Gingerbread in excelsis gloria

Merry Christmas/Eid/Chanukah everyone!

I made a gingerbread house again this year. It was modeled after Le Corbusier's avant-garde church "Notre Dame du Haut", built in 1954 (which I visited as a child). Lighting was a white LED inside.

ZARDOZ SPEAKS TO YOU!

Zed
25 mm



All finished! Just in time to deal with the plague of brutals, a.k.a. Christmas shoppers :D

And some video for your LOL:
(If it doesn't work... blame the MPAA)



And some soothing Zardoz-themed desktop wallpaper.

Oops!

I guess I should have checked my reference image:



The fact that the mini kind of looks like Saddam Hussein... well there's not much I can do about that. But the boots are getting a repaint, even though I think the all-red look is kind of neat (sort of makes him match "Sister Compassion")

Abandoned... complete

Abandoned Warrior
30 mm



Now complete, with a natural base and source-lighting effects!

The tropical fronds are masking tape over wire, cut and painted. The leaf litter is Club House Italian Seasoning. The snake is poisonous... or not, I can never remember :D

Abandoned...

Abandoned Warrior
30 mm



This ancient, corroding creature was left behind by its comrades centuries ago during some long-forgotten evacuation. Now it silently patrols an uninhabited world, waiting for a recovery mission which will never come.

"Necrons" are Terminator-like robot warriors from the game Warhammer 40,000. I decided to practice my rust effects on this guy, he'll be wading through a steamy jungle base when he's finished. I'm going to try some lighting effects from the green power weapon too.

Halloween... now back to painting!

Mad Scientist
1760 mm


A good time was had by all...

Zzzzzap!

The mad scientist's electrical death ray helmet!




(Yes, those are real vacuum tubes.)

Fire up the Tesla Coil!

Halloween's coming! To honour the occasion, I've put together steampunk goggles and wristwatch, for my costume, a mad scientist. It's all made from Dollarama trinkets and plumbing supplies (I don't own a lathe!). The death ray helmet is in the works.

Ghoulish!

Ghoul
30 mm

Straight out of hell
One of a kind
Stalking his victim
Dont look behind you
Nightcrawler
- Judas Priest, "Nightcrawler"

Finally done after a hiatus of camping and busy-ness. In retrospect, I missed an opportunity to use strong lighting contrast on this figure. As a nocturnal creature, he should be moonlit, with heavy shadows and anything not directly lit should be almost black. Oh well, next time.

I has rock!

My rock, let me show you it.


Just a quick update on this gruesome guy. He needs a graveyard base with a tombstone behind him, of course.

The game's afoot...

"A Nasty Discovery Behind the Vicarage"
30 mm

As she glanced up from the ditch to scan the nearby pasture with a shrewd eye, Miss Chumleigh mentally tallied at least ten people who'd have wanted to do the old man in. Of course, in her experience, detective work was rarely blessed with a paucity of suspects.

"Natural" bases have always been difficult for me. I can never seem to muster enough disorder and variety to make them look convincing. Here I'm convinced my river is too smooth, my leaf litter just a little too carefully placed, and my grass looks like somebody's unmowed lawn (or just like static grass). But overall, I'm pleased with the result.

Plague of Brutals!

This purchase falls strictly under "What Was I Thinking?"



What the eye-bleeding heck is that, you ask? Well, this review sums up the film "Zardoz" nicely, I think. It also explains why I don't remember much of the plot except the "The gun is good, the penis is evil!" speech by the giant flying head (that vomits guns).



Of course, I had to buy THREE of these abominations... I think somebody I know is getting one for Christmas >:D

Dark Things

This piece is getting surprisingly close to completion, I've put gloss acrylic medium on as (muddy) water... whether it's convincing or not is another matter, but I'm hoping it looks more natural once the grass and vegetation etc. is added. I'm thinking the corpse needs a bit of blood too.

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Ghoul
30 mm



This is one of the figures I received in the latest Mini Exchange. It's a ghoul - not an undead creature, but a pseudo-humanoid which roams the night, feeding on corpses. Delish!

Group Shot

The Fellowship of the Ring
10 mm



Well, as requested here they are, all together. Shiny! It was a lot of fun painting these little guys, I'm ready to get back to some slightly larger work now, but I'd definitely do some more 10 mm if I can find some good minis out there.

Mini Exchange

An abundance!

Received from Will in England:



Sent to Neil in Winnipeg:

Crunch-Waffle "Samurai Toshiro"
Confrontation "Vargas Metatron"
Games Workshop "Cadian Shock Trooper"
Games Workshop classic Space Marine
Reaper "Michelle Dancing Blades"

The Ring Bearers

Frodo and Sam
6 mm

"What a tale we have been in, Mr. Frodo, haven't we?... I wish I could hear it told! Do you think they'll say: Now comes the story of Nine-Fingered Frodo and the Ring of Doom? And then everyone will hush, like we did, when in Rivendell they told us the tale of Beren One-Hand and the Great Jewel. I wish I could hear it! And I wonder how it will go on after our part."
- Samwise Gamgee, "The Return of the King"

The Warrior

Boromir
10 mm

"The men of Gondor are valiant, and they will never submit; but they may be beaten down. Valour needs first strength, and then a weapon. Let the Ring be your weapon, if it has such power as you say. Take it and go forth to victory!"
- Boromir, The Fellowship of the Ring

Update

My sleuth's base, in progress:



Yes, I sculpted that face-down dead guy myself, that's about the limit of my abilities. Don't look to closely at the hands. He still needs a knife sticking out of his back.

Nasty Business Behind the Vicarage (WIP)

No, I haven't forgotten this project :)

The Young Hobbits

Pippin and Merry
6 mm

"Welcome, my lords, to Isengard!" he said. "We are the door-wardens. Meriadoc, son of Saradoc is my name; and my companion, who, alas! is overcome with weariness" - here he gave the other a dig with his foot - "is Peregrin, son of Paladin, of the house of Took. Far in the North is our home."
- Merry, The Two Towers

The Elf

Legolas
10 mm

"The strongest must seek a way, say you? But I say: let a ploughman plough, but choose an otter for swimming, and for running light over grass and leaf, or over snow - an Elf."
- Legolas, The Fellowship of the Ring

The Dwarf

Gimli
6 mm

"Welcome Gimli, son of Gloin! It is long indeed since we saw one of Durin's folk in Caras Galadhon. But today we have broken our long law. May it be a sign that though the world is now dark better days are at hand, and that friendship shall be renewed between our peoples."
- Celeborn, The Fellowship of the Ring

The King

Aragorn/Strider
10 mm

"I see," laughed Strider. "I look foul and feel fair. Is that it? All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost."
- Aragorn, The Fellowship of the Ring

The Wizard

Gandalf the Grey
10 mm

"A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."
- Gandalf, The Fellowship of the Ring

Latest WIPs

Yeah... slow month. This is mostly what I'm working on right now.

Sleuthin'

Country Sleuth
28 mm



Every small English village needs one of these - that apparently utterly normal lady who somehow seems to find out everything that's happening, and delve to the heart of any nefarious goings-on. While not a physical threat to murderers-most-foul, her sharp mind and dogged determination will bring all to light, by the end of the second-last chapter.

Figure by Copplestone.

Canvas

The Dance
8"x10"



I painted this canvas as a birthday gift for my girlfriend. It's based on a photo of some traditional Korean dancers, but I obviously took many liberties with the source. I sort of imagine the scene as an struggle or contest occurring in ancient legend, with an otherworldly audience* observing. To keep the tone light, one of the smaller beings has brought some refreshments. No it doesn't make much sense, to be honest... but I hope she likes it! [EDIT: She likes it :)]

* audience members borrowed from "Spirited Away"!

"Crom, I have never prayed to you before..."

...I have no tongue for it. No one, not even you, will remember if we were good men or bad. Why we fought, and why we died. All that matters is that today, two stood against many. Valor pleases you, so grant me this one request. Grant me revenge! And if you do not listen, the HELL with you!
- "Conan the Barbarian", 1982

I was feeling uninspired by my current project so I quickly painted up another tiny mini:

Barbarian Hero
10 mm

Transparent

I picked up a couple of these clear plastic boxes at Michael's Crafts the other day. Dirt cheap of course, thanks to overseas sweatshop labour and lax environmental controls :(





As you can see they make pretty decent single-miniature display boxes. A couple of sheets of foamcore were used to raise the mini's base, all held together with double-sided tape.

Banzai!

I was originally going to paint my helicopter chick here up with a big British flag on her battle knickers, it seemed fitting for a steampunk character. But the general anime style of her pose and hair changed my mind, so I redirected her nationality a bit. Later in the process she'll have a rising sun motif on her torso. I wish I'd given her a katana though...



Oh, and I can already tell the helicopter is going to be a pain in the ass to paint.

Eine Symphonie des Grauens! GRAUENS! Hahahahaha!

Count Orlok
28 mm





Finished! And I'm really happy with how he turned out, he looks truly cruel and menacing. He's posted on CMON here.

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On a slightly tangential note,
I'd just like to take this opportunity to pay a little tribute to my girlfriend, who on more than one occasion has had to eat dinner with me at my coffee table, because my dining table looked like this:



And she's never complained. Thanks, baby, you're the best!

In Progress

  

I think Count Orlok himself is essentially done. The castle arch is made from three layers of black foamcore board, faced with stone-wall-patterned polystyrene sheet. The inside of the arch is covered in greenstuff epoxy, and I'll add the arch stones and the ground texture with epoxy as well.

In Progress

Smooth transitions on black or grey are hard - the human eye notices very subtle changes in brightness without colour to distract it. But I think I've done okay so far.

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Steampunk Flyer
28 mm



This mini should have wings. But I didn't like them much. I think she looks better with a few modifications... Including some retro-technological stylings.

Wee man

Dwarf
6 mm



This guy and a few other extras came with my "Fellowship" set. I painted him up just for fun this evening, while doing laundry.

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Mini Exchange #11

I just received this "Archangel Sergeant" from Rev in the UK. I might replace her wings with rotors or something and go for a "Steampunk" look.

A whole new kind of "small"

I just picked these up from Copplestone Castings. The set is called "Heroes and Halflings", but they are pretty obviously the Fellowship of the Ring. The humans are a whopping 10 mm tall, the hobbits are more like 6 mm!



My Nosferatu vampire (see below) hasn't gone anywhere yet, but I'm thinking he should be done in greyscale/B&W to fit his cinematic appearance.

Nosferatu

Count Orlok
28 mm



Another great, cheap Mega Miniature - the Count from F.W. Murnau's 1922 film "Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror" (he's also appeared in "Spongebob Squarepants").

Feeling of Accomplishment

"Buger thyss, I'm goinge home!"
28 mm



Well he's done, I mounted him on this little wooden base to make him a little more gift-worthy. The dead grass is bristles from a cheap paintbrush. My dad will have to wait a little longer for his gift though, I can't bring myself to put this guy in the mail...

Just in time too, there's another Mini Exchange underway. "Thoth the Keeper of Scrolls" is on his way to dougaderly in New Hampshire.