This figure came from North Star Miniatures and features under the Lucid Eye heading and is produced by Ziggurat. The title for the figure is given as “LI-BEL – Fall of Bell”, make of that what you want. The figure itself is 28mm and in my opinion is a stunning sculpt and one which is most unusual.
Why unusual TIM I hear you cry.
Well, as you asked, it is a sculpt posed in a way which to my mind is far more 54mm scale or bigger and not a typical 28mm one. By this what I mean is the sculpt is a miniature figure painters dream not a wargamers style of figure. As I primarily consider myself a figure painter the pose of a miniature is what often attracts me the most and in 28mm figures the poses are far more often than not sculpted in an action stance. Nothing wrong with that at all but any figure which isn’t is bound to catch my eye when it crosses my path. Such was the situation here. Unfortunately for me the Ziggurat figure range is pretty small and only a few of them have an appeal to me. I do, however, have my eye on a couple of others including a variant of this figure which I will also purchase in due course.
I’m not entirely sure if this female figure is intended to be a Greek Hoplite but I have based my painting around the idea that she is. Not a great deal to say about the paint job itself other than that the horse on the shield was embossed rather than freehand but the edging on the shield was freehand and took a while to do. Every time I looked at it the pattern wasn’t as evenly spaced as I wanted so I was touching up constantly. I’m sure it is still out in places but I eventually called it a day because I knew I would never ever be 100% satisfied with it. That’s not to say I am not pleased with it because I am.
I went for a straight forward little bit of base work with just a splash of colour in the red flowers. I think there is scope to set this figure on a really nice bit of base work so I may well do something with the variant when I purchase it. I wont rule out doing this figure again at some point either. The quality of it is superb (as are so many others I might add) and it is hard to believe that it is only 28mm so to prove it is I have included a perspective image too.
TIM
Excellent Work Dave, I would honestly never ever have the patience to do that edging. If they didn’t think she was a hoplite then they sure made her look look like one.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Cheers Steve. I must confess this one did test my patience at times. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very nice, Dave! 🙂 Nice freehand work and I like the combination of the light armour and blue clothing.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Thanks John. With so many colour options I’m not entirely sure why I settled on this one but I think it works OK and glad you think so too. 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Outstanding mate – an absolutely beautiful model (I agree, it’s hard to believe she’s 28mm) and the paint job is top-notch.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Thank you. Figures like this just leave me in awe of the sculptor, so skilful. 🙂
LikeLiked by 4 people
Fantastic job mate, I love that shield edging – that really is a lovely touch! Those arms are pretty hefty – are you sure ‘she’ isn’t meant to be a ‘he’?
LikeLiked by 4 people
I had my doubts on the male/female too. Initially I thought Brad Pitt in Troy but in my mind couldn’t make sense of the title given to the figure. The “Bel” made me think female along with the hair but you are right about the arms. A quick google makes me now think “Bel” relates to a temple and the fall thereof but I’m no historian. Then again it could just be a guy in transition in which case either works?! 🙂
LikeLiked by 4 people
Great work TIM, the model and freehand looks great, even with the sedentary pose you’ve put a lot of life into the model
LikeLiked by 4 people
Thanks Dave, it was a lovely figure to paint. 🙂
LikeLiked by 3 people
Lovely model there TIM, I can understand why you where drawn to it. And that free hand pattern around the sheild is just great, very hard to do but you pulled it off, it looks same all around.
I also think the simple base really helps actually.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thanks mate. It really is a lovely sculpted figure and one I did really enjoy doing. Looking forward to doing one or two more from this range in due course. 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Excellent work all around on this one! I really like the bright colors and intense gaze she has. She definitely looks the part of an elite warrior. Lucid Eye are a company that may get some business from me soon for gaming purposes but I may have to give all of their offerings a second look after seeing what you’ve done with this one 🙂
LikeLiked by 3 people
They were a new company to me and if it wasn’t for the North Star News Letter email they sent to me I’d still be none the wiser. Not a huge range but fingers crossed they are a growing concern. 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Very nicely done mate, the shield is a work of art!
Cheers Roger.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thanks Roger, as IRO would say, it was a nice pallette cleaner after finishing the Wizard Tower. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Super stuff. The skin tone is just perfect, and your patience to do the edging on the shield must be heroic!
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thank you but I don’t think my wife would describe my patience as heroic! 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
If you had not said, I would have made the assumption that the figure was inspired by Colin Farrells Alexander with the long blonde hair, or even Brad Pitt’s Achilles rather than being female.
As always this is superb work.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Glad you like the figure. I really am in two minds now whether it is male or female or, if anyone, who it is based on. Sadly no clues within the packaging. Of one thing I am sure, the sculptor did a superb job. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Stunning just stunning. Your freehand is getting better every time, and that figure is a total explosion of goodness.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Cheers Mark, it is a lovely figure and truly awesome I reckon for 28mm. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
As Mark said Stunning mate,I know what millimetres are even though I was brought up with inches but It still staggers me how you paint such detail on these 28mm figures! you must have microscope eye HaHa! I would challenge anyone to spot any fault with the edging!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Cheers Pat. I do wear a magnifying visor which helps a lot. Without it I can’t see bugger all close up. As for the figure I can never get my head around how people can sculpt such things. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are so right Dave! I ‘m always amazed at how they do such a great job ! I must look at getting a visor style one as I finding the rigid one a bit of a pain! oh I have had it for seven years so maybe its time to try some new technology!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very nicely painted and great color choices.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Ann.
LikeLiked by 1 person