I took a pause from the MPC project to paint the Wizkids “Classic Beholder,” based on the (I dare say) iconic Tom Wham illustration from the 1e Monster Manual. An image that has stuck with me all these years, and despite there being no suggestion of color in that drawing or description, I’ve always imagined the default color of a beholder to be olive green, with purple eyestalks. Maybe a Hulk color palette? Anyway, here’s my effort at transforming black and white into vivid Technicolor.
I’ve gotten through most of the monsters from the Dungeon Invaders kit. Been kind of avoiding said invaders as they are some of the most awkward looking figures I’ve ever seen. To make up for it I am going to add more monsters—some OG Grenadier minis, including a mind flayer and sahuagin.
Here’s my latest project. I’ve had an MPC AD&D Action Scene kit for, what, 20 years? I bought it on eBay once upon a time and have moved it back and forth among three continents. It came with all the pieces glued, but no paint at all. My intention was always to put it together one day, and now, as I’m cleaning up the house, that time has come.
My vision is to paint the whole thing and frame it inside a shadow box type frame. As the minis are super light, this should work–but first things first.
So 2025 is bringing about some major downsizing and housecleaning. First to go is a big chunk of my vintage Zoids / Robostrux collection, which I’ve been amassing since 1984 (gulp). I decided to “keep” my collection as a photo album instead of in several boxes in my kid’s bedroom.
I’ll post another one when I’ve photographed the rest…
This weekend I decided to inventory my entire Reaper Bones collection. I’ve been a backer since Kickstarter I and I’ve just received my modest box from KS VI…
I set up all the large and x-large figures on my dining room table. It’s kind of overwhelming to see everything all together…
I also broke out and catalogued all the medium-sized figures, the ones that fit into these nifty and out of production IKEA boxes…
That’s a lot of unpainted goodness. I better get on it! Next time, I’ll show the small figure storage.
Yet another oldie but goodie. Been assembled and primed since I don’t know when. Much prefer her painted.
This one ended up as a farewell gift for my gaming buddy Paul on his new adventures in Paris. Just a little cyclopean flavour for his desk. Nothing says “can I help you with your tech problems?” like a writhing tentacled thing!
Again, another ancient Bones model that took me many moons to paint.
This guy was primed white through two intercontinental moves, so I felt like he needed some closure too. Here he is, the adversary of the red dragon in the last post.
This is one of my favorite dragon sculpts ever.
Another Reaper Bones figure that I’ve been working on for years. This one is finally finished. I love this sculpt so much. He has a very Smaug-like sneer and I had a lot of fun painting him.
Next up: his foe, Kyphrixis the Copper Dragon!
These are some fantastic critters…
VAST CYCLOPEAN VISTAS 