Each day we receive a miniature from our collections (selected by each other) in our wooden advent calendar tower. I have odd numbered days, and Laura has even numbered days. This gives us 2 days with which to finish our particular miniature.
We're a bit behind already, but like last year it's a good excuse to paint obscure and relatively unused miniatures so it doesn't really matter if we don't manage to finish all 24 models.
The miniatures are all unpainted, so we were working from scratch with each of these models.
I was planning on taking pictures of each of them in their original unpainted state first, but it looks like I forgot to do that with some of them unfortunately! So here's a selection of unpainted pictures so you have an idea of how we received them.
Day 1 - Frog
I had a little Nolzur/Pathfinder unpainted miniature frog! Actually something of a giant frog in relation to a 28mm figure. Might come in handy for spell effects or scenarios. Race to kiss the frog - whoever gets there first gets a free prince in their warband!
Day 2 - Chair
I gave Laura a nice easy chair to start with. She's had this model pretty much since I met her. It came in a little scenery pack from Midlam Miniatures from what I remember. There's another 3 chairs and a table with it I believe, but for day 2 I just put this one chair in.
Day 3 - Mirror
I painted up a mirror from our Mantic Terrain Crate kickstarter (which we received a couple of years back and still haven't painted up!). I tried to get the silver to look smooth, but it was difficult to paint it on without getting brush-lines on it, so I blobbed it on thick and it ended up with a kind of foggy effect. It also has a few layers of varnish on for a glassy effect but you can't tell from the photo.
Day 4 - Tiny Scarecrow Familiar
This is a classic Warhammer Fantasy familiar which Laura managed to pick up from GW's ever deteriorating Fantasy miniatures range. We were in Warhammer World a couple of years ago (just before covid actually, like a few days before the first lockdown!) and were hunting for classic fantasy models and Laura found a pack of these guys. There's a whole range of different models in the pack - little wooden marionettes and robed homunculi and all sorts. Laura's almost finished painting them all now. This scarecrow guy is particularly fun.
Day 5 - Map
This is another piece from the Mantic Terrain Crate kickstarter. Laura gave me this as an easy model to paint but I went a bit silly with the details. I'd seen an excellent map done by Tiny Furniture (link) and wanted to try my hand at something similar. I can't match their skill of course but I gave it a shot!
Day 6 - Burrows & Badgers Squirrel Rogue
Laura painted up this Burrows & Badgers (Oathsworn Miniatures) squirrel character. It still needs a white drybrush on the tip of the tail I believe but is otherwise complete and looks great! We played the game a couple of times when we lived in Castleford and it's really fun. It has some similarities to Frostgrave but there's more emphasis on each member of your team being important, and they're all individual heroes rather than just having a couple of heroes and a gang of no-name mooks. It's a good game and I recommend it.
Day 7 - Fireplace
Another Mantic Terrain Crate model for me! This time it's the fireplace with removable grate/coalpit. I decided to go for a classic 80s style set of stonework and I think it turned out well. I'd quite like to paint up a fieldstone building in this colourscheme - maybe that's an excuse to get a Tabletop World model!
Day 8 - Round Table
[No Picture yet!]
For day 8 I gave Laura a round table (once again from the Mantic Terrain Crate!). As of yet this model is still unpainted, but hopefully we'll have time to catch up on our painting this weekend.
Day 9 - Warhammer Quest Spiders
Laura assigned me two spiders to paint in this advent box. They're pretty small, and I've been putting off painting them for a while so it was a good chance to play around with painting spiders. I love the monopose figures from the 90s, they have a lot more character than I thought at the time. I have 5 of these models altogether, so I might try something different with the other three when I get around to painting those, but at least I have some classic Warhammer Quest models painted up for my various wargames now.
Tom
Day 11 - Candelabra (Dungeons & Lasers)
Day 13 - Sword in the stone (Dungeons & Lasers)
Day 15 - 2 chairs and a table (Midlam Miniatures & Mantic)
Day 17 - ???
Laura
Day 8 - Round Table (Mantic)
Day 10 - Tankards Set (Mantic)
Day 12 - Elf Thief (Reaper Miniatures)
Day 14 - Chair (Midlam Miniatures)
Day 16 - Walking Book Familiar (Games Workshop)
