A Year in Miniatures 4: Gary the Crocodile
Sometimes you see a model and simply have to have it - something about it sparks an idea, or fits perfectly with a project you had in mind. And sometimes, a model is simply adorable!
Acquired a few of the Nolzur’s Marvelous Miniatures range since they came out, and while I like the transparent parts they like to incorporate, I’ve never been totally sure what to actually do with them - they’re often clear where I’d want colour (and experiments with washes have, so far, been unsuccessful. They also tend to be tricky to mask off if you want to employ an airbrush or rattle can, which I do since I much prefer working over a black basecoat than the white with which wizkids prime their unpainted range. This crocodile, however, with his large transparent base, I knew exactly what I wanted to do: paint the colours I wanted onto the underside so that they would show through distorted by the irregular surface above them.
I was initially dreading having to mask off the crocodile himself for basecoating, but it turns out a little bit of force was all that was needed to separate him. Cue a series of mental adjustments as I wrapped my mind around painting layers in reverse, with anything I wanted to be the most visible having to go on first, followed by the nerve-wracking realisation that I would be unable to paint over any mistakes - if I decided I needed to change something I’d have to strip the whole thing back to bare plastic. On the plus side, all I needed was a bunch of abstract shapes and colours which is hard to get wrong! The only feature I knew had to be there was a dark region directly below and extending behind the crocodile to suggest both his shadow and the rest of his body extending under the water. The final touch was drybrushing a little white onto the top to pick out the waves and give it a slightly more dynamic feeling.
The crocodile himself was a quick, fun paintjob, and something of a unwind after the dramatic, display standard work I’ve been wrapping up so far - all of the detail is concentrated on the face with the rest being a combination of air- and dry-brushing. It also involved a lot of looking at photographs of crocodiles, which is surprisingly relaxing. Also I’d never realised until I tried to paint one how pink the inside of a crocodile’s mouth is…
So anyway, a quick fun model this week, but a very satisfying one. Next time: something else D&D-ish!
22/01/22
Weeks Elapsed: 4
Miniatures Finished: 6
