Hey! A Reaper Miniature that’s actually not a Bones model!
This model is a long-neglected one with a story behind it. Sometime in the mid-noughties, the main independent games store in the Melbourne CBD (Mind Games) was having a painting competition involving Reaper models as a sort of promotion, apparently involving Reaper Miniatures themselves. I was a regular back then, and so I decided to join in. I looked amongst the offerings, and found this guy. So I bought him and took him home. I didn’t like the shitty square, lipped base that he came on, and decided to rebase him on a larger base, and as I’d “envisioned” the leaping-over-rock pose from the moment I saw the model, and a 25mm round just wasn’t large enough, or have enough gravitas.
So the next time I was in, a few days later, or possibly the following week, the sales attendant who I was on good terms with asked how it was going. I told him I’d started it and it was coming along, and that I’d changed up the base. He told me that the base thing would prevent me from entering and pointed to the part of the sign that for some reason specified that the figure needed to be based on the base it came on. I don’t remember my reply (it wasn’t rude, I’d have remembered that much).
So the next time I was in, he asked me about how the model was going again, and I told him that I’d lost interest because of the basing thing and wasn’t working on it anymore. He then told me that the base woundn’t matter, and encouraged me to finish it anyway to enter it, but the thing was, by that point, my enthusiasm had been completely deflated and the figure sat for over a decade, every so often I’d think about wanting to try to finish it, but basically, fuck-all had been done on it since.
And that brings us to now. This figure has sat in the tubs of stuff I’ve wanted to finish for at least a year now, but my recent run of working on Beastmen, along with this being a Neglected Model month was enough to finally get me to properly work on finishing this model off, though it was still something I had to force myself to do for the entire process – and it involved a hell of a lot of the work, as I hadn’t gotten a huge amount of it finished before the comment about basing that put me off completing the model.
Anyway, as you can see, he fits in reasonably well with the Citadel goat-headed Beastman Gors, despite quite a few colour choices that separate him (skin, fur, loincloth, shield). As I said, though – I was building on what was originally done in 2005 or thereabouts while trying to finally finish this bastard rather than going for a complete repaint (because then I’d never get the fucking thing completed). The armour was originally black where it’s now a blued silver, so I was probably going for a Khorne-theme back then rather than generic. Bloody typical!
Oh! And he’s now available in Bones!
This guy concludes my little Beastman/Beasts of Chaos tangent for this month, unless something amazingly unexpected happens in the next three days.
Azazel's Bitz Box. 
Fantastic work with the brush, having not seen this model before, was nice to see something different. The colours look great and with his size compared to the GW ones would make a great champion model
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Yeah, Reaper’s range is filled with random gems like this one. They’re just so well hidden in there prodigious catalogue. Sooner or (probably) later, he’ll lead a pack of Beastmen into furious blood and glory!
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Ooh, he is great, a proper bruiser.
Lovely painting too, really shows the fig off well.
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Thanks mate – he’s certainly got might on his side – and as we know, that makes right!
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Very nice – he’s got to be almost the size of the old Minotaur minis!
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That’s pretty accurate actually – for the smaller ones at least. I’ve got the old “hands-on-hips” one somewhere, and he’d be around the same size, though the Mino would be a bit more bulky in the arms, while Traeg here has more in the torso. Admittedly, though – those Minos were made to fit slottabases. I’ve also got one of the other really old ones… hell, now I want to search for the both of them to strip/paint.
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ah, sorry mate – didn’t mean to give you more work to do 😉
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All good. Biggest issue now is wondering where the hell they actually are…
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I like him- makes a great champion/ leader figure for the rest.
Cheers,
Pete.
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Yep, nice hefty size on him makes him a good hero figure.
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Your re-pose really helps there. The original looks pretty off-balance. The 32mm base was a good call, too. It’d probably still look somewhat off-balance on a 25. Looks really good as a champ for the Perry Beastmen, too, with the slightly finer detail, larger stature, and extra colour.
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Thanks, Alexis. He’s actually a touch bigger than that – he’s on a 40mm base! But yes, that pose doesn’t work to me on flat ground – he’s definitely a model that needs to be in that “one foot on a rock” pose that model makers seem so fond of even when unnecessary.
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Crikey! He’s absolutely brilliant! No need to say more! Worth the ten year wait! Did I say I thought he was brilliant!
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Thanks mate – that’s the silver lining. Me finishing him now means he’s ended up better than he would have been if I completed him back then.
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Cracking work! Makes me pie for the days of Reaper being the exotic metal imports! Nice attention to detail doing the woodgrain on the back of the shield.
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Thank you, Curis. My OCD means I always have to paint the backs and undersides and insides of things – even if they’re not going to be seen. Unless they’re glued shut. Then I *know* nobody will see them!
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Can I go back in time, and punch that clerk in the face? Seriously, just because of a stupid base. I guess on the plus side, you could do the model more justice with your improved painting skills.
Looks brilliant, and quite an awesome champion for the Beastie Boys.
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Nah, he was (and presumably still is) a very cool guy (and an excellent painter). He didn’t make the rules, and he’d have said that to prevent my model from being disqualified by one of the managers (who could be a dick at times). When he said “it wouldn’t matter” it would have been because he’d have been willing to go to bat to me against the manager. But still, by that point I was deflated on the model anyway. And yeah, it’s better now than it would have been then.
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Too bad they turned out that way in the first place. Does the same person still manage the store? It’s funny, I do so much online shopping now, that I forget about the days of dealing with crappy retail clerks. Seemed to be the worse in comic and hobby shops. Too bad, because the nice ones really make a difference, but it’s getting harder and harder to beat online prices and convenience.
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I think everyone who worked there back in those days has long moved on by now. To be replaced with a new combo of people who are nice and people who are wankers, if my last few trips there have been any indication…
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Really like this beastman. Truly spectacular and methinks the metal makes a difference in the sculpt. The shading and highlighting on all of it merits many more words of praise than I will add here. I am so selfishly happy that clerk deflated you so that we could see this guy. IN METAL AS OF OLD!
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Thanks Mark! Most of the stuff I’m getting done and posted here is still old metal (does that make it like Black Sabbath?) – and certainly all of the beastmen I’ve finished! 🤘
If anything, I need to get more modern-ish plastic stuff done! 😉
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Ha! Love it!
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Nearly missed this post which would have been a shame because then I would have missed a great looking figure. Very nice mate and the change of base makes for a significant improvement.
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Thanks IMP! 😉
As you’d know, Reaper has some real beauties in their catalogue. I’d love to see this model integrated into one of your dioramas – charging uphill or leaping off a 12′ sheer precipice onto foes below!
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Here we go again, anotber one added to the bloddy to do list! 😉
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Excellent…
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That shop assistant sounds like a right fool. Their loss though. Your tweaks have improved the model immeasurably over the original, good to see him finished at last so he can claim the praise he deserves! 🙂
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Nah, as explained in my reply to Faust, he was always a cool guy and if anything it would have been for my benefit in terms of the contest. I’m just happy to finally have him done (and out of my bloody way, finally!)
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Yeah, just read over your reply to Faust, in which case I completely sympathise with the bloke and how frustrating that must have been for him (I’m sure we’ve all had managers like that, I know I have). Anyway, I know right now you’re probably just pleased to have that goat off the painting desk but he’s definitely one to be proud of 🙂
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Yeah, I’ve certainly had jobs where the managers (or owners) were arseholes. Luckily I’m past that now, with my team leader and local bosses both being good to work with, and I’ve told the IT guys I now directly manage to let me know if they ever think I’m being a dick to other people in the organisation. (My predecessor was.) Doesn’t mean you need to be a pushover or a yes-man to anyone, just not an arsehole and put the objectives of the workplace above personal feelings when people you might not care for that much ask for things rather than use your power to be a dick just because you can.
ahem.
Yep, it’s quite a nice feeling to get him done. It’s especially rewarding when it’s an old, long-neglected figure in general, but even moreso when it’s been a figure you’re wanted to or tried to do something on for a long or sustained period as opposed to having been buried and forgotten like the minotaur-headed beastman from the other day.
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Superb !
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Thank you! 🙂
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I’ve got this model and it’s looking pretty good, but your pics helped me see a few things I can clean up to really get him looking right. I’ll post him up when I get him done.
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Thanks Kenny. Do get him posted up when he’s done. I always love to see what people have done with models I’ve painted (or own and are yet to paint) – especially the less “owned by everyone” models (like Space Marines).
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I am surprised to read it is a Reaper beastman. Fits the GW style quite well. Painting is as always spot on and looks smashing. The base is simple yet naturalistic enough and provides some nice textures and subdued colours. I especially like the metals and the skintone.
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