Work In Progress: Troll Axer

Happy Miniature Monday!

I started my very first Privateer Press miniature this weekend: Hordes "Troll Axer". Once I found out what he'd look like when fully-assembled (see below), I couldn't wait to get started!

Privateer Press · Hordes · Troll Axer

However, my impatient nature got the better of me, and I totally missed the clearly outlined Steps 1 & 2 on the back of the box.

Luckily, my IKEA-assembling-skills came to the rescue when I decided to skip the directions in the spirit of artistic license. I just started gluing stuff together. I blame the new anime series I watched on Crunchyroll while cleaning, priming, and preparing the miniature for assembly-- subtitles demand way too much attention. While I don't foresee any future consequences of my initial oversight, I should pay closer attention next time. Lesson learned. I'm now choosing to paint the pieces separately and then assemble the parts near the end. Better safe than sorry! Since most of the miniatures I've painted have been cast in one piece, I don't have much experience with mini assembly. Let's see how this paint-sections-separately method works out. 

The painted example of this Trollblood is blue on the box, so I decided to go in a completely different direction and chose an orange/dark charcoal metallic color scheme. I wasn't sure how orange would look on him so I started painting the skin tones first. I'm pretty happy with how his skin is turning out so far!

Base Coat

Blended Shading/Highlights

He's been sculpted wearing heavy armor so I want to study Shaded Metallics this week. I've heard quite a bit about NMM (Non-Metallic Metal), where one paints the visual effects of metal surfaces without using metallic paints-- a challenging prospect when painting 3D figures. I can understand why one of my miniature painter friends describes painting NMM as "a slog.. every time". While the Shaded Metallics/True Metallic Metal (TMM) technique is less popular, I've heard it's considerably less time-consuming. I want to be able to call upon that technique for basic tabletop miniatures so I won't continue to shy away from minis that are sculpted with heavy armor.

Reading up on TMM and running a few isolated experiments on Troll Axer as the focus for my next blog post. See you Thursday!

Miniatures & Scale

When I tell people about my hobby, the first question they usually ask is, "Just how small are they?".  Since my blog is about the discovery of miniature painting, my goal is to make it accessible to everyone. Recently I was asked to include a basic overview of miniatures & scale for those less-than-familiar with the hobby. Happy to oblige!

The majority of miniatures I paint are 25-28mm. For those of us who were not raised on the internationally recognized decimal system of measurement, they're about 1 inch tall. Some are a bit larger and others are considerably smaller, and once the 25-28mm minis are attached to bases, the finished product is usually under 2 inches. Of course, bases can range anywhere from a simple, flat square to a hand-carved custom display base. To help put miniature scale in perspective, here are some pictures: one with a measuring tape & push pin, the other featuring my less-than-manicured thumbnail.

"What are they made out of?"

While some minis are made from plastic or resin, the majority of miniatures I've painted are cast in pewter. They come out of the box looking like this Reaper miniature:

Some are cast as one piece, others are in several parts and require assembly like this Privateer Press miniature:

"How long do they take to paint?"

For me, generally anywhere from 4-32 hours. It's a big range, and I personally choose how long to spend on a mini by asking myself this simple question:

What is this mini going to be used for?

  • One-time tabletop game: 2-4 hours. 
  • Many games: 8-24 hours (depending on how many people I want to impress!)
  • Display & Collecting: 12-32+ hours (depending on the projected detail & quality)
  • Personal enjoyment: however long I want!

And lastly, the final question I'm asked is, "Why do you enjoy painting these tiny things?"

Truly, I enjoy working with small-scale figures. They require a smaller volume of paint, less room needed for my painting setup, and the best part is that a $5-15 miniature is much less expensive than a large canvas. I also like the challenge of refining controlled painting techniques for the best possible results. It's a great exercise in patience!  

If you have questions, keep 'em coming! I'm happy to share my discoveries and look forward to learning from others as well. In the meantime, I'm waiting for my Infinity miniatures to arrive in the mail today-- I'll have more for you on Thursday! 

Minotaur Monday

Happy Miniature Monday (or should I say Minotaur Monday!) I took a few days off and it was absolutely wonderful. It rained throughout the holiday weekend and I didn't regret sitting out the fireworks this year. I cooked, cleaned, played some tabletop and oh, right, painted! So without further ado:

I tried to keep him consistent with my friend's original color scheme. Here he is at 95% completion side-by-side with his predecessor & original inspiration:

I got a little carried away with his armor so the dark Bleach-anime-inspired dark metal weapons are pretty boring by comparison. I don't think I understand the concept of "Tabletop Quality"-- I just painted and promised myself I'd be done within a few short sessions over 3 days. I'm getting faster though!

Silvanus' character is pretty obsessed with protecting nature and greenery so I wanted to work in a bit of green paint somewhere on him. I added a few inset green gems and a jade-inspired bracelet-ring-thing on his horn adornments. 

Overall, I'm pretty happy with how he turned out seeing as he's made of cheap plastic and runs about $3.49. Huzzah! Now to find some bubble wrap & paper towels to make sure they both the journey unscathed.