Painting Reaper Bones Tomb Rats 07031 and Townsfolk

I don't really need any new rats. I have a good number of the old Bones rats painted and based, more than enough for the first mission,  but the newer Tomb Rats are much more impressive, and given that we've lost Companions to them both times we've played*, they just look the part. 

I've got villagers as well (painted as one of my 'Palette Cleansers' back in 2021) but I'd like more of the Townsfolk painted up to match the old chap from last December. 

Slapchop seems an ideal way of getting these minis done quickly.

Tomb Rats

Painting the rats was straightforward.  As with the Zombies,  I gave them a wash of Army Painter Darktone thinned with Vallejo Thinner,  then a drybrush of white. 

I used mostly Army Painter Speedpaints as there wasn't much complicated in the colour scheme,  though I did use Vallejo Xpress Color Fairy Skin for the tail and noses, as its a bit pinker. 

Fur was a mix of Army Painter Speedpaint Sand Golem and Hardened Leather to give some variety,  and a line of APS Dark Wood along the spine.  Reactivation helps blend this in.

I also painted an albino rat, but it needs some work to base properly, so I'll not include it here.

All the rats were given VGC Off White teeth and black eyes.

Four Tomb Rats

I said the painting was straightforward; the preparation wasn't.  I'm sure my readers know that I prefer my roleplaying and skirmish minis on clear bases.  With the exception of my Lord of the Rings collection,  and more recently, my Oldhammer stuff, I've been clear basing since 2016. Some minis are easier than others, but these rats were a real pain to remove from the integral bases. 

Townsfolk

The Townsfolk were also pretty easy, though again, removing the bases, especially for both the women in their base hugging skirts took some effort with a Stanley knife.

Colour choice was the only thing I struggled with. 

Three more townsfolk

Stylistically, these Townsfolk look a bit later than the zombies or the old chap. Indeed, they'd not look out of place in the sixteen hundreds.

I deliberately tried to match the colours of the lady zombie in the green dress for the younger of the two women. It's not exact, but hopefully it links them.

Young woman and zombie 'twin'

Otherwise, I mostly used various combinations of Speedpaints, though once again the VXP Fairy Skin was used on the younger woman.

So that's everything I mentioned in my planning post painted. Enough minis for the first mission, and my entry for Dave Stone's Paint What You Got Challenge. 

But I've been working on some scenery and if I can get that finished in time, I'll add it to my entry. 

#EDIT# 

Further to Bodvoc's comment below,  the newer Reaper Bones minis are made of a much harder material. The original Bonseum was softer and more flexible.  Bonseum Black (actually a mid grey) is much tougher. It's harder to cut, and doesn't bend as easily,  great for detail and reducing 'floppy weapon syndrome'.

It does make it a beast to remove large amounts though, and like the original (and Restic) leaves a very rough surface if sanded or filed. 

Puddle bases are much easier to remove,  if nothing else,  they can be sanded down. 

*Something that shouldn't have happened.  I missed the bit that said that monsters don't score Critical Hits.  So it's not possible for a Giant Rat to take out a Man at Arms in one bite.  It looked good on the table top though