Greetings Terrans, how goes it? I am extremely happy to report that this is the final ‘Characters’ post relating to my painting of Monolith’s Conan game… I still have some monsters to get through, but the never-ending tide of characters is now done – so what better way to finish than with the eponymous hero himself!

Including stretch goals, the set contains 6 iterations of the steely-thewed Cimarian – some of the minis are better than others & there are a few size discrepancies, but overall, these minis are up there with the best in the game.

Let’s get started with the basic ‘Conan’:

This is a lovely mini, and while he isn’t titled ‘the Barbarian, it’s hard not to think of him as such – this is quintessentially ‘fantasy barbarian’ in my opinion. All that lovely musculature was a joy to paint and I really went to town with the skin tones, even taking some inspiration from Frazetta with the shading.

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Next we have ‘Conan the Wanderer’:

This is another belter of a mini – compared to the simplicity of the last one, this version nicely detailed & I really like the pose… The double-axe loadout is particularly cool! Again, having plenty of skin to work with made this a very nice mini to paint.

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Next is ‘Conan the Mercenary’:

I love this mini –  the ‘come at me’ pose is so gloriously over the top that it is hard not to love it 😊  From a painting perspective, there is plenty going on here with skin, cloth, leather, fur and metal all prominent & well executed – another real joy to paint.

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Next is ‘Conan the General’:

I really like this version of Conan – he’s a bit more grown up here, well-armed & armoured, but the mini still captures the wildness and grace that is so central to the character. All the metal was fun to paint, and nicely offset with the flowing cape. I had fun painting reflections on the sword 😊  If I were being critical, I’d say that the sword pommel is a bit crappy, but otherwise this is a lovely mini.

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And so we come to my personal favourite – ‘Conan the Warlord’:

I adore this model… in fact it is a solid contender for ‘best model in the whole damn game’ if you ask me. The pose is spot on, the detailing is excellent, and this mins really showcases what can be achieved with cheapy plastics. He was another beauty to paint too, with all of the combined interest points from across the range so far, and I’m really pleased with that axe blade. Again, if I’m being really critical, I’d have to pint out that the axe handle is bowed, but that is a minor gripe.

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Finally, we have ‘Amra the Lion’ – aka ‘King Conan’ and his pet lion:

This model is a bit of a let-down compared to the other five – objectively, there is nothing wrong with it, but it’s a bit plain and uninspiring from a painting perspective and the mini just doesn’t have the impact that the others have… He’s also a bit puny compared to his other incarnations – solid enough in his own right, but lacking that superhuman physique that Conan is supposed to display. The lion was nice to paint, and I’m particularly pleased with how the face worked out, but the exaggerated size of the beast annoys me & just draws more attention to how wee Conan is… It’s a shame, because this pair could’ve been awesome instead of merely ‘ok’..

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Still, this doesn’t detract from an otherwise excellent group – here’s a final pic of the whole Lamentation:

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Anyway, that’s all folks – I’m going to be tackling the monsters next, but in the meantime, I’ll leave it to the man himself to sum up what’s best in life:

“To paint your minis, see them arrayed before you, and to hear the compliments of your followers!”

Amen Brother 😊