Golgoth the Eradicator - Olleytoberfest

I think this is the only piece I'm going to get done before Olleytoberfest ends on the 31st.  This is Reaper Miniatures' #02270, "Golgoth, Eradicator," an armored skeleton or wight sculpted by Bob Olley in the 1990s.  The other figures I started this month - "Dragoth the Defiler" and "Carnessa" - I'm not sure I'm inspired enough by the finish.  "Dragoth" is a little bit frustrating because I can't always tell what's armor and what's wrappings on him, and Carnessa is just...not an exciting sculpt, much as I tend to love Bob Ridolfi's undead.  But anyways, back to Golgoth. 

I love this sculpt - I love the flow of the ragged cloak, the way the tattered tunic falls open, the fall of the leather neck-guard attached to the helmet.  There's such a sense of energy and motion in this sculpt that's just wonderful.  He feels like he should be menacing Conan in a Frazetta painting. 

The cloak got a base coat of Reaper's Deep Red over a coat of black primer, followed by a heavy drybrushing of Blood Red to highlight, concluding with a wash of Citadel "Carroburg Crimson" to tone the brightness down and deepen the shadows.  The tunic was base coated with Midnight Blue, highlighted with Twilight Blue, and then given a light wash of "Drakenhof Nightshade."

Bones were given a base coat of Sandy Brown, highlighted with Stained Ivory, washed with Seraphim Sepia and then given a final highlight of thinned down Creamy Ivory. 

The helmet was painted with Ancient Bronze and washed with "Nuln Oil," while the sword and armor plates were drybrushed "Tarnished Steel" and given a wash of Seraphim Sepia to give them a rusty appearance.  Leather bits were picked out in Reaper's Lonestar Leather and washed with "Seraphim Sepia."  Finally, the wooden back of the shield was painted "Shield Brown" and washed with Seraphim Sepia to bring out the wood grain, and the base was painted "Earth Brown" in preparation for flocking. 

Overall I'm really pleased with how he came out and I look forward to (slowly, perhaps) working through the rest of the undead I bought. 

Thursday WIP: Olleytoberfest Undead (and bonus Carnessa)

So I've now got not only the figures I showcased in my last post for Olleytoberfest (Sean's celebration of Bob Olley's sculpting work) but a stack of older undead from Reaper Miniatures sculpted by Bob Ridolfi, who is my go-to sculptor for awesome undead figures.  Reaper's having a promotion for the month of October, spend $40 and get a "Ghoulie Bag" of candy, limited edition paints, and a translucent "smoke" tinted wraith miniature. 

I got a bunch of figures primed, and initially selected DHL #02270, "Golgoth the Eradicator" and #02310 "St. Tarkus, Dire-Dead" (aka the Zombie Bishop) for my painting table.  Well, when I squeezed out a little bit of "Deep Red" onto my palette for Golgoth's cloak, I ended up getting a lot more than I'd bargained for.  Knowing I wanted St. Tarkus' cloak to be a deep, Tyrean purple, I put him back on the shelf and selected two more that I thought would look good with some dark red on them; #02077 "Carnessa the Terrible," sculpted by Bob Ridolfi and closer to true 25mm than the other figures, and #02367, "Dragoth the Defiler."

Dragoth the Defiler

For Dragoth, with his heavy armor and ornate helmet, I got to thinking of an ancient warlord raised from the dead.  His armor's been basecoated in Reaper "Ancient Bronze" and will get a wash of Citadel "Reikland Flesh Shade" before being highlighted with "Antique Gold" and a touch of "True Silver" on the very edges.  Bones have been basecoated in "Sandy Brown" and I'll be picking out the wrappings on his left arm and legs in "Yellowed Bone" before giving them a wash of "Seraphim Sepia" and highlighting the wrappings with "Creamy Ivory" and the bones with "Stained Ivory."

Golgoth the Eradicator

Golgoth, by comparison, comes off as much more utilitarian.  He's wearing a tunic with a few small plates strung together covering his abdomen and groin, and there's some hints of chainmail under the tunic, especially under his right arm (in shadow in this picture).  He's got a shield with a big spiked boss, a spiked and horned helmet in proper Frazetta fashion, and an absolutely amazing, flowing ragged cloak.  Once again the bones have been basecoated with "Sandy Brown," the tunic has been basecoated with "Midnight Blue" and the wood of the shield is, appropriately, "Shield Brown." The helmet is, again, "Ancient Bronze."

Carnessa the Terrible

Carnessa, sculpted by Bob Ridolfi, is a much flatter figure compared to the other two, with a smaller cloak that's less folded and draped.  Her sword blade was originally folded over double against her back, though I've straightened it as best I can.  Armor and bones are as per the other two, and I'm considering repainting her loincloth to be a different color than the cloak.  Maybe blue like Golgoth's tunic? I'm not sure.  I originally mistook the folded-down cuffs of her boots as heavy metal anklets or greaves, so those need to be repainted. 

Olleytoberfest (and possibly Zomtober as well!)

Sean over at Sean's Wargames Corner has proposed a fun little project for the month of October - honoring sculptor Bob Olley by showcasing figures he's sculpted that we've painted, and painting new figures that he's sculpted.  Now, sadly, I don't have any painted Bob Olley sculpts in my collection at the moment, though I've admired his dwarves and ogre sculpts for years.  So I decided I would try to mark this occasion by painting a small collection of Bob Olley sculpts - and, since it is October and it's time to get spooky, I opted for a half-dozen undead figures Olley sculpted for Reaper Miniatures.  Placed my order this morning, they should be arriving sometime early next week and then I can get crackalackin' on them. 

Here are the figures I ordered, presented unpainted, from Reaper's site:

As you can see, lots of tattered cloaks and flowing robes to work on my blending with, some armor, and a good mix of bare skulls and rotten flesh to keep things interesting.  If I wanted to, I could field these six as a unit with my Dragon Rampant undead army, should I ever get a game going of that.  Either way, I'm looking forward to them being an enjoyable project for the month.