3D Castle Ravenloft Boardgame with Painted Minis

[oldschooldm]

photobucket.com/3DRavenloft?albumview=slideshow

My group wanted to have a figure painting session between adventures. I order to not embarrass myself, I started painting a week before our get-together - but it had been 15 years since last time....

I decided that I'd paint the figures in my Castle Ravenloft game. Lots of folks had done it, so there were great examples and guides, such as: blog.gamesparadise.com.au/ravenloft-painting-guide/ (which I used heavily, especially for the burning skeletons and zombie dragon.)

My problem is, as you already know, I'm LAZY - and good paint jobs take hours each. Multiple colors, washes, highligting, etc. But I'd read about Dipping - quick paint followed by dark furniture varnish. I must say, this was AWESOME for me. Several of the figures in the set would have some quick detail added (such as the skeleton's shields and swords) and then be simply varnished. The Dracolich - quite intimidating - simply got dipped and I used "mud" to cover the mess on the base.

To show off my work, I decided to shoot them in situ on the Ravenloft board, but adding 3D paper terrain with 3D Props some of you here are familiar with.

The link above is for the full slideshow/album, but I'll hare a couple here...





Before:


After:



photobucket.com/3DRavenloft?albumview=slideshow

[cherno]

Well, what can I say but EXCELLENT WORK

Fully painted board games are rare and those with additional components like 3D terrain even rarer, so you have every right ot be proud of your accomplishment!

[Vermin King]

Very nice. How long did it take using this method?

[oldschooldm]

Thanks for the compliments!

Oct 1, 2012 15:49:59 GMT -9 Vermin King said:

How long did it take using this method?

Some of the figures (rats, wraiths, gargoyles, zombies, wolves, skeletons, werewolf, and dracolich) required very little effort: prime, "dip", dry, and decorate the base - about 5-10 minutes each total. The kobolds & ghouls have all-over paint and a few colors plus dip (no highlight or wash) so took about 15 min each. The 2nd tier villains (flesh golem, zombie dragon, hag, and kobold caster) were even more paint colors (some hand-mix), highlighting and dip. 20 minutes each.

The main time-suck were the Heroes, Strahd, and the Burning Skeletons - these all got hand mixed paints in multiple layers, and hand highlights and washes. 30-45 minutes each.

Those estimates include the time to paint the bases (and mud-base the monsters) and apply spray matte after they dried (I did not include dry time, since dip takes 18+ hours to dry...)

So- I guess about 10-15 hours of effort. Seems about right given 2-3 hours time for this kind of thing per day for a week.

[dcbradshaw]

What brand/hue of varnish did you use? I've experimented with a couple of different off-the-shelf varnishes, but haven't ever gotten a satisfactory shade. The "real" Army Painter dip is really expensive.

[oldschooldm]

Antique Walnut Satin - but it is very brown, I've not used it on the more colorful PCs and it was a failure on my grey gargoyles (too dark) and one of my wraiths... It's not for everything - though it is perfect for undead, leather, fur, and good monsters in armor.

I tried the new Classic Black Satin - that was a mistake. It is opaque black! (If you can see the "black" rats in the photos, that was the only one I applied this color too...)