Drake, the Dragon Wargame

Since all the projects I've been assigned for Drake are complete, it's about high time I talk about them! 

I only found out about Drake the Dragon Wargame (actiongamesminiatures.com/‎) the day after their Kickstarter project funded!  I didn't have a chance to order anything, but I found out that the creators are local (and later found out that they are basically my neighbor!) to Vancouver so I thought maybe they could use a hand painting some of their models.  One thing led to another and BAM I have a Dragon to paint along with a special Summon Chant and a couple infantry models.

Drake is a skirmish miniatures game, not so dissimilar to Warmachine and Hordes on the scale, maybe fitting somewhere between Malifaux and Warmachine.  The bases are similar, the models are sweet, and the game is ALL ABOUT my favorite fantasy monsters - dragons.  Drake incorporates a Magic the Gathering-like feel to a miniatures game by allowing the player to not only build their army but their Chant (spell) deck that their powerful dragons can conjure.  I have yet to try the game out, but hopefully I'll be able to get a demo in soon.  It looks super fun, and on Drake's Kickstarter page you can find a full battle report video of how the game is played (minus scenarios).  From my understanding, scenarios are quite unique in this game as well because you have to manage action points on interacting with objectives versus destroying your opponents versus defending your own models.  Clearly there will be some strategy involved.

The first model I was given (just last Friday at that!) was the clever and cunning Saan Dragon.  This dragon is a cross between a pterodactyl and dragon, kind of like the Skorne Archidon but different.  It's lanky and boasts scrawny limbs yet makes up for it's apparent lack of physical strength by being the best Chant(er?) of all the dragon races.  Saan dragons have adopted some traditions and culture of a people that worship them: the Kaymayuk.  The Kaymayuk are Aztec in design, hence the makeup on the Saan dragon.  Most of the themes around the Saan are water and Aztec related.  I wanted to make the dragon a cool grey with black hands and feet and a striking yellow accent to a black bar of makeup across the dragon's face. These ideas were gathered from looking at Aztec warpaint and armor.  It really suited the dragon, I was pleased.  After finishing painting the skin, I realized it was kind of flat and boring, so I broke up the monotony by speckling some spots in various areas to make things more interesting.  The base was done with an airbrush, probably the only decent way to achieve the water effect in a pinch.

My second and third models were Kaymayuk Priests of Zerex.  As of yet, I don't know much about what Zerex is, but I'm assuming these priests are mainly responsible for overseeing worship of the Saan dragons, perhaps even being the few that are allowed to converse with the dragons themselves.  These guys I painted in a DAY! WOW. I was very proud of myself for how well they turned out given the time I had.  I generally kept in theme with the Aztec design, noticing that Aztecs seemed to sport primary colors in abundance; red, yellows, and to a lesser extent blues are all present.  I added some black zigzag patterns (another common theme on Aztec apparel) to the cloth worn on the bottom of these figs.  I think the yellow could stand to be a stage darker, but thems the breaks.

The pictures below are actually not the most recent pictures of the progress.  Although the model is essentially complete in these photos, I changed the base a bit to add a black rim to match the other dragons as well as repainting the water and tail because when I was speckling the brown patches onv the dragons skin, some paint inevitably found its way onto the base -.-

Without further ado,