We Got Moth Problems, Man

Insect monsters are always fun to put down on the table to generate some unnerving buzz (pun intended) for your players. We’ve got another  3D print download option to grow your creepy-crawly collection.

Last week, we shared a nifty 3D-printed Predator Wasp by the almighty Schlossbauer while also showing off a cool paint scheme we learned from the delightful YouTuber, Miniature Hobbyist. Today, we’re going to show how we tried out another technique with another buggy monster!

Longtime readers know we’re playing the free, fabulous D&D Beyond Acquisitions Incorporated 5e module. There’s a really fun mini Dungeon Crawl where the adventurers must explore an underground hideout dubbed Tresendar Manor. There are a few bug monsters inside, and DM Ben wanted to broaden his monster options while simultaneously growing our free d20 Wilderness Trek Wandering Monster table (see below for more).

So, let’s start with our 3D print, courtesy of Brite Minis and their ongoing value-stuffed Patreon. We instantly fell in love with this Mothman the moment it fluttered onto our monitor. How could we possibly resist painting a squad of these imposing bug boys?

We went right back to the same painting tutorial by YouTuber Miniature Hobbyist, as he had a simple two-step process to color some wings on a mighty three-headed beast he was painting. That massive monster had quite the wingspan, and that’s the coloring part we really honed in on for these Mothman miniatures.

Now, it’s important to note that we didn’t mirror his specific primer base or use the exact orange wash brand he did for our 3D print, so it was going to be a challenge to replicate his wings perfectly. Still, we felt we could get close and walk away with a pretty fun new monster miniature to add to our baddies collection.

We’ll show you all the colors we utilized, but let’s start with those flaky wings, which inspired us to grab these minis from our pile of shame in the first place. Miniature Hobbyist simply slapped on some Orange Wash and then followed it up with a dry brush of Army Painter Fanatic’s Wasteland Clay.

Our inspiration model in his video features more translucent wings and more detailed features. So, those 3D-print characteristics certainly came into play here. Still, we’re pretty happy with our results.

Now, the rest of our colors came out aces, and DM Ben will color up several more in these same color steps. With any sort of pack monster, we prefer to 3D-print and paint five of them to pair with a squad leader. These guys give us plenty of soldier vibes.

So, let’s review the paints we utilized to get these buggy bastards onto our game table. Even though it seems like we’re using a lot of paint bottles, the steps here are actually quite simple.

• Flat Black Prime.
• Slapchop Base.
• Wings P1: FAN Orange Tone Wash.
• Wings P2: Drybrush FAN Wasteland Clay.
• Body P1: ASP Burnished Red.
• Body P2: FAN Orange Tone Wash.
• Eyes & “Nose”: ASP Blood Red.
• Arms & Legs: ASP Pallid Bone.
• Horns: Citadel Contrast Skeleton Horde.
• Head & Claws: ASP Grim Black.
• Feet: ASP Malignant Green

In hindsight, we should have done the claws on his hands in dark grey or that same Malignant Green we did the feet in, but no big whoop. One thing a good hobbyist learns in their painting journey is not to dwell on their paint choices. Learn from them and quickly move on to the next one.

Next, let’s talk DnD 5e monster stats for our flying mayhem! We found a nifty one: a Mothman 2014 5e similar version (AC 13, HP 42, multi-att Claw +3/1d6+1 & Wing +3/1d4+1, even cooler spells, and a claw attack that requires a grapple check). There are also a couple of boss versions with one from World Anvil and another one that we especially like called a Giant Feymoth.

Lastly, let’s add these guys to our free Wilderness Trek Wandering Monster table as a replacement pick. We really want you to keep rolling a legit d20 each time you need to utilize the table below, so some on-deck replacement monsters are certainly great to see.

Until next time!