Brutes on the Ground

There's a light at the end of the tunnel!



Yes, the minions for Massive Darkness are all done. And all the heroes. Nothing but sweet, sweet monsters from here on in, and it should be a genuinely joyful and creative downhill roll to completion.

Cresting the hill here, though, finds the final six Troglodyte Brutes. Same kind of deal as the last lot, of course, but they have axes instead of swords.

Leading them is their boss, who has a torch and a nice wolfskin draped over his head to keep him warm. Might not be just the skin, though, it could be a really skinny wolf trying to eat him.

Finally, to lead this flock of deep-dwelling lunatics, the Troglodyte Agent. The way he's twitching his head makes him look good and mad, just like you want your underworld boss.

Painting Guide:-

• Undercoat - Mephiston Red spray
• Cloaks and capes - The above undercoat plus Agrax Earthshade, then drybrushes of Astorath Red and Kindleflame
• Armour and Boots - Rhinox Hide, Nuln Oil, Gorthor Brown layer, Tyrant Skull drybrush (or was it Terminatus Stone? Well, they're nearly the same) and then Leadbelcher for spikes on top
• Straps - Skrag Brown, Agrax, Deathclaw Brown layers
• Skin - Rakarth Flesh, Reikland Fleshshade, Pallid Wychflesh layer, White highlights, Khorne Red watered down for tattoos
• Weapons - Tin Bitz, Nihilakh Oxide wash, Brass Scorpion and Runelord Brass drybrushes

With the lowly baddies out of the way, I also managed to paint the rest of the lofty goodies.

Another cloaked assassin. I quite like that all the heroes have a Mr and Mrs version, it's mostly a nice touch. 

This is Mrs Noble Warrior, for example. 

Alas, the sculptors weren't immune to the lures of skimpy armour for Mrs Barbarian. Nice figure though she's got it is, I'd have preferred something a little more practical looking. 

Mr Elf here might need a second pass on his pink bits, they need more white in them. And he's armed with butter knives, which is another questionable choice for practicality.

Mrs Wizard is a Witch instead. I'm not complaining, it's a smashing model, one of my favourites in the box. 

And there was still time left over to slip in a monster! The Ogre Mage comes on a surprisingly small base, same size as the heroes, but that's no bad thing on a Massive Darkness board - the squares can get very crowded during a game, especially when Agents start summoning multiple packs of mobs.

Whoever made these has a much better way of modelling eye sockets than GW. The pupils stick outwards, not in, like tiny balls. Much easier to paint! Watery white in the socket, then dot the pupil black. It's a godsend.

First outing for one of the new GW Technical paints, the gloomy shadowy one, on the cloak here. Needs thinning - came out too heavy here, and I had to drybrush grey over the top.

With so few monsters left to do, I might take a short break (by which I mean painting something else for a bit). But first, time for a fight!