A Violin Virtuoso, A Spider Demoness AND … More Dwarfs

Today I’m featuring a couple of figures I just finished and a few more dwarfs.  All of the figures are from Reaper Miniatures.  I’ve been collecting and gaming with Reaper figures for about 25 years.  It also helps that the Reaper factory and home offices are only a 30 minute drive from Floozy Manor.  I was introduced to Reaper figures in 1995 when my son dragged me to the Dallas Game Expo.  Though we were big into Games Workshop Games, we were introduced to other games and miniature companies.

Blake Radetzky, who is the DBM & HoTT guru in Texas, was running a game which caught my eye.  It was Han Chinese versus Asiatic Nomads.  The armies were very colorful and I was invited to play.  A young couple sat across from me (He wanted to play the game, she wanted to be next to him.) and the fourth player, sitting next to me was Al Pare, Reaper Al himself.  During the game, I learned about this young miniature company.  They sold a 25mm fantasy line called Dungeon Dwellers and were just launching a 28mm line called Dark Heaven Legends.  Today, the Dark Heaven Legends line has nearly 1,900 different fantasy miniatures.

Anyway, enough reminiscing about the Floozy’s past adventures, on to the miniatures!

A Violin Virtuoso

The first figure I finished this week is the musician from Reaper’s Warlord range, 14291 Standard & Musician, Necropolis .  Skeletons are fairly easy to paint, which is good, because in games that call for skeletons you usually need a lot of them.  I prime them black and then use a warm off-white triad to paint the bones – in this case Reaper Master Series Paint Stained Ivory, Yellowed Bone and Creamy Ivory.

This next photo is a comparison shot of skeletons from three of Reaper’s ranges.  The violinist is from the Warlord range, the drummer from Dark Heaven Legends and the critic, err… warrior, is from the Bones plastic range.

Shaerilith, Spider Demoness

In the Dungeons and Dragons and Pathfinder games, this creature is called a Drider.  It is a centaur-like creature which has the upper body of a Drow or Dark Elf and the lower body is a giant spider.  The one that I have is from Reaper’s Bones plastic range.  She also painted up fairly easy.  The only complaint I have is that the fine details such as jewelry and hair are hard to pick out or nearly non-existent.  Some day, I’ll have to purchase the metal version and do a comparison.  However, the complaints are nothing when you look at the price.  The Bones version is one third of the price of the metal version.  So, again, if you are populating a dungeon and need lots of figures, the Bones version is a must have.  You can find Shaerilith in the Bones line as 77180 Shaerilith, Spider Demoness .

Valana, Forgemaiden Sergeant

A few years back, I entered an all female dwarf army in a Reaper Warlord tournament.  I didn’t win any games, but I did win the prize for the best painted army.  I painted one unit of dwarfs armed with hammers in a nice turquoise blue.  Valana is found at 14524 Valana, Forgemaiden Sergeant .

Dwarf Forgemaiden

The rank and file figure commanded by Valana is this sculpt.  She was slightly miscast, the mold wasn’t lined up correctly, so I spent a lot of time on removing mold lines.  In 25 years, after purchasing a couple hundred Reaper miniatures, only two have been miscast.  I could have returned them to Reaper for new ones, but it was easier just to clean the mold lines on this one and toss the other one (a stripper zombie) into the bits box. She can be found at 14518 Dwarf Forgemaiden .

Magda Mintsilver

If a Reaper miniature has ample bosom and deep cleavage, chances are it was sculpted by Werner Klocke.  Magda is from the Dark Heaven Legends line.  I like the way she is pointing with her hammer as if she were saying “You’re next!”  Anyway, she can be found at 02978 Magda Mintsilver .I try to paint a little every night, even if it is only for half an hour.  And I need to photograph more of the figures that I have completed.  I’m approaching that age when I will need to sell many of them and would like to have something to remember them.  Then again, maybe the Floozy can sneak her collection into the retirement home for wayward old tarts.As always, I appreciate any and all comments.  Have fun until next time!