Wildspire Miniatures Naga, Acid Elemental, Earth Elemental and Air Elemental

The next four minis are all Large. While it doesn't make much of a dent in the number of unpainted stuff, in terms of volume it's more significant. 

Four big beasties

Naga 

This is pretty obviously a Dark Naga, as shown in the 5th Edition Monster Manual. 

Preparation 

This time I had a go at the mould lines. They don't cut very well, but they do sand down with a file. Whilst not as bad as Mantic's old 'Restic' material, there were still some 'crumbs' that needed removing with a brass wire brush. I have since had some helpful suggestions (thanks Dave Stone) and will be trying wet and dry paper.

Then it was a case of washing and priming (Vallejo Surface Primer Light Gray).

Painting 

The Monster Manual picture shows the scales very very dark blue with red patterns, possibly chevrons? The front (or belly) is a very pale colour. 

I started with the belly, highlighting up from Vallejo Game Color Khaki, through Bonewhite to Off White. Initially I planned on giving it a wash of Army Painter Soft Tone, but I was happy enough with the results without that.

The back was painted VGC Night Blue, but a look through older Monster Manuals showed Dark Nagas are black with red stripes. I think the recent artwork was simply using blue to highlight the black. 

So it all got a wash of 1:1 Vallejo Game Ink Black and Vallejo Xpress Medium.  This darkened it down, but still left a bit of a blueish tint as a highlight. 

This was drybrushed with VGC Night Blue then VGC Ultramarine, paying particular attention to the fancy scales around the head.

The red was a base coat of Vallejo Extra Opaque Dark Red, highlighted up through Red Gore, Blood Red and Hot Orange.  I used the different scales to define the stripes, I avoided doing any stripes on the lower body.

Then it was the final details, eyes, teeth and spines, and done. 

Trust in me

Stripes on the back of the hood

Acid Elemental 

This was a lot simpler. 

After washing, I used Vallejo Game Ink Green to emphasise the deeper areas, then VGC Livery Green drybrushed as a highlight. Unfortunately, the ink has pooled in certain areas and run off others, resulting in a rather scrappy finish.  The base (translucent green) was painted VGC Cold Gray to match the rest of the Wildspire minis. 

The drybrushing has brought out the detail of the face rather well, something that is less obvious in real life, (a rare example of a blogger claiming the photos are better than the real thing).

Vivid green acid elemental

Rear view

Earth Elemental 

I wanted this to look like a collection of rocks, so that meant a variety of colours.

After the usual clean up, wash and priming, German Green Brown again, I picked out different rocky shapes in, variously, VGC Terra, Desert Yellow, Stonewall Gray and VEO Charcoal.

Then the whole lot got a wash of AP Strong Tone.

Once everything was dry, I drybrushed with VMC Iraqi Sand, then Pale Sand, emphasising the face.

One of the rocks has a sort of spiral carved on it, so I picked out this, and the eyes, in VGC Enchanted Blue, with a thin line of Glacier Blue to make it pop.

I did add a bit of green ink to represent moss,  but I'm not sure it really adds anything. 

Mister Rock

The rear of the elemental

Air Elemental 

I'd planned to approach the Air Elemental in the same way as the Acid Elemental, but I wasn't happy with the results on 'Old Heartburn', so I kept this much simpler.

A wash of thinned VGI Pale Gray. That simple.

I think it's turned out rather better than the Acid Elemental. 

I might give a very light drybrush of white, but I'm not rushing, it might spoil the mini.

Air Elemental

And from the back

Thoughts 

This is a nice group of minis and I'm mostly pleased with the painting. 

The exception is the Acid Elemental, the pooling of the wash and some less than subtle drybrushing don't do it any favours. Shame, it's a nice mini too, even if it's a bit obscure. If it were cast in yellow or red plastic it would make an interesting Fire Elemental. I suppose it could be magical green flame? 

The companion set includes both Fire and Water Elementals. I might use it as some sort of Acid Golem, or maybe a colony of Green Slime?

The Naga is a lovely mini, clearly recognisable as a Dark Naga, albeit with fancier scales. I enjoyed painting it.

I thought the Earth Elemental was a dull looking mini. However, once painted, I really like it.  The detail of the different rocks was lost on the bare plastic, the washes and drybrushing bring it out. 

The Air Elemental was the simplest paint job. The wash has obscured some of the translucency, but it makes it easier to see the details. 

I'll be using this method when I do the 3 Vapour Snakes. 

What's Next?

In terms of the Wildspire Miniatures, that's 16 down and 44 to go. All the remaining ones, bar the Giant, are medium sized, and there's some more translucent plastic still to paint. 

I'm still using the random dip method, I wonder what will be next?

16 down, 46 to go

The Background

You'll notice that I've added to the background set up.  The two platforms come from the Crooked Staff Community Challenge from a while ago.  They give me a large area of height to stand minis on, and the darker colour of the wood is a good contrast for light minis.  I wish I'd had it when I photographed the mummies