Bones 1 Miniatures: White

I wanted to paint white-themed miniatures for this batch, but instead of just using the primer on these miniatures and calling them done, I decided to go through the color wheel as pastels. Please imagine a paladin-led party of brave adventurers assaulting an awesome foe in a deadly environment. Most of these miniatures are from the Bones 1 Kickstarter. I also decided to choose models in boy-girl pairs; are they family? Fellow countrymen? 'Just good friends?' I continue to experiment with skin tones to add ethnic diversity.

Let's start in the back, with the adventurers' attendants; I imagine a grizzled chirurgeon and a dutiful nurse to bandage these warriors and tend their wounds when they are badly injured. These decent, hardworking folk are of common means, and their plain clothing reflects this.

• Bartender from Townsfolk I by Bobby Jackson (SKU 02583) (from Bones 1 "Townsfolk")
• "Townsfolk: Grandmother" by Bobby Jackson (SKU 77088) (from Bones 1 "Townsfolk")

Next up are the noble financing this expedition; and a druid, perhaps newly called to the duties of a paladin--can she revere nature AND serve the demands of a Lawful Good deity?

• A bearded man (noble?) with a fluffy coat, cloak, and sword down (metal, probably Reaper, but I can't find it in their catalog)
• "Danra, Female Druid" Sandra Garrity (metal, SKU 02693)

And here we have the main force of paladins, and a cleric.

• "Halbarand, Cleric" by Todd Harris (SKU 77089) (from Bones 1 "Heroes")
• "Isabeau Laroche, Female Paladin" by Werner Klocke (SKU 07129) (from Bones 1 "Klocke Classics")
• Man with sword across and notched shield (I can't find it in the catalog) (from Bones 1 "Fighters")
• "Aviriel Tellerion, Female Elf" by Werner Klocke (SKU 77070) (possibly from Bones 1 "Heroes")

All of these pastel characters have thin coats of pearlescent particle paint on select weapons and clothing, representing a sheen effect of the holy enchantments on their equipment.

And scouting ahead, we have a large cat, and a Blink Dog puppy.

• Cat from Familiars 4 by Julie Guthrie (SKU 07088)
• "Sparky (Blink Puppy)" by Kraken Dice

The cat is actually a familiar for a player's character; I sketched the model, and asked my player to color the sketch with colored pencils. My paint job came pretty close to the colored drawing.

The blink puppy I painted with an undercoat of orange to represent the Arcane School of teleportation magic used by the supernatural Blink Dog.

We approach the boss monster's lair, and we find these animated skeletons. Perhaps to repel nuisances, perhaps a speed bump for incoming hazards, perhaps simply to make some noise as an early warning system for the Boss Monster.

• 2 Skeletal Archers by Ed Pugh (SKU 30024) (from Bones 1 "Skeletal Horde")
• Skeletal Swordsman by David Pugh (SKU 77017) (from Bones 1 "Skeletal Horde")

And finally we find this fearsome White Dragon, who lives in snowy climes and dispenses misery with deadly cold elemental magic.

• "Ebonwrath, Dragon" by Sandra Garrity (SKU 77102) (from Bones 1)

The dragon stands on a 4-inch "Gargantuan" base. I painted the dragon with a pearlescent craft paint to give its hide an mineral-like appearance of impenetrability.

I'm completing this batch shortly after Easter, and vanquishing this terrible icy dragon represents an end to this dreadful Winter season. May the pastel-painted paladins remind you of the colorful Easter eggs appropriate to the Holiday, reflecting the vibrant hues of blossoms emerging from the slumbering earth this Spring.

I confess I usually use the "Minwax Dip Method" wherein I apply a coat of polyurethane varnish with built-in pigment to the miniatures, which serves as an all-over clumsy brown wash, simulating dirt and skin-tone shadows. It's cheap, easy, and effective, but I fear this technique is holding me back, because I'd like to try other types of washes and shading techniques, and the brown varnish is somewhat oppressive. So I didn't use the brown varnish with this batch.