Reaper Bones 77142 Townsfolk: Blacksmith

I did what I always seem to do when I want to knock out a quick Saturday morning painting project - reach for where I store the figures I received from the first Reaper Bones Kickstarter. Not wanting to fall into a rut, I avoided the fantasy adventurers and monsters that make up the majority of my collection. This figure is one of the "Townsfolk" figures included in the Bones line.

A blacksmith would likely be wearing a leather apron while working hot metal. With brown already being a big part of the paint scheme, I challenged myself by sticking with neutral colors. It didn't seem likely to me that a blacksmith would wear his best and brightest clothes while working.

Cleaning
Painful experience taught me that a through cleaning pays off with Bones miniatures. A firm toothbrush, warm soap and water, and a little elbow grease goes a long way towards avoiding issues later on.

Basing
The relatively small integral bases and light weight material result in many Bones figures falling over during play. The weight and wider area added by gluing a one inch steel fender washer to the bottom of the integral base gives the figure much more stability. I spray prime the washers in batches beforehand for convenience.

Priming
The usual mix of FolkArt Glass & Tile Medium and a base color paint - brown in this case - brushed over the entire figure.

Skin
I'm growing to like Reaper 09260 Bronzed Skin. The color is a yellow-brown rather than the light brown of Reaper 09044 Tanned Skin and works well with a brown wash. I'm not planning on using either paint as a replacement for the other. Both have their uses and I enjoy having more options.

Hair and Tools
Citadel Colour Codex Grey is the base color of the figure's hair and metal tools.

Clothing
Reaper 09284 Lonestar Leather is turning into my first choice for worn leather or brown cloth. I followed it up by brushing Reaper 09110 Oiled Leather over the raised areas as a highlight.

Wood
I wanted a darker brown for the tree stump that the anvil is sitting on and the handles of the hand tools. Reaper 09028 Muddy Brown provides a good contrast with the lighter browns used for the clothing.

Washes
Originally, I was planning to use Army Painter Warpaints Quickshade Dark Tone only on the grey painted areas. However, I needed deeper shading everywhere, so I ended up brushing it over the entire figure. That was followed by a coat of Army Painter Warpaints Quickshade Strong Tone.

Basing
The usual mix of sand, PVA glue, brown paint, and water to texture and blend the integral base and the steel fender washer together. I skipped brushing on a lighter color paint over the sand since I didn't want there to be too much contrast been the base and the figure.

This was a fast and fun project. A blacksmith is a staple inhabitant of any per-industrial village or town, so this figure seemed to be a good place to start on the "Townsfolk" figures. They are a refreshing change from the usual fantasy figure.