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| Big batch of Medieval townsfolk miniatures, various scatter, and a 2-story building |
I decided to go ahead and make this a big update covering of all the various Medieval things on my painting desk. After buying a good amount of scatter at
Historicon a week or so ago, I decided to get a bunch of old and new pieces done while I was painting up the latest medieval building
RRB Minis & More. To stick with the theme, I also decided that my next batch of "old" figures would be these medieval townsfolk. Why not? Plus, it made sense to combine them into a single update, even though some pieces were done more than a week before the last ones.
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| I added the cross and the water spouts to this 'misprint' from Miniature Building Authority |
The first to get completed was a "misprinted" 3-D
Town Fountain that Kirk from
Miniature Building Authority had in his discount bin. I had already begun painting the smaller
Celtic Cross B before I left for Historicon, and thought setting it atop the fountain might jazz up the look a bit. The fountain was done very simply with my standard "gray stone" recipe: black base coat, wet brush dark gray, dry brush medium gray, and highlight a lighter tone. I painted the basin of the fountain sky blue and dry brushed it with a very light blue. Then I decided to add in streams of water flowing from the central part of the fountain into the basin. I used the same method I did on my
Dwarven Fountain I'd painted up back in early May. I took fiber optic material, trimmed and bent it to the correct size and shape, and simply super glued it onto the fountain. I painted some white ripples in the water, then gloss coated the "wet parts" (but not the fiber optic). The dryer parts of the fountain I gave a brush-on matte coat. Simple and quick, but I think it will look nice on the tabletop!
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| Brunbir Blazeforge House - 3-D printed building from the Ferisia line picked up from RRB Minis |
Simultaneously, I was working on the two story
Brunbir Blazeforge House from the
Ferisia line that Rich printed for me. I really like the look of this house with its angles and second story balcony. I'm trying to slowly do more of the two story and smaller medieval buildings that I've purchased for my growing medieval town. I have plenty of skyscrapers (3-4 story, in medieval terms) already. I think that more variety in height will improve the look of the town. This 3-D printed building was done in my usual way -- spray prime with Krylon Fusion acrylic black, go over it with a 50/50 black paint and water mix, and then dry brush the same stone gray method I used on the fountain. The wood was also done with my standard recipe (wet brush dark brown, dry brush Camo Brown, highlight Khaki).
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| Close up of the very cool balcony & roof of this newest of my medieval town buildings |
I went back and forth on what time of metal to make the roof trim, and
finally went with Iron Wind Metals copper. Roofs made of copper were a
thing at one point in our history, and I also decided that the
inhabitants of the house would keep it burnished brightly and not let it
fade to green verdigris. For the roof tiles, I decided to go with a faded craft paint called Leprechaun Green. The tiles received a light green highlight, as well. I also decided to do a slighter darker green on the window frames and lintels of both levels, as well as the "shield" around the axe decoration and the frame of the doorways. This color was called Seminole Green, and was probably the most time consuming part of doing this model, since I was doing both the inside and outside for each window. I also did the usual Steel and Bronze for the metal parts for the doors.
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| First floor of the interior of the Brunbir Blazeforge House -- I love the stairs! |
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| 2nd floor of the house, with door leading to the small balcony & trap door to 1st level |
I finished the building off with a black vehicle wash. Although many of the Ferisia buildings are technically labeled "Dwarven," this one was the first with an overtly Dwarven look. With the window panes being in a runic shape and and the axe decoration on the roof, it definitely says "Dwarves" to me. However, the building is not so overly Dwarven to prevent me from legitimately using the house for a human town, as well. All of the little touches and decorations really make this building stand out, and it is definitely one of my favorites that I have purchased from RRB Minis & More.
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| This side view gives you a look at the decorative elements that make this a 'Dwarven' building |
On to the miniatures! Most of the figures in this batch of eight have been sitting in my unpainted lead drawer, primed and with their flesh base coated for more than a year. At some point, I was painting medieval civilians. I must have prepared these, then midstream decided that I had enough (or ran out of time). Six of them are Reaper Bones minis, with its soft plastic. The shouting baker is Old Glory, as I already have one of them painted up. The last one, an ox handler, may be Gripping Beast. Compared to the super-detailed and decorative
Warhost Elves that I've been painting, these seemed to go very fast. I used a mix of faded and dull colors for all except the noble ladies and priests. They got brighter colors and a bit more decoration.
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| 2 Noble ladies from Reaper and a couple townsfolk -- baker is Old Glory & other is...?? |
I'm not sure why Reaper made the noble ladies so freaking tall, though, but they tower over the other figures! Oh, well. Maybe they have high heels on under their long dresses? These were probably the most simple of the batch, and were fun and easy to do. I wanted to make their dresses somewhat decorative, so I went with a contrasting border and -- of course - dots! Lots of tiny dots!! The two churchmen I decided to paint up as priests rather than monks. For one, they don't have the "bald spot" in their tonsure, but do have the Norman "bowl haircut." Plus, I already have plenty of 28mm monk figures, but very few priests. Along with the brighter colors, I gave their robes and mantles a border with decoration. I really like these portly-looking figures and am glad I painted them up. The town women in aprons are also nice figures. I probably should have modified them, though. Their pose appears to be holding something up in the air (chicken for sale?), but both hands are empty. Rather than rush into painting them right away, I should have added something to these models, but unfortunately I did not.
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| All 4 figs are Reaper - I like the portly priests and the stout common women in their bonnets |
I used a variety of relatively faded and simple colors for their clothes. Same for the Old Glory baker, though I admit I looked up images of the first one I painted up earlier to make sure the two weren't "twinning" on the tabletop...ha, ha! The last unidentified townsman I did in faded or dull greens. I also could have put something in his open hand (which I think is supposed to be gripping the lead of his oxen). I wanted more flexibility, though, and left him open handed. This batch of eight figures will be perfect for either my Medieval (or Fantasy) town games.
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| I definitely need more scatter for my medieval town - this Bulletin Board from MBA is a good start! |
Simultaneous with these buildings and miniatures, I was painting a number of other miscellaneous town scatter pieces, including this MBA
Bulletin Board. I think it intended for more modern games, but notices could easily have been pinned up in the center of town during earlier times, as well. Speaking of which, since I wanted to make it usable for either, I decided to not go crazy on the notices themselves. No "Wanted" posters or notices that might otherwise date it. So, the script is all tiny slashes, lines and blobs done with my smallest nib micron pen. As fun as might have been to call out one of my Sunday Night gamer friends for cheating on a notice, I decided not to do so. I painted the frame of the board with my usual (above) wood recipe, while the tiles on the top were done in red-brown with a Middle East Flesh highlight. I added a large rock to the base to give it some visual interest, and not call attention to the fact it is on a big base. The papers pinned to the board were done in a slate stone color, highlighted white, and given a brown wash.
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| This Celtic cross will be a nice, free standing scatter piece in town, as will this dead tree |
Also included in the scatter was this larger, MBA
Celtic Cross A. It is printed with a wide enough base so that it doesn't need a separate base. It was actually the first of all of this scatter that I finished. I gave it my standard stone recipe and simply added some flocking. I likely picked up this resin 3-D print at a convention Kirk was attending and bought it because I wanted to thank him for supporting our hobby so faithfully. I believe the scraggly, bare tree is a 3-D print from
A Critical Hit. That means I likely bought it either at
Cincycon or
Origins Game Fair. I found a likely base size, added in a rock, and whipped through this, as well. I did a black wash over my standard wood recipe, hoping it would give it a more dead and gray look.
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| This 3-D printed boulders and crags were picked up from my friend Rich at RRB Minis & More |
Finally, there are some
round boulders and crag pieces that I bought from RRB Minis & More at different times during the last year. I noticed in setting up games on my desert mat that I don't have a lot of appropriate terrain pieces to put on it. So, these got a Khaki colored spray paint, a very light tan drybrush, and finally a brown vehicle wash. I thought about putting tufts on them, as well. However, I flet that would "size" them and lock them into 28mm scale (admittedly, most of my games). However, these pieces can work for other scales, too. They simply become larger boulders or crags!
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| I have very little terrain that looks good on a desert board, so I picked these up from Rich at a con |
Yes, this is a big update with lots of stuff! I must have enjoyed the experience, though, as I have an encore of more medieval town scatter on my desk. In addition, I have the final (REALLY this time!) batch of
Warhost Elves. which I've started on. Not sure what I will do next for an "old" batch of figures. I have a game in mind for the
Hydra Miniatures Pulp Sci-Fi figures I've bought and painted only a few of. Perhaps it is time to start working them in? Stay tuned, and we'll see!
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| These boulders are fairly generic - I left them un-based so they could be used in a variety of setups |
MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026- Miniatures acquired in 2026: 210
- Miniatures painted in 2026: 160
TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026
- Terrain acquired in 2026: 14
- Terrain painted in 2026: 33
SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026
- Scatter acquired in 2026: 34
- Scatter painted in 2026: 69
Some lovely scatter terrain there Mike. The townsfolk are also a great addition to your collection - something I need to get sorted for myself at some point.
ReplyDeleteYeah, civilians and scatter are things we always tend to forget about in our focus on the terrain and the forces that will fight it out on the tabletop.
DeleteGreat additions for your table, lovely work, the house is an impressive looking piece.
ReplyDeleteThanks -- it is one of my favorites from the Ferisia line. I just like the angles, balcony, and overall look.
DeleteGreat work all round Mike! Unfortunately your blog isn't loading up on my blog roll? Not sure why?
ReplyDeleteThat's weird. I don't know why either. I would have to Google it if something doesn't appear to be working.
DeleteLove the building and the civilians are superb additions
ReplyDeleteThanks, Neil -- I appreciate it!
DeleteAs always, Mike, the painting is absolutely top-notch. The house is a particular standout and really captures the character of the piece. The weathering and detailing bring it to life beautifully.
ReplyDeleteThanks as well for identifying those rather portly priests. I actually use one of the figures as a stand-in for Friar Tuck in my Robin Hood games.
And I couldn't agree more about scatter terrain. No matter how much you've already got, it always seems there's room for just a few more barrels, crates, market stalls, carts, or other bits and pieces to help bring a tabletop to life. Good scatter can make all the difference between a battlefield and a believable world.
Thanks for the kind words, Simon. Yes, the priest is very Friar Tuck-ish, but I already had a bunch of monks painted up. :) I'm going to try to keep cranking out the scatter alongside batches of figures and buildings for exactly those reasons you mentioned.
DeleteLots of nice stuff. Great job on the building. I like the civilians 7 scatter as well. I had a lot of fun painting civilians for my Robin Hood games.
ReplyDeleteYeah, plus civilians tend to have less equipment than soldiers and paint up faster...ha, ha! Thanks, Jason - appreciate the kind comments!
DeleteBeautifully done, especially the addition of the water spouts and water rings to the fountain.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes, James
Thanks, James! I really like how that fiber optic wire works out, too!
DeleteLove the fountain and intereriors great bit of scatter to match your wonderful minis.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Brett! I appreciate your comments, as always!
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