Another eclectic assortment of minis painted this week.

Left to right:

I thought this was a beetle from a Warhammer Fantasy Battles Swarm. However, I cannot find any info about the mini in that format. What I have been able to find online is that this very model is a Fire Beetle from a much earlier set, the BDD2 Dungeon and Dragons Dungeon Monsters from the mid-1980s!
Now, I am pretty sure I never owned this box, but I do have several other bugs from the slightly later C29 /insects series that are very similar. And these are all cast in lead free white metal, not lead metal.
So what I believe might be the case here, is that these minis were re-released at some point as swarms but only for a short period? My hunch is during the Dark Shadows campaign of 2001 when a few special models were available, such as the fen beast and the twin giants? Or maybe I got them that time I was visiting WH HQ back when Necromunda first was released and got to pick bits from the parts warehouse and pay by weight? I honestly don’t remember.

Whatever the case might be, I painted it with a coat of glossy black, and two coats of Vallejo The Shifters 77.018 Dark Green / Tin. Really shimmery beetle-like.
Metal.

The base is 20x25mm. The legs are all hidden in the undergrowth…

Twisted Tales was a series of minis made for the game of the same name back in 2005 or so. The line was picked up by Hasslefree Miniatures in 2008, but has subsequently been discontinued. The Twisted Tales URL has been taken over by some domain-name scalper.
This is “Volath the Vengeful” from that line. I don’t really know much more about it, such as who the sculptor is or whatnot. I got it through a second hand purchase some time ago.
A lovely little old school chaos dwarf.
Metal, 30mm base

Frankenstein’s Monster aka Flesh Golem.
This is one of the models I have rescued from the lead rot pile.
Well, it is cast in unleaded metal and not subject to lead rot, but it was still in the pile, ok?
When Magic: The Gathering became a phenomenon back in the early to mid-90s, licensed products followed. There was a series of (very hard alloy) metal minis made by Heartbreaker Miniatures based on artwork from early Magic cards. This one is based on the artwork of the card named “Frankenstein’s Monster” from the third expansion set The Dark (1994). That image only shows the monster from the shoulders up, but the back-of-head-comb-over and the metal strips on the otherwise bald pate are present.
This series of minis were made in the smaller scale usual for RPG minis at the time, and cast with an integral base.
Metal, 30mm base

The Bones 5 core set Dreadwolves.
The much larger alpha that goes with these was painted last week.

The Dreadwolves are made in Bones Black hard PVC and I based them on 50x30mm bases.

77332 Derro Fighter (Spearman) from the Reaper Bones 2 kickstarter, Expansion 1. Looking over that image now, I see I only have 8 or so minis left to paint from the entire expansion. Maybe I will fast track those.
This mini has something strange going on on the top of the right hand, a cavity of some sort. I don’t know if this is a casting issue, or if it is present on just my mini or on all or most of the minis. Maybe an air bubble or something?
I made him a ginger just to get some colour in. Also the’ tache and general hairdo gave me flashbacks of an angry celtic warrior from some artwork I vaguely remember from decades ago. A childrens history book about the Dark Ages perhaps?

Sculpted by Derek Schubert
Bones classic white soft PVC, 25mm base

07059 Blackmane, Gnoll Ravager

From Reapers Bones USA Dungeon Dwellers line, 2022
Sculpted by Julie Guthrie
Looks like he just stubbed a toe.
Bones USA / Siocast, 30mm base

Ungorth, aka the Dark Apostle.
From Reaper Bones 5 Fan Favorites expansion.
Made in Bones Black hard PVC

I recently made a 27,5mm diameter base as I found 25mm were often slightly too small, and 30mm slightly to big. I find that this size fits many of the Bones minis far better.

Gnoll Pirates are a thing, now? Gives a new flavour to the “old sea dog”-expression. Arr.
Another recent Bones USA release: Hakkle, the Gnoll “Ranger” (Ranger? Yeah, right! Reaper’s new give-everything-neutral-descriptive-names-policy bears some strange fruit.) What’s wrong with calling a pirate a pirate?
This time in Reaper’s “Legends” line up. Which is a competely different line from Reapers “Dark Heaven Legends” line up.
Yeah, so. Confusing nomenclature, by Reaper^tm

…And why does this model have “archer” as a keyword in the Reaper online store?

Hakkle, Gnoll Ranger
Sculpted by Julie Guthrie
Bones USA / Siocast, 30mm base, 2021

From one of the power-up add ons for the Bones 5 KS, a female werewolf. Cue Jimi Hendrix.

Made in Bones Black hard PVC, 30mm base

Another refugee from the Lead Rot pile. This is one of a series called “Kelts” , made by Harlequin Miniatures mid-to-late 90s. These were part of Harlequin’s earliest offerings and have integral bases. They are still available from North Star Military Figures.
This model has some mould slippage, evident along the bow arm. I have tried to scrape and file off most of it. I painted this to see how it would work even with the moulding problems, before I do the rest of them. /there are more/

Sculpted by Roy Eastland
Metal, 25mm base

This is a similar mini to the beetle at the top. Citadel Miniatures
From the late 80s Creepy Crawlies C29/snakes, rereleased as jungle swarms for the Lizardmen early 00s?

Metal, 35x25mm base

Total painted so far this year: 110 / 365. Just 255 to go!

January: 31 + 9
February: 34 + 17
March: 19