KrautScientist finally paints his HeroQuest set

[Stig]

Wow you've done a SUPER job! You've really shown us what's possible if you put your head down and get on with it, and really given me impetus to achieve my hobby goal

[KrautScientist]

Thanks a lot, Stig!

So, just to prove to you all that this thread hasn't been abandoned for good, allow me to share some small HQ-related things I am currently working on:

First up, not really all that exciting, admittedly, but I cleaned up a HeroQuest and Advanced HeroQuest Man-at-arms each, and I think figuring out a proper colour scheme for these is going to be one of my next painting projects:



I have also created another custom character for my collection, so to speak: "The Trial" from the second edition quest book has a more powerful mummy in it that is described as the corpse of a legendary warrior. And I knew I had an old Tomb Kings skeleton head in my bitzbox that might work rather well for glitzing up a standard mummy...

I started with an (already horribly painted) stock mummy model that was in pretty rough shape -- hence I had no qualms about cutting it up



And I used some plastic bits to turn it into a mummy champion, so to speak:



Now the bitz I used for this conversion are all a bit more modern than the actual HQ models, but I still think the vintage look is retained. What do you guys think?

[Pancho]

I love a good thoughtful conversion like this. Can’t wait to see it painted.

Methinks it would be useful for Return of the Witch Lord too. One of the Spirit Riders maybe, or even Skulmar.

[KrautScientist]

Cheers, Pancho! The fun with these conversions is that the aim is not only to convert something that looks cool, but, more importantly, a model that seems plausible within the framework of the vintage HeroQuest look.

And you are right, of course: This recipe could very well be used for those spirit riders, especially since it's such an easy conversion, provided you have the necessary bits. As for Skulmar, I am seeing him more as a European style undead Knight, but that's just me -- must be the influence from that RotWL cover artwork

Anyway, there was that wonderful moment when the undercoat pulled all of the disparate parts together:



And here's the finished mummy champion:





The finished model does betray the fact that the mummy I used was in a pretty rough state -- working from a "clean" stock model would arguably have led to an even better result. But I am still pretty happy with the model.

One thing that doesn't photograph too well, unfortunately, but works really well when seen up close, is the glowing eyes and mouth areas:



And here's a comparison shot with the champion and a standard mummy:



As always, let me know what you think!

[Thor-in]

I liked the idea, but wasn't sure about the hand not holding the sword. It looked to big to me at first, but now that it's painted it looks really good. I like it.

[Anderas]

You made it great again!

Nice model!

[Weltenlaeufer]

Very, very cool!

[Pancho]

Great work. It does indeed capture the look and feel of original Heroquest, and would be a thrilling adversary for the Heroes.

[lestodante]

That mummy is great, I had sketched something similar on photoshop where I usually try to find alternate solutions to customize my figures (but they usually rest on my PC without seeing the light, sigh!).
I also like the huge sword you used in perfect HQ style. Eventually I would have sculpted some bends to connect the shoulders armour to the rest of the body. And also it is usually better to clean the painting before modifing the figure, so the glue will grip directly on the plastic and not on the paint (wich is obviously easier to come off). But as always, really great job, I like it so much.
Will wait for the man at arms

[KrautScientist]

Cheers for the kind words, guys! Happy to hear you like the converted mummy!

@ Thor-In: Yeah, to be fair, the arm with the replaced hand may just be a tad too long now, but then again, the new hand makes the model look more different from the stock mummy, so there's that too

@ Anderas, Weltenlaeufer & Pancho: Cheers, gents!

@ lestodante: Thanks, man! The sword is actually from a really old plastic WFB Skeleton kit, which in turn is almost as old as the original HQ models, so that's while it fits the look so well. As for the previous paintjob, you would be perfectly right, under normal circumstances, but this was the kind of previous paintjob that just wouldn't come of. At all. So I am still considering this a salvaged model, all things considered

I also have something new to share with you all: For starters, I painted my first test model for the Men-at-arms, and boy oh boy was that less fun than expected







While I am quite alright with the finished look, the way there was less than enjoyable, mostly due to the face: Now the detailing on the face was fairly soft to begin with (with the eyes more suggested than actually sculpted), and the fact that the models have a massive mold line running down the centre of their faces didn't exactly help. I didn't end up with much in the way of facial features, so I basically had to paint on a face with the brush. It took quite some doing, and the guy certainly isn't a natural beauty, but at least he has a face now:





Not sure I am up to repeating this exercise eleven more times, though...

Anyway, I want to keep most of the colour scheme for all of the other men-at-arms, with the helmet plume as a way of distinguishing different players' men-at-arms.

I am also currently working on a model representing Grak, Ulag's son:



As you can see, the conversion is based on a standard HQ Orc: I wanted him to look less like a warlord like his father. Maybe his kidnapping of the heroes is not only an act to avenge his father, but also to prove how he can become the next Orc warlord. His one bid for power that he must not mess up. But while he may be formidable in a fight, I also wanted him to look like a bit of a doofus

Anyway, as always, let me know what you think!