Today I have the first of (and maybe only? we’ll see how the month pans out) my submissions for this month’s Model painting challenge – the Colossal Skeleton from Reaper Miniatures’ Bones line. I think it was from their first Bones Kickstarter, but frankly I can’t be arsed to check, as at this point it hardly matters. This model was a nightmare for me (no pun intended) due to the rather horrid properties of the Bones Material, going sticky over time along with ill-defined details. The model is actually heavily based on a metal counterpart, though given the need to glue and join something like that together, I can only imagine it also being a nightmare as well, albeit of a mostly different sort.
I started this large, skinny fellow a couple of years ago – which you can easily spot by the use of the Square base – based as he is for Kings of War and Marouda’s Undead Army. So why did he take so long to get done? He’s mostly bone, isn’t he? After all, that’s easy enough to do..
Well, the issues I had with the model were a combination of the bone layers becoming rather tacky early on in the project, as well as all of the fidldy little details scattered across the model. The problem with those details is that most of them are pretty well ill-defined and simply …mushy. I found that particular combination rather off-putting, and despite any number of challenges over the last almost-a-year by now, from Dreadtober, Neglected Models, Jewel of July, Monster March… and on and on, I never could get more than a little of him done. In the first few days of this month however, after going to bed, I had a feeling come over me that I would finish the model that weekend. And so, somehow, I did just that.
In my little epiphany, I knew that I needed to break down the model into managable chunks. Good thing he was an unassembled multipart model, then – so legs and base, torso with head attached, and two arms. And then I worked on the fucker for most of the two days in my spare time. And it somehow worked – at the end of the weekend, he was done. And varnished both with Reaper’s own brush-on and AK Interactive’s matte. Somehow it’s also not sticky or even tacky. Yet.
A scale shot, along with some of his little (aka regular, human-sized) mates.
So now, after at least a couple of years, this big bastard is done, and I’m actually quite happy with it. My problem with him now becomes where to store it, especially since the Undead Army is already overflowing their shelf. Ah well, there are worse problems to have in life.
Now, the next question will be if I can get another awesome model done for August, or if it will remain with just the one completed for the challenge. Either way, it’s mission accomplished as far as I’m concerned.
Azazel's Bitz Box. 
Awesome is the word mate. Despite your various trials and tribulations looks great and the size comparison photo says it all.
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Thanks TIM, I’m hoping to use this month to help me stay motivated to complete at least one more of the larger models I’ve got sitting around here annoying me!
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Looking great, a most impressive piece.
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Thanks mate – sadly I’m quite bad at getting larger models built or painted. Something to consciously work on!
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Sounds like a nightmare of a paint job, but it definitely doesn’t show in the finished piece. That’s definitely awesome!
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Thanks Mikko. It’s funny how much the material turns what could be quite a fun model to paint into such a pain in the arse. We’ll have to wait and see if the “Black” Bones is any better…
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I’ve actually had a Bones Black mini, got it as a freebie from Reaper. It was a much harder plastic and felt like it would be a nicer experience than the original Bones stuff!
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Yeah, I’ve got a few of those from my Bones 3(? 4?) haul. The KS ones are a very light grey rather than dark grey, but the material is a million times nicer than the original “Bonesium” PVC. New KS going up real soon, so it’ll be interesting to see what percentage of the next campaign is in the new material before we back…
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He certainly looks the part mate – he/she/it is brilliant! Having painted a skeleton dragon a few years ago I can sympathise with the feeling of being confronted with soooo much bone… I didn’t have any issues with sweaty plastic to deal with, but pinning all that lead properly was a whole different challenge… These big centre piece models are always intimidating, but so worth it when they are done.
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Thanks Alex. As much as I love metal models, large multipart ones are the exception to that. Just too many headaches and problems with them, and that’s before we get to the pinning and puttying. Then trying to work with Bones so I can skip most of the worst parts of assembly, and you get tacky plastic to deal with instead. It’s probably one of the reasons I seem to avoid getting many big models actually done.
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Wow mate he is a big bastard ,well worth the perseverance, well done.
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Thanks Pat. Much better finished than still annoying me every time I look at the damned thing! 😉
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He’s a big lad, and that plastic sounds like a right hassle but you’ve done a great job on him all the same (and best of all, now he’s done!)
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Thanks Wudu – and you’re certainly right on the best aspect of the model being that I no longer have to deal with it on the painting table! 😉
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Great work on the bone giant mate, have heard a lot of people say that they’ve had problems with the Bones plastics so was no surprise to hear you’ve had the same, at least it’s another off the bench and a great entry for Awesome August
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Yeah, the models vary between actually pretty good through to ugly crap, but the material is hot garbage to work with, given that it always seems to need one workaround or another. I’m not fond of “special snowflake” materials either as modelling tools nor models themselves. The difference between “best used like this” and “use it in this way that’s different to everything else for a similar result OR YOUR MODEL IS FUCKED” is a pretty extreme one…
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Definitely awesome enough I think! Impressive!
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Thanks John!
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It came out looking badass, so well done on pushing through!
I’ve seen the metal variant in stores, and it’s kind of a modeling horror piece. Not that it’s undead, but the amount of very precise drilling and pinning needed to have it not falling apart every time you so much as look at it funny is kind of terrifying.
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Thanks Alexis – and yeah, multipart metals are not fun to work with, and skinny ones that need no end of pinning are even worse. Just make sure never to use, bump, breathe heavily nearby or look at it once assembled.
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Well done dude. This sucker and his Reaper Bones material met their match. I have stayed away from Reaper, but really I still have too much metal to paint! Nice addition for August for sure.
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Thanks Mark – if you see something from Reaper that takes your fancy in metal, don’t avoid them – their normal models are indeed quality, and cover a wide range of quirky stuff, too – I’m sure you’d find a few things for all of your sci-fi armies! 😉
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This bloke reminds me of the old Tomb Kings Bone Giant (in a good way)! Really characterful model and it is shame the surfaces were so bad. Kudos to you for persevering and he really looks great in the end too.
I’ve not heard great things about Bones and occasionally, I look at Reaper’s site trying to find some minis that catch my eye. I get a bit turned off by the “built-in” metal bases they insist on using but one of these days I’ll pick one up and give it a go. Seeing work like this definitely makes me consider it!
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Yeah, I never got the TK one – it’d have been nice for it to have come out in plastic at a time when I was willing to buy it. Not to mention some of the TK stuff I’d have liked to buy even today. I’m just glad I got this big bony bastard off my desk finally!
Depending on the models, the Reaper bases can sometimes be clipped entirely off, or glued onto a round plastic base, and built up around with putty. I’ve done borh plenty of times and they turn out decent, if not 100% consistent with the rest of my collection.
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I love all the old TK stuff (I was into Warhammer when they were out so I’m sure its nostalgia) but now it is hard to get and GW seems to have moved away from traditional fantasy which makes me sad. I still admire this guy and the work you’ve done on him. Its very inspirational! Thanks for the tip on Reaper basing as well. I will certainly give it a shot!
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Yeah, Their Egyptian-themed undead were one of their less overall-generic armies with more inique looking units, but I guess it didn’t sell well enough to be protected, and it wasn’t exactly copyrightable for the most part.
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