14 replies to this topic

[JackMann]

So, I got some minis through eBay. I'm now left with a few questions. Namely, what the hell are they, and which should I paint next?

First, I'll lead off with the ones I've actually identified.



Metal Magic Miniatures, early nineties. Here we have an unusually hairy hunchback, an oriental explorer, a ratcatcher, and a pirate.



Also from Metal Magic. A dandy, a herald, and two wizards (one bearing scrolls, the other a large book).



Appears to be some sort of youth with a shotgun and a bandana. Bottom of the mini says it's from Ral Partha.



I think this is some sort of Shoggoth, but I'm not sure. Looks cool, though.





Couple shots of this guy. Bottom of the mini appears to say RM, so I'm guessing he's Reaper work. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find him with figure finder.

The rest came to me already painted, but I'm still curious as to where a couple of them came from.



Some sort of viking with a sword. Says Ral Partha on the bottom, but I couldn't find him via Google Searches for "Ral Partha Viking" or "Ral Partha horned helmet."



Painted ninja that I will likely rebase at some point (when I get to actually doing fansy basing).

Also got an executioner and fat adventurer, but they were already painted, and I was able to find them in the Metal Magic catalog.

[buglips*the*goblin]

Your Reaper is an angel missing his wings:

http://www.reapermin.../sku-down/03163


Ral Partha dude with shotgun is a Werewolf The Apocalypse mini, from a 4-mini set - two people, two wolves, #69-003 Glasswalker - Homid, Hispo & Lupus forms (whatever those mean).

I think the ninja is a Partha, and I'll have to dig a little for Mr. Viking.

[JackMann]

Aha! Well, I'll order the wings for the angel. Thankfully they're in the boneyard. Thanks for the investigation, Buglips.

Any suggestions for which to paint first?

[buglips*the*goblin]

If it were me? Dude with the shotgun. Probably the least likely to be useful, late-era partha quality, I think that makes him good practice.

The ninja might also be a Grenadier, there's a lot of crossover with that style (might actually be several companies).

The viking is proving tricky. He's got that mid-era look to him, but he's not in any of my 90's catalogs. That's a bit strange, because he's quality enough to appear in the range. I'm doing a bit of checking in earlier and later resources. I don't like letting a Partha get away without an ID. Matter of honor, you see. It's supposed to be my specialty.

[JackMann]

For what it's worth, I can just make out 198- on the bottom. Looks like the - may be a 6, but it's pretty hard to tell, due to some stray primer (or maybe paint).

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll get on him tonight.

[buglips*the*goblin]

Probably 1986, which is where his look puts him, actually. I expected to find him in the '87 catalog, but didn't. I'm going through the 86 now. Problem is, there aren't always pictures. Well, that and looking through a few hundred minis kinda makes my eyes googly. I might have passed him already.

ETA: and that's exactly what I did, too. He's the rider from 10-410 Bear Chariot of the Icelands. (meaning he is in my physical catalogs)

ETA 2: Also explains that woody-looking base

[JackMann]

Aha! That explains some of the random bits that came with the order. They're pieces of the sled/chariot. Parts from two, in fact, though I only have one rider, and no bears. Ah well.I can figure out something with them.

[buglips*the*goblin]

The Metal Magic miniatures are one of the old school brands I know almost nothing about. I've never actually seen one in person, and really only heard of them this year.

They do look pretty nice for the era, though. Poor distribution is probably what did them in, because I never saw those in a store.

[Inarah]

Metal Magic dates from the late 80's actually. Hard to believe, but I remember seeing them in blisters and actually have a few that I bought. Some of Werner Klocke's early work, IIRC.

The Bear Chariot is still available from Ironwind, if you ask nice they can help get you the replacement parts you need. A friend of mine recently did just this.

The "youth with shotgun" might be from one of the historical ranges. Looks vaguely chinese to me.

[JackMann]

They apparently did most of their sales in Europe. Their catalog was in German.

I only found 'em because I kept searching for the symbols on the bottom. Still haven't found the wizard with the book in their catalog, but he's definitely one of theirs.

Oh! I forgot someone.



Some sort of tall... ghouls, maybe? Or aliens? Ghouliens? No markings on the bases.

Thanks, Inarah. I'll look into getting the replacement parts. Buglips already identified the youth with a shotgun, from Ral Partha's Werewolf: The Apocalypse line.

[psyberwolfe1]

Metal Magic dates from the late 80's actually. Hard to believe, but I remember seeing them in blisters and actually have a few that I bought. Some of Werner Klocke's early work, IIRC.

The Bear Chariot is still available from Ironwind, if you ask nice they can help get you the replacement parts you need. A friend of mine recently did just this.

The "youth with shotgun" might be from one of the historical ranges. Looks vaguely chinese to me.

I wish they could recast the head for my Red Dragon of Krynn.

[buglips*the*goblin]

Some of Werner Klocke's early work, IIRC.

Here's a Klocke piece most people probably haven't heard of:

http://www.rafm.com/...ategory_Code=RC

[JackMann]

All right, since I have the shotgun guy painted up, next I think I'll do up one of the Ghouliens. However, I still have absolutely no idea what the hell they're supposed to be. Any suggestions on coloring?

[JackMann]

Okay, had my first try at a ghoulien. Brace yourselves, it ain't pretty.





Oh-kay. So, let me see if I can trace how this happened. The initial idea was that I was going to give them a white basecoat, and then a wash with some sort of undead skin. Well, the basecoat went on well enough. But I didn't have any undead skin. So I tried to make my own. I went with some pure white, some tanned skin (the only skin color I have right now), and some sort of green that Reaper tossed into a recent order. I think it's jade. Getting the mix to something that looked right took a lot of paint, and I didn't add enough water. So, it didn't really work as a wash. I shrugged, decided that would be a new basecoat. I added some Reikland Fleshshade I picked up, but it went on a little too strong, turning the front into a mottled brown. I tried then drybrushing with the undead skin. But now there was too much contrast between the fleshshade in the depths and the undead skin. I decided the fleshshade was too dark. So, I applied a white wash, and then used some Agrax Earthshade. That's basically how it ended up as it is.

The eyes were actually the first things I painted, and probably the best part of the mini. I used the Bette Davis Eyes method. That seemed to work out reasonably well. I painted the base with a mix of carnage red and intense brown, with vague thoughts of Mars in mind. Some black on the claws, and that's basically it. I dunno. It's not terrible, but it's not great either, and I don't know where to begin shading something with that kind of texture (particularly with all the washes it received). I'm tempted to just strip it and try again, except I can't think of anything that'll work better.

[buglips*the*goblin]

I dunno, I think that works. Steps were a little complicated because of the experimentation (though experimentation is good!) but the end result could pass as ghoulian or even a mummy on the table. If I painted him, it would probably look pretty much the same.