The first boxed expansion for Descent Second Edition was Lair of the Wyrm, which featured two new Heroes, two new Hero Classes, two new Monsters, and a four quest mini-campaign featuring the new draconic Lieutenant Valyndra (sold separately). As one might expect of a campaign centered around a dragon, fire played a very heavy role in Lair of the Wyrm. Many of the map tiles featured lava pools, the Burning condition was introduced, and all three of the new enemies featured fire attacks of one variety or another. So it is altogether fitting to begin the painting of this expansion with the most thematic additions, the Fire Imps.
While not particularly imposing, having one of the lowest health stats in the game, Fire Imps are fast and can strike from a moderate range. Being born from fire themselves, these demons are not only immune to fire damage, but they actually heal when occupying lava spaces, which are prevalent in this campaign. Their attacks may seem weak as well, but the ability to inflict the Burning condition forces the heroes to either take damage (including adjacent heroes) or lose an action in putting out the flames. Melee fighters may also want to keep their distance from the Masters (there are two in this Monster group), as a finishing blow will cause damage to Heroes adjacent to the target.
The miniatures were rather fun to paint. There were no particularly bad mould lines, the flames were rather dynamic, and other than a slightly odd expression on the smaller imp, the details were pretty well defined. It was quite easy to match the color palette of the reference art, and the rest was a matter of patience and persistence in blending all the swirls and waves of the fire. Personally, I think the effect was successfully achieved, and these flames look bright and hot!
The most difficult challenge I encountered was finding a way to differentiate the Masters from the Minions. This would normally be accomplished by incorporating red into their clothing, changing the fur color for more bestial foes, or giving them more extravagant equipment (upgrading steel armor to gold, for instance). But in this case, everything was already red and there was no fur or armor to change. I thought about painting the imps differently, with charred skin or to be glowing white-hot, but was afraid that this would not be effective at such a tiny scale. So, the solution was to alter the flames. My wife pointed out that blue flames are actually hotter than yellow flames, so this would allow the Masters to be not only more dangerous, but also create more contrast. However, I did not want to create the typical pure blue flame that looks magical or ethereal. Instead, I chose to emulate the blue-to-orange appearance of an alcohol fire, as pictured below:
By fading the blue flames into more natural tones that were already used on the Imps, this accomplished the goal of creating strong color contrast while also tying the two components together into a cohesive palette.
While this effect may not have come off perfectly, I am very pleased with the final result. The flames look vibrant and dangerous, and the Imps look charmingly fiesty. Overall, I think I actually prefer the Masters to the Minions here… let me know which you prefer.
*** Because fire is hottest at its center, painting flames requires an inversion of the normal base/layer/highlight technique in which the lightest tones are used in the recesses and the darkest tones appear towards the edges.***
Flames:
The normal flames were blocked in with Schmincke Titanium White in order to have a bright, vibrant starting point for the fire. This was then covered with a base coat of VMC Flat Yellow (70.953). The major forms of the fire were built up with progressive mixes of Flat Yellow and VGC Orange Flame (72.008), with the tips of each swirl reaching pure Orange Flame. The very tips were then darkened with incremental inclusion of VMC Smoke (70.939) to the Orange Flame.
Blue Fire:
The blue flames also began with a Schmincke Titanium White undercoat. Rather than starting with the lightest colors, however, the hottest part of these flames would actually be the deepest blue tones. Therefore, the base coat was accomplished with VMC Flat Blue (70.962) mixed 1:1 with VMC Sky Blue (70.961). The major forms were then lightened with a 1:2 mix of the same colors, followed by pure Sky Blue. At this point, the blue tones were transitioned into VMC Flat Yellow (70.953), afterwhich the tips were painted using the same method as the regular flames of the Minions.
Imps:
The imps were blocked in with VMC German Camo Black Brown (70.822), then base coated with a 1:1 mix of German Camo Black Brown and VMC Flat Red (70.957). The major forms were lightened with the progressive inclusion of VGC Orange Flame (72.008) to the base tone, followed by the inclusion of VMC Flat Yellow (70.953) for highlights.
DarthTom's Gaming 