Your Dungeons!

[sixsideddice]

Good God you`ve done a good job on the dungeon, and the furnishings are absolutely superb. Your monsters are so cool and.....   okay you totally put me to shame 


Amazing work 


Looking forward to seeing all this put into action. A Batrep with lavish photos, maybe?


Six

[Cyril]

Thanks Six, you know, you're the Master Yoda of Dungeon World to me. So I'll try my best for the other monsters and heroes !
My friends are looking forward to play so there will undoubtedly be a batrep. However, I'll need to learn how to make good pictures because I'm not satisfied with the ones I took... bad focus, bad lighting... this really kills the feel of a situation one tries to take.

Edit: I forgot to answer to fred12df. Thanks, it's good to see this motivates you !
About the miniatures from other companies, I guess one can find lots of possibilities but trust me, you'll have enough paint work to do with the basic dungeon pack Plus, Pendraken offers lots of possibilities with their huuuge range of minis !

[fred.]

Indeed there are many many options in the Pendraken range - and I have some on order.

These were ones that I already had sitting in a drawer so the thought of having a shiny dungeon soon (or soonish) made me have a rummage and do some painting.

Your photos look pretty good - how would you like to improve them? You could perhaps get a bit more depth of field, with a higher f stop. Are you using a tripod to allow you to use longer exposure times.

[sixsideddice]

Thanks Six, you know, you're the Master Yoda of Dungeon World to me. So I'll try my best for the other monsters and heroes !
My friends are looking forward to play so there will undoubtedly be a batrep. However, I'll need to learn how to make good pictures because I'm not satisfied with the ones I took... bad focus, bad lighting... this really kills the feel of a situation one tries to take.


Hi Cyril,

lol  I`m just a rules writer who really wants to see gamers get something half decent which really reflects the sheer potential of this amazing range of miniatures. If my efforts brings happiness to others, then I will have succeeded. My inspiration came from  seeing the majority of gamers in this scale using borrowed systems like Warmaster, Necromunda, Space Hulk  etc (notice these all seem to be Games Workshop based) and I thought it was time to start along a different avenue, something less `someone elses`which would allow individuals and groups of friends to tailor the game into their own, using a basic rules engine as a foundation... yet coming from an entirely different mind met.

This way, each group of gamers can work with less does and donts and more "hey! why don`t we try this new idea... it might be fun".


The Mass Battle system I`m working on will complete the cycle and allow gamers to switch between their dungeon crawl rpgs, and yet be able use the same miniatures to play full scale (or skirmish size) games alongside it`s simpler DW cousin.

Enjoy.

Six :-)

[Cyril]

You're a good man Six, I really like your philosophy !
I'll try to get some players around the table with a couple of beers when I get the chance. And be sure your work will be put at good use !

But enough talking, here are some pictures of the bigger denizen of the dungeon :

the slime buddies by cyril F, on Flickr


the slime buddies 2 by cyril F, on Flickr


Game over heroes. Game over. by cyril F, on Flickr

The giant was really hard to paint for me. I'm really bad when it comes to painting skin (that's also why I took a dark picture )
Last step : the heroes !

[sixsideddice]

OMG Cyril, these are simply A-W-E-S-O-M-E to the max.

How DO you do it?

Mine look like a shambles when compared alongside yours 

I`m highly impressed actually, mostly because its shown me just what can be achieved in this scale with the right skill and patience. Not a level I will ever be able to attain, but it IS inspiring and will make me keep one eye focused over my shoulder at your photos to remind me what I SHOULD be doing.

You`re work is amazing Cyril, I think these are the best examples of painted 10mm Pendraken Fantasy Miniatures I`ve ever seen, to date.

Thanks for sharing, and I avidly look forward to seeing more.


Six 

[Cyril]

Wow, thanks Six... I don't know what to say !

But you know, I actually only have one technique which works really well on the 10mm scale where details are "over enhanced" by the designers:
- undercoat in black
- for each part of a mini where you plan to put a color, always have 2 version of this color: the color itself and a brighter version
- apply the standard color by brushing heavily on the details of said part
- use the brighter color to dry-brush on the same details more gently this time
- optionnaly, when not satisfied by the results, apply some washing and hope for the best

Rince and repeat !

The best miniature you can practice on is the skeleton :
- undercoat in black (yes, I said black !)
- brush the bones with a light brown color
- drybrush with some "bone white" color
- optionnaly drybrush gently with usual white color

And due to the bits of brown color, your skeleton will look as if it has just risen from the grave !

[sixsideddice]

WOW, thanks for the advice Cyril.

It`s too late for the collection I have already painted (I went for white undercoating, which kinda works for me because I`m a non fussy... aka lazy... modeller), however I still have vast numbers more to paint up. But I think I`ll redo my skeletons trying your way.

Only one thing, my skeletons are painted and varnished... any advice on how I remove the coating back to the original metal, or can I just black spray undercoat over them as they are?

Cheers,

Six :-)

[sixsideddice]

Actually, I`ve been talking to Paula, my partner, and doing some thinking (ouch, brain hurts).

Cyril, we think we`d really like to add some of your 10mm dungeon and fantasy photos to my next book which is due out in hardback later this year. If we gave you some ideas of little cameo/set pieces we`d like to include, would you be interested in allowing me to add them to the book interior art (possibly the cover as well)?

My addy is: gypsy__dance@hotmail.com    <-- double underscore between gypsy and dance

If you`d like to get in touch I can let you know the details?

Cheers again,

Six  

[Cyril]

Six I would be honored (I mean.. honoured ) !
I'll send you a mail in a minute and we'll see what we can do !

Now for the painting.
Painting it black on top of the old layers of paint may ruin some details.
If I was you, I would first try to put some shader on your skeleton, then drybrush it with bone white.
Coat d'Arms released 3 different types : examples are HERE (I would advise to use the "421 Dark Brown").

If this is not satisfying, there are many ways to strip paint from minis.
There is a good tutorial HERE but others can be found with google. Lots of people tend to use "Pine Sol" which seems ok for both metal and plastic (I use white spirit for metal).

[sixsideddice]

Have replied to your mail...  and the honour is mine I assure you  

Thank you so much for the effects advice and especially the paint stripping link. I`ll pour over these tomorrow and see what I can do about making my skeletons look a little less like bleached white Halloween Pound Shop decorations lol.

Catch you soon, and keep up the great work.

Six  

[Cyril]

Allright, I just finished the "dungeon pack" parts, ending with the heroes:

The Heroes by cyril F, on Flickr
(The "red mage" is, of course, a tribute to Six's batrep )


Against the skeleton guards by cyril F, on Flickr


Going unnoticed... by cyril F, on Flickr

The photos are a bit blurry however, I'll try to take better one when I get the time.

[fred.]

They look good Cyril - nice to see the figures in situ in your dungeon. I do like the way you have made the dungeon look very "used".

[Leon]

Nice one Cyril!

[Megamatman]

Wow Cyril incredible!

I've added some of your pics to a news story on our website: http://www.pendraken.co.uk/News.aspx?NewsID=35

[nikharwood]

Top-notch Cyril, nicely done 

[sixsideddice]

Well wicked Cyril; they just keep getting better and better all the time.

A game enjoyed with minis and a dungeon as well crafted as this will be incredible, and your friends have an awesome treat in store for them when they play (unless you plan to play solo?). Like fred says, your dungeon looks used, gritty and totally `real`.

Very cool altogether 

Six

[Cyril]

Wo ho ho ! So I made it to the Pendraken headline news !  
Thanks a lot guys !
Indeed I like when the dungeon feels cold, gritty and dirty. In one word: hostile.  

Also I'm still thinking about how to base the minis. Actually I'd really like them to get square bases, like in the good ol' days !
By the way, does anybody know where to get a bunch of plastic bases compatible with the dungeon squares ?
I guess I'll use Pendraken square bases for the heroes but I'd like some plastic for the others in order to customize them.

And thanks again everyone !

Edit: to Six, I plan to play it with a couple of friends. A good bunch of them seem half interested/half amused by the scale, but they won't laugh when the giant crush its mace on their face !

[sixsideddice]

Edit: to Six, I plan to play it with a couple of friends. A good bunch of them seem half interested/half amused by the scale, but they won't laugh when the giant crush its mace on their face !

Hahaha, way to go Cyril. No I doubt very much the amusement and half-hearted interest will stay, or will show for long on their faces when they see just what fun you can have with 10mm. In fact, I imagine their expressions will change to pure envy as they too wish they had a similar collection as your own

Six  

[fred.]

Bases

I used 12mm plastic counters, and while they are a good size they are really a bit light so figures tend to topple over. UK 1p coins have a good weight to them but are bit large at 19mm.

Coins are very cheap as bases even the smallest plastic counters are 2.5p each.

If you really want square bases then I don't think I have seen any small ones