144artist paints Mantic’s Terrain Crate

A friend suggested the Magic Mirror from Snow White as the subject for the oval picture frame.  I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of it myself but it is mine now.  A little google research brought up a couple of images I could combine.  In addition I found a color chart for face painting the mirror’s face which was a great way to start out.

Now I have to get back to my Elven Mona Lisa…

Okay, I am down to the last few pieces and Terrain Crate1 (plus a few things) will be finished and before TC2 arrives at my house (so far).  Granted these pieces have the potential for the most detail work and have really set off my indecision but I am confident there are only a few hours of detail work left at this point.  So here are the last remaining pieces that are on my table.  In fact, here are some pictures of my table as well.

I haven’t decided if I will call this Project Blog complete when I’m done or simply roll it into the pieces from the second campaign.

The fountains from the Temple set were already done and added to my Wolsung terrain collection but the rest of the white plastic pieces had been waiting for my attention.  I painted the half circle steps the same color so I could put them together as a complete disc.  The other two sets I painted differently with one in white stone and the other in grey.  There are two open books in the set, one of which I decided to try and portray a personal holy tome.

…and the Dark Lord’s Tower set is complete and it was a big one. Well, big in that it had a lot of parts, everything from a summoning circle to cobwebs to traps that deter any overly curious would be heroes. As I was assembling the parts I realized I had already painted the dark altar and packed it away.  It has now rejoined the rest of the set to mollify my OCD tendencies and can be seen in the photos.  I think the raven on his stand is one of my favorite details.

The all white Temple set is finished and will be posted as soon as I photograph it as I am rather pleased with one of the Holy Books.  That leaves two Campsite sets and the Throne Room to finish off and their parts are all on the painting table right now.  I have a solid idea of what to paint on the hanging tapestry but am still undecided (hard to believe) as to what will go on the two framed paintings.

The final (of three) Tavern set is now complete. I’m calling the three Barracks sets finished as well even though two of the parchments aren’t.  I know what I’m going to do on them; a second Hobbit Map and something else I’m not going to share yet. To be honest, just deciding what details to go with is the hardest and most time consuming part of all this for me.  Every set is finished or on the table except the Throne Room where my characteristic indecision has been a major hurdle. I’m happy to say I think I’ve solved most of it but we will have to see.  A little hint at the end of my next posting.

I just got an email saying Mantic’s HQ in England is packed full of rewards while the US shipping center is expecting the containers any day now.  Stay on target…

Another set, Torture Chamber, is complete and photographed.  Fun little bits that really came together quickly.  Good thing too because the email from Mantic said the cargo ship with Terrain Crate2 on board is due to US soil around the 18th of this month. I had a WizKids Ironmaiden figure waiting on the table as well so threw it into the mix as it was a natural fit.

I have now finished painting the last set of Scatter Terrain as well as the second of three Tavern sets.  One of the stretch goals added extra bits of stuff so I have three of these sets. Hmm, wonder if someone I know would want one.  Anyway, I just received an email saying the Terrain Crate 2 rewards on ships leaving China and only weeks from the various distribution centers around the world so I am running out of time to get all these done before the next plastic crack arrives. I started the Temple set that is cast in white as I want to use the fountains in my Wolsung set ups.

Now back to the painting table. These Barracks aren’t going to paint themselves after all.

It has been quite some time since I last posted progress on actual Mantic Terrain Crate minis what with the last couple posts actually being of Reaper Bones pieces but that is to be remedied now.  I have been working on this collection, in between other minis, but haven’t been photographing much of it.  Funny how all these little,”I’ll do that later” projects are getting done right now.  I finished off my second cart set which means all I have remaining of the Battlefield Crate is the Campsite collection. I’m looking forward to those, actually because I want the square tents to be decorated in the heraldry of some of my knightly figures.

Next are the last of the Tables and Chairs from the Town Crate.  Not much left in this one either, beyond some from the Guard Room and the Tavern as well as the Throne Room.  Gotta admit to finding the last one a little intimidating as I just don’t know what to do with either the carpet or the wall hangings.  I better decide quickly, Terrain Crate2 just verified my shipping address and word is the rewards will be en route soon.

I finished off the last two sets of Reaper Bones floor tiles this weekend.  Not sure how I will use them in games yet but I know they will be fun backgrounds for photographing the rest of Mantic’s Terrain Crate pieces.

Okay, these pieces are from the Reaper Bones4 Kickstart rewards, not Terrain Crate, but I have already shown one of them with Bilbo’s Map and I still have yet to set up a Reaper Bones Project Blog.  So I am posting my progress here as they fit the theme.  There are four different double sided tiles, so eight different surfaces and I have finished two sets.  Some of them look like they were designed to be combined.  While they fit perfectly with my Secret Weapon Dungeon Tiles, they also work well all on their own.

As soon as I saw the parchment pieces in the Barracks set I knew what one of them had to be, the map from the front of The Hobbit, or as I think of it, Bilbo’s Map.  As fellow Tolkieniphiles  I think @brennon and @dracs will appreciate this one.

I wanted to show it at an upcoming convention, KublaCon but it lacked something all on it’s own.  That’s when I realized I could just Blu-Tac Terrain Crate pieces together to make a nice frame work.  To be honest, there was less of the Blu-Tac showing when I entered it and it has gotten a little messy since.  Add in one Bones4 Dungeon Tile and I had a vignette.  I have to admit that while I am pleased with the display solution it is the map itself I’m proudest of.  It came out better than I thought my old eyes and arthritic hands could muster.  Chuffed to say that despite the BluTac it earned a gold.

Now, what am I going to paint on the other two parchments?

With completion of the last Mine and Treasury details I have now finished all the pieces that came in the Dungeon Crate. The following two images are the two sides of the contents sheet. The gallery is of these recent pieces.

So here are shots of the full sets.  Well, minus the white plinth from the Treasury I painted previously as I seem to have misplaced it.

The Blacksmith pieces from the Town Terrain Crate are painted and ready for the gaming table.  A neat set full of fun little details from the bellows and pump to the hay bales and horse poop.  I have this vision of the planning meeting with Ronnie standing there, animatedly saying,”You know what no one is making for mins games? Horse poop, that’s what!”  So now they are in my painted terrain collection.

The second gallery is made up of images of the second Scatter set from my Dungeon Terrain Crate.  That means I’m just about done painting everything from that box.  I’d really like to have all four finished before the rewards from Mantic’s second Terrain Crate Kickstart campaign arrive.  Goals.

I am moving through the Dungeon Terrain Crate at a rather steady clip right now.  Several of the sets within are now completely painted (Wizard’s Study, Dungeon Debris, and Traps) while a couple have less than half their pieces awaiting paint (Abandoned Mine and Treasure Room).  The giant boulder was part of the Dark Lord’s Tower box but really belongs with the Traps since the rope and wedge are in there.  I believe the ladder is included to navigate the traps in order to reach the control lever.  The Kickstart rewards came with multiples of all the pieces except the boulder so I will have to take a big group shot once they’re all done.

So the set titled Wizard’s Library is finished.  It is really just one of the Library sets added to the Wizard’s Study but who doesn’t like more book shelves? I went with a slightly lighter wood color for the shelves and a darker tone for the desk.  As with the other two sets these painted up quickly even adding details to the book spines which is actually easy to do and adds nicely to the overall look.

I have now completed the Battlefield Objectives set for Vanguard and while not from the Kickstart campaign it is from the Terrain Crate line so I am adding it to my Finished/Win column.  While counters, chits, or colored dice can all do the same job, having set pieces for the objectives just adds to the overall visual for me and I look forward to playing some games with these very soon.

The galleries start with the Hostage marker followed by the three Supplies tokens.  I think these would look great even as just scatter terrain or wares for market stalls.  Next is the Paychest which has many obvious uses and I close with not only the Dead Spy marker but the Satchel/Plans marker as well in case he ditched it before he died.

I think that as of late, Mantic has really done some great terrain pieces, maybe some of their strongest stuff, and this set is among the best they have released yet.  It certainly bodes well for the pieces in Terrain Crate2 next year.

From the Dungeon Crate I finished the first of three Mine Sets.  These are pretty straight forward and will work with my Secret Weapon Dungeon Tiles very nicely.  The tracks and cart are almost the same sizes.  Again, it’s the little details that bring the set to life.  The pick axe, the crystal, and the little pile of gold nuggets add to the mood of a setup.  I really like the broken track and with three sets of these I can see a long line with the unknown damage right in the middle or maybe the parallel track is out so choose wisely at the intersection.

Hmmm, my post just disappeared into the interwebs so I will try again.

I’ve finally completed the Wizard’s Study pieces from the Kickstart Rewards.  The retail set comes with a Library set as well and those are now on the table.  Once they’re complete I will have quite collection of painted Terrain Crate and will have to start doing environmental shots of grouped pieces.  For now I’ll start with the cabinet before pulling up a comfy chair.  From there I have the owl familiar, magic mirror, scrying pool, and astrolabe, and a collection of details.  The scrying pool really needs some updated pictures now that I’ve added Secret Weapon’s Realistic Water to the surface.

Not exactly “Terrain Crate” and definitely not from the Kickstart rewards but the Vanguard Objectives set seems to fit the spirit and are made by Mantic so I’m including them in the project blog.  I’ve got about half of them painted so far.  No surprise that I am having a lot of fun with these and now even more eager to try the game.

Part of my Terrain Crate collection includes pieces that are from the original Dungeon Saga Kick Start because the collections fit together so seamlessly.  The gallery is a mix of the smaller bits.  The book stand and tome are some of my favorites of these but being a dwarf at heart it is probably the dwarf throne which tops my list.