf queen on the throne? This is a great set and hard to pick a mini I don’t like
Pleasant Surprise: Stone Lurker has a lot more personality than I was expecting!

Lost Valley
Dinosaurs and Cavemen! This was an interesting set that broke with my expectations. First, most noticeable was the Mumluk. He’s twice as big as I was expecting. Based on the graphic, I thought he’d be between 2.5” - 3” tall, in line with the various avatar minis from Bones 3. Instead he’s big enough to be going toe to toe with just about any of Reaper’s dragons.
On the flip side, the long house was smaller than I expected. Still a nice sculpt, but…
Casting /Sculpt quality was a little off on the Raptors. Not terrible, but softer than I was expecting, especially given the quality of everything else so far. They were also a tiny bit bigger than I thought they’d be. Maybe scaled down by 1/3 the detail would look less soft?

Favorite Figure: Jade Fire Tribe
Least Favorite Figure: Mumluk - Probably gonna turn him into a terrain piece.
Pleasant Surprise: the Clubtail is both a solid sculpt and a SOLID mini! You could really hurt someone with it…

Fan Favorites
This hodgepodge of a set suffers from a lack of a theme, and works best as a complement to the other expansions. The flail snail, dark dwarves, demon toads, and beetle all fit in with Darkreach, the mimic bed, undead shark, bog skeletons, Izzy, skeletal ogre, and tidal lurker all fit in with Dreadmere, and the mammoth and penguins in with Lost Valley. Then there’s the portal… which is even better than was promised!

Favorite Figure: Tidal Lurker and Ogre skeleton
Least Favorite: Demon toads. They just don’t do it for me.
Pleasant Surprise: Isobael and her dog.
Unpleasant Surprise: Cavalry… Clearly this is still an area that Bones doesn’t handle super well…

Core Set
Unlike the expansions, the core set was made from traditional Bones material, and after spending all the time I did with Bones Black these feel…. rubbery. They’re also largely not assembled, and since they store better that way, I didn’t glue anything together. I did dry fit a few things to make sure that I had all the bits, but, as compared to the other sets, inventorying this one felt more like a chore.

Favorite Figure: Duelist 161
Least Favorite: Greybeard wizards… 5 old style classic robe and pointy hat type wizards was 4 too many. Old wizard and apprentice plus a coven of 3 witches would have been a better use of those slots.
Pleasant Surprise: The dragonman has a sprue of hands to choose from!

Add Ons

Baba Yaga’s Hut is a SOLID hunk of plastic. I’d planned on and expected it to have removable legs, but apparently that wasn’t to be. Due to issues at the factory, it was determined that the legs needed to be attached. I’m probably going to cut them off. I might still try to make it so I can add them back on later, but it’ll be much more of a project than I was planning on. The giblet will be used elsewhere.

Barge of the Dead
Not as solid as the hut, but BIG and so many parts. I love the ghosts and Charon that comes with it. Not sure when I’ll be able to build and display it. The sucker needs a mantlepiece to sail around.

Fantasy Scenics & Statues
The astrolabe is gonna need some work to assemble. It’s also a little bigger than I was expecting. I wonder if there was a scaling issue with it?
The ruins, well, summoning circle, etc. are all solid bits and will see a lot of use, as will the statues.

Dinosaurs
I got both the tric and the carnosaur and they’re both great. The back plate for the carnosaur is kinda weird, and will need some greenstuff, but that’s totally doable.

Wraiths
The Nine… sorry, what? Six… the Six are out ring shopping, and wearing their sunday best. Fantastic set, and one of the first things I added on. No regrets, only a wish that there were 3 more… plus some mounted versions…

Tree
Love it. Not sure what I’ll do with the spare torture victim. Hope the buzzards will be available separately.

Rulers of Hell
Their wings are thicker than I was expecting, but they’re gonna be great additions to the demonic legions.

King of the Jungle
Solid mini. The bottom of the throne suggests that there should be a base that goes with it… He’ll go well with the Mumlak as a terrain piece.

And that’s my review!

April in Review

Gaming
I am woefully behind on my session write ups, both for 5e and Stonehell, but I’m working on it…

In the 5e game, we’ve managed to survive the first encounter with Strahd and his 3 brides. We’ve met a werewolf, and are about to be swarmed by bandits.

Stonehell keeps chugging along. Things have taken an interesting and unexpected turn in the Hothouse... namely, it isn't burning.

The first session of Frostgrave ended up becoming a rules review and build session.


Miniatures
Bones IV arrived, which sucked up a week of time going through it all. However I did manage to wrap up the bugbears, and Elquin is just about done too. Both need some finishing touches, but other than that? They’re all good to go.

I started working on my first Bones IV mini, the Pathfinder Iconic Estra the Spiritualist. She wasn’t my first choice, but my DM asked for an old witchy figure, and that’s one area I’m kinda lacking in, so…

I think I’m going to work on the gnolls next. Like the bugbears they’re in need of some weapon swaps. Unfortunately their shields are attached to their arms, so more significant conversions are harder.

Beyond that, I’m going to wait for some inspiration to strike… or my DM to ask me for something.


Media

Books
I’ve plowed through Marko Kloos’s Frontlines series. Military sci-fi series that I really enjoyed. Blog post about it coming soon. Eventually.

Movies/TV Watched
Shazam
John Wick 2
Spiderman Into the SpiderVerse
Thor: Ragnarok (rewatch)
Avengers Infinity War (rewatch)
Avengers Endgame
Bright
10th Kingdom (sick day rewatch)


Goals
A lot more time is going to be given over to studying for the next 2 months, so keeping it low key. Catch up on actual play write ups, and put some paint on the gnolls.