Category: Fantasy

I thought I would surprise you, and myself for that matter, by doing a figure that wasn’t from Hasslefree.  This little lady is from CP Models and goes by the name of “Mei-Lin Mayfair”.  To be honest she could easily pass for a Hasslefree figure – metal, spot on 28mm scale and female.  Having failed with Ann’s March challenge I’m straight in there for April!

With no rules to follow in terms of colour scheme I thought I would go for yellow, partly inspired by others who for one reason or another have gone with this colour recently.  Personally I think it is the worst colour to paint with which is annoying because it is one I really like.  Unfortunately yellow paint is just too translucent for one or two coats to be sufficient I find.

Doubtless there are many ways of painting with yellow but, on the occasions when I do, I use just about every yellow I have in my paint collection.  Starting with the darkest I work through each colour in layers until I get to the lightest and that seems to work for me.  As for the base I kept it simple as I liked the figure and didn’t want to distract from it.  I used Scrim Tape to create a mesh pattern (just about visible in the last image), some broken plaster board for a little rubble and a old watch part to add a bit of metal.

TIM

In response to Alex’s annual Fembruary challenge I managed to pick up a couple of female figures from Hasslefree.  This is the first and goes by the name of “Glory”.  I might get the second one done as it’s early in the month but we’ll have to see.

I was conscious of the challenge brief so focused on females with attitude rather than the skyclad females which I have done in the past and which Hasslefree have on offer.  Miss Glory fits the bill of a no nonsense, mess with me at your peril, kind of women.  This is admirable in conflict situations and I for one would be more than happy to have some one like her watching my back although I suspect it would be me looking at hers as she takes the fight to the enemy.  Whether I would be happy to have a relationship with a women who is more hard nosed and intimidating than me or the the average guy is something  else entirely but it probably wouldn’t be my decision to make!

Images Below.

TIM

Lockdown in the UK continues and will do so for some considerable time, weeks if not months.  As with the previous ones I am reliant on the hobby to help see me through the dark days.  The blog and the miniatures will hopefully keep me busy enough to pass the time until it is my turn to receive a vaccination and the prospect thereafter of a new world.  So far this strategy is proving to be successful and this week saw me pick up another Hasslefree figure to sink my teeth into.  

This little chap is from the Hasslefree fantasy human range and goes by the name of Halvdan.  When it comes to figures I do like a nice simple standing pose and the key feature of this one for me is the angle of the head.  The tilt might be minor but is makes such a big difference in my opinion.  To me the guy looks like he is tired, either from walking, fighting or working and is in a reflective mood.  A great sculpt I think and a joy to paint.

As for the painting and the base work I don’t have a great deal to say.  I went for muted colours and simply chose green because I had done a lot of blue lately!  That’s about as deep as my thinking goes at times.

Images below.

TIM

 

This last week has seen my mood lifted for no reason whatsoever that I can put my finger on.  I would like to report that the weather in blighty has been fantastic, that I have had a Covid-19 vacine and that naked women have thrown themselves at me (again!) demanding that I make them with child.  Alas however none of this is true, well except the last bit, there is a bit of truth in that.  OK there isn’t, I’m lying.  In any event my spirits have lifted somewhat and for that I am grateful.

Reinvigorated for reasons unknown I settled down and painted this little female elf ranger from Reaper, a 28mm figure who goes by the name of Shalelu.  I rather liked painting this one and decided there was a bit of an opportunity for some freehand work on the back of her cloak.  Just a few squiggles really but I felt they provided a bit of interest.

Images below.

TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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This week I managed to finish “Alain”, the 28mm Iconic Cavalier by Reaper which I had started painting the face on last week.  This represents my first figure for 2021 and therefore my entry into Ann’s challenge.

The figure provided an opportunity for a little free hand work on the shield, front and back, in the form of a couple of crosses.  As the figure had quite a lot going on and a fair bit of detail I decided to keep the base work simple.

Images below.

TIM

Before, during and after Christmas, as well as after the New Year, I have barely picked up a brush.  My routine such as I had one went out of the window and I simply got lazier and lazier.  I managed to maintain a slight grip on my “Fools Gold” diorama and to some extent the blog but that is as far as it went.  When I finally picked up a brush I realised I had ran out of time to get a figure done for this Saturday’s post.  Accordingly, and for the first time in I don’t know how long, I was confronted with a blog dilemma, do I not post at all or do I try and make a post out of what I have done to date? 

I decided against no post at all.  I could hear the cries of “thank goodness TIM hasn’t posted, we will get a few days respite!” and concluded that annoying you all was more important to me than I realised!

So, what I have I got for you?  Well let me start by saying this is not a tutorial, it is however a brief guide on how I paint faces.  As you will know I am sure, there a great many ways to paint faces and painters far better than I am have tutorials on YouTube that you can follow and replicate.    If this post is of any use then all well an good but other wise it is just a work in progress.  Next week I will hopefully have the figure completed.

As I have mentioned before I prime using White Matt Enamel paint, Humbrol or Revel, diluted a little using white spirit.  The face paints I use are from “Lifecolor” and the set of six I bought comprise of Flesh Base 1 & 2, Flesh Shadow 1 & 2 and Flesh Light 1 & 2.  The first image below shows Flesh Base 2 having been applied.  Please allow for the fact these images appear at 6 times or more bigger than the head of the real figure.

Next using Black, Vallejo in this case, I block out the eyes and apply a thin line to the mouth.  I don’t concern myself if I have gone outside of the lines as that will be tidied up in due course.

Next I paint the whites of the eyes.  Any white will do, I don’t get excited about an exact colour, perhaps I should but I don’t.  This white was again a Vallejo colour.

Pupils come next and again I use black.  I try to take account of where the figure is looking and position the pupil accordingly.

Time now to tidy up the black around the eyes using the base colour again and then, using the darker of the two shadow colours, outline the areas which need to be darker – around the eyes, hair line, neck, chin and nose.

The next image is a little blurred but at this point I am using the lighter base colour to start the highlights – forehead, chin and cheeks.

The next level of highlight is added to the same areas above.  

Finally some near white to the nose, corner of the eyes and chin plus a little Old Rose Vallejo paint to the bottom lip.  

Now the images on my Samsung Tablet show the head way larger than in reality (as mentioned above already), accordingly the end result looks far from great but in normal eyesight mode the exaggerated lines provide good definition.  Hopefully the finished model will demonstrate that next week but if not then I will go back and touch a couple of bits up.  That forehead is looking a bit to white as things currently stand.

Meanwhile I need to get my act together as this is not a great start to the New Year.  I have lots to paint and do and shrugging off the festivities and establishing some sort of routine is a must.  There are challenges on the horizon and my arse is not in gear for anything right now.

TIM 

As I have mentioned in previous posts I do like figures which for me have a bit of character and to my mind at least this 28mm Reaper figure, which goes by the name of Vodellis Winterhand, has just that.  If there was an opportunity to do some freehand I couldn’t see it so in many respects it was a straight forward paint job.  None the less I was pleased with how he turned out.

In truth given the lack of empty space on my painting desk at the moment I am surprised he got painted at all.  Generally my work space is neat and tidy and free of clutter  (She Who Must Be Obeyed would argue to the contrary) but I had forgotten how much space and stuff I need out when working on dioramas, not to mention the, mess that goes with it.

Adversity was overcome in the end and images of the little chap appear below.

TIM

This weeks 28mm figure is from Reaper and goes by the name of Oriana, Grey Maiden.  Despite the colour in her title I went for green as the dominant colour and in so doing ended up with a figure I really do not like. 

In truth I did not like my colour choice right from the start and should have stripped it down and started over but, for no other reason than laziness, I couldn’t be arsed to do so.  Interestingly I feel the same way about another figure I have started that is sat on the side of my desk.  I’m not entirely sure why this is but I am very much inclined to blame it on Covid and the lockdown.  I’m not looking to make excuses but I have pretty much been nowhere and done nothing since early March and mentally I think it is now taking its toll.  I’m not concerned about going out just cannot be arsed to do so.  Where is there to go when everything is shut down anyway? 

More and more the least little thing is now becoming an effort and I am sorry to say that I fear the same can now be said for modelling and painting.  I’m loath to take a break from painting or from the blog as I worry I wont start up again if I do.  The thing is I usually do some research and look at images of other peoples work all of which helps to determine what I do.  This however requires effort that I am not putting in and the results as far as I am concerned speak for themselves.  Hopefully the forced break induced by Christmas and family in attendance will provide the opportunity to rekindle my enthusiasm, that and the dawning of 2021.

Apologies for the miserable post! 

TIM

The last couple of weeks have been pretty shitty in modelling terms.  Nothing has gone wrong on the painting and building side.  The problem has been that nothing really got done!  I am retired and in lockdown due to Covid-19 and some how still could not find the time to get any hobby activity in.  Why was this?  Well that is bloody good question to which the answer is Parish Council business. 

In a mad moment a few years ago I agreed to get involved with parish affairs.  I fell for the line “its a breeze”.  It’s not.  The last two weeks have been insightful to say the least but my term in office will come to an end by year end (well that’s the plan).  Not because elections are due but because I intend to tell them to fuck off.  If Covid-19 has taught me anything it is that life is to short to spend time discussing meaningless shit, especially if it takes needless time away from my hobby.

The good news is that I did manage to get this little chap finished.  Over the last two week I have picked him up and put him down more times than I have been to the toilet this year.  Now there’s a thought to leave you with!

The figure itself is from the 28mm Reaper Pathfinder range and goes by the name of “Ilnerik Sivanshin”.  Now I do like Reaper figures as many of you know by now and this one piece casting had sufficient detail to be interesting.  If I have one disappointment it is with the base.  I was pretty happy with the paint job but in my haste to get something finished cut corners on the base.  I think the completed figure was deserving of something much better.  I’ll see how I feel about that in a few days time.  There is always the option to try and sell this one on Ebay and simply do another.

Images below.

TIM

When it comes to ideas for little dioramas or vignettes no companies figures inspire me more than Hasslefree right now.  I can’t put my finger on it but there is something about the composition of their figures which gets my creative juices flowing.  I think it helps that a great many of the figures can be easily placed together, such as in the case here.

The figures go by the names “Iona Starkiller” (the figure in blue) and”Kami Riko” and to my mind at least are a natural fit for a model like this.  Both figures are listed under the Sci Fi menu header which led me to giving the ground work a redish colour, something in my mind said the colour suggested another planet or another world.  The flora was added just to break things up a little.

The paint job was a straight forward affair but the figures needed to be lined up so that there eyes were fixed on each other in concentration. Not a difficult thing to do but explains why one figure is positioned higher than the other and why the ground work needed to be built up a little.

TIM