First Batch of Reapers Finished

Based and Ready to be Shipped to an Anxious Customer!

   You've  already seen most of these figures, if not all of them, prior to their basing.  I always feel that figures aren't complete until they have proper terrain to stand upon.  There is something about green that complements the figure.  I always say that it's a decorator's trick or a butcher's trick.  Decorator's trick: in order to join rooms of different colors you use plants in each of the rooms.  Butcher's trick: in order to make your meat appear redder and more appealing, add green paper backing or that weird green foliage to the butcher's case.  In addition, the base of the figure changes the mood of the figure.  For instance, below in the first picture, the female necromancer; imagine her on a sparse base with no foliage, just charred rocky debris.  It would seem desolate and foreboding; which would work equally as well as the sparse grass.  The sparse grass just doesn't seem as gloomy and I happen to enjoy how it makes the green in her staff and the green of the skeletons pop.

   So one word of advice, "If you are ever a titch dissatisfied with a paint job; wait until you base it and see how you feel."  The black of the stick or base you've been painting on is actually sucking the color out of the figure.  It's an optical illusion, like when they suggest wearing black to make you look thinner.  Dark colors make things look smaller but they also wash the color out of what they come in contact with.

I like how the blue on the marid has become so brilliant now that the green of the base is there to compliment.  And I know, she is a water genie, why isn't she on a water base?  Well, she could have been, but for continuity's sake she is on grass like all others.

I bet the first criticism here will be, "They're tavern people, they should have tavern bases!"  I agree, however, let's pretend that they are in a biergarten.  Always remember, if a person ever wants a particular base for a figure, all they have to do is mention it in their order and we'll do the best we can.  Otherwise, we err on the side of continuity.  It is no cop-out, just the uniformity of the figures in relation to other figures when in game play.

Basing for figures such as the center half-ogre can be difficult sometimes.  He comes on his wooden plank base, appropriate for a pirate but then what.  So, you can only use him in a tavern or a ship?  It may seem cheezy but we added the earth and turf to kind of camouflage the boards and make him more applicable to general adventuring.

I hate having to paint figures that I like.  They are like children; I give them a little bit of life and I don't want to let them go when the time comes.  I looked at Bob the other day and said with a pouty face, "Do I really have to send them?"  He of course said, "Yes" and laughed at me.  But, now you also know that I put a lot of love into what I do.

Dancing Girls and Half-Orcs Have a Picnic - Reaper Figures & Recipes

Okay, so there isn't really any picnic...I just have a tendency to need to make snazzy titles.  But, it is close, there is food involved and there really are dancing girls and half-orcs amongst other figures.  Yesterday, Thursday, was D&D night so I decided to make pizza on the grill again.  Last week I told you my recipe, this week is no different. In addition, I have my usual blather about the minis I was painting.

Part of my day was spent painting, the other part baking and generally messing around.  I finished up two dancing girls that I had started late on Wednesday.  Then, I started and finished three half-orcs; a monk, rogue, and pirate?

Let us start with the prettier of the two sets; the dancing girls.

The dancing girl in red has a variegated or tie-dyed effect skirt.  I've painted her before and made the skirt multi-colored; this time I wanted to keep it one color but add a neat effect.  I was thinking of fantail fish or Siamese fighting fish when I painted her skirt.

 This dancing girl with the coin bikini, well, I like the idea of just black; this way it doesn't distract from her boobs.  The gold accents, the black doesn't detract.  BTW, yeah, I think she's leaning more than she should be, I'll have to straighten her out a bit, she must have gotten a bit twisted in the molding process.

Onto some half-orcs.  Did somebody say beauty and the beast?  Haha!

The monk on the left is a cool idea.  I went with burnt sienna pants with the bright orange loincloth.  I chose the loincloth color based on Buddhist monk robe colors.

The rogue on the right  is pretty standard.  I wanted him dark, roguish, but not too dark.  I went with browns and a nice burgundy studded vest.

I really like this ?pirate? version of a half-orc.  I stuck with primary colors, nothing fancy.  I wanted to stay away from bland, brown or gray colors because I felt that the gray skin needed offset.  Plus, pirates need bright clothes.  ;-)

What I'm most pleased with is the skin of these half-orcs.  You know, traditionally they are to have grayish human skin.  Makes sense to me.  So, I started with a base of Gray 20, dry-brushed on some Gray 15 heavily, then mixed 50/50 Gray 10 and Tanned Skin Highlight and dry-brushed that on very lightly.  Depending on how you like your half-orc flesh you could add more flesh color or brush it on more heavily to get a more human effect.


Onto some miscellaneous figures by Reaper; two assassins and a Mystic Knight.

On the left is the Mystic Knight, Jaron.  I painted him similarly to the Reaper site.  I liked the colors that they chose so I stuck with them.  Like I said before, sometimes it's okay to let others do the thinking for you.
To the right is Blue Orchid Assassin.  Seeing as how his name is Blue Orchid, I went with a Necron Abyss blue cloak and made his bracelet a blue gem.  Keepin' it simple.  Sometimes sticking with the acronym K.I.S.S. is the best policy.  Don't go overboard, it'll make the figure look too busy.

This is Deladrin the assassin.  I think she is a very nice figure.  I really love the knee-pads they designed for her.  She is also painted similarly to the Reaper site.  Sorry, I guess I wasn't that creative.  I just really liked what they did.  I contemplated painting her studded leather in burgundy wine and that would have been wonderful with the brass/gold of her accents.  Could have gone silver too...maybe next time.  I just really enjoy the softer tone of the olive green with the gray.


I promised pizza...and so I shall deliver.  Now mind you, these aren't the outdoorsy beautiful pics from the last pizza episode.  No, just kitchen ones.  Our D&D group doesn't do romantic.  Although, one time we did have champagne with strawberries; one of our players thought we deserved a treat.  Usually we imbibe in pop and fatty snacks.

Both of these pizzas, actually there are four, were done on the grill.  One is a Traditional Pizza of red sauce and cheese, the other is a Santa Fe Chicken.
Use the King Arthur Flour recipe for Now or Later Pizza and prepare according to directions. 
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/now-or-later-pizza-recipe



 

1. Remove from fridge, shape according to directions on olive oiled parchment paper.  Let rise for 30 minutes.  
2. Take to preheated grill, oil top of pizza.  Flip pizza onto grill surface, remove parchment paper by peeling it away from the dough.  
3. When dough browns on grill, flip it over with spatulas.  Brown other side.  While this brown, top pizza.

 This pizza is a Traditional one.  We just used Ragu red sauce from a jar.  It's not to flavorful, so I suggest adding more basil or oregano.  Spread the sauce on with a spoon, top with pepperoni slices and add a mix of mozerella and provolone cheese. 

Of course you can do whatever you want to this type of pizza and add all the toppings that please you.  Bob only likes pepperoni and cheese...he's a plain kinda guy.

This pizza is the Santa Fe Chicken with Pico de Gallo.  Here's what you need:

• Chicken breasts or tenderloins.  
• Pico de Gallo (ours is pre-made and bought from Giant Eagle in the refridgerated veggie section).  
• Philly Cream Cheese Santa Fe Cooking Sauce.  
• Mexican Blend Cheese.

1. Ahead of time, grill the chicken, don't add any seasoning, and cut it into bite-size pieces.  
2. On the grill, top the pizza with the Santa Fe cooking sauce using a spoon.  
3. Place the cooked chicken pieces onto the pizza.  
4. Sprinkle on the pico de gallo.  
5. Finally, top with Mexican blend cheese.  Allow to melt.  Voila!!

Here's the D&D group enjoying the pizza before the game begins.  So, this must have been why I thought there were half-orcs having a picnic.  Wonder where the dancing girls have gone?  ;-)