Some 28mm Fishmen: Why? Blame the 'Coolness' Factor!

    28mm Fishmen from Miniature Building Authority that I painted up for...well, I'm not sure why!

I purchased these figures mainly on the "coolness" factor. Like with the Beldolor Studios fishmen I bought at Origins, I don't technically have a project that requires 28mm fishmen armed with melee weapons. Who knows? Perhaps they will appear in the storyline of my Tales of the Splintered Band. Maybe the fishmen have something to do with the Wildcat Legion becoming turncoats and helping the rats? I picked these six up from Miniature Building Authority at Siege of Augusta this past January. They are soft resin figures kind of along the lines of the ones Reaper Miniatures sells in most game stores (though less bendy).

    The Fishmen emerge from the sea, confident they are the Eldest -- the First Spawned of all beings

Like I do with most figs nowadays, I primed them with Liquitex white Gesso. I decided that since fish are all different colors, I would paint each differently. I briefly considered using color shift paints, but that would require me going and buying several more bottles of them! They seemed to have raised enough detail on the scaly flesh (not always the case with plastic or resin figs), so I decided to do a base coat and dry brush effect on these. Some of the color combinations worked better than others. I think I like the darker fishmen better than the lighter colored ones.

    The short stout wizard-looking fishmen were my favorites -- I love their expressions!

I bought two packs of three (same pack), so there are duplicates, of course. When I first opened them up, I liked the guys with the tridents best. Once I primed them, my favorite pose was the ones with the barbels or whiskers coming down from them. Now that I have painted them up, I think I like the stocky little "wizard-style" ones holding a staff. At first, they seemed a little boring. However, once painted up, they really came to life. I love the facial expression. More than a few times, I would pick one of them up and involuntarily say, "Hey Bub!" -- which is what the expression on their face seems to say to me. Their thick, well-defined fish lips have a dour expression.

    I painted mystic symbols onto the backs of the Fishmen wizards' robes...

As I mentioned, each figure got a base coat and lighter dry brush to hopefully highlight the detail of the scales on their flesh. The spines or fins were done in a contrasting color or tone. All of them are wearing clothes of some sort, so I tried to pick colors for those that would look good with their skin tone. I did the same with any equipment they were carrying. Each piece of equipment and the clothes also got a highlight. So, there were multiple steps for each figure that necessitated drying overnight before progressing. As such, it felt like they went fairly slow, but hey! They're done now.

    I liked how my Fishmen came out -- wasn't expecting a lot, but I think the color combos worked well

I gave each fishman solid black eyes and a little dot of white for reflected light in the upper part of the circle or oval. I also did a highlighting eyefold above and beneath the eye for some. Clear coating them was interesting. I had decided early on that I wanted the skin of the fishmen to be glossy. However, I didn't necessarily want all their equipment shiny, so I did both a matte coat and a gloss coat once I was done with the colors and lighter black wash. I'm still not certain I like them glossy. I have been such a solidly "matte finish" painter, ridiculing all miniatures that are painted with their candy coated shell, that it is hard for me to look at them and say, "Yeah, they look right!" Ha, ha!!

    Having accomplished their mysterious mission, the Fishmen return to the sea...

What's next on my painting desk? Well, I have the final three Vietnam buildings that I bought from MBA at Buckeye Game Fest almost finished. They're coming along well, enough so that I expect I will post about them before I leave next Wednesday for Historicon. After that, I may as well do the other five fishmen I have, next. For terrain, I have spray primed a bunch of Acheson Creations terrain that may get done in time to take to the Historicon flea market. They will have to move along quickly, though! I'm running out of time before I leave! Stay tuned, and we will see if they make it...

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 237
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 144

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 21
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 43

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 115
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 112