Bailey03's WIP

[Canny]

looking very nice. I like the 3 triangles going on there. to create a little more interest the back left 2 poles do you think the shorter one could be 3-5mm shorter? great work on making a dio it's dedication right there! been thinking about making a base with a background that sweeps up.

 

[Bailey03]

Canny, I might see if I can shave them down a bit.

(Sigh, CMON's flagging a lot of posts as spam. Doing my best to work around it...)

I haven't made much progress on any single project in the past week, but I have done a little bit here and there. I decided to take a crack at painting some dark metal on Redghar for the pistol barrels and the either cannon balls or bombs on his belt. It basically involved using a lot of matte black mixed into the metal, then more metallic and a bit of a matte highlight color to create the shine points. The idea is trying to force the dark areas to stay dark and limit the light/reflective spots.

Really not much left to do on him. I have the feeling the chains on the anchor and around his neck will take me a bit, but the knee patch (once I figure out the color) and the arm band should be quick enough to do.

In addition, I did some glazing on the knight. Mostly I focused on the face, now that I've gotten the areas around it painted. I also did some glazing on the armor and the surcoat, but the effects there are very subtle and not easy to pick out from the photo.

And here's a close up comparison of what difference the glazes make

 

[Coyotebreaks]

The base is looking great. The orc chap looks astounding. So real looking amazing work

 

[BloodASmedium]

David always a pleasure btw I love the way you mastered glazing !!! On a different note that stippling you have coammndeere lime the rest of the tools in this trade!!! Flaw-less .. you know like no weak points. Perfecto!!!!

 

[Bailey03]

Thanks, Coyote and BAM!

 

[Canny]

wonderful work! I got in on the kickstarter for the orc pirates got the guy with the jacket and glasses, still wasting for an idea to resonate. thanks for the glaze reference makes such a good difference.

 

[Alexandra]

Wow, that’s a nice looking orc and also congrats on the color choice. Not easy to do gray and not ending with a flat mini, but you ace in that

 

[BloodASmedium]

David is a realistic painter - imho his work is the most realistic I’ve seen. Out of everyone. I’m a huge fan of his work and his ability to teach. He’s just a gift to everybody.

 

[Foxtail]

Everything is looking awesome Bails. Nice to see the before-and-after with the glazes, really hammers home the subtle difference they make and how much of an effect this can have.

My vote is for red polka-dots on the knee cloth.

 

[Bailey03]

Thanks, all! I've been brainstorming ideas for the patch on Redghar's knee. I'm still undecided. I thought about something with a bit of a pattern, but anything too complex would be distracting. I already want to introduce a new color (or a color from elsewhere in the group of figures), so that alone should draw the eye. If it's that plus a lot of intricate detail, it's going to draw the eye too much. So the best I've come up with so far is a blue and white checker pattern, with the blue matching the blue stripes on the dwarf's pants. Still not 100%, but that's the way I'm leaning at the moment.

In other news, I was hoping to get some inspiration from you all. I've been in a bit of a funk. I'm sure it's at least in part due to a lack of any real time to paint and relax recently. So I started searching around for a new project that I could mess around with when I finally have time to hobby again. But I could use some ideas from you all! What I'm looking for is a 54mm scale fantasy figure. I want something in that size so it won't be too big a project. I've been looking around the usual places (Andrea, Ares Mythologic, BlackSun, Nocturna, FER, Ouroboros, Enigma, and Pegaso) but I haven't found anything that's inspiring me at the moment. Any other suggestions on companies that sell 54mm fantasy figures that I should check out?

I did find two which might work, but would need some converting. The first is the scissor gladiator from Pegaso. It's historical, but looks like he could just as easily fit into a fantasy setting. Maybe I could come up with some conversion ideas to push him fully into the fantasy world. Another plus of this piece is I already have the kit.

The other piece, which may be even more tempting is Narga from Figone. It's an awesome sculpt. Something about that combination of lithe form with the evil barbarian style equipment is just so interesting. And I'm sure I could come up with some sort of interesting scene for her. My only problem is the partial nudity. Well, it's not really a problem for me :tongue:, but I do like to share my work on Facebook and with family members, so the nudity makes that part a bit awkward. Still, I could probably sculpt some sort of covering... maybe a loose cloth like that around her waist or some leather straps. I'm no master sculptor, but hopefully I could manage something without screwing up the piece.

But perhaps there's something else out there that I've missed. Any other companies with 54mm scale fantasy figures that I've forgotten about? Or maybe you have some ideas on how to convert one of the two pieces above to better fit the bill. I welcome any advice you all might have!

 

[Bailey03]

Ah, just found another piece which could work... this Saxon from Andrea. Like the scissor, he walks the line between historical and fantasy. It's just a matter of what setting you place him in and maybe I could add some accessories to make it even more fantasy. A lot of the older andrea casts aren't quite as crisp as I'd like, but they aren't terrible either.

 

[Zab]

How about rnestudios Valentina? She’s 54mm and fully clothed and awesome.

 

[Bailey03]

That's true, thanks Zab. A bit of an anime/steampunk/final fantasy sort of feel to the sculpt. I'll definitely add that as one of the possibilities.

 

[fluisterwoud]

What kind of mini are you looking for? Human, lots of metal and flesh, non-human?

 

[Bailey03]

Something human-ish. I'm not looking for a large monster or anything like that. But an elf, undead, dwarf, etc could all work. I'm looking for a project that would be a fun without being super involved. Flesh, cloth, metal... all are fine. I'm not eager to do a fully armor figure (head to toe), but if the sculpt is neat enough I might be tempted to take it on.

 

[fluisterwoud]

Black Forest has some nice 54mm fantasy figures, you already painted one of them (Gokan). Mauser Earth has some good minis, mostly scifi/steampunk but a few can be easily adapted to a fantasy setting. Shadow Crafter has a few nice 54mm fantasy models. I think Kabuki studio has done some 54mm, same with Kimera Models. Metal Models has a really cool 54mm undead king, SkelettetS painted a version a few years back.

 

[MAXXxxx]

My only problem is the partial nudity. Well, it's not really a problem for me :tongue:, but I do like to share my work on Facebook and with family members, so the nudity makes that part a bit awkward.

must be a cultural thing. noone feels awkward even with the full nude figures I have painted (not family, not friends, altough I have to admit I don't use FB there it could be a problem).

The best/easiest could be:
- simple top over the breasts from putty
- multiple straps going around the chest. Easiest to do from lead-foil (oft used for belts and whatnot in military figures), just cut a long strip, then wrap the figure.

as for 54mm figures...
- they are not out yet and are sci-fi figures, but luxumbra minis could be great
- pedro-fernandez works (amon, isbiliya)
- altough busts, but Mirico's products could be interesting (fade)
- for sci-fi and retro feel : Machinen Krieger 1/20 line could be interesting (just be warned the details are quite non-existant compared to the usual stuff)
other than that only the usual pops into my mind too, so ...

migth want to look through here: https://www.elgrecominiatures.co.uk/
then look for a closer source to see if there are better prices/shipping.

 

[Sicks]

I'm not 100% sure but I think you might like this, available from https://www.raulgl.com as he's a dwarf the 75mm scale one is actually 62mm according to the site but he's available in 54mm scale too, the pose is a little static but on the plus side I don't think he'd need a very elaborate base
View attachment 63434

 

[Sicks]

Also just found these orc champions in 70mm, I think they've overdone the muscles on the male one, looks like the hulk on steroids, the female one looks better proportioned though, maybe a bit static http://gtstudiocreations.com/en/13-70mm

Edit: forgot the part about wanting 54mm figures, but maybe it still gets the imagination going

 

[Bailey03]

Thank you for the suggestions, everyone! Lots of good ideas. I ended up ordering a copy of Narga from Figone and picked up a copy of the undead king from them while I was at it. I could paint the undead figure by itself or I could work in into a larger scene I have planned for Black Crow's Wraith piece. Oh, and I might also pick up another Engima 54mm piece from TheLost, so I should have some options!

I had a bit of a failed experiment over the weekend. I'm planning to create a number of recorded tutorials for The Hobby Hangout group over on Facebook. They should all end up on YouTube, so even if you're not part of the Facebook group, you will still be able to view them. The first was going to be a demo of my freehand work for Redghar's knee patch. However, after filming it, the software crashed and I lost the recording. Luckily I didn't pick anything too involved for the first go, but still annoyed at the result. I'd done a bunch of short (<5 min) tests, but this video was probably 40ish minutes... so perhaps that had something to do with it. I'll do some tests filming my next several painting sessions and see if the issue was just a fluke or if the software has issues with those larger files. Once I work out the kinks (or switch to a different software), I'll try again.

Anyway, here's a look at the latest work on Redghar. I went through several ideas on the knee patch before finally settling on this. I like the color and feel the subtle pattern doesn't distract too much from the rest of the figure. I might add more to the design, but I'm still debating that idea. I've also done more of the metallics and added the section of chain running from his back to his left hand. Oh, and the leather strap around his upper arm. Just a few small details left along with some weathering.

It will be a while before I finish building the base, but I'm not in any rush. I'll probably hold off on entering this into competitions so it'll be eligible to go into the Crystal Brush. But, since I'm not able to make it there this year, there's no deadline to worry about. Might as well take my time and get it ready for the following year. However, I might start painting the third figure in the scene, the monkey, soon. I want him to be at a similar level and have a similar look/feel to the other two figures... so painting him sooner rather than later should make that easier to accomplish.