Brain in a Jar

While we're watching the current Reaper Bones Kickstarter, here's an item from the previous Kickstarter that I painted up.

Just like it says on the label, a mechanically animated jar wired to the brain therein. Dig that translucent plastic for the jar.

The metal parts of the jar were painted with silver paint, then drybrushed with medium brown and dark red for a rusted look before getting my standard blackwash. The result is a little more steampunk than I anticipated, but I quite like it.

The brain is attached to the lid, and both can be removed for closer biological inspection. This piece is a gift for someone who is, let's say, in the brain business, so I got some pointers for proper anatomical coloration. Any liberties observed should be interpreted as creative license by the artist.

Rear view of the yellowish cerebellum and medulla, as distinct from the somewhat pink cortex. The wet look was achieved with a layer a Future shine.

Sven and the very big brain. It's too big for any gaming I'd do, but it'll make for a fun trinket in some brainiac's office.

Bones IV!

The fourth (fourth!) Kickstarter for Reaper Miniatures popular line of affordable plastic minis has just begun. Anything cool for the 1/72 scale fantasy miniaturist? Let's find out!

8/1 update: Okay, lets see what we actually have here so far. Lots of humans, of course, which look great but of course aren't any good for 1/72. That dragon looks impressive but is probably much bigger than anything I'm after. However, the owlbear, rat ogre, and dire beasts could probably work. Most interesting are the smaller minis; all the goblins, including the armored goblins, could work as 1/72 scale orcs, and the "minitaurs" look great as 1/72 beastmen.

8/2 update: Stretch goals seem to be coming in a bit slower than years previous. However, this Kickstarter is going to run for over a month, so maybe Reaper is trying to find the right pace. It's a little less exciting to observe, but it's certainly also less hectic for the Reaper staff. I'm glad to see more kobolds, though I can't believe that in four Kickstarter we still don't have any ranged units! The devils and trolls also look like they'd be great for larger monsters in 1/72.

8/13 update: Back from vacation. Nothing seems to have changed too much, considering we're now about a third of the way through (remember, pledging now unlocks stretch goals faster!). I do like some of the larger pieces that have been revealed, the wyvern, griffon, and upcoming "cave dwellers" in the core set, plus the optional trolls and skeletal monsters. The upcoming "tree of despair" is interesting: the tree itself is more or less scale-proof, and the vultures it comes with would probably look okay with 1/72 figures; they might actually be a little large, but wouldn't look it at the table.