“Forgotten Heroes, Purple Mane”

So we come to the end of another “Forgotten Heroes” month and even with being stuck in the house and no “work” distractions I’ve still managed to just squeeze it in under the wire! I really can’t offer any excuses except that it has been soooo blooming hot that I have been reluctant to go into my hobby room (it’s not just mine, I share it with the cats! Real ones that is), as it gets the sun full on by midday. Dry’s the paint super-fast, but strangely has the opposite effect on me!

Anyway whining aside I have now finished my “felines”, and as promised by Jez I have decided to finish with my favorite “pun” of the month as a title! (Even if technically panthers don’t have manes, picky!). But on with the painting…

Well before I could pigment my pussies they were glued onto the MDF bases I’d cut for them last week, each with a slither of card under their feet to lift them up to match the rest of my MOTU figures (yes I am that anal!!), then “Tetrion” filler was spread over the bases and (ironically) a few “Kitty Litter” stones were added for interest. Both were then given a coat of matt black.

I decided to begin Battle Cat’s painting by giving his helmet and armour an undercoat of dark red, then dry-brushed this with bright red, then again with metallic red and then highlighted this with more bright red . His saddle and girth strap were then added with chocolate brown with leather brown highlights, the originals don’t have these but I thought too make it a little less hard on the old Eternian “bum” I would. I also added the strap “rings” in bronze with shinning gold highlight’s. I turned my attention to his fur next, and this was where my old post about Cringer came into its own as I was able to follow the steps I’d used on him, so, I began by giving these areas an all over coat of deep bronze green, then followed this with a very heavy dry-brushing with a mixture of more deep bronze green, olive and shamrock, mixing these together in varying amounts till it looked about the same as last time. I began adding his stripes, in black next, and once these were dry I added the yellow inner lines on his stripes with citrus orange (this was slightly easier than last time due to his bigger size), both mouths were then added in dark red with pink burgundy for the tongues. I painted his teeth in white as I wanted then to stand out against his grey muzzle, and that came next, this was a mix of light grey and white gently dry-brushed on, His claws were last with black being used here.

Panthor was easier to paint as he was without the dreaded stripes! Anyway the armour on the toy version is grey so that’s where I began, with a mix of dark grey and a touch of black, that was then dry-brushed with more dark grey this time mixed with a little mid grey, and lastly to get a little metallic sheen I did a final dry-brush with more mid grey with a touch of silver added. The saddle and girth strap I did in black this time with dark grey highlights (these were also used on his nose). Again I added the strap “rings” in bronze with shinning gold highlight’s but this time also added the skull atop his shoulder plate in this as well. Turning to his fur next I began by putting down an undercoat of royal purple, this was followed by a dry-brushing of plum, and finally some highlights were added using a mix of more royal purple and a little lilac. I replicated the bright green eyes of the toy (though a little neater I hope!) by first painting them in shamrock, then adding irises in lime before putting in a black line for the pupil. His mouth and claws were done in the same manner as Battle Cat above.

Both were then given a liberal drubbing with a Quickshade (strong tone) loaded brush, and once dry their bases were painted chocolate brown, then dry-brushed with khaki, and then coffee. Areas were then picked out with scenic green before said areas were flocked with some Javis “Summer Mix” hairy grass. A final spray coat of matt varnish and they were finished. As I promised Jez I have dug out my He-man and Skeletor figures to accompany their respective mounts for the final photo’s.

So that brings “Forgotten Heroes” to a close for another year, as usual it’s been immense fun, and seeing all the other entries taking shape to completion (though a couple aren’t actually complete just yet!) is a real inspiration. I have to thank Jez for coming up with this great event and for letting me take part, it really is the “purr’fect way to fill your lockdown time! (Sorry just had to get one more in  😉).

So till next time, stay safe, and cheers Roger.