Lobster

A bit more drawn out to finish, the second Bones 2 mini to get painted was the large ankheg.

Ankheg by Reaper Miniatures

I did a bit of wet blending for the reds and yellows to get that look I was after just right.  A bit of dry brushing of the red and a brown wash of the yellow and viola…a complete model.

Actually the longest part of this guy was the base.  I spread the base sculpting over 3 stages (and as many days) while the painting was done in an afternoon.

Ankheg by Reaper Miniatures

Ankheg by Reaper Miniatures

Ankheg by Reaper Miniatures

Ankheg by Reaper Miniatures

As the last picture shows, the stones I sculpted don’t match the dungeon tiles exactly, but do give the impression of belonging.  Actually when I looked a the size of the stones on the small bases it would really just mean sculpting one or two stones and the stone floor effect would be lost.  So a bit of scale creep is fine I think.

A bit of useless trivia for those die-hard DnD fans…there is actually a real-world bug out there like this: the Ant Lion.  Although not even close in appearance, the larva stage of this insect buries itself in sand to ambush unsuspecting bugs.  Think Sarlac Pit meets Ankheg and you have the general idea.  If you want to watch one in action check out this link: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Antlion.ogv

Ankheg and Jolie Female Scribe by Reaper Miniatures

Although obscure, it looks like Jolie was able to find a reference in her book.

As the side by side comparison shows this beastie is giant.  I based on one of the new Reaper Bases.  This is the 2″ base…although some complainers have pointed out it is 50mm not 2″.  Good enough for government work, or basing figures.

Alain Cavalier by Reaper Miniatures

Alain Cavalier by Reaper Miniatures

I have been blocking out the colours on another Bones 2 mini while finishing the large web room dungeon module.  I have decided to go with some simple geometric heraldry and to copy it across the model.  The pose and face looks so arrogant I expect this is a knight who talks about himself in the third person.  The outer tabard I intend to paint white (maybe with a bit of trim or detailing) and the under tunic is being done in the same blocked out colours (yellow and blue).  I will be adding scratches to the paint on the shield and a bit of dirt/grime under the bolts on the shield and codpiece.  The base will be completed, I just had a bit of putty left over from the ankheg so threw it on his base.

Hopefully something was inspirational today.  If nothing else you learned about nature.

I did mess around with some settings to make the blog (hopefully) more reader-friendly.  Let me know if you have any comments.