Badgers and Burrows - top 10 (Re-done)
Straight up I've never played the game so this top 10 is purely based on how good they were to paint and how happy I am with the final results. Its a bit skewed towards the larger minis because there is more space to be a bit creative with these guys. I was going to order them but actually that was too hard so you can pick your own favourites ....
Armadillo - loving the whole Aztec feel of this guy with his padded armour and obsidian weaponry. Having painted Aztec miniatures I've always enjoyed the bright green / turquoise combo with gold. Here the skin was done first with the airbrush then each little nodule was painted. He is of course a 9 banded Armadillo as you can tell from the 9 bands of plate on his back....
Hare Druidess - the first of several Hares all of whom have great faces. I don't know how Michael sculpts personality onto the faces of big rabbits but all the hares have different expressions! For me I like the rose and the sleeve decoration which I thought was going to be hard but was actually straightforward and I will use again in future. The red flowers on the base picked to match the rose
Bulldog - great personality here, this is a proper old fighter like an old boxer past his prime but crouched and leaning into the fight , face tensed and ready. As always I googled Bulldogs to get the face right and learned that they suffer from eye problems which looks like pinkeye but not this guy.
Hare Barman - another old warrior past his prime and showing the effects of battles past. Again very expressive, suspicious and wary and likely to give you a hiding if you don't behave
A Mole preacher and member of the Carmelite Order with his white robe. Standing on a corner and preaching from his good book whatever that may be. Really small but again it has personality radiating fire and brimstone preaching.
Raven - I've done several of these now all with the OSL it's begging for. There is a menace about the sculpt which the OSL emphasises and if you still haven't grasped that this is a bad news Raven the gravestone should nudge you on. Great figure.
Otter pirate - casual but ready for a boarding action with a big cutlass like Padeen from the Patrick O'Brien books. Not the best of photographs sadly as is a bit more muted than in real life but a great figure.
Rat Shaman - a simple figure but a great pose making a dynamic triangular composition. I was going to use Osl on this guy but when i saw the spider come up I decide that was enough and just painted the sickle to match. Has the look of a fanatic about him.
Shrew Knight on Beetle - a great idea and I look forward to seeing more insects going forward, butterflies, wasps with lances and perhaps even a scorpion. What makes this for me is the use of colour shift paints on the beetle to get a really cool iridescence. I've used it on various bits and pieces such as the starling and it looks fantastic but it photographs badly for some sciencey reason so this is the only one worth making the top 10
Magpie - clearly the Artful Dodger / Arthur Daley of the Burrows and Badgers milieu. Weirdly the pose and clothes don't allow much of the Magpies white plumage to show which can make a dark final effect so the red scarf brightens things up a bit.
Mercenary - A really cool Landsknecht of the Italian Wars period with slashed clothes to show the silk linings and display his wealth. This guy looks like a Doppelsoldner with his heavy armour and 2 handed (pawed) sword. In my version he certainly seems to be giving those reeds a bit of a hard stare.
Platypus - enjoyed this one both to paint and for the research on Aboriginal symbols which i used on the cloak lining, the boomerang and the digging stick ( a crocodile). Another link here to Patrick O'Brien as in 'The Nutmeg Of Consolation' Maturin gets stung by a Platypus spur. Btw if you haven't read the Aubrey books by O'Brien you have a massive treat awaiting you.
Otter Mage - by now you've probably realised that I gave up on a top 10 some time ago and only just kept it to a top 20. You are in for a longer haul now. This mage has a cool OSL effect from her handful of flames which is concealed below her hand. Its like she is hiding an unpleasant surprise from an enemy.
Hare Warrior - another grizzled Hare with Attitude. The broken ear is the absolutely winning feature of this fellow. The gothic armour also gives you something to go at as a painter. He is definitely saying come on if you think you're hard enough.
Hare warrior with both ears! I like this one for the fleur de lis shield and casual sword over the shoulder vibe.
Kingfisher. I have only seen a Kingfisher once in real life and even in that fleeting second was astonished by their beauty. To be honest I cant start to do justice to the real thing but the water effect from clear resin is nice.
Wildcat - this is a dynamic charging Jacobite mini and was my first attempt at quick tartan. It wasn't 100% effective but gave me the basis for perfecting a technique that allows me to knock out a decent approximation quickly enough to stay within the time budget for each figure. As a commission painter charging competitively I literally don't have time to paint perfect tartan and stay under the £8 i charge this sort of guy. This wildcat has a real wild charge vibe about him.
Red Kite - a fantastic sculpt which captures flight and power. If you google Red Kites and follow the colours you cant go wrong with this miniature. Airbrushing helps but isn't necessary as long as you don't go death by drybrush. If you do drybrush and it looks chalky pop a couple of glazes over to tone it down and tie it in.
Tortoise - SPQR he came he saw and he beat you up. This guy absolutely nails the Testudo joke but also looks like a mean hardened Roman centurion somehow. Clearly from up on the Wall in Northymbria.
Fox highwayman - It was so tempting to channel Adam Ants' dandy highwayman here and get some face make up but in the end I went more classic Dick Turpin. Pleased with the leather coat shininess on this one.
And that's all folks! to be honest could have easily subbed out quite a few for other equally good sculpts but went with the first choices rather than hum and har.
Please feel free to comment on my FB entry if you agree or even if you're wrong and disagree!!
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