Powered through last night to finish up this guy. He’s called Orc Trooper, but his stats are weak and he’s got this whole shabby hobo thing going on.
That said, this was probably the most fun I’ve had painting a miniature ever. Interesting and varied textures, a sculpt that was consistent and well-defined everywhere except for the (concealed) face; there was a lot here to work with and not a lot of time wasted trying to figure out what the sculptor was trying to represent.
I did hit a few snags. The spear on his back is very thin and had bent over in the blister pack. Straightening it out, it broke off in my hand. I tried several solutions. In the end, making a socket out of milliput putty and then supergluing it in place worked well enough. There’s an unsightly bulge at the end of the spear shaft. I tried to sand it off, but wound up breaking off the tip again and needing to redo the whole thing. So I left the bulge. I painted it to look like some cloth tied below the spear head. I don’t think it detracts too much from the overall effect.
Given the large amount of armor on this piece, I tried varying textures and metal tints. I went with a bluish cast on the helmet and scale mail, and with a brighter silver for the shoulder piece and the boots. Sticking with the “orc hobo” theme, I went through afterward and did a reddish-brown glaze on the helmet and some patches on the armor, trying to give the impression of rust. I think it worked out nicely, actually. It’s not overstated, but you do get the impression of a rusty tinge to the helmet, and it weathered the armor subtly.
Next up is the Orc Berserker. I’ve got a loose one that’s been knocking around, so I figure I’ll stick with orcs and see how he turns out. I’ve also started prepping four Goblin Scouts for painting. These are a little trickier, since they’re small and they have a crossbow piece that needs to be glued in place.
Chainmail Miniatures 