A Dwarf and a Specter Walked into a Graveyard...

    A 3-D printed specter from A Critical Hit haunts a Dark Ages 'dwarf' in a graveyard

I needed a batch of something "old" (bought prior to 2026) to paint up. I also needed a dwarven adventurer for my next game of Four Delvers. Did I own a figure that could be both of these? No...and yes. I actually own zero dwarves in my collection of 28mm figures. However, I decided to go through my unpainted Dark Ages miniatures to see if there was something in there that could reasonably pass as one. Sure enough, I found this old Grenadier miniature from the 1980s, I believe. He was crouching down, fully mailed, and more in 25mm scale than more recent 28mm. He was missing a weapon hand, but in my unused weapons bag I had an axe I could use...with a hand attached to it! Seriously!! I think it was from one of my Gripping Beast figures where you have a choice of weapons to attach.

    This figure was the closest thing among my unpainted lead that could be used for a fantasy dwarf

I super-glued the slightly larger hand (don't notice that!) onto his right stump and voila! An axe-armed dwarf!! He was quick and easy to paint up, being mostly chainmail. As dwarves HAVE to have beards, I tried to make it stick out more by painting it an auburn/red. The figure's could be a bit bushier to really pass as a full-fledged cousin of Gimli. It'll do, though! I gave it some dwarven runes on its shield and a bit of fancy decoration on the clothes peeking out from underneath the mail. 

    The entire 3-D print was in this sparkly, black-green filament - I painted the skulls & black hood

The specter is actually a 3-D printed figure from A Critical Hit. I bought it because I thought it simply looked bizarre enough to be an alien monster for my Majestic 13 games. However, once I got it home and examined it more closely, I could see the skulls. It is printed in a sparkly, dark green filament material. I painted the hollow hood of his cloak black. The skulls I painted up as...well, skulls! The figure seems to be materializing out of the mist, which actually forms its base. I added a piece of magnetic material underneath it to make it stand up in place in my storage boxes and also to give it more stability on the tabletop. For just a buck or two, I really like how it turned out! I'll likely include it with my fantasy monster collection, though, instead of my Majestic 13 monsters.

    These 3-D printed tombstones & plinths I picked up from RRB Minis & More at Hold the Line 2025

The last items in this batch aren't really miniatures -- they're scatter. I decided I needed to bulk out this batch of "old" miniatures, though. One dwarf is hardly a batch (shhh...I bought the specter this March at Cincycon!). These are about miniature figure sized, though, so I decided they would fit. I bought them last November at Hold the Line 2025 convention from my friend Rich Brown of RRB Minis & More. I based them up on various miniature bases (See? They're miniatures...! Ha, ha!!). 

    I based the headstones on figure bases and added the slightly raised mound of flocking for the graves

There were five tombstones and three plinths (that's what Jenny said they're called) in the little bag I bought for all of $2. I liked the gargoyles atop the plinths, and the slightly ruined state of the tombstones. The coolest part of the tomstones were the ones with burnt-down candles placed atop them. That was a nice touch! I based four of them up on horizontal cavalry sized bases. Then, I took rubble that I had bought for various ruins and poured it in a heap atop a blob of Tacky Glue. I flocked over the grave with my fine brown ballast, then did it again when I did the rest of the base. I think it created a believable mound where the body is interred. I gave the bases some grass, tufts, and the leaves to give it more of a disheveled look. 

    I decided to base everything individually for flexibility - unlike my graveyard in the background

The plinths were the easiest to do. Black base coat, and two dry brushes of gray and the painting part was complete. I used square miniature bases and flocked them like I did the tombstones. I intentionally painted and based all of these individually rather than as a group. My giant 28mm graveyard I built awhile back (and in the background of these photos) is a great piece of eye candy, but functionally, not very useful on the tabletop. I wanted something more flexible so figures can get around and amongst the tombstones...and plinths! All in all, a quick batch of "old" figures that keeps me in line with my alternating system. I think they turned out well, and hopefully, will see use in a game of Four Delvers or something soon!

That's it for a while, though! I'm heading overseas on vacation, so won't do any updates for at least a week and a half. When I come back, I'll be finishing up some more 28mm Elves next!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 159
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 85

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 3
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 22

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 16
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 56