TIM’s Miniatures & Musings (No: 149)

Featured by theimperfectmodeller, posted in Uncategorized

Three things have happened since my last post so I thought I’d share these with you.

Firstly, I some how managed to complete a few figures.  None are overly exciting but they’ve been hanging around for a while.  The two mounted figures are from the Baron’s War range and I think the other two are Footsore figures too.  I could check that out but I’m being bone idle and can’t be arsed.

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Secondly, I broke the habit of a lifetime and bought some resin figures.  I saw them on Etsy and thought I’d take a chance.  My instincts said don’t waste your money but I ignored my gut and bought them anyway.  Moral of the story, trust your gut.  The figures were crap.  Why I bothered to clean them up I don’t know.  Why I bothered to prime them I’ll never know either.  I knew the shallow detail would all but disappear once primed and so it was to prove.  I know there are quality resin figures out there but I doubt I’ll trouble myself to find them.  Never again.

Thirdly, if you followed my blog in the days when I posted regularly you might rember this.

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For those who never saw it and those that did but have forgotten it was a diorama entitled Death & Taxes: The Earls Visit.  It took 10 months or so to complete and took up 40 progress posts along the way.  It was a labour of love but one I enjoyed because the buildings produced by Table Top World are quite simply second to none.  The quality and detail is outstanding.

Completely out of the blue I got an email from Ivan at Table Top World asking me if I’d allow him to enter my diorama into their 2024 Annual Competition.  It’s a prestigious event to say the least and I had no hesitation in saying yes.  Better still he said I didn’t need to take any photo’s because he would down load them from my blog.  Couldn’t be easier for me so happy days.  Thereafter I gave it no further thought as there were a few weeks to go before entry to the competition closed and the results would be announced.  Given the standard of entries I had low expectations but I remembered all entries got a 20% discount in their shop which at the very least was a worthwhile bonus.

I had forgotten that the judging would take place on the 6th May with the result announced immediately after so I was surprised when I received another email.  Fully expecting a voucher code for 20% I was more than a little gobsmacked to read that I had won!  Simply winning would have been good enough but it turns out the winner gets a first prize of £500.00 to spend in the Table Top World shop.

My mojo needed a boost and it certainly got one.  I’m now working out how to spend the money and all of a sudden the creative juices are starting to flow on e again.  It is going to be a while before I get started though.  Whatever I decide to do needs research before I place an order and then it will take weeks for the order to arrive from overseas.  However, there is a good chance that another couple of dioramas maybe on the horizon in several months time.

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In addition it seems my photo’s get to stay on the Table Top World Website for ever and a day and I’ve been given some special title for when I post on their Facebook page.  I’ll have to check that out out at some point.

If you get a chance the Table Top World website Gallary is well worth a look as is their Facebook page.

Until next time.

TIM

35 thoughts on “TIM’s Miniatures & Musings (No: 149)”

  2. First off, I like the new minis. Some nice freehand designs on them.
    Also congrats! I’m not totally surprised you won the contest. That diorama was monumental and it would be hard to beat! Glad to hear it’s got your mind cooking too! Can’t wait to see what the old mad scientist comes up with this time!
    Lastly, I showed that pic to my Wife. She frowned. So I showed it to her again, and she cracked up!! 😂

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  4. Dave, that is brilliant news about the competition win! 🙂 It is, though, an impressive diorama! I like the minis – surprisingly, I think my favourite is the Hun/Mongol (I can never tell them apart). As for resin figures, I haven’t got any apart from some 3D resin printed figures from Etsy and, even in 20mm scale, the detail on them is very good.

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    1. Thanks John and like you I like the Hun/Mongol (I can’t tell them apart either!), I think the pose is very impressive. As for resin I think I need to get more clued up so I have a better understanding of what I’m buying. 🤔

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      1. True, there are different types of resin. Steve probably has way more info than I on that stuff. I’ve gotten some ok stuff from Etsy and some that sucks. I usually place a small order at first, then if it pans out. I’ll order again from the same seller.

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  5. Wow Dave fantastic news, just what the doc ordered, I always said it was the best Dio I have seen. Like the lads I’m certainly looking forward to seeing what you come up with. Great to see a few more of your well painted Knights the last one looks so good.

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      1. I feel your win must have come through the ether as I was jolted out of my lethargy last week and finally finished that dio just posted😂😂👍🏻

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  6. Right lets try and keep this in order, and not miss anything, firstly fantastic work on the new models, the heraldry and freehand is up to your awesome standard.

    The purchase from Etsy was probably printed resin, and the detail is always shallow on those, I would recommend hand undercoating on those in the base colour your going to use, this allows you to keep the detail, for the next layers.

    A very well deserved win for the diorama, I’m sure you’ll pick something extraordinary with the winnings, at least it will be when you finish with it.

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    1. Dave, not all printed resin has shallow detail. I have some resin prints of etsy that are superbly detailed with deep, crisp folds/scales/margins/whatever. He probably bought from one of the 100s of idiots with a low-end printer and lower knowledge on printing in resin. Its about the quality of the files, plus the quality of the printer itself. 4k is good. 8k/12k is superb.

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    2. Glad you like the minis Dave and the comp win has given me the kick up the arse I needed. Nothing will happen in a hurry but I’m at least feeling far more optimistic. Thanks for the tips and insight on resin. It’s a new concept as far as I’m concerned and I need to educate myself on it. There are some great figures out there but every purchase I’ve made has been a disappointment so far. Knowing what I’m doing in the future might help. 🤞

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  8. Congrats! That dio was superb, and a worthy winner. I’ve wanted to add some of those TT models to my boards for gaming, but haven’t taken the plunge yet.

    Newest models are impressive, as always. I will be coming back to look at your knights more when I get stuck in with all my Bretonnian knights.

    All in all, well done!

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  11. The latest minis look great! I like the freehand and the subtle weathering too. I have never bought any minis from Etsy though I’m dubious because they rarely show what the miniatures actually look like and the prices seem too good to be true. There are plenty of good resin miniatures out there, especially in larger scales. If you can buy resin miniatures directly from the manufacturer, I think you’ll like the quality much more.

    Most importantly, congratulations on the well-deserved win! A large amount of time spent on a project doesn’t guarantee success but when someone really puts in the work and it comes together, its a beautiful thing to see! I would think that generous award will lead to some future projects too. I was going to use some of their cemetery pieces in a large diorama but I’ve moved to larger scales and have let that idea go. I’d love to see what you can do with that sort of thing though you really can’t go wrong with any of their terrain from what I’ve seen!

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  12. Yeah, I saw what I saw and it took me a long moment to see what I should have seen. Talk about the two bald men who put their heads together and made an arse of things!

    Anyway… huge congrats on the win (well deserved) and I’m looking forward to seeing what you produce in due course.

    Aye, resin can be a mixed bag. I try to just buy one model the first time I try out a new seller, that way if it’s duff I’ve not wasted much money and if it’s decent I can explore the rest of the range with greater confidence. Sadly though a lot of resin models are just crap.

    Lovely work on those 4 models and always nice to see a post from you. 🙂

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    1. Cheers mate. I needed a boost and hopefully this win will, in due course, give me the kick I needed. I agree with what you say on resin. Looking back I had to go through a similar exercise until I discovered metal figure suppliers I could trust.

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  13. Great to see that you have had time to post.
    Even better to see some great minis.
    Better still to hear you won the competition, that really is well deserved!
    And the best news however being that it’s got you thinking of a new diorama, I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

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