So, in the midst of some recent plastic minis vs lead figs comparison, I got a hankerin' to paint me some minis again. Now it's been a looooooonnnnnnnggggg time since I've done this (like 1983 or so), so I have a feeling the (re)learning curve could be mighty steep. Those brain cells are just a (non)memory now.
I have tons of these bad boys from "back in..." err.... yeah. In the heaping pile of lead that used to rule the kitchen table, I must admit that only a small percentage of my old lead minis are actually painted. I've shown a couple of them here in some previous posts, but I have tons of others, many that never got any paint slapped on 'em. As witnessed recently in the case of the burgular here.
At any rate, I think I'm gonna bust out some acrylics and see if I enjoy this long lost hobby as much as I hope I will. Maybe this crotchety old timer doesn't have the patience to pull this off - maybe he does. We'll see.
I'm think I'm gonna start with some pig-faced Orcs from the TSR AD&D line of 1983, in this wonderful box set named "Monster Tribes":
Here's the back, showing all the included figs:
The Orcs are the best of this bunch, IMO. They are the perfect pig-nosed variety we all loved back then. They're pretty similar to the ones available from Otherworld Miniatures, which are freakin' awesome, and I want some...NOW! Their Orc collection is here. And here's some shots of the Otherworld figs, from their gallery, painted very nicely by various skilled folks:
O1c - Pig-faced Orc with Bardiche, painted by Richard Scott
O4 - Pig-faced Orc Warband, painted by Kep Pump
and Pig-faced Orcwife, painted by Chris FitzPatrick:
Nice rack(s)! WTF?!?!?Anyway, before I drop some major cash and impulse-buy nearly everything Otherworld makes (OMG! their stuff is nice), I figured I better just try painting some of the figs I already have... make sure I can even pull this off, ya'know?
So along with the TSR Monster Tribes box pictured up above, I still have many figs in the following sets that need paint too.
Some of those figs in my recent comparison were from this Fighter, Rangers & Paladins set:
This Specialists set here is the origin of my favorite Pally fig. I know many other folks dug that Paladin fig too.
Here's the Thieves set from which that bag-toting-burgular fig hails.... err sneaks. The sheet names him "Thief-sack"...ha!
Dig the paint jobs on this "Fighting Men" set (3rd pic here)....very nice! I believe those are painted by someone at dndlead.com. His/her site is freakin awesome! Check it out, and maybe buy some minis, too. According to the site, he/she sells some of them. Regardless there are some great info and pics there (these pics here all came from that site, BTW - I hope that's not an issue to show them here), as well as some great advice on painting minis. I'm printing that info out as we speak, to use when I crack open the paint jars for my own figs. Sadly, I will not be able to reproduce those kinds of results, but I'll give it the ol' college try.
I also have numerous loose lead minis, from various sets, including these two (from a duo blister pack back then). I've posted pics of my unpainted Umberhulk fig, but I never even attached the 3rd arm to my Xorn fig. Gotta do that too sometime soon I guess...26 years later...ha!
And here's a duo I just have to get my hands on. I only have one Grenadier Lizardman fig, and I would love to get some more.
I think my lizard-dude came out of this "Denizens of the Swamp" set, which me and my buddies back then split up between us:
I think we also shared this "Dwellers Below" set too, as I think I have the Doppleganger somewhere. Man, I used to love that fig...hope I can find him:
Anyway, time to paint! Wish me luck...
* BTW, hats off to the folks at dndlead.com again, for some awesome pics of some sweet old lead minis!
7 comments:
That's funny - that paladin mini was the one I chose to represent my first and bestest character, Moordow the Elf. (I actually got the Specialists set before I got the D&D rules, so I had no clue what a paladin was. I just thought that mini was the coolest thing ever.) I also loved the Mage from that set. I still have them both stashed away in storage. Actually, come to think of it, that mage is with my D&D minis upstairs - I was using him for my 3.5 wizard until we abandoned that system. :P
The second box set I got In The Day was the Denizens of the Swamp set, but my fav from that one was the gnoll with the cross dagger. I didn't care for the lizardmen, probably because the lizardman with the sword was broken, and the one with the club wouldn't stand up.
Those are some sweet minis box sets! I've got quite a few old Ral Partha, Grenadier, and Heritage figures that I've collected over the years. I never bought any pig snouted orc ones though, they were always goblinoid. I've been eyeing the Other World ones for some time though.
Speaking of Pig Face Orcs, here's a picture I did for Swords & Wizardry. http://www.flickr.com/photos/atomkid/3035465213/
@Christopher B:
Ya'know, I've heard that comment about the Pally fig from several other players. I think it was a real fave for a lot of folks. It truly is a great fig, IMO.
I love the fact that you are still using the old minis in your recent gaming sessions. I did that a week or so back with an old fig and got some quirky looks from the other players. But they all gave me weird looks when I brought my old Gamescience dice too. Kids these days...ha!
On the other Lizardman fig (w/club) falling and such, good to know. I'll keep that in mind if I ever run across one. I had to shave/sand the bottom of several figs back then to get them to stand up good. That Umberhulk was a royal pain. He kinda leans a bit, but he stays upright...ha! I hate when they would put ridiculously tiny bases on figs, and they would fall over immediately. Quality Control not so huge back then. That seemed to happen more with the TSR ones, though. The Grenadier and Ral Partha often had decent bases, IIRC.
Oh and yeah, as you can see from my own Lizardman pics in the earlier posts, he fights with just the sword-hilt. He so badass he doesn't need anything more. ;>] Again, I saw the weak/breakable weapons more on the TSR stuff. But every once in a while a Grenadier sword would bite the dust.
@ Atom Kid:
First off, awesome pic there bro! Gratz on the artwork and for getting it hooked up a gaming product. Sweet!
Secondly, yeah, I love those old figs. Some of the new ones are very cool too, but it's fun to break out the old guys for that certain vibe.
I have other sets too, I just forgot to post them. I'll put something up on them shortly, as I think they are some fun sets too. They include some Star Frontiers box sets (TSR), a very strange yet funny Comedy Lords set from Grenadier, a High Chivalry set from Ral Partha, a Dungeon! (the boardgame) set of figs (RP there, too I think), some Munchkin metal figs, and a few more. Not to mention a couple boxes and bags of loose lead figs, mostly from Grenadier and RP.
Anyway, enough boasting on fig collections...ha! I just like these little dudes, and will continue to gather new (old) ones whenever I find them around. I can only say that I *have* these to dork around with. I wish I could freakin paint them like some folks. Man! Some real nice work out there byt some very talented people.
Man, I had some of these figs. At some point most of my orcish minis from the 80's have escaped my clutches, replaced over time by 90's non-pig faces ones (and I was never a huge fan of the pig faces anyway...too based on Hildebrandt calenders).
Can't wait to see 'em painted up! I think piggy-faced orcs are kinda cute, in a differenter sort of way.
But it makes me wonder, and perhaps those of you who have minis could tell me.
Do piggyfaced orcs have curly tails?
@ Spike Page:
No curly tails to be seen.
...or so I would imagine. Not like I was looking or anything.
;>]
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