Glowing Mushrooms Purchased from Bad Goblin Games

 

    Their undersides glowing eerily, I picked up these 4 LED Large Mushrooms for Bad Goblin Games

I picked up four different colors of LED Large Mushrooms from Bad Goblin Games' at Historicon this past July. They had them displayed with their glowing, colored undersides and I simply couldn't pass them up. I had no idea what I was going to do with them, but the purchase won out on the coolness factor. Fast forward to today, and they are finished up and I *DO* know what I'm going to do with them (besides show you to them in this blog post)! These are another item they produce in conjunction with Fat Dragon Games, like the glowing Scrying Pool that I painted up earlier this year.

    The glowing mushrooms with three of my Hunters from my Devilry Afoot campaign in foreground

As I prepare for this Sunday's game of Devilry Afoot -- and the resurrection of my Franklinton campaign -- I noticed that the upcoming scenario has a terrain feature called Hungry Grass. Characters entering it must make a check, otherwise they fall into an enchanted sleep. I don't have grass that looks particularly hungry, but I do have a very cool, magically glowing mushroom grove, though! These mushrooms are perfect for a distinctive piece of terrain that will provide great eye candy, too.

    The LED light are bright enough to see their glow when the lights are turned on, too...!

My friends from Bad Goblin Games sell them in packs of different colors. I had picked out four colors that I thought looked neat, and decided to match the mushroom's cap to the glowing color underneath, or the "gills" as Brian and Liz called them. The base with one to two other mushrooms sprouting up from it comes separately from the large cap, or top of the mushroom. I couldn't figure out how to put it together so it wouldn't keep falling off during the game, but Brian and Liz told me the simple solution. You super glue the colored gills to the stem of the mushroom. Then the LED fits in a hollowed out section of the underside of the cap. You place that on top of the gills with the bulb protruding into the hollow tube and voila! It sticks together and can be easily removed at the end of the game to take the battery out.

    A priest from Franklinton rails against the 'Devil's Fungus' - his faith armor vs. their evil powers

I primed the cap and base with Liquitex White Gesso before I glued the colored plastic gill piece atop each mushroom. Next, I did the stem color for the main lighted mushroom and the 1-2 smaller ones on each base. I chose an off-white, darker tan, and light gray as my colors. I also painted the underside of the cap in that color, though I am not 100% sure it was necessary. Each got a lighter shade of dry brushing once it had dried overnight. Next, I painted the caps, similarly dry brushing them the next day. The dots on the top are called "warts" (honestly, I didn't know that), and I painted those off-white or light gray, as well, to match the stem. 

    Franklinton's herbalist & healer has a different take on the properties of these strange, giant fungi

Once that was all done, I gave all parts of the mushroom except the colored plastic gills a dark brown or black wash. This gave it a more earthy and "dirty" look. I mean, eating a mushroom is just like eating dirt, right? Ha, ha -- mushroom overs probably will disagree! Next, I did the flocking on the base, starting with my usual painting of the surface with a 50/50 mixture of brown paint and white glue. White it is wet, I sprinkle on Fine Brown Ballast from Woodland Scenics. After drying overnight, I paint the ballast with a 50/50 white glue and water mixture and sprinkle on Blended Earth Turf. I covered the colored plastic gills with painter's tape and gave the mushrooms their first spray coat. 

    How will the Franklinton hunters fare against the magical properties of the giant mushrooms?

Next came full strength white glue dabbed on and spread with an old brush. I sprinkle that with Blended Green Grass, which is then decorated with various types of tufts, including a flower to match the cap color (why not?). One more spray coat and these four bases of glowing mushrooms were done! They painted up extremely quickly and look great on the tabletop -- or at least I think so. In fact, I was so excited about how they looked in my pictures that I sent the photos of to Brian and Liz to share with them! Ha, ha!! Expect to see them on the tabletop in this coming Sunday's game of Devilry Afoot!

    Now that I know what I'm using them for, I'm glad that I bought four of the mushrooms!

What else is on my painting desk? Right now, just two things. I have five Dark Ages mounted troops that have their horses and flesh on the riders done. I also am assembling a batch of five Gringo40s Viet Cong. Their arms with rifles come separate and you have to glue them into the arm socket at their elbow. For terrain, I will likely prep another batch of mangrove trees so I can have them ready in time for a mid-November game. Otherwise, I am expecting my production to keep whirring along as my total of Painted Miniatures approaches (and soon passes up) my sum of Acquired Miniatures. Finally! It took till essentially November to get on top, again. So, I'm happy that annual goal has been accomplished.

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 234
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 232

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 22
• Terrain painted in 2026: 48

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 50
• Scatter painted in 2026: 75