Figure Painter Magazine and Me

Figure Painter Magazine issue no 3 is out now. And  you can find my two articles inside.
I started the collaboration with the magazine with the previous issue, where I did a review on Andrea's lovely piece Norse Lord. This time I went a step further and next to another review (Spellcrow's Plague Prince) I managed to prepare a step by step article on my way of painting true metallic metals.

And because it looks like it may turn out to be a long-term thing,  I thought I may share it with you:)
I hope you'll like it:D

cheers
'eM

Medieval bust - what I've done so far.

Of course I coulnd't keep my hands of this beautiful medieval knight...
And here you can see the results so far, in few stages.

First you can see how I handled the hauberk.

I must say I'm quite happy with how it turned out. I might tweak it a bit later on when the rest of the bust is painted, maybe some rust here and there, but for now it's ready.
When the metal parts were ready, I moved to leathers, leaving the toughest for me part, skin, at the end. But then I remembered that I decided I want some scars on his face.
So he has scars now.To create them I used liquid Green Stuff from GW.  And while working on them I tried to fix the hole next to his left eye.
To show you how the scars are looking without the distraction of gren colour, there is one photo in b/w at the end.

To be honest with you I wasn't really sure if I like the scars at this stage. The green was way to distracting. But after painting first layers of skin colour, it all came together very nicelly.
Of course the skin is not even close being ready, but you can see how nicelly the scars are blending in. And thanks to the one going through his eye, I can paint it with a cataract, to make him look even more like an old battered warrior.
Eyes look weird at the moment I know, but I need to repaint them.

JMD Drummer - review through the courtesy of megazord_man

Hi guys,
today I have something special for you.
Well it's still a JMD review, but the special part is that it was done by one of my friends, John, aka Megazord_man. Great guy and even better painter.
So here it is:

English Drummer 57th Middlesex Regt. One of the more famous JMD busts.

The mini: 

(c) JMD Miniatures

painted by: David Zabrocki

Name: English Drummer 57th Middlesex Regt
Manufacturer: JMD Miniatures
Product code: RT003R
Sculptor: Remy Tremblay
Range: Historical
Material: resin
Scale: 1:9


The bag:

Having brought this directly from JMD alongside a number of their other miniatures I can say that the packaging consisted of each mini double bagged, all surrounded by bubble wrap and securely contained within a cardboard box. It was also sent international recorded / tracked so I could see where it was in the world. I will say that shipping was expensive though and unfortunately this is the only option. This and all the minis arrived without breakages.


In the bag: 

Quality of the cast:
In a word super! Yes there's a slight line running up either shoulder but it's virtually not there and would take minutes to clean. However, there's no bubbles on him at all (a slight one underneath) and it's extremely crisp and flash free. I was hoping for a great mini and they certainly didn't disappoint. There's a great deal of detail to his face that's not obvious on a first glance - a slight scab on his left cheek for example.

Assembly:
It looks like the strap going over his left shoulder will need a slight trim to allow his rucksack to be fitted properly but once again it's a quick and easy job.


Summary:
I'm extremely happy with this iconic bust that's fully of character if slightly disturbing. The quality is lovely to make this package well worth the buy. David Zebrocki's paint job of this mini must really be seen too, it's a true master piece that shows how to add character to a mini.

Words and photos: Jon Keyes

Where to buy:
JMD miniatures
SKminiatures

 
Other JMD reviews:
Succubus
Sikh bust
Medieval bust
Yodleur Des Cascades (aka Pencil head)
Demon
Persian Assassin
Octopus


cheers

'eM

New ride arrived:D

Finally I have a decent mean of transportation for my minis!
Thx to Jon Page and his sphereproducts, now I can transport my works in a fashionable way;]

Now I'm ready for FigureWorld and all other mini related events.
And it's even airplane proof due to the custom dimentions.
Isn't it a beauty?

cheers

'eM

Einstein's apron - leathers SBS

This article about painting Ein Stein's apron has been moved to Minichix Studio.

You can find updated version following this link.

JMD Octopus - review

Today I'm gonna show you another bust, beautiful Octopus. I  can't really decide if it's a he or a she, but eitherway it's one of my favourites minis.

The mini:

(c) JMD Miniatures

painted by: Alban Berger

Name: Octopus
Manufacturer: JMD Miniatures
Product code: VDB007R
Sculptor: Romain Van Den Bogaert
Range: fantasy
Material: resin
Scale: 1:10


The box:

This bust also came in a plastic bag with a tag on top. This time it was a bit more risky, as the bust has some rather thin tentacles. But hopefully, in a parcel sent via post, it would be protected by some bubblewrap.


In the box: 

Quality of the cast:
The level of detailing is excelent here. All the little wrinkles and texturing of the skin is really amazing. But as you can see on the photos, there are some flaws. They're not hard to remove, but you need to be prepared to some cleaning.
Some little blobs of resin where tentacles are touching the skin, little mouldline on the left shoulder under the tentacle. And of course the big one... the mess on his neck at the back. It's gonna be mostly hidden under a tentacle, but still some work needs to be done to make sure it doesn't show after assembly.

Assembly:
With a little bit of practice with driling and operating in tight spaces it should not be a problem. Tentacles are thin, but not too much, there is still place to drill a nice holes for pins and make sure that everything is securely fixed together. Just make sure that the joining line is not visible.


Summary:
I must say I'm a big fan of this bust. Not perfect, but absolutely cute and the face... it's simply suberb.
Here you can see what I've done so far on him.

Where to buy:
JMD miniatures
SKminiatures

 
Other JMD reviews:
Succubus
Sikh bust
Medieval bust
Yodleur Des Cascades (aka Pencil head)
Demon
Persian Assassin
Drummer bust


cheers

'eM

JMD Persian Assassin - review

Short review of an iconic piece: Persian Assassin.

The mini:

(c) JMD Miniatures

painted by: Remy Tremblay

Name: Persian Assassin
Manufacturer: JMD Miniatures
Product code: RT001R
Sculptor: Remy Tremblay
Range: fantasy
Material: resin
Scale: (1:35) 54mm


The box:

I am fully aware that the box on the photo doesn't belong to the mini I'm talking here, but all of them are exactly the same. Plastic box with the mini in a plastic bag, and smaller bag for smaller parts. Not the most secure packaging, I know. But luckily for me all ordered miniatures arrived undamaged.
On the other hand it might be the packaging provided by the middle man.


In the box:

Quality of the cast:
What can I say... It's not perfect. And for some reason I wqas expecting more from this mini.
Delicate, but still visible moudlines on his legs, and arms may be tricky to remove. Damaged/moved detail on his sword will most probably end up gone completely, and I can only hope that the inner side of his right arm will be invisible after glueing the piece together.
Other thing that worries me here are these extemally thin parts of his robe. They're integral parts of this mini's charm, but it may be a problem to clean them and glue in place.

Luckily for me, the face and other crucial parts of the mini are nicely casted. Surfaces are smooth and if I'll be able to fix the aformentioned issues and glue it together without breaking anything it should be pleasure to paint.

Assembly:
As you can see mini consists thin and fragile parts. Only for that reason it's gonna be a difficult task  demandind steady hands.
And I'm not quite sure If I should paint it fully assembled or in parts...


Summary:
I must say, I was slightly dissapointed when I checked my copy of this pretty iconic miniature. Still full of charm, and rich oriental feel, but the cast could be better.
Of course  it doesn't mean I'm not gonna paint it, or enjoying doing it. But I just feel that JMD accustomed me to  better quality, and this one feels a bit like a downfall


Where to buy:
JMD miniatures
SKminiatures

 
Other JMD reviews:
Succubus
Sikh bust
Medieval bust
Yodleur Des Cascades (aka Pencil head)
Demon
Drummer bust

cheers

'eM