Doom! Boardgame figures

I tested the waters at a new club the other day, and was happy with what I found. To break the ice, I pulled out my trusty copy of Doom The Boardgame. I've had this for several years, and it's a simple, fast and exceedingly fun gun-crawl. I can't recommend enough that you need the expansion set for it as well, which adds a few needed tweaks. Best of all, the expansion has rules for deathmatches where you run round with shotguns and chainsaws in a crazy free-for-all brawl. We had six players on the weekend, and it was a hoot.

I painted the figures a while back. A lot of the bases were very warped, and were improved with the hot water treatment. After some sand was stuck on the bases I hit them with a black spray and quick drybrushing. I finished the monsters with some grey drybrushing to tie them in together, drab them down a bit, and make them look like the computer game monsters. Then I dabbed on lots of gore. I didn't varnish them, and just toss them in and out of a cardboard box, so they're a bit chipped. They do the job, and they're far better than unpainted plastic:

The Marines are red, blue, or green, so I painted them accordingly. I need to paint coloured rims on the bases as I have trouble telling the blue and green apart sometimes. They really need a repaint and protective varnishing, as they're the most handled figures.

 Trites are my favourites. I love swarming and taking down marines one bite at a time.

 I haven't had a good chance to use cherubs yet. They certainly look creepy.

 I rebased the zombies on slottabases so they match up with my other zombies. You can never have enough...

 Stahlhelm, minigun, zombie- need I say more?

 Imps. Annoying and puny.

 Archvile. Long range, but unlovable.

 Maggots and Demons. I love Demons, they hit so hard.

 Cacodemon. Looks cool.

 Mancubus. Looks like it needs more exercise. Useful for blocking corridors.

 Vagary. I haven't used her yet.

 Cyberdemon. BIG figure. Sometimes you open a door and there's three of them...

Saga Tournament

Images are clickable.

See also http://dux-homunculorum.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/happy-happy-dux.html and http://studiotomahawk.freeforums.org/saga-tournament-campbelltown-n-s-w-t1103-20.html#p9953

WotR Day 13- Here at the end of all things

You'll have to excuse me being a little self-indulgent today, but it is over. From this:

The horror, the horror

to this:

War of the Ring!

in less than two weeks, including several days of prep. I owe a lot to this:

Liquid gold...

Today I painted the base edges in faction colours based on the board, and then I varnished with Micador Mat Spray:

Should be labelled 'Satin'

which is not 'mat', unfortunately (the other option was 'gloss'). I half expected this, but am not too fussed with a slight sheen on these boardgame pieces. They may be slightly less sheeny (is that a word?) than they were after the satin dip, but it's only gone from ~50% to 40% sheeniness. The Testors Dullcote I trialled a week or so ago (it feels longer...) dropped it down to 5%, but I wasn't going to waste a can or more of that good stuff on these boys. They feel plastic-y and durable now.

Then I flocked, and this really brought the figures to life. I used a green blend for the good guys, and wasn't going to flock the baddies, but I did a trial orc (they put up with a lot for me) with some yellow-brown stuff and it looked just right.

And here they are!

Mordor!

Easterlings!

Isengard!

Dwarf!

Elf!

The North!

Gondor!

Rohan!

Ringwraiths!

Mouth of Sauron, Witch King (with extra flocking...), Saruman

The Fellowship of the Ring, and friend

There we are. Two hundred and five figures, and, if I may say so myself, they look wonderful on the board. It has been worthwhile getting them painted.

This blog has been a real aid in getting this done. I'll put my thoughts on my first dip experience up in a later post.

Thank you to all those who have offered advice and encouragement, and I hope I can encourage one or two people who have been thinking about maybe getting this project done as well to do so.

Now, who wants a game?

Board set up to go!

UPDATE: Pics of the Lords of Middle Earth expansion here

WotR Day 12- Dwarves AND Fellowship!

I was enthusiastic today- I got into the dwarves, which were fairly straightforwards to paint. No horses, for one. Hussar Blue, Lighthorse Brown hair, and Khaki bases are the main differences from the other units. Thinned Walnut dip.

Dwarf Elite

Dwarf Regular

Only the Fellowship to go- I'm getting sick of this project and would like to turn my attentions elsewhere, so I just got into these guys. I painted them a tad lighter than usual, but also with a degree of neatness and minor shading I haven't given to the rank and file. I have given them a dip- after the last few days I'm more confident it's not going to ruin them. Pre-dip photos:

Tomorrow I'm going to paint the base edges, matt varnish, and flock. Then that's it!

WotR Day 11- Elves

Well, I finally got around to the elves. Not my favourite figures, and a lot of horses- but at least there's no bridles or reins! Recall my first attempt:

The mud monster!

That scared me away from the elves for a while. So now I went back with a lighter dip and less of it. I should say that all my trial dips have been darker because I'm not spreading the dip across several figures. I went for Unbleached Cloth and Battledress Brown for the horse. Other colours included Silver, GI Green, RAF Blue, Confederate Grey, and Afrika Brown for the skin. Walnut dip.

Ahh, that's better

Only dwarves, Fellowship, and basing to go!

WotR Day 10- Gondor

Gondor was a struggle. I didn't dip these; in hindsight maybe some black dip would have been useful. I sloshed Woodland Scenics Raw Umber over the horses and bases, then picked out everything in black. This got a drybrush in dark grey. I did the footsoldiers' faces in Flesh with a watered-down wash of Lighthorse Brown, then picked out all the metal in Silver. I was irritable and sloppy here, but just wanted to get them finished. Finally, emblems in White and a coat of polyurethane gloss varnish.

Gondor Leaders and elite

Gondor regulars

You can see the drying varnish above. They're not my best paintjobs, but the simple striking scheme is handy, and black always hides your faults.

 

Elves tomorrow, to get them out of the way? Or dwarves? Or the Fellowship for some variety? I'm nearly there...

WotR Day 9- Rohan

Rohan are my favourite good guys from Lord of the Rings. I was worried that I had painted them too bright (especially the green) but I'm really happy with the outcome. Plus, I think I've worked out how to get more out my camera.

Rohan Elite and Regular

Horses dark grey hooves, Black mane/ tail/ eyes. Gunmetal, Light Chestnut, Afrika Brown (flesh), Battledress Brown (hair and spear binding), Gold, Celtic Green, White. Walnut dip. I'm pleased with how these guys came out.

I'm really making headway now. After the Rohan success, I can see myself dipping the Elves.