“What do you get…” (Advent Challenge & Monster May(hem))

If you cross a monstrous amphibian with an item of Roman clothing?

Answer, a “Togre” 😁 (Sorry)

Anyway, it’s Monster May(Hem) month again, we are rattling through this year aren’t we! Now I do have a scratch build planned for this month, but I’m not sure if Keith (or he makes the rules) will actually let him count, I’ll have to wait and see. So I thought it would be wise to get a couple of “banker’s” in first just to make sure I have something done to allow me to take part. Plus of course these two figures came out of my “Advent Calendar” from December last year so will count toward that too (I do love a two for one!). So I give you…

No 20 Mermaid troll (not official name)

No 24 Chaos Toad Savage (official, though I think rather stupid! Reaper name)

We’ll start with the Mermaid, though I don’t think she’ll be tempting any sailors to their doom! Once I’d trimmed down her “bones” integral base and sanded the bottom a little she was stuck to a two pence piece which was then built up with a little filler and sprayed matt black. I then painted her lower “fish” body  and the shell like detail on her forearms with deep turquoise and her more human half in dwarf skin, and blended them together around her “belly”, next I did first highlights on these areas with continental flesh and aquamarine respectively. Then after I’d added a little light turquoise to the standard version I highlighted again and did the human areas in a mix of European flesh with a touch of pale flesh (I went back to this to do the final touch up later here as well). Her mouth I then painted dark red and her nails I undercoated in chocolate brown, then added her teeth, nails and eyes in coffee and cream, with her pupils in black. Fins came next along with the odd little detail here and there, so and undercoat of dark red was applied, then dry-brushes of terracotta and orange were put over this. The shell she is holding I simply gave dry-brushes of Eurasian flesh and coffee, her hair I repainted black then ran highlights of deep bronze green (some as was and some darkened with more black) through it. Lastly I added “dots” of samurai green (this is a silk/metallic paint) all over the “fishy bits and I called her done. Sorry for the dodgy pictures, she does not seem to photograph well.

The toad, came on a strange “rocky” base, that the figures feet and hand “keyed” into, I didn’t like this at all so that was “binned” and the tags from under his feet and hand were carved away and after he was glued together, and the joints filled with a little greenstuff , he was re-mounted onto a 40mm round MDF base which he just fitted onto (though his feet slightly over hang the edge). The base was then built up with more filler and the space available under him was filled with a few “cat litter” rocks. A spray over with matt black was followed with coats of chocolate brown on his back and shoulders/outer arms, khaki on his chest, lower jaw, inner arms and lower legs, and some dark flesh tone slapped about “willy nilly” here and there. I then went a little “barmy” and put some chocolate brown, khaki, mustard, stone green, Eurasian flesh, and ECW buff, on my pallet and mixing them together in different combinations blended all the various areas together, then once this was about dry I still wasn’t happy with it, so mixed a few of the remaining blobs of paint together and dry-brushed the darker areas with this, and by some miracle it seemed to work! 🙏 His mouth was then added in dark red, with bright red highlights, and on the tongue I mixed in a little Polish crimson too. His teeth were coffee and cream and his claws, “prize skulls” and eyes were added with this too (a little chocolate brown undercoating the claws and skulls first). Sadly it was after adding his pupils in black that I thought I should look up Frog and Toad eyes on Google, and it seems apart from “Kermit the frog” they don’t tend to look like this!! 👀. So the eyes were repainted in citrus orange and after I’d “dotted” round the outer edges in orange, I added a new “horizontal” pupil in black (much better🐸). The loin cloth he’s wearing was built up in three stages, undercoat of royal purple, then plum and fushia highlights, and the belt and thongs holding on his skulls were chocolate brown and leather. There is a bit of fur behind the front skull so dark grey with a mid grey dry-brush took care of that.

As is so often the case this was followed by both figures getting a coat of “strong tone” Quickshade, and after the bases were finished in my usual manner a spray over with matt varnish completed the horrible pair. So that’s my first entries for Monster May(hem) finished. As I said at the start the jury is still out over my next submission, but I’m going to make him anyway, so if you’ll excuse me I’m off for a “slash” 😉.

Till next time, be safe and cheers Roger.