A bit more skin

Another quick update.

Some more work on Umruth's and Viking's skin is done.
I also managed to paint metal parts on Urmuth. I was hoping that they're done, but I need to work a bit more on the contrast and some colour niuances, judging by the photos in a day light.

 

cheers

'eM

Christmas means gifts;]

Gurka Le Rouge

 

(c) Leben Models

Well, I must say it was absolutely love from the first sight. And I wasn't disappointed when I opened the box.
Bust is really nicely sculpted, the cast has few small flaws, but nothing major. I'm probably gonna do a proper review later, but for now I can show you first pictures;]

He's huge, isn't he??:>
I have no idea what's the scale here, but he's clearly bigger than the viking (1:20). He's 105mm from the bottom to the top of his hat (70mm to the top of his head).

I seriously can't wait to take him under my brush. But first I need to finish at least Urmuth and Viking:D And buy bigger brushes I'd say:D

cheers

'eM

Urmuth - little update

A bit more work on the skin is done. Still not even close to being finished, but I'd say I can see a little light in the tunnel here. Muscles on the lower part of his torso are starting to shape up quite nicely, and the upper part and shoulders look almost ready.
Only the face is complete mess so far. And I'm not sure I have an idea what to do with it, so it may take a while before I'll paint it.

As you can see on the side shots the background is much darker than on the middle one. It's not an effect of me manipulating the photos, but literally accidental change of the usual background for blacker and more furry one.
As it turned out, Mila likes miniatures as much as Bombel. Or maybe she just loves the camera and being photographed... I'm not sure yet;]

I guess we'll find out what's her biggest passion soon enough;]


cheers

'eM

Templar nominated;]

This is quite unexpected but nonetheless very pleasant news:
My Templar  is nominated for the WAMP Awards 2012, as one of 5 miniatures in Best Painted Historical.
Full list of nominations in all categories you can find on this shortlist, and if you feel like voting for any of the categories check Wamp Award Voting.

I doubt (judging by the competition in this category) it will go any further than this, but I'm happy anyway. And I do feel appreciated here, so thanks for anyone who decided that he's worth it:D
And good luck for everyone taking part in the competition.

cheers

'eM 

Iroquois - inbox

The mini:

 

 (c) Pegaso Models

Name: Iroquois, 1760
Manufacturer: Pegaso Models
Product code: 75-076
Category: Old West
Sculptor: Andrea Jula
Material: White metal
Scale: 1:24 (75mm)

The box:

In the box:

Quality of the cast:
No complains here. Some delicate mould lines but nothing too bad.


Assembly:
Looks to be pretty straightforward. As far as I can judge by the look of the parts there are no tricky moments. But of course if I'll find something while preparing a mini for painting I'll let you know.


Other Pegaso Models reviews:
Viking Chief
Templar Knight

cheers

'eM

Putty and paint - new source of inspiration?

I'm probably the last person in the hobby world to discover this website, but never mind, important is that I finally found it. And I must say, so far it looks fantastic.

I'm not talking about layout (even though it's clean and nice), but the selection of works you can find there. A serious source of inspiration. And the artists you can find there are not only CMON's 'top ten' but some new faces (at least for me).
So if you have a while give it a go and check the their website putty&paint.

After quick browse through the members list I can say that the amount of historical and modelling projects gives me a huge hope to learn there a lot. So I look forward for new 'eye candy' projects.
But I must also say, that it would be nice to compete with them and find out where my painting is according to their standards.

cheers

'eM

Urmuth - quick photo

Not much to say. Still an early stage, still looking kinda messy. I managed to fix the fur a bit, but as much as I can see I still need to crank up the contrast quite a lot.
The skin on the picture looks like he's indulging himself in carrot and carrot juice, I know. But I hope I can get rid of this tint and make him look closer to normal;]

cheers

'eM

Hall of Shame Part 4

Sadly I need to get back to the Hall of Shame and place few more miniatures here.

cheers

'eM

Urmuth - WIP

As a part of the plan of reducing number of projects I'm working on simulatneously (and stop HoS from growing) I started another mini: Urmuth Scars of War from Andrea Miniatures:)

Still an early stage. I was working mostly on fur, leather skirt and shoes. The brighter parts of the fur are not even close to the final contast and brightness, but the colour of the skirt is close enough to what I was going for.
The skin and other elements are just basecoated.

So far it's a nice mniature to paint. Good cast and fine details (for more informations check Inbox I did few weeks ago) makes it a real pleasure, and almost every element gives the painter a chance to show the skills.
I do enjoy painting it to such an extent, that I might even finish it;p

cheers

'eM

Master of Imagination 'non-report'

I must admit, I'm not the best reporter and event photographer in the world:( I'm simply too busy experiencing the event, socialising with people and shopping/restraining myself from shopping, to take too many photos or to be to diligent when it comes to the quality of those I managed to take.
So... I don't really know what to say about the event itself, except I did enjoy myself  there;]
Thank you guys so much for your hard work preparing this competition. Good work!

It was really nice to meet all the fellow painters and chat about miniatures for a while. Pity that this occasions are so rare for me.

But at least there are some pictures (not necessarily mine)
Here you can find official photos of the winning miniatures, and all entered pieces:
MoI - The winners
MoI - Gallery

And here is all I managed to take in good enough quality (at least part of the mini is in focus;p)
MoI - my pics

I know, I need to practice more photography on location and with horrible lighting. But I hope you can see at least something here.
But on the other hand, while taking photos like that I'm not thinking about artistic quality, or composition. I just need miniature to be sharp and big enough so I can learn sometning by looking at uncompressed file. And most of the photos here meets my expectations;]


cheers

'eM

Templar Knight - inbox

Just to finish off with the Templar Knight, little review:


Not much to say, really. Let's let the pictures speak for themselves.
And if you want to read a bit more about the company and my opinion of it, check the more indepth review I did on Viking Chief a while back.
 
The Mini:

(c) Pegaso Models

Name: Templar Knight XII c.
Manufacturer: Pegaso Models
Product code: 90-053
Category: Crusaders
Sculptor: Andrea Jula

Material: White metal
Scale: 1:20 (90mm)

The box:

In the box:

Quality of the cast:
Great as always. And even there are some delicate mold lines, especially on the cloak, they're easy to get rid of. Just check every part carefully and everything should be ok:D


Assembly:
Again 21 parts, like with Viking, but this time it's seriously tricky. The miniature is very complex and in such a dynamic pose, so you need to plan very carefully which parts you're gonna glue together at the beginning and which later. From my experience I may say there is no one and easy answer.

I glued the body (torso, legs, collar and head), painted it more or less and then added lower part of the tunic painted (again more or less) inside. And added cloak (glued together) later. Arms and shield were added closer to the end.

Very important part is attaching the cloak. Because Templar stands on the stairs, and because the end the cloak basically lays on the steps, it's crucial that you glue it exactly how it supposed to be. Even slight mistake, a bit thicker layer of glue or maybe different angle can cause a huge problems. I didn't check if it fits right after attaching cloak, when the glue was still a bit wet and easier to remove, and ended up with a fully painted miniature that needed to be filed almost to the bone. I had to remove one fold of the cloak to make it fit into the steps. And trust me it's not something you'd like to experience:D You can read about it a bit more here.

Other Pegaso Models reviews:
Viking Chief
Iroquois


cheers

'eM

Pegasus Project - 'landscape after the battle'...

...and 3 days before the painting competition 'Masters of Imagination'...

There is really not much to say.
Mr Templar simply hates to fly, and as a form of protest he decided to break his sword, fall apart completely and lose some paint on top of that.

Because of the problems I had with the cloak and base (described few posts ago) I had no proper pins fixing him to the base. I'm guessing that's the main reason of the disaster. Normaly this kind of accident wouldn't be such a big deal, but away from my workbench, with only few basic paints, and without any pigments and special effects products it was quite a challenge to put him back together and prepare for a competition. And I'm really happy that I didn't give up, because he did very well, and now looks really nice in my Mum's cabinet (and the fact that sword is slightly bend is barely visible).

But I must say, I do hope that's the last accident of this sort that involve my miniatures.  I most definitely need to be more careful in the future.

cheers

'eM

Masters of Imagination 2012 results

Just a quick announcement:
My Templar Knight placed second (category 'Large model'), in the painting competition 'Masters of Imagination' which took place on 24th of November 2012 in Lublin, Poland.

Full list of winners can be seen here (for now in polish)

Beneath you can find a photo, as a proof that it really happened;p
The picture itself isn't very good (you know winters in Poland, lack of proper natural lighting is a pain, especially if you don't have a tripod with you:)), but should suffice as proof;]

I must say that I'm really happy with the result. Especially after all what happened to this miniature few weeks ago. Tomorrow I'll try to post photos I took 3 days before the competition, so you can judge by yourself how extremely brave and sesoned warrior Mr Templar is.

cheers

'eM

Inspector Bombel's new Assistant

Hi Guys:D
I'd like to introduce our new family member and Mr Bombel's new Assistant.

Her name is Mila (or Milka), she's almost 5 months old and she's definitely the cutest little devil I know.
Hopefully in time she'll develop an interest in miniatures and will be a valuable help for Inspector Bombel. But for now she's just fooling around and having good time;]

So please, say hello to our little princess, and make her welcome here;]

cheers

'em