Thursday 22 September 2016

Shadows of Brimstone Tentacles and Lavamen

One monster type that is common to both of the Shadows of Brimstone boxed starter sets (City of the Ancients and Swamps of Death) are the Tentacles. You get six Tentacles in each set and they come in two each of three different sculpts. They are all one-piece castings.
Bursting through the ground or up out of the water, these enormous, writhing tentacles lash about smashing anything in their path. Straight from the Void, it is unclear as to whether these appendages operate on their own or are part of a larger creature below the surface. Two rows of vicious suckers line the underside of each tentacle, gripping and pulsating as they undulate overhead. Waiting for the moment to wrap themselves around their victims and pull them screaming into the darkness.
None of these figures have been converted. I did add small pieces of bark to their bases to show that they have punched through rocky ground. The tentacles are not that great a threat if the Heroes encounter them at a distance where they can pick them off with Ranged Attacks. However, they are far more deadly if they make an Ambush Attack.
Here are all twelve of my Tentacles grouped together. These are really well sculpted with a nice chunky feel to them. My colour schemes are a straight copy from the artwork in the two Adventure Books. They range in height from 32mm to 42mm.
The main featured Enemies of the Caverns of Cynder expansion set are the Lava Men. Beastly creatures formed from molten magma, Lava men are monstrous guardians that roam the other worldly Caverns of Cynder. Forged by dark and ancient magic, these constructs rise up out of the lava to attack unwary travellers, and pull them down into the fiery depths. Their bodies have a flowing core of burning lava which cools to a hardened outer shell on the surface, creating an armoured skin of blackened rock, while their gaping maw and Cyclopean eye shimmer with the searing heat of their hatred. Even the very ground they walk on is set ablaze with every step they take. Lava Men are seemingly the ambassadors to Hell itself and they are waiting for those greedy and foolish enough to enter their world.
You get three Lava Men in this big boxed expansion set. Each is a one-piece sculpt made of hard plastic. They come with 40mm diameter bases and each one is about 50mm tall. I covered their bases with Milliput and used a wooden cocktail stick to scribe in the lava flows whilst the Milliput was still unhardened. To paint them I started off by painting them white around their mouths and eyes then gradually spread out with lemon, yellow, orange, red and dark red the further I got away from the mouths and eyes. The bases got progressively lighter the further away from the bodies the lava flows went. Once the paint was dry I then added all of the black bits, which was a lengthy process. I found it easier to do it this way than starting by painting them black and filling in the gaps. I'm very happy with how they have turned out. They certainly stand out on my gaming table.

20 comments:

  1. Some good generic monsters Bryan that could see table time in a vast array of games. the tentacles look great but your painting on the lava men is the star of the post! These would look great in a Flash Gordon type game (a favourite genre of mine!).

    Cheers Roger.

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    1. I wholly agree, Roger. I can think of a number of games I'd like to use these figures in. I am well aware of your love for Flash Gordon, so I'm not surprised you'd want to use them as an adversary for the great man.

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  2. Tentacles are always scary (well, *big* ones are). However, I really like the painting on those lava men; the gradual shading from dull red to incandescent white/yellow is very effective.

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    1. Thanks, Hugh. Yes, tentacles are always scary. I am delighted with how my Lava Men turned out. You can almost feel the heat emanating from them.

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  3. Wife, `what are you looking at ?'
    `Tentacles'
    Wife, `Why?'
    `They're really good tentacles and I need inspiration to paint some Zombie Trolls!
    Wife, `Oh?'
    You'd think after being together for so long she'd just give up asking.

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  4. Terrific posting Bryan. Those tentacles look awesome in their blue colour scheme. But you really do excel at painting lava creatures etc. Quite simply magnificent stuff sir, and well worth the extra effort on the bases. You should be very happy indeed with how they've turned out - I know I would be!!

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    1. Much appreciated, Simon. I think both the Tentacles and Lava Men exceeded my expectations and, yes, I am very happy with the results.

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  5. The Lava men do look good and taking nothing away from them at all. BUT the tentacles they are the business.

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    1. Cheers, Clint. I can't pick a favourite between the two because I really like them both.

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  6. Both look great. Love the Lava men the effect you done is fabulous!

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    1. Thanks, Simon. Your comment is much appreciated.

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  7. I like these very much indeed. The best you`ve done by far.

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    1. Thanks, Steve. I think you can tell that painting these was a real labour of love.

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  8. The tentacles are good but the lava men are excellent!

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  9. THese are really great paintjobs Bryan! Your patience must be endless. Reminds me of painting giraffes, pretty much the same principle.

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    1. Thanks kindly, Roger. I can totally see where you're coming from with your painting giraffes reference.

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  10. hmmmm, I`ve seen a lot of Brimstone figures painted over the months/years, on line, and both at conventions and clubs, and I think these guys (tentacles and lava monsters) you have done are the best I`ve ever seen.. that's including our own lol.

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    1. That's very high praise indeed. Thank you so much, Hil.

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