Mysterious mini - first layers of paint.

Another small update on the base (mini is still a secret).
First layers of colour, still lots to do, mostly contrast and colour variations on the stone (plus some tidying up), but you can see the general idea.

I'm thinking about shifting the dead beetle's colour more towards green, to make it stand out a bit more.
But other than that, I'm quite happy with the way this base is shaping up. Ferns will be added at the very end, to avoid accidental damage. They are not as fragile as dried plants, but rather delicate nonetheless, so I'll keep them separate.


BTW it's quite obvious, that I might be in my turquoise phase now;p

cheers

'eM

Etched brass for the first time

Really qick post to show you my first contact with etched brass foliage.

Quite a fun I must say. I think I'll be using them more often from now on.
At the beginning I had no idea how to deal with it, how to bend fern leafs into desired shapes, but quick search in internet and I knew everything. To be honest, as long you don't need to bend etched brass into very specific shapes, all you need is a lighter and a bit of caution to avoid any accident with fire.
Because I need to hurry with this piece I won't be able to do proper tutorial how to work with etched brass, but I'm gonna use it on Viking's base as well, so I'll do my best to prepare some decent step-by-step while doing so.

cheers

'eM

CoolMiniOrNot Annual 2011 and me

CoolMiniOrNot 2011 Annual is finally ready, and I'm happy to let you know, that my works will be published there as well. It may seem like not a big deal, but I'm quite happy anyway.
I know that 4 works may seem like not much, but in 2011 I published only 6 works.

By the way, for those of you, that skipped this part, my nick on CMON is Asha, so if you feel like browsing through my gallery, feel free to check it here.

cheers

'eM

Urmuth - belt buckle

Folowing one of my friend's advice, I decided to rapaint the buckle on Urmuth's belt. I tried to make it look like a gray gem. And here are the results.

I know that photos aren't that great. But I had to do them with on camera flash. Lamps would be in danger, as my cat's were displaying unbelievable levels of hyperactivity. So I had to be very quick and pray that they won't demolish anything;p Of course there was small accident. Mila was trying to lick mr U so hard, so he ended up on the floor, hence destroyed ends of his horns.

But anyway, he's in one piece again, nothing irreversible happened, and here are the photos:

Suprisingly I must say, the wooden axe handle, even though not finished yet, doesn't look too bad in such an extreme close-up. You can see some beginnings of the wooden pattern.
The gem itself isn't too bad as well. I might need to fix the highlight on the top, but other than that I'm quite happy.

And what do you think?

cheers

'eM

Urmuth - another small update

I did some more work on Urmuth. But because it might not be so obvious at the first sight, here is the list of what I did:

- I fixed his eyes a bit - still suck but a bit less;p But in my defense it's awkward part of the sculpt
- I did horns, and I'm really happy with them
- I did the ribbons around his horns
- I painted this weird thingy on his skirt (the one with triangles)
- I shaded the bottom of the fur
- I was working on the fabric on the handle of the axe, but now I think I need to repaint it (probably gonna do old leather here)
- I was working on the handle itself, but it's not there yet. I'ts kinda silly that the wooden handle is so thin here (axe itself looks quite massive and heavy) but I'm not gonna fix the sculpt. I was thinking painting it like metal element, but there is splitted wood at the end, so it needs to be wooden. I guess I can assume it's some sort of magic stick or something;p

cheers

'eM

Urmuth's base

The base is almost done. The shape will stay as it is now, I just need to work on colours and dust.
I might be tempted to add some more plants, but I'm not sure yet.

And with the piece getting closer and closer to the complition, I must say, I can't wait till it's finished, so I can start something new.

cheers

'eM

Heavy artillery arrived:D

In order to paint Gurka (and few other giants) I needed new, better, bigger, or even gigantic brushes.
After checking the prices of W&N series 7 I decided to go for Rosemary & Co. Quality isn't bad (some say it's comparable with W&N), I don't mind longer hair anymore. And what's most important, all four brushes size 1, 2, 3 and 4 with shipping costed less than net price of single brush no 4 from W&N:D I'd say it's not such a bad price for a decent quality, especially if I'm not sure if I'll like using them:D
And I just received a parcel.
They are seriously huge...

 Here compared with W&N series 7 mini, size 0

cheers

'eM

Landsknecht Soldier - Inbox

The mini: 

(c) Pegaso Models

Name: Landsknecht Soldier
Manufacturer: Pegaso Models
Product code: 90-052
Category: Europe XVI Cen.
Sculptor: Andrea Jula
Material: White metal
Scale: 1:20 (90mm)

The box:

In the box:

Quality of the cast:
Cast seems to be very clean and crisp. Beautiful details and design, quite reasonable parts and few delicate mould lines. As far as I can see, there is only one unnecessary small chunk of metal, on the outside of his left leg close to the knee, but it should be easy to remove/cover with the ribbon.


Assembly:
Looks to be pretty straightforward. Few small and delicate parts may require some subtleness, but with a bit of care it should be fine.

Other Pegaso Models reviews:
Viking Chief
Templar Knight
Iroquois, 1760

cheers

'eM

Pegasus Project - Viking finally assembled!

As you can see I managed to glue the bad boy together. Finally:D
The only thing still missing are wings, but I'm not convinced if I should use them in the first place.
I kinda like the feel they give to the miniature, but on the other hand they're not particularly historically correct, so.... I'm not sure what to do;p

The photos are quite crappy and done with camera flash, but as a simple proof, that I glued him together, they should do;]
Hopefully soon I should be able to show you some more progress on the cloak.

cheers

'eM

Goals for 2013

After realising that I didn't do too well with achieving my goals in 2012, I decided to keep it pretty simple this year.
So here they are:

1. Paint better.
2. At least try to reduce Hall of Shame.
3. Try painting commissions.

And even though I'm not sure if first one is possible in my case, I feel already, achieving the second one is next to impossible, and I have no idea how to even start thinking about third one, I'm gonna stick to them, and do my best.
And if I'm gonna fail, I'll fail big 3:0, not 5:6 like last year:D

And what about you, do you even set goals for the next 12 months? Or you just go with the flow without the pressure?

cheers

'eM