Want to do smoother blending and pretty faces - which minis to get?

[Solun Decius]

I really really want to do some single mini projects that can take a little time each, projects where I really get the details right and practice proper blending and light reflections. Right now I want to do skin so I'm looking for miniatures with fairly large areas of uninterupted skin, but I also need to practice the parts where skin meets cloth and smooth blending on cloth and such.
I've mostly painted Citadel figures and some alternatives to them (similar style, but usually not as good).
I've recently started painting Super Dungeon Explore which has a few characters with fun faces and skin parts too, but I want to really take it all the way on single minis without feeling I have to finish the whole set, just the one miniature.

I was hoping that people here had a little insight on which minis are good sculpts, which faces look nice in person and which minis are cast nice and smoothly. I've learnt that I can't completely judge this from the promotional photos and obviosly I also can't have looked at the entire internet (or even the entire CMON shop) so just pointers in the right direction would be appreciated.

I'm not opposed to nudity but in a lot of cases I find it kind of silly, especially when it's just pointlessly exposed boobs.

So that you know what I like and what I don't here are some examples:
I don't have any of these so I'm just talking from the promotional photos. If you disagree after seeing them in person please let me know.

I like the Soda Pop style but a lot of the faces are maybe a bit cartoony for what i want.
Still, this one seems interesting:
http://www.coolminiornot.com/shop/ayu-beat.html
The whole upturned skirt and panties still feels a bit pointless.

The artwork behind the Anima figures all looks really pretty, but some of the figures seem to not capture it quite right, either a bit short and stocky, or the faces not quite as feminine as they should be.

This one looks beautiful in the photo though. I really like it:
http://www.coolminiornot.com/shop/elhaim-light-faction.html

This one looks nice with a whole lot of uninterrupted skin and cloth but it's very small in the photo so I'm not sure about the face:
http://www.coolminiornot.com/shop/arias-vayu-light-faction.html

This one looks beautiful but the face is like a man in a wig. Excellent cloth and skin parts though apart from that. Right hand a bit clumsy too, but again, the photo is small. Has anyone seen it in person?
http://www.coolminiornot.com/shop/yuki-neutral-faction.html

The next two are examples of silly pointless boob exposure. I just couldn't have them in my display cabinet
http://www.coolminiornot.com/shop/bug-hunter.html
http://www.coolminiornot.com/shop/xstacy-limited-edition-300.html
It's actually too bad with X'stacy because the model is beautifully done. The face seems really pretty and the skin parts nice. I might actually consider it if she was just topless altogether, rather than wearing that ridiculous boobless bra-vest thing.

Finally I'm torn about this one. The face looks really pretty and the pose and hair and everything very well done. Just the whole naked contact sport thing. It doesn't make any sense. I'm still interested in painting this one. Has anyone seen it in person?
http://www.coolminiornot.com/shop/fantasy-football-kalee.html

These are examples just to point out some of what I like and what I don't.
I'll be in the USA soon where I can order minis cheaper than at home and bring up to ceratin price customs free. I'd really like to take the opportunity and get a few of this type of mini to test my skills a bit.

Thanks for reading this whole thing and I hope some of you have pointers to companies or specific minis that I would be interested in taking a look at.
All help very much appreciated!

 

[MAXXxxx]

I wouldn't advise the sodapop if you want to practice the smooth skin blends and clothes, as the mini is simply extreme small. If you painted citadel minis, than I have to say, that it's much smaller, with tiny details.


what I could really suggest is the twilight knight pinup / preacher pinup from KD. They both have enough skin, enough clothes are more or less work-safe (from your writing I'd say you are too concerned about/fear nudity in the minis)
And to make things better, there is a 54mm version of them, so even larger surfaces to practice blends.

2 alternatives I can always suggest:
- hasslefree minis. Here I don't know a good mix of skin and cloth, but the Artemis (much more nude you can't get) / Kanako (flowing clothes) were absolutely a joy to paint
- spyglass --> eolith --> now war-griffon 54mm

 

[Milosh]

If you're not dedicated to the "mini" size figures there is a whole new world of larger figures that are sculptural works of art out there. Nocturna makes some great female figures as does Draconia in 54mm. These are just two of the many but they have plenty to choose from.

 

[Solun Decius]

Thanks for the replies guys.

@MAXXxxx: OK, I didn't realize the Soda Pop one was so tiny.
The Kingdom Death pinups are really nice, thanks for that! Some of them have a metal/resin choice. Any preference? I've used both materials before but not compared the same mini from both.
I realized I may have emphasized the nudity thing too much. I have no problem with nudity, either in art or in real life. I wanted to try to explain what models I find cool, and holes in armor made for boobs to stick out just seems silly to me. Like I said, I'd prefer X'stacy with less clothes actually.
This model for instance I just picked off the front page now: http://www.coolminiornot.com/shop/honey-valentine-54mm.html. It's very cool, and I'd totally consider that.
Hasslefree make really nice and creative minis. Artemis is really nice but Kanako I couldn't find. Well not on CMON, now I've found a grainy image on google plus. Look sweet though.

@Milosh: Yeah, I've looked at 54mm and 70mm minis which can be really beautiful and detailed obviosly. I'm definitely not locked in one size but I just felt maybe I'd take it a step at a time. I'll ponder that for a while longer

 

[MAXXxxx]

well at the same time I really like all the sodapop goodness. If you want to tackle brushcontrol on tiny details, they are really good.

Hanako: sorry, I always mix this name, it's with H, not K. the link to the store: http://www.coolminiornot.com/shop/hanako-female-samurai.html
(and a shameless plug, the one I painted: https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-...AAA34/vmXmpLfyarI/s1280/Hasslefree-Kanako.jpg )

 

[shakes]

Hey, not totally what your after but if you want nice mini's to do some showcase stuff on I would recommend Enigma, possibly the nicest cast mini's and greatest sculpts I have ever had in my hands. I also do alot of Citadel stuff and I find Enigma to be a similar theme as Citadel fantasy but much better proportioned sculpts of a significantly higher quality. One of my all time favorite models is Yarry 54mm from Enigma. He's a hobbit and is about the height of a terminator. Something a bit closer to the things you linked would be Kingdom death miniatures. I have yet to get my hands on any but they look phenomenal.

Shakes

 

[Solun Decius]

@MAXXxxx: Yup, that's exactly the image I found (and so blatantly called some "grainy image on google plus" sorry).
It's a very nice sculpt and a superb paint job on your behalf.
I actually think I'll get the Soda Pop Ayu Beat mini either way. I like it!

@shakes: Yeah, the enigma minis seem to be really nice sculpts. Some of them might very well fit what I'm going for too. I'd say Citadel and Avatars of War are the best sculpts I've worked with, and I'm actually a fan of Citadel sculpts. Their casting in particular is better than anything else I've worked with, including AoW, but that's of course due to them having a much bigger production and being able to afford better quality casting as a rule (I'm not going into a Finecast discussion though!).
Kingdom Death is definitely a contender here

 

[shakes]

I don't deny the quality of Citadel, I've been collecting Citadel for over 13 years now, infact I currently have three things on my desk and two of them are Citadel. Sigvald and a Sword Master, the other is an Enigma Yarry, not the first time I've had him on my desk lol. That being said for showcase stuff the quality of Enigma is a step up, when you hold the two of them together infront of you it's astonishing. Enigma is so fine, incredibly delicate detail.

Shakes

 

[freakinacage]

OKay so I gave up and skipped most of your post but, Hasslefree, statuesque, tom meier darksword stuff are lovely

 

[Milosh]

One more thought I have for you. i feel for the art and pictures of the anima tactics figures, to me they are just junky figures that I wouldn't waste money on. If you want to try them out for little cost just pay the postage and I'll send you the ones I have for free.

 

[Dragonsreach]

I'm using the Hasslefree Wolf Figure (HFH018) as the key piece in a class I'm doing.
Large Muscular figure with good sculpting and a very good set of faces, Caucasian, Africoid and Orc.
He's Great value for money.
In fact Hasslefree do so many figures in states of undress that they are great for practising and the obvious necessity of researching skin tones.

 

[Solun Decius]

Thanks guys! This is great stuff.

@shakes: Yeah, I'm definitely checking the Enigma figures out. There are a few I'm interested in already now that you've pointed me towards them.

@freakinacage: Haha, yeah, nevermind the rambling. Haslefree has been mentions often so I'm looking closely at those. Statuesque look really nice man! I can't find them in a USA store though so I'd have to pay for overseas shipping anyway. Guess I could just as well order them directly to here. Tom Meier does the Game of Thrones stuff. That look cool. Melisadre and Cersei have some crazy flowing cloth and nice faces. Thanks!

@Milosh: Wow! If you're serious about that it would be great. Just name the price and payment method (PM me) and I'd be cool with that. My brother in law lives in Brooklyn so I'm ordering stuff to there which I'll take home when we visit him. If they're as bad as you say I can start with those to get the learning process going.

@Dragonsreach: That's a great mini, thanks! I might have to get two for different skin types

I'm looking at all this stuff now and I'll make sure to post what I end up ordering. Then when I have them I'll post WIP and results for help with the real project, practicing proper technique.

 

[Solun Decius]

Alright! Just to have all the links somewhere I'll post this here. It's sort of a 1st pick. Unless someone points out something very specific I'm not going through the stores again

This sums up to like $500 or more so this is never happening. I'll try to shorten this down to like $100-$150 worth of minis. The Kingdom Death ones are high on the list I think and a few of the Hasslefree ones too.

If anyone has bad experience with any of these or with any of the companies that would be cool to hear, otherwise I'm mainly using this for documentation

Hasslefree:
Wolf, Male Barbarian (out of stock)
Fantasy Football Kalee (low stock)
Artemis (out of stock)
Suzi, katana girl
Summer, cheerleader (low stock)
Almira, naked lying down
Another Wolf the barbarian figure (out of stock)
Alyx, little girl figure (out of stock)
Hanako (low stock)
Valaska Syn (low stock)
Zombie Ashlee (low stock)

Kingdom Death
Twilight Knight 32 (low stock)
Twilight Knight 54 (out of stock)
Preacher pinup 32
Preacher pinup 54
White Speaker 32 (out of stock)
White Speaker pinup 32
Savior pinup 32

Enigma:
Loratham
Zombie Horde

Nocturna:
Nocturna, princess 32 (out of stock)
Greek Godess 70 (low stock)
Freya 54 (out of stock)
Red Huntress 54 (out of stock)
The Violinist 54 (out of stock)
The Usurper 54

Draconia:
Zayna 54
Droohan-taff 54
Killing Demons 54

Others:
Soda Pop Ayu Beat
CMON X'stacy
Anima Elhaim (I really like the pose and composition on this one - low stock)
Kabuki Honey Valentine
Kabuki Halloween Witch (although the official paintjob is rather unflattering it seems a nice mini)

Thanks for all the help so far!

 

[Milosh]

Thanks guys! @Milosh: Wow! If you're serious about that it would be great. Just name the price and payment method (PM me) and I'd be cool with that. My brother in law lives in Brooklyn so I'm ordering stuff to there which I'll take home when we visit him. If they're as bad as you say I can start with those to get the learning process going.

I'll send you a PM. I've got four of the anima tactics that are yours. Shipping to NY is dirt cheap with flat rate shipping by the USPS.