Keeping the tradition going. This is Not a Santa number 5. It all started with finding a random mini in someone’s bargain bin; a mini with a certain look. It surprising how many miniatures actually look like Santa Claus. Or, maybe not. Maybe any breaded male figure with a certain girth can be painted in red and white and Santa just appears. Out of the previous four, I’ve used figures from four different manufactures and from wildly different genres. Yes, the Argos figure is not very Santa-y, but it still worked.
This year I had trouble finding anything to paint. The problem is access to other peoples minis. The first Not a Santa was bargain bin, $1 or less. It was missing a hand, so it was cheap. The second was also cheap, missing a hand, and in need of repair. The third was a little more investment, but the fourth was, again, cheap. All but number three was purchased at a swap meet at a FLGS. With COVID, those have largely evaporated. Hunt as I might at Historicon, no suitable bearded minis were found on cheap tables or bargain bins.
So, I spent some money this time. Your Hobby Place was selling Pulp Figures at Hcon. One of them is just bearded and stout enough. And, I’ve wanted the Sinister Spies from Pulp Miniatures anyway. Thus this year’s Not a Santa was found.
Out of the pack, unpainted, you can see that the level of detail is good for model, but there isn’t much detail. What there is looks great. But a spy in a trench coat doesn’t have a lot of interesting little details or bits. It’s the limitation of working on figures that aren’t fantasy or sci-fi. Those genres offer lots of little bits and odd details on miniatures. Modern? Not so much.
These figures had very little flash to remove, most of it being under the base. Simple filing and a little trimming and they were ready for basing. Pulp Figures are not slotta based, instead standing on little blobs. This makes things easier in some ways (no worries about filling in gaps in the slot) and difficult in other ways (leveling the base with the blob).
Priming next. I still swear by brush on primer instead of spray. Virginia weather is probably just as bad as anywhere else, but it’s always either too humid or too windy or too cold or there are too many bugs or pollen in the air. Brush on primer is good for any season and helps to ensure that I get full coverage. Testor is my go to, though with no future production I’ll have to find an alternate when the stash runs out. And, as always, prep and prime a few more figures than you need to use up that excess paint and give you something to do while the other figures dry.
Flesh tones first. Not a Santa gets both, starting with Tanned Flesh and highlighting with Barbarian Flesh.
Next, blocking out the clothing. Green pants and a dark red layer for the coat and hat. That is not the final color for the coat, but you have to start with a darker red like the Chaotic Red to get the bright red later.
Similarly, I like to base the white parts with a close color. For anything on the clothing, I use Skeleton Bone, a good half-bleech linen color. For the hair and beard, I use Ash Grey. The lapels and beard will both be painted white, but the base coating helps add depth.
Little left to go. The briefcase is Dirt Spatter brown, shoes and glasses get Black, and the beard and hair are White. That white is not applied to cover whole area, leaving some of the base coat to show through.
Then the red. With the dark red base coat, you don’t have to worry about full coverage. Focus on the high points and don’t worry about the bright red in the deeper crevices. For many, that figure would be done. And, why not? Looks pretty good as is. But, you can add some depth and shadow with inks/washes. I hit the whole thing with Strong Tone and worry that I just ruined everything.
Once the wash dries, it’s back to highlighting. Get gold on those buttons, mix up some lighter green to pick out parts of the pants, some layers of lighter and lighter red (not pink) for the coat and hat. The briefcase was a bit blah, but adding edge highlights made it much better.
I played with a different way of basing. Usually for the Not a Santa I do a snow base. For this one, it is clear to me that Santa is not outside enjoying the winter weather. No, this Santa is indoors. Clearly he was caught by some over-curious youngster who snuck in while Santa was delivering presents. Or for this Santa, maybe “making a drop” is the better turn.
I used green-stuff to make the floor boards. I am not skilled with green-stuff and sculpting is not a strength of mine, but this was simple. I printed a bit of carpeting and cut that in around Santa’s feet. The effect is good.
That makes 5 years of painting figures who are clearly not Santa. This entry may not be as intimidating as the butcher from last year or as angry as the necromancer. But, as a pulpy looking figure, he is just right.
2021 Count to Date:
123 figures painted
133 purchased
34 printed
the immortal frequentist 