Just finished painted a pair of big skulls to use as a scatter terrain. These are Games Workshop pieces made to go with their Warhammer Underworlds game, though I actually got them from Stormbringer magazine - these and 4 more pieces for £9, which is kind of a steal.
I've always had difficulty painting bone. I could never quite get the effect I wanted, so I decided to really give these pieces my all. I painted the one on the right first. I used a lot of washes and layers on it, just taking my time to build it up, and I'm extremely happy with the results. It truly looks old and weathered.
When I came to paint the one on the left, I forgot some of those lessons. While the end effect isn't bad, it doesn't please me quite as much. It looks like it was recently picked clean, while the other one looks ancient.
I showed them to a friend and said, 'I love terrain pieces that I can use for every setting!' To which he replied, 'Those are going to look great in your American Civil War battles'. Fair point, but since I mainly play fantasy and sci-fi, I think it works.
The other 4 pieces are smaller, or about the size of the smaller skull, so hopefully I can get them painted up soon. Actually, I don't really like one of them, so it might be just 3 more. Cool kit. Definitely worth the money if you can find it for £9.
I love your friends comment - just for that you'll need to publish a game set in the ACW where small bands hunt for dragon and demon remains to gather resources for occult weapons. Campaigns play until one side creates the ultimate weapon.
ReplyDeleteYeah, he should really know how I play 'historicals'.
Delete£9?! Nice. I'm currently working on the set that I bought for more than twice that in 2020 :D.
ReplyDeleteNice, thematic bits.
When it comes to terrain, bespoke < cross compatible < generic, but the most useful and practical modular terrain collections include all three varieties, IMO.
If the leftmost skull isn't nuanced enough for you, a quick coat of GW Skeleton Horde or Aggaros Dunes Contrast paint is a quick way to to make it look weathered.