#HeroQuest2019: Into the breach…
Work on my current endeavour to paint a complete HeroQuest set continues, and while today’s update may not be the most exciting one, it was always clear that this project wasn’t going to be all shiny hero models — no, a true dungeon master also needs enough monstrous henchmen, so I continued the project by painting some of the HeroQuest monsters:
During my previous attempt at painting HeroQuest models (back in 2014), I had already finished a couple of test models for some of the monster races included in the game, so I already had a basic idea of what I was going for:
While I knew I would have to slightly tweak some of the recipes, this was still a solid base to start from, if nothing else.
For starters, I chose to work on the Orcs, the most numerous monsters to appear in the HeroQuest box. The base game comes with eight of them, I already had the one test model (that would only need a few minor touch ups), and I decided to throw in an extra Orc to bring the overall number up to ten. Ultimately, my goal is to have the sixteen Orcs that are required to also be able to run the “Kellar’s Keep” expansion, but for now, nine Orcs to paint seemed just tedious enough for me π
Like I said, my test model seemed like a good place to start, with a tweak or two. I definitely wanted to keep the recipe for the skin — it’s an approach I discovered a couple of years ago over at A Gentleman’s Ones, and it has served me really well over the years, making for a convincing looking green skin that also has a certain warmth and organic look to it. So that was definitely a keeper. I also wanted to keep the overall, slightly grimy and dirty look, mostly because it just seemed like a good match for Orcs.
Now the basic sculpt of the HeroQuest Orc is pretty cool, but the models are also all virtually identical, except for their weapons: There are four different weapons and I had nine models left to paint, so I decided to go with differently coloured smocks for every three models or so, just to add a bit of variety. Apart from this variation, however, I basically stuck to batch painting the models:
While this worked fairly well, I discovered once again that batch painting simply isn’t for me. There’s also the fact that the HeroQuest Orcs are just complex enough to be slightly irritating when you batch paint them, but I gritted my teeth and soldiered on. And here are my finished Orcs:
Now these guys certainly aren’t award winning material, but they work well as a group, and I’d say there’s just enough colour variation to keep things interesting. I also changed my recipe for painting the weapons a bit when compared to my test model, and I think the dark metal look, with added scratches, works better than the initial approach.
Two quests in the standard HeroQuest questbook call for an Orc warlord, who uses the model with the curved, notched Scimitar, so I gave that particular model a red jacket, to set him apart from the rank and file. While I may end up creating a dedicated warlord model at some point, this guy should work well enough whenever I want to stay within the framework provided by the classic models.
So here’s a closer look at the different weapons and fabric colours:
Oh, and I guess it’s pretty obvious how, like my previous HeroQuest models, these ten should also definitely count as contributions towards Azazel’s “Neglected models” community challenge for February π
Anyway, with ten models completed, I felt I had earned a little fun for myself, so I ended up creating a custom model for a HeroQuest NPC: The second quest in the classic quest book is about rescuing an Empire Knight captured by the Orcs, one Sir Ragnar (or Sir Manfred, in the original UK version. He’s Ragnar in the German version, though, probably because Manfred is a pretty common German first name — a name suited to your dad or uncle, however, not to a mighty Knight from a fantastic realm. Just saying…).
Now the actual game doesn’t feature a dedicated model for Sir Ragnar, as he is intended to be represented by the Chaos Warlock model — but, come on, I couldn’t let that stand, right?
While doing a bit of research, I stumbled upon this custom model for Sir Ragnar/Manfred, commissioned by fellow hobbyist Lestodante:
And while this basically seemed like the ideal solution – the model actually looks like an actual, official HeroQuest model, the chances to get my hands on one of those seemed slim to nonexistent, so I had to get creative myself.
Taking quite a bit of inspiration from Lestodante’s model, I kitbashed my own Sir Ragnar. Seeing how the character is an Empire Knight from the (almost-) Warhammer world of HeroQuest, I mostly used plastic Empire bitz, some of them rather vintage, which was key for achieving that slightly clunky, vintage HeroQuest look. So here’s my version of Sir Ragnar:
The conversion is actually really simple, combining a set of legs from the old Empire state troops with a torso and arms from the – still available – flagellants and an old plastic Knights of the White Wolf head. I wanted Sir Ragnar to look like he had spent quite some time in captivity, hence the shaggy beard and tattered shirt. Both his hands and neck are also manacled, which I think is a good way to represent both this captivity and his less than stellar stat-line in the game.
I also did my best to make sure he matched the rest of the HeroQuest models in scale. Oh, and I gave him a proper HeroQuest base, of course, salvaged from a heavily damaged Skeleton model.
All in all, I am pretty happy with the finished model — and building a character to match the classic miniature style was a neat little creative challenge!
So yeah, if nothing else, you can see how I am taking this project rather seriously π I would love to hear your thoughts about my progress so far! And, as always, thanks for looking and stay tuned for more!
February 28, 2019 at 14:38
HA!
Sehr gut. Nicht nur gut umgesetzt bislang sondern im Ganzen auch ein phantastisches Projekt.
Ich habe mein HQ vom Dachboden geholt als mein Sohn alte genug war und wann immer wir spielen, denke ich mir, wie viel cooler es wΓ€re mit bemalten Figuren…
March 4, 2019 at 16:22
Vielen Dank! Genau aus demselben Gedanken heraus habe ich jetzt endlich mal angefangen, das Spiel ernsthaft zu bemalen. Sonst gehen noch zehn Jahre ins Land — und irgendwann geht es mit den BemalfΓ€higkeiten dann ja auch nicht mehr bergauf, sondern ganz im Gegenteil… π
February 28, 2019 at 16:00
Awesome! I have fond memories of heroquest, and I always love seeing the old models get some fresh paint!
March 4, 2019 at 16:23
Cheers, mate! π
February 28, 2019 at 18:27
Very nice mate – great idea for the prisoner too, heβs perfect!
March 4, 2019 at 16:23
Thanks, Alex! I had fun coming up with a suitable model for him!
February 28, 2019 at 18:43
Damn! I probably should finish my set too one of these days π
March 4, 2019 at 16:24
You should! It’s been a ton of fun so far, as you can really blaze through some of the models, while some others are an unexpected delight to paint.
February 28, 2019 at 18:52
Simple but super effective conversion !
March 4, 2019 at 16:24
Thanks, remi! π
February 28, 2019 at 20:21
They look great. I do like your own converted model.
Cheers,
Pete.
March 4, 2019 at 16:24
Thanks a lot, Pete!
February 28, 2019 at 22:18
I’m really enjoying these posts! Nicely done Sir Ragnar!
March 4, 2019 at 16:24
Thanks a lot! π
March 1, 2019 at 08:11
Nice progress on this project. I agree on your point about batch painting. But finishing a bunch of models at once is very satisfying and helps to stay motivated in my opinion .
I really like your style of painting orc skin and the colours you’ve used for the fabrics are choosen well and are looking great.
Your custom Sir Ragnar is really well done and he fits nicely to the older minis.
March 4, 2019 at 16:26
Cheers, Lars! This project has made me realise that batch painting isn’t for me, and I am having a hard time batch painting anything more complex than HeroQuest monsters. But you are right, of course: Finishing ten little guys at the same time does feel pretty great π
March 1, 2019 at 09:09
did I say I love this HQ stuff already? ok, I love it! and creating your own sir Manfred (in Italy he was sir Manfred, as in the UK) is a very good idea, and a great way of having a break from batch painting which, even though rewarding in the end, I used to find boring sometimes… I am feeling motivation to paint my old HQ models rising…
March 4, 2019 at 16:26
They could at least have called him Manfredo in Italy, eh? π Seriously, though: Cheers for the comment!
March 1, 2019 at 11:47
Holy crap what a surge of nostalgia this was. These look really fantastic and I’m getting mixed emotions about my positive memories of playing this with my brother and the fact that that game is long gone.
So cool man.
March 4, 2019 at 16:27
Thanks a lot, mate! I feel your (phantom) pain regarding HeroQuest am I am so happy I still have an almost complete set!
March 4, 2019 at 16:46
I remember havming loads of photocopies of the map layout and designing so many of my own dungeon layouts using all of our expansions and stuff… that we never played. π
March 4, 2019 at 19:35
Haha, who didn’t come up with dozens of scenarios? I remember many jolly games that mostly consisted of me trying to annihilate my fellow players in the most cruel way possible — I didn’t really get the whole GM angle back then, I guess… π
March 1, 2019 at 13:59
Awesome as always. Love the goblins’ robes.
March 4, 2019 at 16:27
Thanks, man! π
March 3, 2019 at 11:26
Hi KrautScientist, just to avoid confusion, I didn’t commisioned that Sir Ragnar to the author. It was sculpted by Italian artist Marco Partenzi on his own, then when after few years he finally decided to made it available to the masses a certain number was required for the production so I ordered some.
What I commissioned was instead the Witch Lord miniature to another Italian artist, Fabio Rizzo.
Anyway, as I already sayd somewhere else, great job with your painting and conversions!
March 4, 2019 at 16:28
Cheers for clarifiyng that, Lestodante! And thanks for the comment! Your work has been a huge inspiration so far! π
March 3, 2019 at 11:53
The best thing about Hero Quest is the Dwarf! ;P … and your paint jobs are spot on to how I think I would redo my Hero Quest models if I could find them!
March 4, 2019 at 16:28
Ah yes, “true masters of the game”, will, of course, choose the dwarf π
Thanks for the comment! π
March 3, 2019 at 23:48
He’s definitely sir Ragnar in my (UK) copy of heroquest.
Maybe he was Manfred in the US version? Or maybe it was changed in a subsequent a edition?
Have you got any designs on painting the models from the ogre horde, or Wizards of morcar expansions?
The ogres were pretty detailed models, and the Wizards were a little more dynamic than some of the standard evil henchmen.
I came across some cool reimaginings of the Wizards of morcar on cool mini or not:
http://www.coolminiornot.com/374894
Pretty good. Maybe once you’ve finished the original models you could try kitbashing some more up to date versions of these models?
March 4, 2019 at 17:23
Huh, is that right? I only learned earlier this year that he wasn’t just Sir Ragnar in every version — although I suppse the Manfred monicker makes sense, given the heavily Germanic nature of the WFB Empire. Then again, to a German, it would have been a super weird name choice for a character in a fantasy game, seeing how Manfred is a pretty pedestrian German first name π
As for the Ogre Horde or the Wizards of Morcar, I could kick myself that I never managed to get my hands on any of those — the wizards, in particular, seem so tempting to me, although they are crazy expensive these days. To add insult to injury, of course my friend Annie has ALL of those models…
As for kitbashing my own models, let’s just say that Sir Ragnar wasn’t the only conversion project…
March 4, 2019 at 16:21
[…] A blog about KrautScientist's wargaming exploits « #HeroQuest2019: Into the breach… […]
March 4, 2019 at 19:40
Just room after too of gargoyles and traps? π
March 4, 2019 at 19:43
Haha, right on! π
I remember one particular game where I actually…
1. Filled an entire room with basically all of the skeleton models
2. Had so many fallen blocks that I actually boxed the heroes into a no-win condition and had to improvise.
3. Had my end boss escape via a set of stairs conveniently placed directly behind him, denying the heroes the kill.
Man, my younger self was a bit of an asshat…
March 4, 2019 at 19:54
π€£π€£π€£
March 5, 2019 at 02:12
Nice work on getting those cloned monopose orcs done, and to a nice standard as well. Sir Mannfred Ragnar looks especially great – and a good creative solution to the problem, as well!
March 7, 2019 at 19:00
Cheers, mate! It shouldn’t surprise you to learn that, after the mono-pose Orcs, the Ragnar model was a special treat π
March 10, 2019 at 08:37
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March 20, 2019 at 13:54
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March 27, 2019 at 15:48
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April 9, 2019 at 21:36
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April 23, 2019 at 15:45
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