Painted Lead: Harapan, the Elephant Man

I picked up the brush Sunday for the first time in eleven months. Yes, I said ELEVEN months.

I spent a few hours relieving stress with this guy. And by "a few" I mean "7.5" or so. "This guy" is a limited edition release from Reaper Miniatures: 01411 Harapan, Elephant Man. This was a fig released in January 2005 to raise funds for Red Cross following the Indian Ocean tsunami on December 26, 2004. I picked up a couple of these--partly because of the good cause and partly because, hey, cool miniature! They've been hiding in a box for the last 8 years.

Saturday, I was bored and exhausted. A bit depressed. My personal and professional life(s) had me stressed to the hilt. So I decided to paint. A bit of digging in my lead pile uncovered Harapan, the Elephant Man. My mind started spinning and color schemes started flashing through my brain. My hands itched to hold a paintbrush.

Yeah, I'm serious. Itching.

Don't laugh. You mini-painters out there know exactly what I'm talking about, I'll bet.

I think I'm done with the miniature except for the base/basing...haven't decided out what to do there yet. I haven't decided whether to simply paint the broccoli base, mount it to a new, larger base and do some basic terrain basing, or to build a small diorama around it (rock towers, grass, rocks, etc.) for display. Getting the right base is important, as you know.

Oh, I probably have to hit him with some sealant for a bit of protection.

I would appreciate any honest feedback, etc. from y'all. Please let me know what you think. I have to be honest, it was my first time trying out a few different techniques.

Also, I know the pictures aren't the best, but they were the best and most well-lighted of the four sets I tried.

Again: let me know what you think in the comments. Constructive criticism is more than welcome.

[found items] New Old Lead

On Wednesday night last, I ventured into my FLGS to salve my plastic miniature cravings. One of the managers of the FLGS is a long-time friend (notice I didn't say "old" friend...I started counting how many years I'd known her and her husband and it was a bit depressing).

A few weeks before, we had spent some time talking about our fathers; both of us lost our dad's this past year. From our discussion, she knew I'd been having a rough time, both because of my dad and because of some other reasons/factors in my life. She also knew that I was facing a daunting miniature-painting project and was doubting myself.

When I saw her on Wednesday, she said she had something for me and took me back to the FLGS office. She said she'd been cleaning out some stuff and wanted me to have something. She handed me the following:


Yep. These are the real thing. They date back to the 1980s. Real old. Real lead.

The body of the Imperial Dragon has been assembled and pinned; the whole thing has been primed, and the underbody has a coat of yellow on it. Other than that, they're just like the day they were made. My friend tells me that she got started and then just put them away. She was going to try and sell them, but thought that she'd rather them go to a home where they'd be truly appreciated.

And I truly do appreciate them. These were made at a time where I could not only not afford them, but my parents also disapproved of the game, so there was no asking them to buy dragons for me. I was speechless when she handed them over...and I still am, to some extent. The gift really moved me. How great it is to have good friends who can stand by you and pick you up when you're down. There's no way I can repay her for this gift, as their worth goes way beyond money.



The Dragons of the Emerald Idol (Grenadier's Fantasy Lords #6001) not only comes with the dragon on the front of the box, but it also comes with two other figures. It comes with a baby dragon, captured running mid-stride (complete with cloud of dust rising from its feet) and the Emerald Idol itself (although it looks strangely more like a tiki idol than emerald. I suppose if I painted it green...).

I don't know what I did to deserve this gift or such great friends. I know however, that this has lifted my spirits a bit and I can hardly wait until I get a chance to break out the brushes and pots to slap some paint on these wee beasties.

Found Item Friday: Beholder Pong

Sheesh.

The firm has been kicking me while I'm down lately. I thought that after the New Year I'd have more time to blog, game, write, etc. This last week is proving me wrong. I've left the office after longer-than-usual days with the best of intentions, only to fall asleep in my recliner.

Anyway, I had a little time to dig through some old boxes and guess what I found: my first beholder mini! (It sounds like it should be the new Fisher-Price release: My First Beholder!)

Twelve years ago, when I got back into gaming, there were few-to-no options on the market for gamers who wanted a beholder miniature. At least, no inexpensive options. But my group needed one and I devoted myself to finding one for the campaign.

So I did some searching.

I reached out to the few people I knew in my newly-rediscovered hobby. And lo! I lucked out. There used to be a "little" site up in Canada called Cyberdungeon.com. I'd had some quick e-bay interaction with the store and happened to ask a then-employee named Luc if he had any suggestions for a beholder.

He said that he'd heard of people using ping pong balls and making their own.

It was a revelation. I tried my hand at it. Using estimates from the 2nd Edition AD&D books, I roughed out a size-to-character ratio. A ping pong ball fit the bill perfectly. A bit of Green Stuff, some random beads and wire, and a little paint.

Say hello to my little friend.

So here it is; the pictures aren't that great, and he's got a bit of paint loss in spots, but all in all, I still love the little guy.It remains my only scratch-built/sculpted miniature, and was only my second "kit-bashed" miniature. But I think it worked. And I'm still danged proud of it.

Best of all: it scared the crap out of my fellow players and the DM loved it. I was named "propmaster" for the group and the rest is local miniature-collecting history. (grin) I only wish that I'd had a chance to show Luc what his innocent comment spawned. I promised him several times a photograph, but I never got around to it. Cyberdungeon.com closed their doors a year or so later, and I quickly lost touch with Luc. [By the way, if anyone out there knows Luc from Cyberdungeon.com or has any connections to the store (I believe he was in Quebec), I'd welcome any chance to get back in touch with him.]

Yeah, it's a bit cheesy. His secondary eyes make him look a bit like he's a crown rack of lamb; his eyes are not quite as wild as newer renditions seem to appear. And the guys can laugh at it now, years later. In fact, they call him "Ping." But I think they've forgotten that they all wet themselves--just a little--when the DM put this guy out on the board. (Here's a side view just to show that there is a bit of detail work; he isn't just a flat, painted ping pong ball.) I'm a bit proud of some of the details; for example, his pupil is a thrice-forked pupil. This came from an image from the Monstrous Manual; a picure by Tony DiTerlizzi of a group of beholder-kin showed several variations on the pupil shape. This was my take. I figured, "Hey, if they can have a pupil split into two, or stretched out, who's to say there's not a type out there with a thrice-forked pupil. Maybe it's a signal that the central eye just ain't what the characters expect it to be. Maybe THAT'S the disintegrating eye instead of an anti-magic field." I should note that this is the first time that theory/explanation has ever been used. No one's ever questioned the odd pupil. Who would have guessed? (And in truth, it makes me a bit sad that WotC decided to go with the plain, old single pupil with their beholders. Kinda boring, ain't it boys and girls?)

And just to show that my measurements were fairly accurate, all those years ago? Here he is next to one of Wizards of the Coast's DDM miniatures:
He flies a bit higher than WotC's mini. Attribute that to either higher buoyancy, a better attack angle, or the simple fact that I had never heard of a "flying base" for a mini before and I did the best I could with what I had. Size-wise, I think it matches up.

My buddies have always mocked the coloration of my beholder, too. Granted, it was an early paint job and he doesn't look slimy so much as metallic. But again, WotC validated my choice when they released their "ultimate" eye tyrant figure. Tell me what you think; I think the colors work JUST FINE.

Like I said, my buddies laugh about him now; in fact, they've nick-named him "Ping" (for obvious reasons). I don't take that as an insult, though. I take it as a badge of honor and a show of respect. Because all of them have admitted to me that I did something they could not do. And all of them have come to me at one point or another and paid their respect to Ping. Most--if not all, including the DM--have admitted being scared for their characters' lives, as well as the entire party, when Ping makes an appearance.

And something about him seems to demand a little respect. Maybe it's just the idea he's a beholder. Maybe it's something mystical; perhaps I instilled a bit of life to him with the care and patience with which I constructed him. I don't know what it is, but I do know that my kids shouted "NO!" in horror when I brought him out last night.

That makes me smile.

The First Step

"Who are you?"

Well, that's a long story. So far as this blog is concerned, and so far as the interest of time allows, suffice it to say this: I am a Gamer.