1980 "Caverns of Doom" Dragon miniature Restoration

 

I recently purchased a 1980 Dragon mini that is from the "Caverns of Doom" board game/Dungeon crawl boxset. 

My best friend owned that box set...that dungeon map was the setting for my very 1st D&D adventure. Years later, when he had lost interest in the game, said friend gifted me that dungeon & many of the minis from that box set. Except...the dragon wasn't part of the deal!

I'd been kicking around the idea of picking one up recently...just had to keep an eye on Ebay and see what came along. Couple of weeks ago one came up for sale...& I pulled the trigger. This is the condition the old boy showed up in...

Very similar to how my friend had painted his...except my buddy did his in all red...both looked like they just dipped the mini in a can of paint! The original owner of this mini probably got his at a young age, too.

So...I decided to repaint this dragon as a red dragon. Using the art of Dave Sutherland as my inspiration. Both the Monster Manual cover & the box cover of the Holmes Basic boxset.

Here's the step by step process...

 I did kinda like this guy as a black dragon! Maybe I'll buy another one just to paint it differently!

A dark wash & some dry brush highlighting later...

I then decided to give this old boy the royal treatment...after 40+ years as a mono-color mini he was getting the major upgrade! He needed a base to really make him seem regal! It woud be my 1st attempt at creating a "dragon horde" base! I'm happy with the results.

A very fun project! Glad I was able to restore this guy to his proper regal state! I remember the fun we had playing D&D with the minis from "Caverns of Doom". Would have never have guessed that all these years later I'd be enjoying them again!

EXCELSIOR! 
A

White Plume Mountain: Dungeon Crawl funhouse

 

S2: White Plume Mountain. A dungeon crawl adventure full of traps, tricks, treasure, and of course monsters. Both a fan favorite & critically acclaimed. This installment I'm looking back at this classic TSR module. Let's get right to it...

Spoiler Alert: No spoilers here! Haha! I'm guessing if your reading & following this blog there's a good chance you've played the "classic" TSR modules. 

I have both a 1st print 1979 Mono copy and a 1980 (6th printing or later) Orange cover copy. Why? I wanted both, of course!

1979

1980?

First thing I noticed is that the olderversion has 3 artist listed: Dave Sutherland III, Erol Otus, and Darlene Pekul. The 1980 version adds art by Jeff Dee, Dave LaForce, Jim Roslof, and Bill Willingham.

Bill did the cool "Elric looking guy" on the back cover...more about that later.

Fun module to play! Classic "Dungeon Crawl" adventure...which is what I'm most comfortable with.

 The 3 treasures that you are after make for and adventure with purpose...which is something we, as young teens, often lacked in our own homebrew dungeons.

Great art in this module...from the before mentioned artist...

I know I had seen the works pf both Dee & Willingham before this....probably the new Basic & Advanced Box sets from around this time. This might be the 1st time I saw the works of Otus & LaForce...both stellar TSR artist!

Always loved this page by Erol Otus...love the visual of the mountain & surrounding area! Did any of you create an adventure based around Dragotha? I'd still like to myself!

 

And the Ogre Magi shapeshifter by Bill Willingham is another fav of mine!

And the last couple of works by Otus draw very different reactions from me. The 2 Efreeti make me really miss the art of Dave Trampier...his Efreeti in the Monster Manual is vastly superior to Otus'. The Kelpie is a different story. Erol is really a master of the feminine shape.

 The last page, lettered by the great Darlene, is a nice touch to end the module. Darlene's work is always excellent.

All in all WHITE PLUME MOUNTAIN is an excellent module for player & DM alike. Great tricks & traps that force a party to think. Enough monsters to keep the "hack & slash" crowd satisfied.

A great work by TSR. A module that still holds up after all these years.

Until next time.....EXCELSIOR!

More Dave Trampier art & surviving Covid Brain

 Back from an extended break...let's get right into things.

I picked up some more Dave Trampier art objects over the past couple of months...along with the 'Rona virus! Dealing with the "brain-fog" after effects...so forgive me if I ramble...more so than usual!

I grabbed a 2nd copy of both The Dragon Magazine #15 from 1978 & the Tramp Backgammon poster that came in said issue. Bought both off of Ebay...separately even!

Framed both and added them to my "Wall of Trampier"!

The Gamma World poster, also by TRAMP, is a reproduction. I didn't have the resources at the time to purchase an original. They go for big bucks on Ebay these days...if you can ever find them!

As I recover from the virus I'll post more often again...it's really kicked my Keister! 'Till then "....be good. And if you can't be good, be safe."

EXCELSIOR!