As with all of my projects I've been less than productive in regard to Frostgrave. Probably more so. I haven't exactly been prolific but at least I have made some posts recently so self high 5s for me. I really intended to do more with the frozen city and even play some games (Ha Ha!) but between ignoring all things creative and being distracted by other shiny unpainted piles of lead this one fell by the way side.
Let's fix that then shall we? Last year I picked up some treasure markers for use in Frostgrave produced by Ristul's Extraordinary Market. It's a really nice looking set of 8 treasure piles cast in resin that range from the centerpiece enthroned skeleton to small skiffs of coins and gems. The devil is in the details. The piles have all sorts of neat little details that look the part are rife with cool bling and teasurific wonderfuls. For treasure tokens they are elaborate and wonderfully evocative. The problem is painting them.
 |
| The blurry pic that I only shot one of. No fault of the model. |
While intricate piles of baubles look neat I find it a thankless pursuit bringing them to life. Painting miniatures for me is incredibly rewarding when I'm gifted with a characterful face or something that makes me feel something about what I am painting. Piles of treasure don't do that for me. A cursory lazy paint of gold and done would have made these look bad. While I did better than that and did pick out some choice items I still came away from it bored and feeling like I did the sculptor and injustice.
 |
| The hammer haft on the right seems off. |
On the bad side there were some small bubbles in the resin, a haft on a treasure weapon that might have only been partially filled and some really garish inscription on the throne. There is van art and then there is fare meant as tattoos you give yourself with a walkman; The pentacle, demon hand on the back, and skull on the throne's side are some of the latter. As far as treasure tokens go they could set a scene on a tabletop but won't shine unless you paint them to the same standard you would lavish on your own models. It seems that every time I thought I was done with them I located another gew-gaw that I forgot to paint. I found that infuriating and this was on again-off again until I only just finished them.
Gull is my second character for the Frostgrave setting and actually has a place in war band I'm planning. If you are wondering I enjoyed painting him much more than the treasure piles. During the cool model search that proceeded the project a Reaper Pirate Captain and Cabin Boy set caught my eye. I had no use for the peacock captain but the ship's boy was a really interesting figure and screamed treasure hunter. Poor little guy is probably the dog's body for the whole ship's company and his back is loaded up with a pick, shovel and probably a fridge of boat drinks for Captain Hook. He even has a map in hand so he ended up drawing nav duty as well. The highly versatile Gull is rather tall but boyish with a fresh face and a lithe figure. If he stays with the ship and continues to live a hard sea life I'm sure he would become quite a dangerous man. Or would he?
 |
| The rat and sacks are an old WoC and a Reaper model. |
Lynn Flewelling wrote the Tamir Triad. It's probably one of my favorite fantasy series. It opens as what seems a classic low magic world focusing on a boy who might be be king. Much war and intrigue follow overshadowed by prophecy and that disturbing brand of magic that is never mastered by man and always demands a price. The three books are a great read and I highly recommend them. This relates to Gull on a account of a gender transformation by way of dark magic. Gull's story doesn't involve any wand waving; She is a girl who has disguised herself as a boy. Maybe the Captain has been in on the secret all along having had a paternal instinct awakened within him. With best wishes or out of a desire to escape discovery at sea Jane jumps ship and joins the Chanter's expedition.
The Reaper cabin boy is very nearly stock. The only change I made was adding a fur cloak made from green stuff because his outfit was very light for such a cold place. The cloak would probably be inadequate but Gull is used to inclement weather at sea and stays busy digging for treasure to stay warm. I wanted to draw up a nice map of Frostgrave on his parchment but after multiple shots in the dark and repaints the city remains an abstract mystery; It seems art imitates life.
Comments
Post a Comment