Sept 2017

#46 REVIEWS
Kimera Models
£1.30
ISSN 2052-8507 Hera Models
Pegaso Models
Dolman Miniatures
Terrible Kids Stuff
Nutsplanet
RP Models
Dmitry Fesechko Gecco

PLUS WE LOOK AT
Nutsplanet's
Artworks
Secret Weapon Miniature's
Weathering Acrylics
Iwata's
Workstation Range

www.figurepaintermagazine.co.uk
 Resin Miniatures
for Collectors

www.ferminiatures.com
 Contact Figure Painter Magazine
Web www.figurepaintermagazine.co.uk
Email [email protected]

Cover Artist: Dmitry Fesechko

Chief Editor: Shane Rozzell

[email protected]

Layout: Shane Rozzell Welcome to issue 46 of Figure Painter Magazine.

Assistant Editor: Luke Wilson
[email protected]
We have rather a large issue for you this month, packed with lots of miniature
reviews and several closer looks at other stuff a mini painter should have. 😉
Assistant Editor: Terry Cowell
[email protected] We also have three stunning tutorials for you this issue. Marko Paunović
continues his massive diorama build of his post-apoc garage scene. Also,
Copy Editor: Sean Fulton
starting this month is another multi issue diorama build by Conrad Mynett who
[email protected]
explains all about how he made his Cyclops Diorama. I did say three, right?
Market Place Editor: Martyn Dorey Well, the third is a real stunner from Spanish painter Ángel Verdejo Olmeda
[email protected] who shows us how he created his diorama ‘Into the Woods’.

Content Editor: Marko Paunovic Also in this issue, we have event reports from the Athens Model Show and
[email protected]
this year’s FigureWorld. Also, we have an interesting look at how to prepare
Advertising: Sarah Evans
for painting competitions from U.S. based painter John Margiotta.
[email protected]
Kicking this issue off is what could be the best Insight interview we’ve ever
Proof Readers: Martyn Dorey published. Terry Cowell spoke at length to Dmitry Fesechko on his thoughts
Sean Fulton on the miniature hobby and as an artist. It really is an inspiring piece. Anyway,
we hope you like it and please, feel free to let us know your thoughts and if
Regular Contributors:
you have any ideas on how we can improve. 😉
Sean Fulton Terry Cowell
Shane Rozzell Martyn Dorey
Shane Rozzell, Chief Editor
Davide Rainone Marko Paunovic
Luke Wilson

Guest Contributors: John Margoitta

Figure Painter Magazine is published by
Michael Klieman Robot Pigeon Publishing. South Cheshire. UK Follow us on Social Media
Conrad Mynett
Norm Ealand
Stuart Sim
Ángel Verdejo Olmeda

The views and opinions relating to all material herein does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Figure Painter Magazine staff, editors or publishers who
are not liable of said opinions. Figure Painter Magazine cannot be held responsible for inaccuracies in any of its publications. Furthermore, responsibility
for any losses, damages or distress resulting from adherence to any information made available through this magazine or its website is not the responsi-
bility of Figure Painter Magazine or its publisher, Robot Pigeon Publishing. Adverts and advertisers appearing in Figure Painter Magazine carry no implied
recommendation from the magazine or the publishers. Artwork has also been either taken from company websites pertaining to the image and may not
be reproduced (except for personal use) without prior written permission from the said author / artist. Most product names are trademarks owned by the
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part of this publication may be reproduced without prior consent from Figure Painter Magazine.
Initiative is a new monthly magazine dedicated to miniature tabletop gaming. £1.30

www.initiativemagazine.co.uk
 Cover Article
6. HEADLINES

12.
Our monthly look at the latest miniature painting news.

8. UNBOXING: HARALD HARDRADA

Terry Cowell brings us his thoughts on this new kit from RP Models.

12. INSIGHT: DMITRY FESECHKO

Our interview with world renown artists in and around the miniature painting hobby.

34. EVENT REPORT: FIGUREWORLD 2017

What happened at during one of this year’s best U.K. miniature shows.

40. WHAT'S ON THE MARKET: WEATHERING ACRYLICS

Terry Cowell puts Secret Weapon Miniatures weathering paints through their paces.

48. UNBOXING: YOUNG GUARDS OFFICER

Davide checks out this miniature from Pegaso Models.

50. INSPIRATION: HOW TO PREPARE FOR COMPETITION

John Margiotta gives some tips on how he prepares for a painting comp.

54. UNBOXING: TALES FROM THE APOCALYPSE

Michael Klieman brings us the details on these miniatures from Japanese model company Gecco.

INSIGHT: DMITRY FESECHKO

Our interview with world renown artists in
60. TUTORIAL: CYCLOPS DIORAMA PART ONE
The first part of an epic build from Conrad Mynett.

70. UNBOXING: ISHTAR WINGS OF SORROW

and around the miniature hobby.
Luke Wilson takes a closer look at this miniature from Kimera Models.

72. EXPOSE`
The best new releases from the past month.

Highlights
76. WHAT'S ON THE MARKET: NUTSPLANET'S ARTWORKS
Luke shows us this new art book from Nutsplanet.

78. UNBOXING: HORACE

Normski brings us his take on this new bust from Terrible Kids Stuff.

80. EVENT REPORT: ATHENS 2017

Luke Wilson travelled to Greece for this show; here is what went down.

90. TUTORIAL: POST-APOCALYPTIC DIORAMA

Marko Paunovic brings us part 10 of his diorama.

96. UNBOXING: INDIAN HOME GUARD

Stuart Sim casts his eye over this offering from Nutsplanet.

98. PUTTY&PAINT
Our pick of the ones to watch on Putty&Paint.

104. UNBOXING: WITCH HUNTER

Luke Wilson examines this release from Terrible Kids Stuff.

108. TUTORIAL: INTO THE WOODS

Ángel Verdejo Olmeda shows us how he made and painted this fantastic diorama.

122. UNBOXING: KING UNDER THE MOUNTAIN

Marko shows us this dwarf bust from Dolman Miniatures.

124. WHAT'S ON THE MARKET: IWATA WORKSTATION

Shane takes a closer look at this airbrush workstation from Iwata.

128. UNBOXING: DURGAR THE BLACKSMITH

Davide Rainone checks out this dwarf bust from Hera Models.

130. EXHIBITION
Showcase of the painted minis posted on our Facebook page.
 Scale75 has been adding to their range of modelling
accessories. The first products are some sanding sticks
and polishing blocks, while the second is a new, 2-part
putty compound. The sanding sticks and pads retail for
4.95 Euros and the putty for 4.13 Euros.
6

Black Sun Miniatures will soon have their new 1:24th

scale diorama up for pre-order on their website. The
scene, sculpted by Joaquin Palacios, features three
figures. A prone female on a sacrificial alter, a priestess
with a dagger and a Conan-esque barbarian who’s come
to the rescue. The narrative is straight out of a Robert E.
Howard story and I, for one, love it. We don’t have any
details like the price yet, but it’s well worth keeping an
eye on.

Artefakt Miniatures will be producing Rathaless the

Water Dragon much sooner than we all thought. The
miniature will come in two sizes, 30cm and 50 cm. The
sculpt is absolutely superb and if you haven’t seen it, go
check out their blog. There are no prices yet, but this is
certainly one to watch for.
7
8

RP Models’ Harald Hardrada

Hugo Miguel Mendes Pereira is the overlord at RP
Models and over the last few years he has been building
a reputation for producing historical characters. He
manages to capture them in a way that is instantly
recognisable and exciting for the artist; he invites
us to bring them to life. The quality has always been
commendable and I expect no less as I review Harald.

Harald Sigurdsson, or Harald Hardrada as he was later

to become known, was one of the characters that
makes history so fascinating. He was born in Norway
in 1015 and became King of Norway from 1046 – 1066,
Details eventually losing the battle of Stanford Bridge, England
Price: £45 for the bust along with his life.

£37.50 for the figure He is thought to be the last of the Viking Kings and his
death brought a close to that exciting period of history.
Scale: Bust is 1/10th Birds were significant to Harald. He carried a banner
Figure is 1:24th with a raven on it called Landǿyḋan (Landwaster). The
legend at the time was that the emblem on the banner
Material: Resin would appear after the battle and would depict an
open mouthed raven in victory or a swooping raven in
Available from defeat. Harald was known to carry this banner for over 2
RP Models decades until his final battle.
 9
However, the RP characterisation is them smeared in a mix of wax and neck guard, sword in the right hand,
based on one of his earlier victories. sulphur. The poor birds were then scabbard, knife, ponytail and finally
When he was eventually killed he set alight and in fear flew straight the bird in his left hand.
was not wearing the long mail coat for their nests in the thatched roofs
you see our version adorned in, of the houses within the enclosed The detail is as beautiful and
although he was thought to have town. The whole town was set intricate as always and this model
taken an arrow through the neck ablaze and it wasn’t long before provides so much opportunity for
so I doubt it would have been the gates opened and the town’s the artist. The cloak has a quilted
much help. people came out to beg for mercy. kris kross pattern, the shield looks
authentically Viking and the chain
RP has captured a moment from Ok so now for a close look at mail tabard provides a perfect
a wonderful story of when our the RP bust and miniature. Both surface for nmm. There is a diverse
antagonist was laying siege in come securely packaged in the interplay of textures. This includes a
Sicily. He came across a town well now familiar RP boxes. The top wooden shield, large chainmail, tiny
defended with walls too stout to of the boxes show pictures of an detailed chainmail on his sleeves,
break down and the townsfolk were assembled unpainted character. laces, feathers, facial hair, sword
well provisioned and prepared to The boxes have all the information and hilt.
withstand a siege. including size, contact details etc.
Although the cast is excellent,
Harald noticed a number of birds Bust there is a little work to be done
flying in and out of the town. He on removing a small moldline on
laid traps to capture the birds Looking first at the bust, it comes in his belt which won’t be seen once
and ordered fir shavings to be 13 components. The torso, shield, the cloak is on and one on his
tied to their backs; he then had cloak, head, 2 separate arms, axe, sword hand. There are some stem
10

points on the bottom of the cloak arrives perfectly flat. Such a

and the torso which can be easily small detail, but significant to the
clipped away. modeller. (Thank you RP guys)!

The parts fit together very easily Before moving onto the 75mm
utilizing the ball and socket method. figure, I want to mention the detail
Once the cloak is on, you may want on the torso. It really is simply a
to use some putty to make the joy. There is so much going on that
large part of the cloak fit together makes it an interesting paint project.
seamlessly with the section over The tiny emblems on the coin and
his shoulders. buckle plus the stitching on the belt
are intricate but perfect.
The sword comes with the blade
enclosed in a straw. It protects
the sword and ensures the blade
75mm Miniature

Given that the bust is 1/10th scale it

would make sense that the smaller
figure would lose some detail right?
Not in this case!

The figure, although smaller, has

retained all the detail without losing
the quality. You do have smaller
surfaces to work on, but the details-
-belt holes, emblems, feathers--are
all still there and all perfect.

There are 12 pieces as opposed

to 13 because the neck mail is
attached to the helmet. The legs
come attached to the torso with
some nice shin guards. The kit fits
together in exactly the same way as
the bust.

There is a small moldline to remove

behind his left leg inner thigh and

11
a little flash removal. The casting
has been done very well on both
pieces and it will be well received
by customers.

If you haven’t seen the miniatures

RP Models has to offer, where have
you been? They are a company
going from strength to strength. I
look forward to their next release.
 W
or
ds
&
Qu
es
t io
ns

with Dmitry Fesechko

:T
er
ry
Co
we
ll

When I first came across the

work of Dmitry years ago, I was
instantly inspired and started
saving the work he shared
publicly for my own inspiration.
It was only recently through
my research for this interview
12

and through our conversations

leading up to this article, that
I came to believe that, in my
opinion, we have someone
who is helping us all cross
from the realms of the hobby
art to that which is respected
by wider audiences. Dmitry is
a thoughtful, reflective artist
and a retrospective look at
his work to date reveals that
he is someone who has real
purpose to his art. I feel this
might be our best Insight ever
and I am absolutely thrilled
that FPM readers have the
opportunity to observe
his incredibly beautiful and
talented work.
1
Hi, Dmitry. Welcome to FPM
and thank you so much for
taking the time to complete
this interview. As an
introduction can you please
tell our readers something about
your biography?

Hello, everyone! Thank you for the

opportunity, Terry! My father was
a military man, a judge advocate
– I think this is the closest term in
English. He had to move a lot from
place to place all over the USSR.
And once when he was in Riga,
Latvia, he met my mother. I was
born in a place called Kuznetsk-8
in 1988. In fact, military bases
in the Soviet Union had such
names. Then they lived in some
more places, but finally moved to
Moscow. I remember myself only
living in Moscow. Considering that
my mother was from Riga, until the

13
age of about 15 I was spending a lot SMOKER OF TIME
of time there. It has played a great great-grandfather was alive and he Oils on canvas. 50x70cm. 2013.
role in my life; I’ll tell you further was an artist, though he was almost The years were passing by as he
why. In my school years, I was very blind. He was an excellent artist; talked with an eternal snail that
fond of music. With my friends we when he was younger he copied visits him when he smokes. What
had a band, even had some small paintings of Velázquez (from images year is it? Somewhere between
concerts but nothing serious, in fact. that could be found in Soviet Union), 1813 and 2013.
My tastes came from punk rock like Viktor Vasnetsov, Ivan Shishkin and
The painting was done in classical
the Clash and Sex Pistols to classic many others. I usually visited him multilayer technique.
rock like Led Zeppelin, The Beatles those days. He was living in a fancy
and others. Now when I had grown old building in the old centre of the
older, I added more blues to my city. He was shrouded by the mist I don’t know… I think the visions
life. Tom Waits or Eric Clapton are of pipe tobacco smoke with some of great-grandfather’s workshop
usually playing something when notes of oil paint aromas, sitting must have played some role. And
I paint. After the school, I passed somewhere in the centre of the some fate and fortune. I had never
the exams and started to learn room and always painting being learned to draw, so all I could do
jurisprudence at the university. almost blind. Pure magic. OK, back were some abstractions. During

2
to my student years. I did not have the following weeks, I was totally
Tell us where you fit into to pay for my education because sure that I had found myself. One
our hobby and explain of my exams results. I had like a friend of mine discovered my new
what it is that you do? grant/stipend from the government. preoccupation and gave me some
Losing such opportunity was very Warhammer models as a gift. I liked
I was a romantic, fond of stupid. So, running ahead I will to paint those tiny things a lot! The
music. I think you know tell you that I have graduated as a next four years for me were like
what the student years looks like… copyright law specialist. But after being in a fog. I had to proceed with
John Lennon was usually singing ”...I the first year of education I realized my law study, but I decided to learn
don’t want to be a lawyer mama, I that I should change something as I to draw and I painted models a lot
don’t wanna lie...” in my earphones. did not want to be a lawyer. I almost because I was able to make some
Now I want to bring you back to stopped playing the music those money with it. One of the most
the early years of my life. During times. One day I had a pure impulse, important things I’ve learned from
the summertime, I usually lived in a moment that made me just go and those days was how to sleep no
Riga. It is very charming city and buy some paints and canvas. I had more than six hours a day.
the nature in Latvia is amazing. My never been fond of visual art before,
 said I had very little time. In any
case, I was proceeding with some
videos for beginners, you know, like
painting simple still life’s and so on.
I have started to understand the
light and the form, and I already had
knowledge about colour theory. I
was visiting museums a lot. Then
I realized that techniques that you
can learn from such videos usually
are very far away from techniques
of the masters of the past. Another
couple of books were read
including some very special ones
that I ordered on Amazon about
multilayer techniques of the past.
By that time, I had finished with my
law study I achieved pretty good
results but I knew that so much was
missed. I had much more time than
before, so I found some painting
courses. Once I showed my works
made with the old multilayer
technique to the master Vladimir
14

Markov, he was totally amazed

and applied me as his apprentice.
Master and apprentice is an old-
style education – another amazing
thing of my life. I had to learn to
draw with pencil again. In the main
he taught me anatomy, we were
drawing sketches of people, a lot of
hands, heads and so on. In about a
year my skills had grown and I felt

3
Multilayer Technique Demonstration myself free to paint almost anything
Do you have an art I wanted. Then I became interested
education and, if not, in digital art. I found courses of
how did you find yourself digital illustration, then courses on
working as an artist? concept design.

It is quite hard question I want to add that during all of this

even for myself – “Do I have an art time I was also painting miniatures.
education?”. I have never learned at I started with acrylic paints. You
any kind of art college or something know I had a Rackham paint starter
like this. But when I started to paint set and there was a small booklet
abstractions I realized that I needed “how to paint”. But at the same time,
to know colour theory. I have read a I was painting canvases with oils
lot of books about it. Then I decided and I just thought – hey, why not?
that I am not satisfied with this kind Yes, I just started to use all I learnt
of art. And I started to learn how to about oil painting in my miniature
draw and work with form. Another work. The first results were quite
couple of books were read. Then bad… The models were grainy
I realized that I don’t like to draw and full of brushstrokes and after
with pencil; it takes a lot of time the varnish they looked very dull.
and I can do it much quicker with Those models I was painting on
Old Study paints. Now I know that it was kind commission were still painted with
of a mistake those days, but as I acrylics. But I was proceeding with
my experiments and I liked the oils
much more. In those times, I could
not find much information about
miniature painting in general. About
using oils on models – there was
nothing. I remember how people
told me to leave this idea, but I was
very stubborn. In those days, I was
not friends with Kirill Kanaev yet,
but I was amazed by his works. He
was a judge at one local contest
and he said to me that the works
are good, but painted strangely and
looked kind of dirty and grainy. Ah,
it did not stop me. The oil technique
I am using now evolved over many
years and is based on a lot of
mistakes I have made.

Coming back to the education

question. After those digital courses,
I found a job as a background artist
in one animation project. Working
for some time as a digital artist, I

15
saw that I had no time and energy
to paint canvases and miniatures.
The decision was not hard, in fact
– I left this job and did not come
back to digital illustration. I can’t
say that I do not like digital art,
but comparing to classical visual
art it looks to me like some kind
of plastic; unnatural and full of
cheap effects made just to attract
people. A lot of artists copy each

Tiny Portrait Time

 Work Space
notice that I paint skin very light
usually avoiding hard shadows. If
you exclude dropping shadows
from other objects on the skin in
classical paintings – the skin has
a very, very light tone. It is almost
glowing from inside. This approach
is very different compared to the
illustration technique that now
dominates. And I’d say in general
– I work more with tone relations
in composition, than with contrast
on every detail of it. The second
thing I have learned from classical
art is that the real art is usually in
nuances. For example, you all might
know that we can divide the face
into cold/reddish/yellow areas. Or
the cold/hot relations in general in
lights and shadows. A lot of people
prefer to use it to the maximum. In
classical art, all of those relations
are present of course, but in
nuances. Just a little drop of
16

reddish here and a drop greenish

there. The shadows are just a little
bit hotter than lights and so on. As
I usually say – I don’t want to say
that one approach is better than
other. I tell you even more – models
painted with very high colour/tone/
saturation contrast usually attract
people better. But it is definitely not
the only way to paint.

Answering this question, I think

I can also tell you about my

4
experiments with using the old
other. This is a generalization, of You paint canvas and Flemish seven layers’ technique
course. There are also real masters also miniatures. Do in miniature. I usually use it in
and geniuses. I also learned digital you approach them as paintings (though a little bit
sculpting, modelling and rendering. separate disciplines and modified). At first, you glaze your
To print something cost a lot in are there ways in which white canvas with yellow ochre and
those days, so I abandoned 3D they complement each other? bit of ultramarine to get creamy
digital art, too. Though sometimes I olive tint. After it dries, you are
still model some simple things and Miniature painting always was an making two layers with transparent
render them to use more accurate art for me. I started to paint models umber leaving the light areas
light-shadows in my paintings. I also and canvas just about the same untouched. You are working like
very much like to read something time, so they were always very with watercolours. The darker the
about the old masters and I have much connected to each other. I area in the composition on your
a lot of books on the history of art. tried different techniques that I painting – the more umber it has.
After all you have just read, can you learned from classical painting Then two so-called dead under
answer the question: “Do I have an on miniatures. Especially the way layers. You are making a mixture
art education?”. of working with colour and tone of ultramarine, ochre, burnt umber
(desaturate any picture to make and white. It should look grey
it black and white and you will with a little bit of a greenish touch.
get tone). For example, you might Here you are working vice versa –
leaving the shadows, you are painting
the lights with this mixture. After that, Dawn Over the Trenches
two transparent layers of colour are
coming. You already have the tone
composition, so all you have to do is to
glaze it with needed colours. Paintings
made with such technique have a very
volumetric light, the illusion of volume
and presence is incredible. Now comes
the secret. The light pierces the canvas
and reflects from the wall where the
painting is hanging and lights the
canvas from inside. As the shadow
areas have the most transparent layer
it glows the most. In real life, our eye
tunes the aperture when you’re moving
your sight from light to shadow, so we
can notice a lot of details in very dark
shadows and we can see a lot of details
in very light areas when we stop our
sight there. Without such technique, our
eye see the painting as a simple 2D
object. With such effect moving your
sight through the composition gives you

17
an illusion of 3D objects as the aperture
of the eye needs to tune to different
objects in the picture. Some years ago, I
have made some models using this very
time consuming technique. And do you
know what? Of course, it was mostly
waste of time because the model is
a solid opaque object and the light
can’t interact with it like with canvas.
But on the other hand, I made a lot of
conclusions how to use transparent
oils on models. My work with canvas
and my work with models always
complemented each other.

5
Following on from the
previous question (and if I
can refer to your work on
canvas as traditional art),
does this encourage you
to experiment? There is a tendency in
miniature painting to follow the path
previously travelled and sometimes
even painting to formula, what are your
views on this?

The first part of this question was

mostly answered before so I will focus
on the second part. To follow the path
previously travelled is what makes
us develop and evolve all through
history. Let us divide the miniature
art in general into the Art and Craft.
 Using painting formulas and other
experience adopted from others
always makes you better in Craft. But
the Art is definitely not only about
the technique. Art is a diverse range
of human activities in creating visual,
auditory or performing artefacts
(artworks), expressing the author’s
imaginative or technical skill, intended
to be appreciated for their beauty or
emotional power (Oxford dictionary).
So the Art is also about expressing
and transferring the feelings and
imagination to the observer. If you are
learning some patterns and then you
can use it to express your feelings and
imagination in some unique way – it
is great. But we have also another
side of this coin. Some artists usually
use patterns not to express their own
feelings, emotions and imagination
but mostly emotions that were already
inside that pattern made by other
artist. For example, you copy colour
18

composition from one model to use it

on another (I will tell you more about
it later). Such a model loses its artistic
value. It does not mean that it is not
art object anymore. But…it is a hard
question. As I am also a copyright
law specialist, I will tell you about one
interesting case. One photographer
sues the magazine and says that
they took one of his photos without
permission. The photo is published on
his site and he has a copyrights. The
judge assigns the expert to compare
two photos. The expert says that
the image is not the same, though in
magazine format it looks just the same.
It was kind of landscape. What does
the court decide? That both images
are not the objects of copyright
because the objects should be unique
and could not be accidentally and
independently repeated. This time
the camera, lenses, point of shot and
light conditions matched! Think about
this. Using the same colour schemes,
approaches and techniques can lead
to similar accidents. Please, improve
your skills by using the experience of
others. It is great, but do it with care.
Such approaches also lead to the
idea that our miniature art is usually
Boxer Rebellion perceived by others as a craft. If you
are making art – express your feelings
and show your imagination, not
other’s. Read something about
colour psychology to understand
better how to transfer different
emotions; experiment and break
the rules. Do not lose yourself
watching tons of tutorials. It is
very dangerous. I think it is very
great when you learn by following
the previously travelled path, but
when you feel that you can paint
anything you like – stop it and start
searching for your own style, your
own brushstroke. It is good that all
well-known major miniature artists
have their own style.

6
At the moment, you
paint using oils. Has this
always been the case?
Is it a progression from
your canvas art or do you
favour the properties?

19
In fact, I am using acrylics to sketch
an under layer and add some
final touches. And sometimes for
some patterns and ornaments. But
yes, mostly I use oils. Adding the
time, I use oils on canvases to the
time I paint models – seems like
I usually spend 8-15 hours a day
painting with them 😉. Of course, I
have more experience with oils,
I understand its properties very
well. Using different diluents, I can
tune the paint as I wish: make it
softer or more firm, regulate the WW1 Stormtrooper
drying time and so on. I can make a
mixture in the morning and proceed paints can cost a lot, but god damn
with it in the evening or even the how more realistic they look. I also
next day if I put the palette to the have noticed that my work with
fridge. I don’t need to care much canvases interacts with miniature
about smoothness, because I can work. For example, if I paint some
make soft transitions between calm painting full of pastel colours,
colours with just few brushstrokes. being in this mood I usually use the
At the same time, I can make a same colours on models that I paint
texture with a technique close to those days.
the impasto with a heavy paint
layer. I can also remove the paint
when it has not dried yet if I don’t
like something. Oils are very
complicated media. When you have
experience, you can make anything
you like with it. And there is also
one great property that I appreciate
very much. Natural pigments. Such
 8
Tell us about your narrative process. When
working on a personal project please try
to describe your where you might look for
inspiration and how the concept becomes
a plan.

First, I want to say few words about inspiration.

Sometimes other visual art inspires us. As we think…we
can watch some movie, find some digital concept art
on the internet or visit some exhibition. And then the
images we just have seen push us to paint something.
But everyone can remember something you have
painted was inspired by music, for example. Or maybe
the weather outside your window, a talk with a friend,
a book, a memory. I am sure it is impressions and our
own feelings inspire us. When you are impressed by
something it will resonate with your life experience,
behaviour and mood and will provoke some emotions.
Life experience is very important here because that
is what mostly makes us unique. That’s why different
people are inspired by different things. Something
can provoke emotions in one person and do nothing
to others. Try to understand the difference between
saying that some things or events inspire us or saying
20

that it is our impressions of those things that inspire

us. Misunderstanding of this difference can lead us to

Jiangshi Chinese Vampire

7
I personally find that your work carries a strong
emotional connection. One of my favourites
is the PiliPili Jiangshi bust. Art is essentially a
non-verbal process. Do you try to convey a
message as the author or do you prefer the
audience to find their own meanings?

Great question! I very much like to talk about this when I

am taking part in some painting exhibitions, for example.
My conception is that after the work is finished and
being published or exhibited the observer/audience
takes part in the creative process. You are trying to
express something without words – that is what visual
art is. People catch those emotions and feelings but
associate them with their own life experience. They
catch some ideas, but also connect them with something
they already have in their minds. And they fulfil the
artwork even more. The artist/creator of the artwork
can have own opinion and meanings, but I am sure
that his opinion is not more important than others. And
even more I am sure that artist can comprehend himself
by knowing the opinion of different people about his
artwork. There is definitely something metaphysical here.
blindly copy impressions of others
without modifying them to our own.
And then you may be dissatisfied
by the work you have done. Here
is a simple example. You saw some
model with a great red glowing
sword. You thought that it is so
great and you feel inspired to make
something like that. But then you
think that you don’t want to copy
somebody’s work and decide to
make similar cold ice glowing effect
somewhere. When you are painting,
you feel something is wrong. When
you finish – it looks good, but the
work itself does not satisfy you for
some reason. Now try to come back
to the moment you saw the model
that inspired you. Try to understand
the feelings inside yourself. Was it
the glowing sword itself? Maybe it
translated some feelings of might
and a kind of aggression to you?
Or it reminded you of times when

21
you were sitting near fireplace
and it was cold outside? Or the
colours just reminded you a colour
of your girl’s dress/boy’s shirt, and
it reminded you of sympathy and
affection? So, making the cold
glowing effect was a mistake. It did
not really resonate with you. But
working with red, even if you would
decide not to make it glowing,
should have better resonated
with you.

I don’t want to say that painting them into design is associative Demon Hunter
should be built only around thinking. When I am starting to paint
impressions. Translating some ideas something, I take the model and So, we will try to translate our real
is also very important. Of course, try to understand what emotions emotions. First, associations with
artists manipulate the impressions it invokes in me. Then I try to add calmness could be pastel colours.
of others. We instil in the audience them to my current mood which Think of some places where you
emotions we want. And being in a depends on events happening felt yourself pacified, softness, birds
certain mood makes us better in to me recently. And then I try to singing, round forms. All feelings
it. Sometimes I start some project search for first associations to and associations are individual, of
and then for some reason I leave it. them. They may not even be visual. course. 😉 Now, we need to make
When I return to it after some time Let’s imagine an example. You are a second set of associations from
I usually lose the certain mood and feeling yourself calm; you have no the first. And now they should be
have to totally repaint it. I can say problems surrounding you and the visual. For pastel colours – cherry
“I’ve lost inspiration”. weather outside is so fine. But for blossom with sky blue background,
some reason, you have decided to heavens, pistachio ice cream.
The next step is design. You have paint a fierce warrior. I am sure that For places – small creek in the
found some feelings and emotions planning to make this warrior full forest, museum, sea shore. For
that inspire you and you need to of red aggressive colours standing the softness – bed, satin, pillows.
make a visual concept of it. The on the pile of dead corpses would Birds singing – whistles, forest,
most effective way to transform be a mistake in such a situation. wings, flight. Round forms – sphere,
 9
Do you consider the
limitations when you
visualize the concept
and do you treat
this as a problem-
solving opportunity?

Yes, I do and I think here we can

talk about use of references. If I
have some vision of what I want
to express and I have some
associations, but I can’t find suitable
reflection and form of it to use on
the model, I can use references. It
is important to start this step only
after previous steps, not when you
just took the model and thought:
“Hmmm, what I want to do? Let’s
crawl the internet!”. References
are like extensions to your own
associations. And sometimes
googling some words can help
to find some really extraordinary
solutions. When I was searching
22

for images of ochre leather things,

the image of a girl in latex with
snakes was accidentally found
😉. It led me to snakeskin pattern
design of the pants on the model.
But what I never do – I don’t look
Mexican Bandito at the pictures of other painted
planet, sun, coin. Try to write them miniatures when designing my
down – it is a very good exercise! own. Of course, I see a lot of great
OK, now we have something. We models on Facebook and PnP and
have a set of some colours, we they leave a trace in my mind that
have some vision of landscape we further can be used subconsciously.
can build, we have some objects It is normal; it is how our brain
that could be a part of patterns on works. However, when I take the
clothes or drawings on the shield. miniature and visualize the concept
And the main thing – they all will I try to avoid the influence of other
probably resonate with our current artists. Let me tell you a story about
mood. You might say that the fierce the concept of the Mexican bandito
warrior dressed in pastel colour bust. Not so long before starting
clothes with round curve ornaments, it, I re-watched the Pulp Fiction
birds on the shield and standing in movie. You might remember the
the forest near the creek will look Jules Winnfield character played by
quite strange. You can proceed Samuel L. Jackson and the famous
with the third set of associations scene where he says words from
and keep on even more, or you can Ezekiel: “The path of the righteous
join some of your associations. Bird man is beset on all sides by the
and sun could become a phoenix. inequities of the selfish and the
But sometimes contradictions in tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he
composition make it unique and who…”. Trying to fill the work with
attract people. And of course, my impressions of this scene I was
you always can choose another stuck a little bit. The quote was
miniature that will match better your very long, and there was no way to
current mood. include it to work. And in any case
it would be too much a primitive way. I was trying to find
some concept of religious stuff that could pick out this
antinomic character. After some associative thinking, I
finally remembered Santa Muerte. Adding blood to the
model put together all I wanted to express in this bust.

10
What truly motivates you the most,
success or failure?

Between the two of those, I’d say that

it is failure that motivates me more.
Failure makes me analyse why this
happened, it makes me think how to improve something
or make it totally different. Success is also very important.
It makes me feel confident, but sometimes it calms and
discourages. Sometimes when I paint some successful
project I start to think that people will wait for something
similar from me next time. And this feeling interrupts
me from trying something new. We are all frightened
by failure. This is true, don’t lie to yourself. That’s why a
lot of artists (not only miniature) after some successful
project try to imitate it over and over. Some might say
that “he found himself” or something like that. But I think
every good artist should be searching for himself for all

23
his life. Maybe after a year of experiments, you will come
back to something you were making before. It is normal.
Or maybe you are experimenting with something but the
results are bad and you do not show them to others. It’s
OK. But remember – no matter how good you’ve made
something, you could do it better. Always keep on trying
something new.

I also think that motivation is very close to inspiration. I’d

say that people, events, life situations, even problems
in my life are motivating me. Sometimes, an accidentally
spoken word from your friends can motivate you more Masonic Lodge Assassin

11
than anything else. Or the word that was not said, when
you thought it should. Has your cultural history been influential
in the way you have developed as
an artist?

Art helps people of different cultures to

communicate with each other without
words. On the one hand I am sure that art always has
some nationality dependant traits, on the other hand
those traits dissolve more and more in our global
modern world. The youth all over the world become
more familiar with characters from movies and series
than with characters from folklore. It is not so bad in
some respects, but I really like cultural diversities. I very
much like ethnic music: I have a Chinese bamboo flute,
an Indian sitar, and a Mongolian style topshur (2 strings
instrument). I very much like the Tibetan tangka. I got
one when I went to Sikkim and west Bengali. I have
some books about Chinese and eastern classical art; I
like Far East sculptures and even modern crazy manga
Japanese art. I just want to say that sometimes we wish
 to be understood by the larger favourites. He was an artist with a
audience and make art based on very tragic life. Just try to search
global tendencies. But it is hard for his “Demon Downcast” or
to be unique with this. The world look into the eyes of his “Swan
is overloaded with globalistic art. Princess”. Of course, the pictures
Coming back to your roots is a in internet will not transfer those
very interesting path. I assure you feelings, but I can stand in front of
that people of other cultures like them in Tretyakovskaya gallery for
to know something new. And it is a very long time. Try to search for
not only about visual design. How the paintings of Kuinji. The way he
does Russian culture influence worked with colour and contrasts
me? I think if you read something is amazing. I can name a lot of
from Chekhov, Dostoevsky or Leo more. I very much like Tchaikovsky
Tolstoy you might notice that it is music and old Disney animation is
full self-digging and self-reflection. full of his “Nutcracker” ballet music,
The language also influences us a so I am sure you heard it. Cultural
lot, and influences the way we are history has influenced me and I
thinking. I think this self-reflection am sure it influences all of us and
can be found in almost all of my our art. And not only our culture-
paintings, and in my miniatures, -familiarize with other cultures
too. Maybe that’s why I like more and it will make you wiser and a
static models rather than dynamic. better artist.

12
Of course, Russian artists of 19th-
20th century have influenced me How would you
24

a lot. Mikhail Vrubel is one of my like future artists

to perceive your
work? As part of
a generation able
to express freely, do you dream of
creating a lasting impression?

Every artist wants to leave

something behind. And as I am
fond of the history of art, I’d say
that there are two ways to be
remembered. The first way is to
use the context of your time to the
maximum. Jacques-Louis David has
made a lot paintings about ancient
times, but they were outside of his
time context and we remember him
mostly for documenting the epoch
[time] he lived in. Just try to imagine
him as if he had not painted
Napoleon, Death of Marat and
such other paintings. Would he be
so important now? Such paintings
as “Liberty Leading the People” of
Delacroix translate the spirit of the
time. I think the street-artist Banksy
is also an important artist today, as
he catches some invisible vibrations
that fill the air nowadays.

The second way to stay somewhere

Vrubel’s Swan Princess in history is to express some
timeless eternal things in your
art. Something that would be
understandable by people living
now and people that will live
100 or 200 years later. It can be
philosophical art. As an example, I
usually remember David Caspar
Friedrich’s “Wanderer Above
the Sea of Fog”. Such paintings
translate emotions and ask you
questions about humanity that
will be relevant forever. I also can
remember impressionism here, as
it is not about some plot or story
but totally about impressions.
Abstractions and landscapes also
can be included.

If we are talking about miniature

art, it is more about sculpting, about
the model itself, not so much about
painting. And there is a problem
I think. Sculptures seldom do
something to reflect our time or to
rise philosophical questions. Sci-fi

25
will look like retro-futurism in 20-30
years and can be forgotten. Fantasy
has a better chance. It comes
from mythology, but mythology is
full of symbolism and the fantasy
genre usually lacks it leaving only
decorations. But there is a chance
for painters to bring back this
symbolic element, to make some
composition that will provoke
people to think even after 100 years
passes. There is also a lot of fan
art element in miniature art. I mean
models of movie/comics/series
characters. Generations change and
the youth will have other heroes.
Something might leave a trace, but
we don’t know what.

13
Do you ever
use your work
to make a But it seems I have never pursued Pirate of the Arabian Sea
statement; if so such goals. I always wanted my
what is it that art to be a little bit more “intimate”.
provokes you? If something resonates with your
own feelings – great, we will
I think I have never tried to make have something to talk about for
such statements. Statements are sure. If not – it is OK. I am not a
usually made to provoke people cake to be liked by everyone 😉
and make them argue. The aim is People are changing, and so do I.
like to make some waves on the Maybe someday I’ll want to make
water. Such statements made with some statement with my work.
art are very good for promotion. Who knows?
 of Art. Yes, there are a lot of people
who engage in it and it is just a
hobby for them. But let’s remember
Vincent van Gogh, for example. He
started his education as an artist
at the age of 27 for the first time
and left the Academy after the first
year. He sold a little bit more than
15 works for quite a low price and
only one “The Red Vineyard” for a
price of 400 francs (as wiki says
about $1000 nowadays). During
his life, he was hardly seriously
recognized as an artist. But who
will doubt it now? We really can say
that it was a hobby for him. But if
you have no academy education
and make something not for money,
it does not mean that what you
do is not art at all. We should not
step on the same rake over and
over again. I think more and more
people recognize miniature painting
as an art form now. The problem
26

is that we don’t have appropriate

institutions that every adult form of
art has. It is very hard to make this
next step.

First let’s talk about galleries and

exhibitions. What do we have now?
We have exhibitions and contests,
but they differ much from what is
happening in the big art world. Our
events are quite closed and usually
are made mostly for community
members. The advertisement is
placed in special literature and
magazines and on special pages
in social media. How should it be?
Advertisements in the well-known
press, art magazines and so on.

14
Such advertisement demands
Demonette Do you agree a lot of money. Where does it
that miniature come from? Usually galleries are
painting is not spending money for that. Why do
yet given the they do that? Because they earn
credence as an money from selling the art objects.
art form it deserves and if so how do How does this process go? In
you feel we can try to change this? traditional art forms, the process
is mostly built around exhibitions
Yes, this is true. We can’t get rid of and auctions and not around the
the wider audience’s perception contests like we have now in our
that miniature art is not an art miniature sphere. But in fact, to
but only a hobby and craft. We get to the gallery you should “win
remembered the definition of art a competition”. The owner or
before. Miniature painting is a form manager of a gallery will judge your
work if it is worthy to be exhibited. interested, you should have about
How does he decide it? Basically, 15 art pieces and all of them made
he thinks if he can sell your work with non-serial models. Of course,
and earn the money. Which works you have to bring unsold models
have better chances to be sold? to the gallery and let the gallery
The most unique ones do. It is sell them with the profit for them.
easier to convince a collector to buy Also, every artist should have ethics
a piece of art by assuring him that and honour. The main thing – you
he will be the owner of an object should not talk to collectors about
that cannot be repeated. This is a selling the pieces that are exhibited.
reason why it costs much. If you have exhibited something in
gallery, it is gallery that sells it, not
Let’s get back to miniatures to see you. If somebody offers you a good
the difference. Do we make unique price avoiding gallery, when the
pieces? Yes, and a little bit no. We piece is still there and you approve,
mostly paint a series of models. Is then you are dishonoured and out
this a big problem to be recognized of business. Galleries will not deal
as an art? No. We understand with you anymore. The second
that because we transfer very thing is that you should not make
different emotions even with the replicas of your work or very similar
same models. As an example, I can works because it depreciates the
remember a doll art that has gone previous one. For collectors, it
much farther, though doll artists seems like gallery lied to them that
also use a lot of pre-made stuff. But this piece is unique.

27
we are making the only first steps
into this world so it would be hard What do we have now? Most
to persuade the gallerist that he pieces in the contests are sold
can make money with it. To break before the expo has even started.
the wall, we should start with non- Most compositions are made with
serial models. We need them very serial miniatures. It is hard to find
much. For example, I have talked to even one artist that will have 15
galleries about this. To make them custom-sculpted, painted and
unsold models. You can say – let’s
just find 15 artists and let them
bring one piece each. No. The
gallery will not work with such
an amount of artists; the gallery Enchantress
is interested in promotion of the
name and to promote 15 artists’
names plus 15 sculptor names is
impossible. The next thing to think
of is that you should not only have
such an amount of works, but you
also should be ready so that the
exposition can last for a couple of
months. And as we are still making
first steps – don’t think that you
will earn much money this way. So,
does anyone want to risk this?

The next thing is the subject of

our miniature art. It is mostly built
around war – historical war models,
fantasy battles or characters from
mass culture that are also always
fighting someone. Do all those
zombies and space marines help us
 Man at Arms - metal made with
gilding silver
28
to express something to the world,
not only to the community? Let’s
remember the battle scene genre in
traditional art. It has quite a humble
place in it. Also, such paintings
depict the epoch they were painted
in. That is why they are interesting
for the wider audience. To rush into
the world of adult art, we need to
turn upside down everything we
have now. We need to express a
much wider range of ideas and
emotions. Of course, I understand
that miniature manufacturers can’t
do that because they mainly have
they sales from the hobby audience.
But as I said before, to make further
steps we need unique custom
sculpted pieces. I can see more and
more sculptors and artists start to
turn to civil thematics in personal
projects. This is very good and
could be enough in the future to
change much.

29
Now let’s talk about such thing as
an art market. Traditional art forms
have it, but what is more important
is they have a secondary market. I
mean when a collector buys a piece
not from the artist, but from another
collector. And usually for a price
higher than it cost the first collector.
People invest money in such a way.
Why do art objects grow in price? It
is promotion. It is uniqueness. The
importance of an art object in the
world of art. Does it influence other
artists or even mass culture and in traditional art. If a collector wants Pirate
so on. to sell some art object he goes to a
gallery or an auction house. This is
Do we have such a thing in our the next thing that is missed in our
miniature world? Sometimes I think young art.
that we make too many works.
And most of them copy each other. Bonus. I will tell you a secret. Do
There is almost no expectative you know how the traditional
element in our sphere. People investment art market usually
are sharing WIP photos, making works? Some people wonder why
tons of stuff. If we want to push some art objects cost so much.
miniature art into the big world Let’s imagine three persons: an
of art, we will need to veil some artist, an agent and a collector. At
aspects of our work. People would first an agent (usually it is a gallery)
need to wait for new exhibitions to finds a perspective artist. This artist
see the new stuff you have made. has made a collection of 8 paintings,
Why have I returned to the gallery for example. The agent organizes
question? It is because they are the an exhibition with the press and
foundation of the secondary market mass media and promotes it. This
 $75,000. Now each of them costs
twice more. The collector usually
understands this, so he shares the
promotion expenses. Everyone has
a profit. Except perhaps the last
collector who bought the painting at
the final auction. On the other hand,
he loses nothing. These schemes
now more complicated, but the
foundation looks like this.

OK, now that you have read about

all of those problems that I don’t
know how to deal with, you might
ask the question, “Why do we
need all of this?”. First, we will have
access to a much wider audience
to communicate with. Events in the
traditional art sphere are usually
noticed by major mass-media.
Second, we will totally have another
way of appreciation of our art. I
want to mention Alfonso Giraldes,
who is doing a lot to change the
30

point of view of audience on

the way we evaluate miniature
painting. If you let the people totally
unfamiliar with our art choose what
they like more, you will be surprised
by the results. I think that artists
still should bring up the tastes
of audience, but try to imagine a
Legends Never Die agent has a relationship with a well-known famous artist that works
collector and advises him to buy 3 with traditional medias and still
paintings for $5,000 each, so he unfamiliar with miniature world will
does. Ok, for the next exhibition judge the miniature contest? Oh,
only 5 paintings of this collection how I want to see that! Really. Third,
are left. The price rises to $10,000 a mercantile interest. If auctions in
for each painting. If nobody buys auction houses become possible,
anything, then the familiar collector it will let some artists make really
buys 2 more. More promotion good money and let them work
follows this. The next time the price more freely. It will open them, let
rises to $20,000. Now the investors them try something new and be
are very interested. If nobody buys more independent. The collectors
anything this time, then our familiar who already have some of their
investor buys two more paintings works also will benefit from it.
again. The last painting is left. A lot
of people want to have this piece. I think we will reach the destination
So, the agent organizes an auction. sooner or later. For example, we
Then somebody, not our familiar already have the MuMi museum.
investor, buys the final painting for This collection already has a value
$150,000. Congratulations, now all as a whole collection. Do you know
of the paintings from this collection the story of Thyssen-Bornemisza
cost about $150,000 each. If our Museum in Madrid? It started as a
familiar investor bought all the 7 collection, then after a generation
before, he has spent $5,000 x this collection became one of
3 + $10,000 x 2 + $20,000 x 2 = the most famous in the world.
 31
16
Tretyakovskaya Gallery in Moscow Have you De Profundis Clamavi
and a lot of other collections in the developed any
world have a similar fate. This is a working rituals

17
long but possible process. you would care

15
to share with us? Do you prefer to
Which artist’s experiment with
work would I don’t know how it would be new materials
provide you in English… “An order to your and mediums
with the most workplace means an order in your or do you prefer
pleasure to see mind”. I clean my workplace after comfortable and familiar tools.
sitting in your home next to your the working day. I wash my palette, What is the one thing you couldn’t
own, in both the cabinet and on wash all the brushes, and put the work without?
the wall? paint tubes to the boxes. It is very
useful to clear the mind and start I like to experiment with materials
From all the miniature artists, I the new session being organized and mediums. When I go to art
would pick out Roman Lappat next time. stores, I buy a lot of stuff to try.
most. It is not about his technique Paints with some glittering effects
or something like that. His works or other special effects, uncommon
just resonate with me the most. It is brushes and so on. Usually they are
truly some kind of communication useless and I don’t use them. One
without words. I am sure we will day I have bought a set for gilding
have a chance to talk more with him and decided to try it on miniatures.
than we do in San Savino. And from The results were quite good. You
traditional artists, as I said before, it can never predict if something will
would Vrubel. There is something give you a satisfying result when
that I just can’t tell you with words. experimenting, but bad results also
It is too bad that pictures of his give you priceless experience.
works on the internet are such
low quality.
 to relax. I always save promotion
for tomorrow. And this tomorrow
never comes. This is a very bad
trait of mine. It looks like a kind of
procrastination. I think promotion
for some reasons pulls me away
from my zone of comfort. I am not
good at it, have little experience
and feel myself modest and humble
to spam pictures on facebook. I
understand the problem and I will
try to fix it. I am very obliged to the
community, to people who share
and post my works. I want to say
big thanks to everyone who has
helped me. This interview is also
a promotion and I want to thank
you for the opportunity. I really
spent much time trying to share my
thoughts with the community and
I hope people will find something
interesting here.

19
Your ability to
32

translate various
contrasts on
miniatures into
a convincing
reality is quite frankly mind blowing.
Your freehand is sublime and your
diorama and base designs show
immaculate attention to detail. Do

18
you feel there are aspects of your
Don Collier You do post work you want to improve?
some of your
work on social Thank you very much! We have
media, but you talked about those contrasts before.
don’t seem Usually I have impressions, mood
to spend great effort promoting and feelings that seem like they
yourself. What are your thoughts on don’t match the model I paint. I very
the global community? much like such contradictions; I like
to find the way to express them
You are totally right. First, of course, in an uncommon way on common
promotion demands time. I am very models. Freehand helps a lot in
dedicated to my work and painting my expression. The one thing that
both miniatures and canvases is limits me a lot is that I can’t sculpt
kind of tearing me apart. It does in such scale. I can sculpt in Zbrush
not mean that I have no time at (though I need to remember a lot),
all even to post some pictures or I can sculpt in larger scales with
WIPs, but I think I am not so much plasticine, but never learnt to sculpt
addicted to social media. A lot of miniatures. My dioramas could be
people are always being distracted much better with such skills. But
by it. For me the painting process now I think I have found a sculptor
is like a meditation and I like to with whom I hope I can cooperate.
be concentrating on it. When I am If it happens, then I can realize
not painting, I usually have a lot many ideas in future.
of other stuff to do or just want
20
Your work is
so inspiring to
the rest of the
community.
What would
you most like to see us take from
sharing your work?

The work of an artist has become a

thousand times harder than it used
to be. It is very hard to impress
people. We can scroll hundreds of
images in minutes on our screens
and phones. We paint for hours
and people spend some seconds
to examine it. Adding an hour or
two to find some interesting idea
can increase the time the audience
will observe it by minutes. Find
your own impressions you want to
translate, they are inside you. It is
not necessary to turn everything
upside down to be ingenious,
usually it is enough to find some

33
small detail, colour or tone
composition to stand out.

21
Finally, rather
than the usual
question of what
advice you can
give our readers,
let’s conclude the interview by
asking you how you would like to
see the painting community evolve
and how would you like us all to
challenge ourselves in future?

I’d like to see our community

moving toward a wider audience.
I’d like to see much more civil
subjects, rather than war. I’d like
to see more compositions that will
look in place near the traditional art.
This is the challenge. African Princess

OK, so Dmitry has thrown down the gauntlet! I will certainly look to push my
own boundaries and it would be great to see the FPM community similarly
inspired. A thank you to Dmitry seems barely adequate for sharing so
openly, honestly and providing so much insight!

I feel genuinely fortunate to find myself in the position where I have been
able to work with you on this article. You have our gratitude and we look
forward to following your future art endeavours.
 We have a bit of a joke around
FPM that I don’t go to many shows
because I don’t like to travel. This
isn’t true at all. I enjoy travel, I just
34

don’t enjoy a lot of the model shows,

especially the bigger ones. I know
I miss out on the social side of
things, which I do like, but we’re a
pretty close community and daily I
speak to people all over the world.
People who I consider close friends,
although we’ve never actually met
in person. I know I miss out on the
shopping frenzy, but I think shows
are turning into one mass shopping trip. However, we
live in a connected world. If I see a miniature I like and
can afford it, then three minutes later, it’s ordered. I
know I miss out on the painting competition, but I’ve won
medals at shows in the past, so I’m no longer motivated
by the competition anymore; I paint miniatures because I
love painting them. So, for me to want to attend a model
show, it has to be really special and there is one show I
do love and will always try to attend. It is FigureWorld run
by what remains of the old Basement forum guys, held
at the school in Oundle, near Peterborough. Another
reason why I love the show so much is that it’s a good
excuse for all of the FPM and IM guys in the UK to meet
up…like I don’t speak to them every day anyway.

This year we had another incitement to attend…a visitor

from foreign shores…we had a Winton!

My friend and sculptor of dragons, Winton Afrić, hailing

all the way from Croatia, was staying with us so he could
join us on our visit to FigureWorld, too. When the day
arrived, we had to be up at the crack of dawn, so we
could leave the house at six thirty. After a three and a
 35
half hour drive and bumping into arrived. Rude gestures and name the show’s main organiser, Adrian
David Zabrocki at a service station, calling across the car park ensued Hopwood, who greeted us with a
we arrived at the show’s new as we gathered all of our boxes very welcome cup of tea after our
location. This is actually the second and what not; then we all made our long drive.
year the show has been held at the way into the show. The entrance
Cloisters, which, although is still fee is nominal and once inside,
part of the main school, is actually we had a quick look around. Right
attached to the church. The venue by the door was fellow IM writer,
is a fair bit smaller than the old Kyle Cruickshank, with his wife.
school hall, but for me, this just He was trading this year with his
makes it a more intimate show. miniature company ‘Mr Lee’s Minis’
and had a lot of really cool models
One of the reasons we like visiting and other bit and bobs on sale.
Oundle is the town itself. It really is Also in attendance were Oakwood
a beautiful part of the country. Once Studios, SK Miniatures, Ellie’s
we turned off the A14, it’s a short Miniatures, Model Display Products,
trip that crosses the River Nene and Elan13 Miniatures, Stormtroopers,
takes us into the small market town Sphere Productions, Mitch’s Military
of Oundle. Most of the buildings are Models, Pete Watson Bases,
made from a very pale limestone Morningstar Miniatures, Name It,
unique to the town, which makes it Tommy’s War and The Brushman.
one of the most picturesque places After introducing Winton to a few
I have seen. people, Sarah and I had a walk
around saying hello to everyone we
The first person we bumped into knew. Our first stop was at the small
was Norm Ealand, who had also just cafe area where we bumped into
36

One of the main reasons I the products they sell. This

like FigureWorld is because year also had a game demo
everyone is there for the table which looked really cool
same thing, just to talk about and I stood and chatted with
the miniature and model the guys playing for ages.
painting hobby. The show Also in attendance were
doesn’t have a painting several guys doing demos
contest, but instead has a throughout the day. Gary
huge display table where Higgins was sculpting, Ian
everyone can bring their Succamore was painting and
miniatures to show off and The Brushman was making
chat about. Also, being a brushes throughout the day;
smaller show, the vendors something I found quiet
themselves have time to talk fascinating…humpf, and they
and answer questions about call me a nerd!
 37
We made our way outside, where there is a nice little
area that we could sit outside in the sun. Winton met
up with us again and we also ran into Terry, Stuart and
Marta; later Luke arrived after getting up a bit late. Some
of the other people I hadn’t seen for a while were also
there. I had a great chat with Conrad Mynett, the results
of which can be seen in these pages (check out the start
of his outstanding tutorial on page 2. Other people to
mention are Mark Taylor, Martyn Dorey, Robert Lane, Ian
Mcintosh, Andrew Nai, Mario Delgado, Nick Tebbs and
Robin Snelson.

Lunch was a sandwich from the really good shop right

across the road, which we ate outside in the sun. After
this, I went to have a look at the great miniatures that
were on display.
38

One of the miniatures to make note

of is Adrian Hopwood’s work in
progress of his dragon with narwhal.
This is going to a really stunning
piece when finished. Also around
the display table I met up with
the ever smooth John Keys, who
was chatting to Marta and Davide
Zabrocki. John had brought some
of his miniatures along for us to
look at which were really stunning,
including his recent boxart done
for Terrible Kids Stuff, (I hope you
managed to clean off the drool,
mate) 😉. There were also plenty of
other great miniatures on show, as
you’ll see in the pictures.

The day seemed to pass really

quickly, which I suppose it does
when you’re having fun. After lots
 39
of other chats with people, we all
found ourselves outside at the end
where we had a great chat and a
good laugh. By now it was getting
close to four o’clock, so we decided
to say our good byes and made our
way home. Poor Winton, who had
been really excited during the day,
fell asleep on the way home. We
rounded the day off with Chinese
which we ate while talking about
what we’d seen, who we’d met and
what we did. This was the perfect
end to a great day and one I’ll
never forget.
 Secret Weapon Miniatures’ Weathering Acrylics
Justin McCoy, based in California, is the cheese loving hive queen at
Secret Weapon Miniatures. They provide a range of hobby/ gaming related
products available from their online store or wholesale by contacting them.
40

I was fortunate to get hold of the entire set of Secret

Weapon’s new weathering acrylics. There are 30 paints
in the entire set and they can be purchased with a
variety of options. Individually they are priced at $4.99,
but the entire range can be purchased for $127.99,
saving you $21.71. There are also options if you buy 3, 6
and 15, but essentially the more you get the cheaper it
becomes per unit.

If you desire, you can also get them in sets according to

your weathering requirements and they are available as:

»»Wheels & Tires »»Engine Metals

»»Wood »»Heat Effects

»»Mud and Dust »»Pipes and Fixtures

»»Engine Fluids »»Verdigris

They come in easy application 20ml

dropper bottles identical to the
ScaleColor and Vallejo 17ml bottles but
slightly more tapered at the bottom
which allows for the additional 3ml.
I gave the SW paint formula a
comparison test against a Vallejo
game acrylic and ScaleColor. I
placed a drop from each on to an
old piece of plasticard. The Vallejo
paint is on the left and the SW paint
on the right. The SW acrylic was
the least viscous of the 3, but thick
enough to place on a wet palette
without any unwanted motion.

The reason I use the black

plasticard is just to make it easier
to see the test when I drag the
paint away from the paint drop. I
am pleased to see in the thinner
line it holds the same consistent
translucence, although you can
use multiple layers if you want to
achieve an opaque finish. With
weathering this can be useful, given
nature’s way of imposing multiple
weathering effects on top of one
another.

41
The paint has a good flow out and
the drying time is comparable to
Vallejo, but slightly longer than
ScaleColor.

One of the immediate advantages

this set has over many of the
available weathering products on
the market is that they are ultimately
weathering coloured acrylic paints
and therefore can be mixed with
other acrylic paints. Some do have
a glossy finish, so a matt medium
might be useful.

Shane Rozzell suggested giving the paints a full

testing, so I decided to create a post-apocalyptic piece
specifically to try some of the paints.
 For this project I decided on a
Revell Trabant 601 car kit and the
75mm ‘Infected Gangster’ available
from Nuts Planet. I downloaded
some examples of old abandoned
vehicles and set to work.

I assembled the car kit leaving out

the windows and the roof section
for easy access and primed the
model grey. We then moved on to
the weathering process.

Under the door handle and other

areas where rust tends to be
most concentrated in the pictures
I had as reference, I applied Old
Rust and patches of a mix of (SW)
Red and (SW) Brown Rust. I then
covered these areas with Vallejo
Chipping Medium.
42
I had chosen a pale green colour for
my vehicle (similar to many of the
Trabant 601 cars in the 70’s) and used
the airbrush to paint the car body with
a mix of ScaleColor’s Caribbean Blue,
Vallejo’s Turquoise Green and Beige
Brown for the body and then I used
Beige Brown and Off White to lighten
the mixture for the roof section.

43
I added tiny amounts Orange, applied, such as the door frames, Metal. I used Dark Iron and (SW)
Yellow and Brown Rust to drops handles, the bottom rim and around Old Rust to paint the wheels. I used
of Amsterdam retarder and mixed the wheel arches, keeping it looking (SW) Copper to highlight some of the
these on the surface of the vehicle random. Once the rust underneath rusted fixtures. I painted the tires and
randomly, increasing it in patches was revealed I was able to use (SW) the rubber pipes in the engine using
where I wanted it to be noticeable Rust Shadow to simulate areas (SW) Tire Black, (SW) Rubber and
such as the door frames. I used more where paint has lifted by dark lining (SW) Rubber Highlight. I used (SW)
orange and yellow on the roof to the chosen areas. I used baking Engine Fluid to simulate the fluid in
simulate sun baked rust. I had done powder dusted on in certain spots the cooling system. I then used (SW)
this before using oil paints and so I to simulate rust texture and to add Fresh Oil, Old Oil and Engine Grime
was pleased to achieve a satisfying a depth then painted with the rust to cover the engine, finally adding a
result. colours already mentioned. few spots of (SW) Engine Rust.

Using a tooth pick, I gently removed I painted the engine using (SW) Dark Shane gave me some advice on
areas where the chipping fluid was Iron, highlighting with (SW) Engine how to make a flat tire, so I removed
 the front tires and cut a pill shaped
section covering almost the whole
bottom third of the tires. The outside
of the tires wasn’t touched, so when
I attached the vehicle to the base the
tires splayed giving a natural looking
flat tire effect.

Once the vehicle was in place I

used (SW) Caked Dirt and Old Mud
around the wheels and inside the
windows, lightly dusting other areas
with (SW) Light Dust. I used some of
the mud paints on the base to help
integrate it.

I put the windows in the freezer then

removed them 30 minutes later. I
gave them a good bash to make
them look broken and smashed,
but the front windscreen needed
something extra so I used (SW)
Crushed Glass to create a shattered
window. A tutorial for this from Justin
44

can be found in a previous issue of

FPM, but very basically I stretched
some cling film over an empty
miniature box and sprinkled some
crushed class on. Be careful not to
use too much as I did on the first
attempt. Add some matt medium and
leave it overnight to dry. The next
day cut out the window shape and
glue in place.

The base environment was created

using a piece of thin board. I shaped
it using styrene and covered it using
Vallejo Earth Texture, added a piece
of natural cork, covered parts around The one thing I should point out I do have a couple of improvements
the car in grass leaving under the car is that there were several paints I worth considering. For anyone
bare and also areas where there are haven’t yet used and it’s evident ordering a full set it would worth
puddles. I added foliage and used that this set isn’t just geared towards sending them in a storage tray.
A.K. Interactive Puddles product old abandoned vehicles. You could They do come securely packaged
built up in layers where the water easily paint a new car, mech, or but arriving in a tray automatically
was deeper. I added birch seeds to building to name but a few. There takes away any storage concern.
simulate maple leaves and finally are wood paints and heat scorch I don’t know if this is financially
added the figure. paints among those I didn’t use in viable, but it would be a worthy
this project. and welcome addition from a
Overall, I was impressed at how well customer perspective.
the weathering acrylics performed Secret Weapon have produced
and it was good having everything I a cracking addition to the hobby Finally, when my paints arrived
needed in one place. I would like to toolbox and I will be keen to see 29 had black bottle lids and one
see the range expanded to include some our readers can do with them had white! It is well known that
moulds, algae, etc. but that’s me in future. a prerequisite to becoming a
being greedy. miniature painter is that you require
a degree of OCD. Of course, I
 45

changed the lid straight away but in the future, please do

not do this Mr. McCoy. 😉

If you want to look into buying this set or to just

fancy browsing at the rest of the candy at Secret
Weapon Miniatures, follow the link https://www.
secretweaponminiatures.com/.
 ● Paints
● Tools
● Glues
● Brushes
● Gaming Bases
● Basing Kits
● Miniatures
...AND MUCH MORE!
www.modeldisplayproducts.co.uk
PAINTING
Whatever the project,
whatever the need.
We have the tools for you.

Stockists of
• Vallejo
• Scalecolor
• Mr. Hobby
• Modelmates

www.modeldisplayproducts.co.uk

Leas Cliff Hall, The Leas,

16th & 17th September 2017 Folkestone, England CT20 2DZ,
United Kingdom

eurominiatureexpo.com
 Details
Price: 30€
48

Scale: 1/32nd
Material: White Metal

Available from

Pegaso Models srl

Pegaso Model’s Young Guards Officer, 1815

Some time ago, the well know Italian company Pegaso
Models introduced to the market its new Napoleonic
Era model, the “Ufficiale dei Granatieri della Giovane
Guardia, Francia 1815”.

The name is long, but necessary to historically describe

what the model portrays. Under Napoleon himself,
they were considered the best among the new annual
intakes of conscripts and volunteers. They were never
considered as good as the Senior Guards, although
the units were still superior to normal line regiments.
For more information you can search on the web or in
specialized books.

The renowned Danilo Cartacci did the boxart, while

the new regular collaborator in Pegaso’s stable,
Riccardo Cerilli, made the sculpt. I would say… a 100%
Italian production!
Despite this kind of subject
arriving on the market quite often,
this model has received a good
reception among the collectors and
painters because its size, 54mm,
and his pose. Usually, we are used
to seeing Napoleonic officers’
models in quite static poses, but this
one satisfies other tastes because
the dynamic volumes. Seeing the
cape and hackle that appear to be
moving following the wind and the
series of folders and wrinkles on
the uniform fabrics, I perceive a
pleasant sensation of softness.

Honestly, I am among the latter

group. Usually, I don’t like such
static poses, but this officer allows
me the opportunity to try and
paint a uniform with a long series
of volumes, while maintaining a
certain elegance and dignity typical
of such officers. I will be pleased

49
to paint my first Napoleonic model
on something that stimulates me
to prove myself painting clean
surfaces with fixed colours on
a uniform, while playing with
volumes on a wider range of lights
and shadows.

Let’s talk about the product itself.

It comes in the new style Pegaso
Models boxes: the usual sturdy
paper box remains similar in its
dimensions and material, but the
graphic is changed in the front or maybe you could polish the The volumes on the uniform are
and lateral sides showing different surfaces before priming to remove well defined, but soft and smooth;
angles of the boxart. Inside, the any kind of typical patinas on metal details all over and on the hat
model is protected between two models and get the best surface are very fine and on relief high
layers of thick foam. There is, like possible for the paint. enough to be easy to paint but
always, a couple of sheets with without being out of scale. This
historical information about the Under its feet there are two wedges is, in my opinion, another good
character, materials, details, etc., to help place the pins in the base, demonstration of the mould quality
written in multiple languages. which is round and very simple, in Pegaso Models metal kits (and
leaving all personalization to the their sculptors’ skills, obviously).
The kit is done in white metal and painter. On the shoulders and under
counts 11 pieces. The mould is very the neck, the joint is round but the On the whole, this “Ufficiale dei
good as we are used to seeing folds in the uniform help to fix it in Granatieri della Giovane Guardia”
from them; there are just few the right positions. is a very nice model I will have the
things to sand off especially from pleasure to paint. Even if I, who
the connection points, in order to The face has no particular has always avoided any kind of
have a clean joint, and one mould expression, but considering the Napoleonic period models, liked it…
injection point over the cape to cut subject it’s easy to understand well…I am sure many of you will like
off. There are no other operations why...he is stern, typical for an it, too!
needed to prepare the assembly… austere man.
 When I approach a miniature
painting competition, I keep in
mind certain basic things that the
model will be graded on by the
judges. There is quite a bit that
goes into judging painted models
for a competition and what place
they’ll be awarded. Let us take the
Crystal Brush, for example. Three
years ago when I competed in the
50

Crystal Brush for my first time, I

managed to win 2 Crystal Brush
awards. Important as this was to
me, it was more important to find
out what the judges liked about my
work and why they chose my work
over other entries. I sought out this
information, as hopefully this would
help me do well in future contests
to come. The judges went on to
explain to me they judge on certain
criteria and such techniques as
blending should be seamless and
colour gradation should be properly
attained. Paint must be properly
thinned and have a smooth finish.
Details must be executed perfectly.
Such examples of detail work on a
model would be if a model has its
head turned to the right, the eyes
must be looking in that direction as
well and even have a bit of glare
(light catch) and glimmer of light
to the pupil. Miniature painting
has evolved so much more than
just white eyes and black dots for
pupils. Artists now paint much more
realistically with techniques such
as this, as well as using “zenithal
lighting” and many other ways to
have a model appear lifelike and
not just like a tiny model with paint
 showcasing of one’s talents vs
others and their talents. One had

51
better select the right model so
one can do just that. Top painters
can do just about anything and
that’s a fact. However, what I
find, more often than not, is each
competitor comes to a show with
models that show off their favourite
/ strongest techniques and this is
what many times gives an entrant
the best chance of doing well and
ultimately placing. This is straight
forward and can mean a competitor
with a strong talent for non-metal
metallics, versus another’s textures.
An individual’s technique for
producing realism vs another’s
vibrant comic style. Look, it really
comes down to one’s strongest and
on it. They went on to discuss Another topic I would like to talk most favoured style vs another’s.
things like colour theory and are the about is how I select the model For myself, I have a passion for
colours chosen in a certain scheme (or models) I will be painting for a trying metallic metals and realism.
appropriate to what the artist is competition. Look guys and girls, These, along with weathering of all
trying to convey. For example, using competitions are about individual types, are what make my models
certain colours on a model lends
them well to the overall contrast
and “readability” of the model. Another topic I would
Examples of this are using colours
to achieve certain types of contrast.
like to talk about is how
Let’s say light vs dark. Using dark I select the model, or
clothing on a model with pale skin
makes it easy for the viewer to read models I will be painting
the model and discern different
things on the model at a glance.
for a competition.
 stand out compared with others. having these things to seem marine, or a grot tank 😉. I will also
I’ve painted a long time and “worn-down” and weathered, want a model that can fit into
can do most things to a decent including armour, leather, cloth, a dark and ominous ambiance.
standard; however, where my etc. For myself, selecting a model This is sure to showcase as well
strengths and skills thrive are in is easy - the miniature must have the “weathering” of the metals,
the techniques I have acquired a fair amount of metals—maybe like they have been around for
for true-metal metallics, and wearing a nice amount of armour; ages. Taking the metallics from
taking it one step further and for example, a chaos space once nice and shiny to a state of
52
decay, rusty or bloodstained and this is competition; it’s why there are on a panel is a big fan of dwarves
what have you. I simulate that the judges’ placings and other awards or elves. You just might pick one of
miniature has been through war of merit...right?! Now many times the those so that the judge feels a bit
for ages. Basically, this to me is the competition is neck and neck and more liking toward that model. That
most fun part of showcasing my it’s very close. Almost too close to means you’ve painted your model
skills. make a call. It’s for this reason that to the highest standard and, on top
competitors make fair, honourable of that, the judge you are trying to
Do I tailor a piece for a certain type and tactful decisions as part of their impress loves those kinds of models
of competition? My answer is yes, strategy to swing the judges a little that you’ve picked to compete
most definitely. Who doesn’t? Let bit closer to favouring their entries with. Another example is one of the
me first say any kind of competitive and earn those awards of the yearly competitions I attend there
hobby is for those who love the highest merit. For example, maybe is one of the judges on the panel
competitive side of things. I mean, you know that one of the judges that is the owner of a company that
makes amazing models. I might,
as part of my strategy, select a
Do I tailor a piece model from his company to use as
one of my entries. These, as I have
for a certain type of mentioned, are very honourable,
fair and clever ways to get a few
competition? My answer extra points from the judges you
are trying to impress. One year I
is yes, most definitely. picked female models, as one of
the judges’ I was trying to influence

53

loved female sculpts, especially elven female models. Another time

I knew a judge was a fan of Kevin “Goblin Master” Adams goblin
sculpts, so I did a unit of that.

Well guys and gals, I hope I’ve shed some light on what my thought
processes are when taking into account my perspective regarding
how I approach a miniature painting comp.
 by Michael Klieman

Details
Price: $24.99; Diorama $34.99
Scale: 1/16th
Material: Plastic

Available from

Gecco
54

Gecco’s Tales from the Apocalypse

“On the way to pick up her little sister from a relatives house, [the heroine]
has a terrible car accident, knocking her unconscious. She wakes up in the
middle of a zombie pandemic! Her only mission is to track down her little
sister and survive hell on Earth!”

This is how the Japanese figure Scene 2, At the Diner, in the next
company Gecco introduces their issue of FPM.
line of figures, Tales from the
Apocalypse. So far, they have This background fluff is great fun,
produced two sets of figures in this and is not even the most unique
line (with a third on the way), and aspect of this line of miniatures.
each set of three figures makes up The fluff does give a life and
one of the scenes that The Heroine background to this line that is not
experiences in her quest to save usually found in other products.
her little sister. The first is called It also just makes these figures
“Day 1, 11:50 a.m. on the freeway”, more charming.
and comprises three figures: The
heroine (“She”), a zombie trucker I am not usually very enthusiastic
and a zombie crossing guard. The about packaging. If it protects the
second scene, called “At the Diner”, product and is not wasteful, it’s fine.
happens just after the lunch rush, The packaging for these figures,
at 1:27 pm (“Day 1, 1:27p.m., At the however, is some of the most
Diner”), and features a waitress, unique and fun that I have ever
a biker, and a cook who all have seen. The box is designed to look
already “turned”. We’ll focus on like an old fashioned VHS cassette
Scene 1 in this issue and explore tape box, with stickers and worn
 55
edges like an old horror movie that box add another amusing dimension Japanese garage kit style, which is
has been rented too many times. to the product. They are printed on distinguished by very low contrast
The font is large, red, and lurid. one side of a sheet of newsprint, flesh tones and little shading and
The artwork shows paintings of the in the form of a newspaper highlighting. “She” is the best
figures as if they are characters in announcing the beginning of the paintjob of the group. The other
a horror movie. The artists really zombie apocalypse. The paper two, the zombies, are painted in
nailed the look of an old-school shows an image of the parts list grey fleshtones and, sorry to say,
video box; so much so that it gave and how they fit together. At the not very convincingly. The cloth and
me a little feeling of nostalgia just bottom of the page there are a materials look great actually, but the
looking at it. I seriously love these couple of creepy stories as if in a faces are not painted very well. This
boxes! I have never considered real newspaper: “UFO sighted over brings down the perceived value
keeping miniature packaging as Cascada County!” of all the models. I don’t think this
decoration, but these boxes look is the fault of the models, though;
pretty cool on a bookshelf. This is really my kind of fake news. they are sculpted well with lots
of interesting detail (read: gashes
Inside the box, the parts are all The biggest weakness in the and wounds). I’d like to see these
packed in clear plastic. It looks to marketing material is the sample figures with a really fine paintjob. I
be enough protection, with the paintjobs found on the website. think they will truly shine.
rigidity of the exterior video box. They just don’t look that good.
The assembly instructions inside the The Heroine is painted in a
 I’ll take a closer look at the figures,
with special attention paid to
The Heroine.

Figure 01: The Heroine / She

The heroine, emerging from her

wrecked car, is shocked to see two
zombies staggering towards her,
hungering for her flesh.

This is the main protagonist in

this story of survival during the
zombie apocalypse. “She” is in
a very dynamic pose, cringing in
terror and trying to retreat. She has
one hand raised in horror, and the
expression on her face shows her
shock and fear. She’s wearing jeans,
a scoop necked t-shirt, and a light
jacket. There is lots of interesting
56

movement in the cloth of the jacket,

but some of the folds in the jeans
look a little thick.

“She” has a pretty hefty looking

handbag that you could attach to
her back hand, or place on the
ground below her. The straps of the bag are sculpted
as if they were floating in the air, so it would make more
sense to have her holding it, but her hands are not
sculpted in a way that would make it easy to make it
look like she’s gripping the strap. A good modeler could
figure out a neat solution, I’m sure. The handbag is a
nice touch, though. My wife said that it is a very common
shape for a handbag, and could even be painted to look
like a Louis Vuitton bag, if you thought that “She” was an
especially posh heroine.

My thirteen-year-old daughter also admired her choice in

footwear: a cute pair of wedge sandals.

Assembly was pretty easy, and to tell the truth, pretty

fun. There are 22 parts, which seem like a lot, but it
came together in about 30 minutes. I had a little trouble
getting the hair together, as there are three parts to put
together around her face. I had to pull apart the nearly
cured glue once to get them to fit together correctly. It
was not a big deal, but I thought you, the readers, would
appreciate a heads up that you might need a little extra
attention here. Alternatively, be more careful about dry
fitting everything before gluing.
 The model is engineered very
intelligently, so that there are not
many gaps to fill (the forearms and
feet attach at the sleeve line and
pants line, respectively). The tabs
on the hands and feet are marked
R and L, and the inserts on all
the parts are engineered with a
different shape so that they only fit
one way; even an obtuse modeller
should be able to avoid mixing up
the right and left hands.

There were very fine mould lines

on pretty much all of the 22 parts.
They were easy to deal with; a few
swipes with a file or sanding stick is
all that is needed to smooth those
out. There were also some gaps
that needed to be filled, but they
shouldn’t be too much trouble for
even a beginning modeller. The
gaps were biggest between the
pieces that made up her hair and

57
head. There was an especially big
one between the bottom of her
hair and her shoulder; it’s possible
that someone else could get those
pieces together more tightly. There
were also gaps where her shoulders
meet her arms, but these were also
not really hard to fill.

I filled the gaps on “She” with green

stuff so you could see what had to
be filled. The gaps on the other two
figures were less severe, and some hard to get together correctly, as amazing that the figure can stand
might not need to be filled at all. I had to pull apart the semi-cured up on his feet unaided. The trucker
glue to fit in the neck and head; hat is also a nice touch.
Figure 02: The Trucker so, this is another public service
announcement for dry fitting There are light mould lines on
“This poor truck driver died in everything before gluing. all the parts in this figure, similar
a horrific car accident, his body to those on “She”. One obvious
propelled through the windshield This poor guy has wounds all along gap is down the back seam of his
head first! His body smashed into the left side of his body, great jeans where the legs fit together,
the cement ground, rolling end over gashes in his torso and leg, and a but it should be easy to fill. There
end, tearing his body up. He’s half crunched-in skull. I can see quite a are a few places where the parts
the man he used to be.” lot of Tamiya Clear Red and UHU fit together that might need some
glue in the future of anyone who attention too, like the sides of his
This figure came together much decides to paint up this mother torso. The hands attach to the wrists
more easily than The Heroine. trucker. in a spot that is quite evident, so
It has only 15 parts, and two of those areas might need some filing
those are optional pieces: a torn He’s wearing a torn up t-shirt and or filling to get smooth.
up trucker cap and some optional jeans, and he completed his outfit
organs you can attach to his belly, with a stylish pair of work boots. Because of the messy nature of
for some extra fun and gore. The The trucker is staggering and zombies, though, there are much
torso was the only part that was swaying off balance, so it’s pretty fewer areas that need to be filled
58

or fixed on this model. One last around you see a gaping wound in especially the tops of the shoulders;
weird detail: this trucker has a very his back; most noticeable, though, there are the usual fine mould lines,
large nipple exposed under his is the fact that he is lurching around too. This figure was the easiest to
torn t-shirt. on a broken leg. The option on get together, and probably took me
this model is the left arm. You can 15 minutes to do so.
Figure 03: The Traffic Guard choose one that is raising the stop
sign, or one that has him dragging As an indication of how intelligently
“When controlling traffic, he got hit it listlessly. Both look cool, and both the models were designed, most of
by a runaway SUV and slammed have hands that are sculpted to his weight is on his unbroken left
against the construction vehicle hold his stop sign, which fits snugly leg, but his right arm is extended
behind him, dying instantly. His right in either left hand. out, in hopes of harvesting
leg broken beyond repair, his body some live brains, but also to
twisted, he’s still trying to perform The biggest gap to be filled is, like counterbalance the figure so that he
his duty even as a zombie!” the trucker’s, the seam down the can stand up on his own.
seat of his pants. The arm sockets
This crossing guard looks pretty look pretty good because he is I have heard some criticize these
good, for a zombie, at least until wearing a vest, and his sleeves are models for a lack of detail. In a
you look more closely. He’s got his visible, so the gap seems realistic. 1/16 scale model, we have some
reflective vest, and he’s still holding Some of the joins will need a little to expect quite a lot of detail in
his stop sign, but when you turn him attention (again, like the trucker’s), our figures. It’s true that some of
 59
the sculpting could have been more detailed; for
example, there is not a lot of texture anywhere,
including the flesh and the cloth.

I think the detail sculpted in the figures for Tales

from the Apocalypse is great given the genre of
these figures and their low price. ($25 per figure).
Perhaps these zombies fit into a niche that is similar
to that of a good, fun zombie movie: they are loud,
fun and gory and maybe a little tongue-in-cheek.
They are not expected to have a lot of fiddly detail
or be high art. They are, however, unique in the
figure world today and I think a lot of people will
come to appreciate them as much as I have. These
figures are just a ton of fun. If you love the zombie
genre, I really recommend that you pick a few of
these up.
 PART ONE: CONSTRUCTION
As this is my first article for Figure Painter Magazine, I should probably start
with a short introduction and hopefully it will give you an idea of the direction I
approached this project from.
60

I got back into figure painting about 11 years ago when I discovered some
Rackham figures and since then I developed my painting with the aid
of online materials. I travelled to various shows, made several friends,
and even picked up a few prizes along the way as well. But I'd say
that for the last 2 or 3 years I've been coasting along in my comfort
zone, occasionally trying a new concept, but more along the lines of
presentation than painting. So, I thought it was time I did a project
where I would push things that extra step and refine the details just
a bit more; something where I would be happy to put in the extra
time it would need. And this last point is an important one, you
must want to spend that extra time and for me this means it
must be a project I am passionate about.

With that out of the way, let me introduce you to my

Cyclops Diorama. I know exactly when I first had the
idea, because it came to me when I saw Roman's
version of Steve Party's Baby Doll sculpt back in
July 2014. I just had this image of this small figure
crouching after cutting some giant monster in half ...
maybe I'd been watching too much anime 😉

We have wanted to feature some

of Conrad's work in FPM for a
very long time because he is a true
innovator.
Conrad is easily one of the best
British painters on the scene and
he is always pushing the enve-
lope and trying new and exciting
things. Because of this we are
pleased to introduce part one of
by Conrad Mynett his Cyclops Diorama.
Then the idea sat in the back of
my brain for 2 years until I finally
decided I needed to do a project
with a bit more scope and effort.
This one fit the bill--a small hero,
a giant monster cut in half but still
effectively whole, a snowy winter
scene with a great splash of blood,
and enough detail within the
basework so as to make sure each
part has some small detail to retain
interest. It didn't take long for me
to settle on Chris Clayton's Cyclops
sculpt for the monster. Its size
towers over our hero and the pose
with arms spread was perfect for my
intended scene.

Adding a dragon dog figure from

Kaha Miniatures for some sort of
oriental temple decoration, it was
time to plan the layout. Starting
with a sheet of paper cut to fit ( just)
within my figure case, I used other

61
cut outs to represent trees, paths,
a plinth for the dragon dog and the
cyclops. The idea for this initial
layout was that the ground would
rise toward the back right where the
dragon dog would be overlooking
the temple entrance, the cyclops
would initially have it’s back to the
viewer and all the paths and the
splash of blood would point to our
hero, giving her focus despite her
small size.
 With the initial design done, I could an obvious route. I found that with
discuss it with a few friends, and this smaller base design it didn’t
Ben Komets provided an interesting really have room for that deeper
reversal on the layout. A triangular undergrowth, especially with the
base that would place the cyclops width of the steps and this idea was
at the front where the width was eventually dropped.
widest with the hero initially hidden
from view. This would also place
the temple entrance at the back
of the base, the terrain rising from
front to back. With all the cut outs
had I already done it was quite
quick to shift the design to this new
layout. I cropped the corners to
give a bit more space at the front,
as this would allow the cyclops to
be turned to face the front full on
and if it had gone to a point at the
back I wouldn’t really have had any
extra detail to add to that space.

I went with concept of a wide set of

stairs winding through the middle
of the base, this should be more
62

interesting than a straight route,

and the wider stairs would allow
Baby Doll to be fully supported on a
single step. Sketching these steps
in also defined the rise across the
length of the diorama, as the steps
would be about 3 to 4 mm high
each. Any more and they would
have looked out of scale with Baby
Doll. This then allowed me to mock
up the height of the figures after
which I firmed up the design with a
pen. You can see that at this point
I trimmed the sides and back a
bit more, effectively reducing the
amount of dead space. This was
also the point where I added in a
few details like the small shrines;
the positioning would change a bit
during construction as the physical
shape of the slope favoured certain
locations, but I felt it was important
to get the idea into the design.

You can also see that I marked the

footprints on to show where the
cyclops had arrived from. This was
a bit of a holdover from the initial
design where the larger base would
have allowed the addition of deeper
foliage, shrubs, that sort of thing.
This would have allowed for the
addition of trampled bushes and
One of the advantages of working
in an I.T. department is easy access
to a lot of packaging material that
all the new equipment arrives in.
The foam new PC’s arrive with is
quite firm and very light, so it is
perfect for providing the bulk of the
base. The change in height can be
calculated from the number of steps
and a little glue and half a dozen
cocktail sticks hold the pieces
together.

The steps themselves are made

from sheets of hard plaster. The
shape of the steps was traced
from the initial design so each
step could be marked out and cut
to shape with a bit of extra to the
sides and back so they can overlap
and support each other as they are
placed. A Dremel is really helpful
for cutting these all out, but it does
get very dusty so it’s best to wear

63
a mask and make sure it can be
cleaned up easily afterwards. Later
the hard plaster will allow me to
carve the detail of the paving into
the steps.

A channel is then cut through the

foam so the steps can be laid in
place. Tile adhesive is used to fill
in any gaps under the steps. This
can take quite a while to dry and it
is a bit brittle, but it is very cheap
(especially if you happen to have a
large tub left over from a DIY job…),
easy to smooth out with a wet brush
and I find it can leave a nice grainy
surface that is good for looking like
dirt.

At this time, I also constructed the

trees. These are just made from
twisted wire and super glue, but
I made sure to add a pin into the
base so I could easily slot them into
a holder for working on them, or
move them to the base to test the
layout. The concept for the trees
was that they would be some sort of
Japanese Maple, so not too tall and
with a lot or twist to the branches
using a variety of thicknesses of
wire so the ends of the longer
branches would be thinner.
64

The trees were then coated with some specific points. For a while figures before building the plinth for
a reasonably thick layer of texture it looked like I had already tried the dragon dog. At this point, I had
paint, which covered the wire and a snow effect as the white tile four trees on the left side with just
provided a bark like effect in a adhesive contrasted with the dark one on the right, but I would change
single pass. When this had dried, texture paint… this later, placing a 2nd tree on the
it was clear that some points had right and moving them back.
too sharp a change in thickness, With the addition of the trees (they
so I used some liquid putty and a are just wire at this point) I could
bit more tile adhesive to bulk out check out the positioning of the
With all the “stone” in place, it was possible to draw the
pattern of the paving onto the plaster; the front of each
step being long thin edging stones with larger irregular
blocks making up the remaining surface. Any sharp
metal point can then be used to carve the pattern into
the plaster.

65
 I left the stone work at this point to
work on other aspects of the base,
but would come back to it several
times as it simply looked too flat
and I wanted to give the location
an ancient look so I used a scalpel
to carefully shave the surface of
several pieces to make the surface
less even, rounding off the front
edges and adding several small
nicks and scratches.

When the initial patterning was

done, I used more cuts of foam to
bulk out the sides and covered it
with more tile adhesive. At this
point, it was possible to finalise the
position of the cyclops. Drilling two
large holes and filling them with
milliput provided the additional
strength the anchor point would
need, and once dampened with
some water it was possible to
push the anchoring rods pinned
66

to the figure’s feet into the milliput

before it set to leave a couple of
guide holes that could be used to
secure it in place once the painting
was finished.
I used 1 mm plasticard for the sides
of the base. This can be cut to
shape, glued together and then
sanded smooth quite easily, and the
way plastic glue melts the separate
pieces together gives a very strong
join that sands well once it has been
left to properly set.

The inside of the plasticard was

scarred with a scalpel and small
amount of tile adhesive was
smeared onto the sides of the
base, this then helped to hold the
plasticard in place while the it was
glued together as well as anchoring
the roughened inner surface to
the foam. Most of the edges were
sanded smooth using a palm sander
for the sides and the Dremel for the
upper edge except for a few areas
like the paving at the back and the
steps at the front where a bit more
care was needed. In those places,

67
the excess was carefully carved
away with a scalpel.

The angled joins at the sides did

cause a couple of issues where
the plasticard didn’t quite join up
fully, but with a little putty and some
careful sanding it was smoothed
out. Once done, I turned the base
over and added a little super glue
between the foam and plasticard
to make sure it was all solidly
fixed together. It was probably
not actually necessary, but I
was certainly erring on the side
of caution.

A small amount of milliput and tile

adhesive was used to fix any small
issues at the edge and then I could
just carefully add small details such
as working out the final positioning
of the trees. Having two at the back
right just seemed to do a better
job of balancing the plinth with the
dragon dog on the other side.
68

A couple of coffee stirrers provided

the wood for a little bit of fence
by the temple entrance and some
plaster off cuts I had kept provided
the bulk of the pieces needed for
the small shrines alongside the
steps. It was quite easy to cut into
the tile adhesive surface to fit the
bases for the shrines and then add
a little afterward to smooth them
back in.
 69

Another touch was to have a shrine Hopefully, this has provided some
broken and scattered across the useful insight for approaching a
steps, this was the one element of larger project and next time we
the cyclops path that I kept, and it will look at building up the foliage
added another small level of detail and use of colours to make a cold
to break up the flatness of the steps wintery scene.
themselves. With the addition of a
rock or two, the base construction
was completed.
 Details
Price: £55/€60/$70
Scale: 1/24(75mm)
Material: Resin

Available from

Kimera Models
70

Kimera Models’ Ishtar, Wings of Sorrow

This is the first Kimera model that So what do we get? showing various shots of Ishtar that
I have been fortunate enough to opens up into a 300mmx300mm
have been asked to review. Firstly, and this will become a mini poster of her. On removing the
common theme, packaging style. top piece of white foam, you see
I was lucky enough to see the Ishtar comes in a rather large the various pieces of Ishtar along
actual box art figure painted by the black cardboard box with a very with part of the scenery that is
very talented Francesco Farabi at modern logo and Kimera across present in the box art spread neatly
the Athens Miniatures Show, and it the front. Other than that, there are around, with a small stapled plastic
instantly went on my wants list. So two stickers on the box; one small bag of ‘bits’. Let’s take a closer look
when Davide Rainone asked me if one on the side giving some legal at Ishtar.
I’d like to do the review for this, I info and the main one on the back
jumped at it. showing the aforementioned box She comes in 19 parts, with 3 being
art. On opening the box, there’s cast on the same sprue, as they
a nice surprise of a little booklet are tiny.
 needed. The most I can see will
be the hair, as there is a small line
on the hair that can be removed
very easily, even for the moderate
modeller. She sits nicely in place
and that is helped as she has been
shaped underneath to sit in a
certain position on the architecture.
Of course, I still had to inset a pin
in her rear as she ended up leaning
too far back in my dry fit with the
wings as mentioned before. There
are 3 small bits I chose to leave off
of the dry fit, as I thought it better
leave them on their sprue until I
came to painting her. Anyway, for
your info these go on her left arm
elbow and the two angled spikes go
on her knee armour.

71
The scenery makes up 4 parts of and crisp, with lovely subtle armour.
the kit and goes together very well Her head joins up very nicely. There
and makes a lovely piece of Gothic is a small gap, but filling this will be As I have already said, this is my
architecture for Ishtar to sit on, no problem at all. Her head can be first Kimera model I have reviewed.
which helps set the scene. There built with or without the optional I bought a couple at the Athens
were no mould lines anywhere. mask. My personal preference show that I too will do reviews of
The only thing I had to do was is without. in future issues of FPM, but I have
remove part of a gate from one of to say I am very impressed. Andrea
the pieces, as you can see from the At this time I chose to build her Iula has brought his brilliant concept
picture. It has gone together very and take more pictures across the to life in an exceptional sculpt and
well, even with just Blu Tak. Let’s model. I couldn’t do my normal this has been realised beautifully by
move on to Ishtar herself. blu tak dry fit, as her wings were Francesco. The price might seem
so big and heavy compared to the high, but this is a very detailed kit
Her torso is very elegant and from delicate proportions of her body, with a few optional extras. She is a
what I can see there are no mold so I decided to do some prep work massive figure and in my opinion
lines or pits whatsoever. I have and get all the pins in place I would worth the asking price without
taken a picture from this angle so need when I finally paint her. question. I hope this is a line that
you can see the larger of the two succeeds, as what I have reviewed
pins. This is the only bit of prep Looking over the model, the detail here shows massive promise.
needed when you remove it, so she is outstanding and is up there with
can sit in place! The detailing is nice the best. There is very little prep
 The English Officer

Company: Best Soldiers

Scale: 1:24th

Contact: www.bestsoldiers.com
72

Gladiator ‘’Mirmillone’’

Company: Pegaso Models

Scale: 1:20th

Contact: pegasomodels.com

WW2 Soviet Female Tanker

Company: Life Minaitures

Scale: 1:10th

Contact: www.lifeminiatures.com
 Mounted Samurai
Company: Boneapart Military Models

Size: 250mm

Contact: www.bonapartesmilitarymodels.co.uk Spitifire Cockpit with

Douglas Bader
Company: RP Models

Scale: 1:10th

Contact: rpmodels.pt

73
Viriatus

Company: RP Models

Scale: 1:24th

Contact: rpmodels.pt
 Nosferatu

Company: Green Monkey Models

Scale: 1:10th

Contact: Green Monkey Models

74

Klon - Dwarf Engineer

Company: Stormtrooper Miniatures

Scale: 1:10th

Contact: www.stormtrooperminiatures.co.uk

Barbarian

Company: Nutsplanet

Scale: 1:12th

Contact: www.nutsplanet.com
 Witch Hunter

Company: Terrible Kids Stuff

Scale: 1:24th

Contact: www.terriblekidsstuff.com

75
Dragon Tamer

Company: Mr. Lee’s Minis

Scale: 1:10th

Contact: Mr. Lee’s Minis FB shop

Horrace

Company: Terrible Kids Stuff

Scale: 1:10th

Contact: www.terriblekidsstuff.com
 Details
Price: £15/$20/€17
Features: 103 pages
High Quality Print

Available from

www.nutsplanet.com
76

Nutsplanet’s Artworks Book

This month we’re taking a look at something a little
different from Nutsplanet.

Nutsplanet is renowned, not just throughout the pages of

FPM, but the world over for producing some of the best
quality models around. When I heard they were doing a
book, I was very excited.

Well, to break tradition there is no typical blue box which

has become synonymous with Nutsplanet releases, but
the book was nicely protected in a clear sealed sleeve. On
removing the sleeve you get an instant sense of quality,
with the silk screen cover. The size I will say caught me of
guard, being a bit smaller than I was imagining and square
in shape! I don’t think this is a downside, of course; in fact,
it made it nice to hold in hand and didn’t feel cumbersome
when looking through the pages at all.

The book is spread over an impressive 103 pages and

is packed full of their beautifully painted figures, so this
becomes a coffee table book/catalogue of their products.
The print quality is very high indeed and care has been
taken by the looks of it to make sure every photo, bar
none, has had the same attention to it. Each one is
consistently clear and great quality, being printed on
300gsm paper.
 77
I have to say, I like the way it has Something else I think is a nice getting at is hobby books about
been set out. It is split nicely into touch is the fact that each model painting, sculpting , etc. I think this
sections--busts, figures etc. At the that attained an award has it named would not be something very far
end of each section there are a few on the page with the show that outside of Nutsplanet’s capabilities,
pages dedicated to general shots gave said figure the award. judging by this offering as their first
‘off the bench’, showing candid effort.
shots of some of the WIP of the Looking through the general
figures within the pages. I also like information about the book itself, I So, if you are looking for a nice
the general layout, with some of noticed there aren’t many credits coffee table book and, of course,
the full figures receiving multiple outside of Nutsplanet, which mean want to see beautifully painted and
angles. This is something you aren’t this was all pretty much achieved presented miniatures in hand in an
really able to see on the boxes in house. Now this may not sound instant, look no further than this
when you buy the model. very interesting, but I wonder if great little book. At £15 I think it’s
this opens up the possibility for actually quite good value, too.
more books in the future? What I’m
 By Normski

Details
Price: 25€
Scale: 1/10th
Material: Resin

Available from

Terrible Kids Stuff

78

TKS’s Suspended Animation - Horace

I kept in touch with Giorgio and followed the progress
of Horace. With the release of the bust via the Terrible
Kids Stuff store, here is my take on the release of the
Suspended Animation bust.

This month we see the launch of several new pieces

from Terrible Kids Stuff. Amongst the new releases
comes a bust which was designed, sculpted and
painted by a talented guy called Giorgio Bassani.

Giorgio has launched a range called Suspended

Animation and the first piece is Horace.

I first came to notice the Horace bust back in April just

before Salute 2017. I caught the facebook post that
Giorgio would be selling Horace at Salute.

Giorgio was tucked away on the Osprey Publishing stand

and I almost missed him, but I found him and I got the
first copy of the bust which was nice.
Firstly, I need to say the bust is not
your average half torso piece. The
bust is sculpted from the lapels of
the jacket upwards, making the
whole piece 63mm tall.

This keeps the focus on the whole

piece rather than a half torso that
you need to paint to bring the focus
up to the face.

The piece is cast in 4 pieces;

hat, head, neck tie, and the lapel
and collar.

This is a no nonsense piece. As

mentioned above, it is a focused
piece and I simply love the subject.
When I first saw the bust, I thought
instantly of the kiddy catcher from
the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

This is how I have it painted in

my mind.

79
The piece itself is very Dickensian
in style and is suitably sculpted in
a worn image, which opens the
paint job up to lots of weathering
and further customisations for wear
and tear.

I have inspected the pieces closely

over time and aside from a tiny
bit of flash on the neck tie, it is
cast perfectly.
Games called Seamus. He is a top there are no issues with it at all and
The only blemishes are where the hat wielding psycho and with a little I was not let down whatsoever.
casting gates have been cut off and sculpting of the hair, this will make
they are in places you will not see an excellent Seamus bust. If you wish to purchase a copy,
once sanded and buffed. head on over to Terrible Kids Stuff
I very rarely see a bust and instantly and Horace is in the miscellaneous
What amazes me about any think “wow”, but the simplicity and section of the store under
miniature being cast are the small the subject of this piece was an Suspended Animation.
details, such as the ear ring in the instant want, so I hunted Giorgio
right ear of this piece. How this down and hey, presto! Giorgio also has his own page
does not snap off in the mould is on facebook. Check out Giorgio
a miracle, but it is a lovely little The packaging of the piece is a Bassani Miniatures--he is a very
feature and casts nicely with no perfect size, too. Often you will get talented guy.
slips or mould lines. The hair is miniatures and busts in boxes that
sculpted straight and suitably you could easily get 2 or 3 models In conclusion, the premier release
scraggy to match the character of in, which is a total waste. However, from the Suspended Animation
the piece. this box is perfect with a 3D render range is an excellent piece and I
of Horace on the front. hope to see many conversions and
I am particularly interested in this superb painted versions really soon.
piece, as there is a character in Even though I wanted this bust from
a game called Malifaux by Wyrd seeing it the first time, I can say
 There are many, many miniature shows around the world, and
unfortunately we can’t get to them all. So, like many others, I
have to be quite picky when choosing which ones to go to. This
80

All additional photos supplied by year was no different. I sat there with my long suffering wife,
Marios Vrachiolidis. Zoë deciding what shows to go to, when in came a curve ball!

I had just finished writing an article week with so many great people
on Michael Kontraros, when the in this hobby. They really made
man himself contacted me and the week.
personally invited us to Greece, not
only to attend the Athens Show, We touched down at the Athens
but to generally hang out. “It will airport at around 9.00pm local time
be a blast” he said. and were promptly greeted by a
beaming Michael, with gifts in hand
No doubt it would be, but I do for us, too!!! I also had a gift for
not particularly like flying and, of him that I had been working on in
course, there was the cost; I said secret--I’ll show these later.
“leave it with us”. Well, after about
30 seconds Zoe said we are going After some quick hugs and chat
(she just wanted the holiday), lol. we, were introduced to a guy
5 months later, and with a good called Vassilis who was going to
amount of help from our good take us to our hotel. It was a nice
friends Michael and Ant Con sorting pleasant drive through Athens to
out hotels (thanks guys) the 3 of us our hotel and even at that time
were at Gatwick airport about to of the evening, the heat! Another
board our plane! thing that struck me was how busy
it was. By the time we got to our
I have to say this is the most hotel it was around 10.30pm, so we
involved miniatures show based went out for a walk. It seemed very
trip I have taken up to now. Plus we strange sitting in a street square
made it a bit of a family holiday, too. eating crepes at around 11pm and
Forgive me if I digress a little from everything was open and it was
purely a show report, as I firmly very busy; such late nights! Little did
believe I need to try to convey the I know this was a sign of things to
whole experience as we spent the come…
 81
Day One

The next day was the start of the show. Now

unlike the shows I have been to in the UK
where you get up at the crack of dawn to start
your journey, this was a lot more pleasant. Our
hotel was no more than a 5 minute walk from
the location.

The show was held in an old building that

contains the Plakas Art School, who incidentally
gave up their floor for the show. Here is a little
bit of history about the building. It contains the
first school of cinematography across the whole
nation! The same school still exists there today!
Mr. Stavrakos Lycurgus founded the school in
1948. This was done, I am informed, before
even the Greek government introduced such
a school in their national education! One thing
I have to mention is the lift. The show was on
the 4th floor and I thought people mad to be
climbing the stairs in such hot weather. The lift,
if any of you have seen the old Agatha Christie
films will know what I mean, came complete
with a very antique looking wooden lift, which
we did use eventually!
 The show wasn’t starting until around noon on the first
day. I thought it a bit strange, as I’m used to them all
starting first thing in the morning. Then again, it doesn’t
finish until 9pm in the evening. Remember what I said
82

about late evenings?

I went up early so I could see the set up and also wanted

to catch up with a few people before the show started.
The miniature display area was nice and bright, as one
wall had lots of big windows. I got to have a quick look,
the calm before the storm, plus being so early I got the
run of where I wanted to put my figures, too. Having
never done a display before, I wasn’t too sure of the
procedure and readily set my figures up in one group,
before I was told that my diorama and historical pieces
were to be set up in different areas. I will know for
next time.

The show soon started to fill up as noon approached

and it was good to see people that I knew, not only
in person, but those people whom I only talk to on
Facebook as they live the other side of Europe (or the
world). It’s funny on the whole; you always seem to be
like old friends that have met many times before. This
is one thing about the shows I do like, that for the most
part there are people that I really want to meet and talk
to and the social side is always great.

This was no different. It’s a very relaxed show and

without a doubt the most relaxed show I have been to.
In part the Greeks seem to be very relaxed and in part
due to the heat. I’m not one to deal with heat that well.
Yes, why did I go to Greece then, I hear you ask? Well,
this report will hopefully show you it was worth it. I did
find one other fellow sufferer, Debbie Volquarts, and
luckily we seemed to find the only air con unit they were
allowed to put on. Due to it being an old building as I
said earlier, the electrics would take all the air con being
put on we were told!

Around 1pm a group of painters began their pilgrimage

83
up to the Acropolis to visit the Parthenon; this was
another arrangement of Ant Con (this guy was really
looking after us all). Our guide was a very lovely woman
by the name of Eleni Roberta Dapola. She took the
whole group to various places on the way and explained
everything. Of course being painters, this was an
excellent trip to get basing ideas. Now to say it was hot
was an understatement, but maybe that’s because we
weren’t used to it. However, we all made it to the top.
We also made it to the Archaeological Museum which
had air con….ahhhhh! It was a great trip which I highly
recommend, if you go to the show.

The evening saw a big group of painters under the

guide of the ‘Greeks’ go looking for food. We all met
at Michael Kontraros’s studio…wow! I’m sorry I can’t tell
you everything I saw, some of it is secret and he was
good enough to show us. Nope, sorry I won’t say. One
thing I did get was a shot of the wall of pride. It was a
proud moment, as there was the FPM cover in which I
did the interview with Michael displayed on his wall. We
eventually sat to eat at around 11pm at night and chatted
the night away, before Zoe, Liam and myself headed
back to our hotel at around 2am with very, VERY full
stomachs. It was a great first day, even though we didn’t
spend it all at the show and finished with a great meal
with a lot of different nationalities at the table.
 Day Two

The 2nd day is where the show really kicks in, as it’s the
weekend. By now pretty much all the figures that are
84

going to be entered for the various classes are there, so

there was much eye candy on display. One thing I was
told is that the standard at the Athens Show isn’t as high
as other shows, but to be fair some of the best work I
have ever seen in real life was there. Anyway, when you
have the likes of Francesco Farabi, Rujo Rusto, Kyriokos
Simos and the relatively new ones to the painting
world such as Marko Miladinović and Aleksandra Tana
Cvetanovski, who are collectively Craftworld Studios,
there was some very high quality work to be seen.

It was nice to see a lot of entries, apparently up from the

year before. This is all good, as it hopefully a sign the
show is growing. There was both Standard and Master
classes ranging from fantasy displays, gaming up to
Ambient(diorama). Day 2 had two classes taking place.
One was taught by Francesco teaching freehand and
the other by Rujo teaching human flesh techniques. I
unfortunately didn’t go on either of these courses, as the
heat was again and getting the better of me. So we took
a trip to Plaka, which was only a short metro trip from the
show. We came back a bit later and the show was still
in full swing, so we did the mingle thing and chatted to
various participants and also traders trying to pry some
juicy tidbits of info about future releases…unfortunately,
they were very tight lipped!

The evening fast approached us and again it was food

time. I will say the Greeks see food time as a bit of a
celebration, like an event in itself. This was the official
Athens Show painter dinner and there were a lot of
people there as you can see from the photograph. We
arrived a little late as even with a map we got lost, as it
was all Greek to us…no it really was! The map we had
been given was in Greek, so we got into roughly the
right area and walked around for a little while. Well if it
hadn’t have been for Aleksandra’s blue hair, we would

85
have walked right past the crowd!

As the food started to come and the drink started to

flow, there were various rousing shouts and cheers, and
generally it was such a good atmosphere. Anyway, we
soon decided to leave as others were dancing away, but
it was again 2am and we had our little one with us who
loved it all, and probably would have stayed longer!

Day Three

The final day of the show wasn’t as long as the first two
days. Day 3 was even more relaxed, if that’s possible.
The show was more made up of contestants and friends
of than customers from what I could see, as Saturday
had been the bulk trading day. Of course, there were
still purchases going on. I was told day 3 was ending at
around 4pm to give everyone a chance to pack up and
get out at a decent time.
 So it was my final time to mill around get a few last shots
of figures I had maybe missed as all the judging had now
been done.
86

4pm came around quite quickly and we all crammed

ourselves in to a small seated area, which was standing
room only. This was the award ceremony.

I will say it was a bit difficult to hear what was going on,
as there were a lot of people talking behind us. Maybe a
loud speaker and microphone could be used for future
shows, or maybe people could be quiet and listen?

Anyway what you could hear were your names, so if they

anything like me, people knew what they got, just not
what they got it for. Lol.

I will say going up and getting a medal was probably

best experience I have had receiving an award to date.
Everyone was cheered warmly, and you got a sense
that people meant it and were genuinely happy for
you to be getting something. Before the best of show
was announced, Francesco Farabi made a special
announcement and presentation that the Athens Show
had become part of a sort of brotherhood member to
Monte. I hadn’t heard of this before, but it looked like
a big deal as there was much back slapping, hand
shaking and hugging going on. Then came the moment
to announce who had won best of show. When Christos
Panagiotopoulos’s name was called out the place
erupted and it was well deserved, as I had commented
to Zoë over the course of the show that one of his pieces
was my favourite of the show. So all in all it was a great
event. Of course, it helped me to enjoy it that I came
away with two Bronze, one Silver and one Gold award in
the master classes for my various entries.
Would I go back? Hell, yeah. This show, isn’t just the
show, if you get what I mean. With the hospitality shown
by everyone the companionship of other like-minded
individuals, the social events and generally good natured

87
time by everyone it is well worth the trip.

However, it doesn’t stop there. Michael had arranged for

yet more events and a coach promptly arrived to take
the Italian contingent, the English rabble and a few other
guys to Marathon to continue the break and festivities for
more eating and relaxing on the beach and a generally
good time, which culminated in an amazing BBQ at our
new friend Vassilis’ house up in the hills with its breath-
taking views. I won’t bore you, the readers, with all the
details as it would turn into an episode of wish you were
here, but just look at a few of the snaps below. It will give
you sense of why the Athens Show isn’t just a show to
go to, but one to experience and one we won’t forget
for a long time. Oh and Michael’s gift was the Mummy
Queen I painted for the show that won Bronze in the
master class.
88
89
 Step by Step Part 10
by Marko Paunovic
90

In the last issue, I started painting show how to repair the broken wire workshop at a scale model show
some effects on the car. This time, and with the vehicle painted, I can in Zagreb earlier this month, so
I'll continue with those as well as also fix it to the diorama base and it gave me an opportunity to
paint the rest of the gas station. finally connect the second half of practice what I had seen. First up
Remember, I did a trial run a couple the electrical circuit. was adding washes. This would
of issues back on the back wall just hopefully add some shadows.
to test the chipping and crackle After finishing last month, the Using dark washes around some of
effects. Also, at the end of last vehicle’s paintjob somehow the details of the fuselage, I simply
month's building/painting session, seemed without depth; so I applied the colour using capillary
I noticed one of the wires coming decided to add some more effects forces to pull the colour inside the
out of the vehicle had broken. As and weathering to it. It was a tiny crevices.
my plan is to finish the painting of stroke of luck that I was able to
the vehicle this month, I will also attend Mig Jimenez's weathering
When the washes were dry, I
decided to add some streaking
effects. Again, I turned to oils. In
order to successfully blend them,
I dampened the surface using
enamel thinner. Do not soak the
surfaces, as the oils would simply
run down and smudge the paintjob.
If you've added too much thinner,
just wipe the excess away. Using
Streaking Grime Effects from Ammo
by MIG, I applied some vertical lines
to the fuselage where the water/
moisture would gather and how
it would normally flow down the
fuselage. After the application of
the colour, I then used a flat brush
slightly moistened with enamel
thinner to blend the streaks into the
existing paint job. You can control
the moisture of the brush similar to
the process of drybrushing. After
you dipped the brush in the thinner,
dry it on a paper tissue until it is

91
almost completely dry. If you apply
too much thinner, the consequence
will be a smudged effect (or even
completely removed). To fix it, add
more thinner, remove the smudge
and repeat the process with the
correct amount of thinner.

After these two effects, the overall

appearance was better, but I still
wanted more contrast. Again,
using Ammo Oilbrushers, I added
some highlights and shadows. I
did not need to be precise with
the application, as once again I
would be using enamel thinner to
blend the shades and highlights. Of
course, first blend the shades, then
the highlights (or vice versa). Do not
mix the two blends with the same
dip of the thinner.
 With the contrasting done, I decided
to add some more chipping. First,
I mixed some dark brown/black/
reddish paint (however, if you can
get it, Ammo makes a perfect colour
for this – Chipping colour). Then
using an irregular piece of sponge
(from any blister) that I achieved by
pinching with my fingers, I dabbed
some irregular patterns on the
fuselage. Be careful not to overdo it!

I was satisfied with the look of the

chipping but I decided to add some
more, this time using a brush. The
sponge method is good for large
surfaces, however doing chipping
near moving parts or hatches,
requires some precision work which
needs careful brush control. Also,
I added some scratch marks using
thin lines. These would hardly be
noticeable unless you look for
them specifically, but they do give
92

the overall appearance of an old,

beat-up vehicle.

The weathering process was almost

done. Once again, I used the Rust
Oilbrusher to pick out rivets and
other raised details of the vehicle.
Where I put too much rust, I simply
removed it and/or blended it using
enamel thinners. Using oils is a fun
process and the slowness of drying
time, allows me to play with various
effects and gives me the control
that the acrylic paints I normally use
do not.

The vehicle was already starting

to look a lot more life-like and I
decided to push things further. I
added some dust and mud using
Brown and Ochre pigments. To fix
them, rather than using a normal
pigment fixer (like I did with the rust
in the last issue), I used enamel
thinner. This enabled me also to
control the amount of pigment left
in place. In cases where there was
too much pigment, I simply added
more thinner and removed the
excess paint.
The last part of the weathering Both of these are applied with a
process would be to add oil. The brush without any movement; just
oil marks come in several (usually allow the oil to flow freely. When I
two) shapes and forms. The first was finished with the old oil, I did
one is old oil. It is almost faded, not wait for the oils to dry before
but covers bigger surfaces. I added the newer oil effect. This
The other is newer, with more way, the new oil would blend into
discolouration, but concentrated the older one.
on a narrower area. Both of these
are done with Ammo's Fresh This marked the end of the painting
Engine Oil. The only difference of the vehicle and it was now
is that the older oil effect was time to repair the broken wire.
achieved with a mixture of Fresh Fortunately for me, I still had some
Engine Oil and Enamel Thinner. wire coming out of the fuselage
which will help me solder the rest
of the wire in place. Carefully, I
approached the fuselage with my
solder iron, making sure I did not
accidentally melt the plastic. When
it was done, using super glue, I
glued both of the wires together
and arranged them on the floor of
the diorama base in an irregular
form. This way the wires would

93
look like a cable connected to the
vehicle. Also, using a gaming bit I
found lying somewhere, I made a
sort of battery which I would place
on the ground of the base and drill
holes through it (battery and the
base). In this spot my wires would
go “underground” and I could
connect them to the rest of the
electronic circuit. Being careful I
have all my pluses and minuses
connected the right way, I could
light up my diorama in its entirety
for the first time.

Next month, I'll be adding details

to the gas station, painting it and
finally painting the mechanic.
Hopefully that will mark the
end of the build. Until then, as
always, if you have any questions,
feel free to ask us at: terrain@
figurepaintermagazine.co.uk .
 By Stuart Sim

Details
Price: $70
Scale: 1:10th
96

Material: Resin

Available from

Nutsplanet

Nutsplanet’s Indian Home Guard

I was given the opportunity to review the Indian Home
Guard, which was kindly sent by the guys at Nutsplanet.
While I have admired the Nutsplanet busts and figures
from afar, this is actually the first kit of theirs I have had.

The bust is sculpted by Jun-Sik Ahn and (as titled) is of a

member of the Indian, or should I say Native American,
home guard during the American Civil War.

Here I have to hold my hand up. I never actually realised

Native Americans fought during the American Civil War
or even formed their own units. So, my first port of call
was to jump on the internet and do some research on
the subject.

During the outbreak of the American Civil War, Union

troops abandoned much of the Indian lands, leaving a
power vacuum which the Confederates quickly filled.
The five so called “civilised tribes” (Creek, Cherokee,
Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole), which were natural
allies of the Confederates due to a shared culture
and (in the case of Cherokees) keeping slaves. Not
all Indians wanted to join the Confederates and the
two sides clashed, which the
Confederates won. The survivors
who had remained “loyal” to the
Union fled and it was from these
remaining men that the first home
guard regiments were formed,
predominantly to fight in Indian
territories. This is really a very quick
summary; there is more to their
history and it’s worth looking into.

The model comes in a very nice

Nutsplanet box, which I’m sure most
people are familiar with. The pieces
are sandwiched between layers of
foam, with the smallest components
being at the very bottom of the box.
It serves its function very well.

So, first off the negative bits of the

97
model and I have to say that there
is nothing requiring more than a
minor correction. The first one is
the gun; as you can see the barrel
is bent (nothing a bit of heat won’t
fix), but it’s a bit of a pain. Also on
the gun are a couple of bits of flash
round the trigger that, if you’re not
careful with, might result in damage
to the sculpt.

Around the rest of the piece there

are a couple awkwardly placed
gates that require a bit of work to
remove. The worst are on the arms
and the rest are cleverly placed
in places that will be covered or
hidden. While they need a bit of
clean up, it’s neither that difficult
or likely to affect what you see Focusing on the largest part of the A part that I did like is a resin rod
once painted. kit, which is the torso with the head has been included for mounting the
included. This, for me, is where the miniature into a plinth. I thought this
There are quite a lot of pieces to the mood and tone of the piece is set. was a very nice touch to the kit.
kit with extra details included that The face is beautifully sculpted with
would have been carried tucked a hard-piercing expression. He is a All said and done, the kit is very
in and around the model, which man that has lived a hard life and detailed and well sculpted. While
means there are details everywhere still has work to do. clean-up is required, it is not really
you look. I really like this. The that challenging and most parts will
water canteen, pistol, knife and a Assembly of the model is very be covered or hidden.
couple of satchels presumably for straight forward; all pieces have peg
bullets and provisions have all been joints which are shaped to help you
included. I feel this adds a lot of place them in the correct place and
character to the model. create a strong bond.
 Perchè: ”Tell me Why?”
painted by Mirko Cavalloni

A one piece unique, 60mm

scale scene made in 2012 in
collaboration with Alessandro
Bruni, who completely sculpted it
with putty, plasticard, plaster and
some small brass accessories for
candelabras.

My painting for this piece is done

entirely with acrylic.
98

If you are interested in a tutorial

on the elements that make up this
diorama, write me in a comment!

I think I don’t need to explain

anything, because the scene, full
of details, speaks alone - I will say
that no choice is at random. From
the representation of the painting
to the face of the statue of the
seraphim, each element has a
meaning that I leave you the
pleasure of interpreting.
99
 Montezuma - Aztec
Emperor
painted by Alessandro

Montezuma II or Montezuma
Shokojocin (1466 or 1467 - June
27, 1520) was the last emperor
of the Aztecs from 1502 from
the dynasty of Akamapichtli. In
1507, he was crowned as the
emperor of the world. He was
the sixth son of the Emperor
100

of Asyakatl. As the emperor,

Montezuma II stood at the head
of the Triple Alliance, which
apart from the Aztec Mexico City
(Tenochtitlana) included the city
of Akholkhua Teskoko and the
town of Tepanekov Tlakopan,
who had their own kings, the
vassal Aztecs.
101
 Nightcrawler
(aka Belpheegor)
painted by TheChromaticCircle

My last project. I finished it in

March, but after receiving some
feedback and taking a rest from it
for a while, finally I have finished
it recently. I am very proud of it,
as it is something different in my
way of painting. I really, really
enjoyed it, despite of the fact it is
102

an old model.
103
 Details
Price: £45/€50/$60
Scale: 1:24th (75mm)
Material: Resin

Available from

Terrible Kids Stuff

104

TKS’s Witch Hunter

Over this last year or so, I have struck up quite the
friendship with Terrible Kids Stuff (TKS) owner Vittorio
Maria Fenaroli. We often chat on Facebook messenger
about all things minis and MuMi.

While I was chatting to Vittorio one evening, I was

lucky enough to see a couple of sneak peeks of some
things coming soon. Well, one such model was the
Witch Hunter. When I saw it, I had one of those light
bulb moments and an idea of a scene sprang to mind.
Excitedly, I told Vittorio and happily he was just as
excited for me to do it. He offered to send me the model
early so I could start on it and hopefully have it ready for
Monte San Savino, but first I thought I would do a review
for you guys, as it’s a cracking bit of kit. ;)

OK, so what do we get?

Well, if you were lucky enough to get a Redd Wing not

so long ago, you will be familiar with this bigger type
of packaging with the art card. On the back shows the
number; this was number 14 of 100. It also gives us the
info that the concept was created by Danny Cruz and
Giorgio Bassani sculpted it. I also know that there will
be two studio versions of this figure. One version will be
painted by Marc Masclans and the alternate one done by
John Keys.

Let’s move on to what is inside. When I said this was

a cracking kit, I wasn’t joking; this model comes in no
less than 15 pieces. This includes
(amongst other things) a choice
of heads, extra weapons, a dead
Vampire and very nice bit of
scenery covered in skulls.

If you know TKS figures, you know

quality is one thing high on their list,
and this is no different. The casting
has been done by GRX as are most,
if not all, of the TKS figures. Looking
at the Witch Hunter first, he makes
up the bulk of the pieces, 11 in total.
Looking over the torso, there are
no mould lines or flash at all. There
is just a gate sprue to remove and
we are ready to move on. The
torso is so well detailed. He has
enough on him to deal with most
things this character would come to see no damage on the very the bottom of his coat, his shoulder
across. Stakes, a bottle (holy water delicate looking trigger guards, as guard and a bible, again all well
one would presume), various tools they are very tiny and fragile. On to detailed and there is actually a small
of torture to extract confessions the sprues, we get a large piece of piece of flash to remove from the

105
and little bags, maybe for herbs for
protection. And last but not least, a
massive cross for protection from
most evil. He is wearing what you
would assume is the correct attire
for a witch hunter, but of the time
around the 17th-century.

You get a choice of two heads, one

wearing the typical hat and one,
which is my favourite, with longer
hair and a slightly older looking
face. He comes with 3 weapons;
a sword, a bladed musket and a
long rifle that goes across his back.
On these weapons the only thing I
could find were the gates that need
removing. I was also really happy
106

inside of the coat! Lastly, we have

one small piece of coat and his bite
guard, again, with just the gates
to remove.

Next is the dead vampire. It comes

in 3 parts, all attached to one
sprue. Looking over it, there was
absolutely no prep to do apart from
removing it from the sprue and just
sticking it together —­ simple!

Again the detailing is nice and he

has a nicely muscular, but sinewy
body, looking slightly emaciated.
There is also a musket ball hole
in his chest, so we can guess
what killed it, or rather temporarily
paralysed it letting him get close
enough for the kill. The vampire is
well realised and is reminiscent of
the more bat looking form, rather
than the almost human form. I prefer
this, as it was one of my favourite
scenes from the 1992 film version of
Bram Stoker’s Dracula!
Last, but not least, is the base.

This is a single piece hefty chunk

of resin. It is adorned with lots of
skulls, presumable past victims
of the vampire. There is a space
where the vampire lays and a place
on either side where the witch
hunter’s feet will go. There were
a few small bits to remove around
the edge. Looking over it, there are
no bubbles and the skulls are well
detailed and to scale with the two
pieces, as you would hope.

Ok, let’s do my standard dry fit. You

can see the vampire fits nicely into
the space provided. The only thing I
would alter with my trusty hairdryer
is the legs, as mine didn’t quite
touch the floor, but this is no biggie.
It’s worth noting at this point that
if you use the head that has long

107
hair and no hat, you can’t fit the bite
guard. The witch hunter cuts an
imposing figure standing so upright
over his prey, but you get the sense
he isn’t resting on his laurels as his
gun looks trained on its next victim.
When built he is reminds me of a
cross between Vincent Price’s Witch
Finder General and Hugh Jackman’s
Van Helsing, which is a good mix
considering what this model is.

To date this is probably my 2nd

favourite model from TKS, number
one being firmly held by Redd Wing.
So, if you haven’t already, I would
recommend highly grabbing a copy
if there are any left. As I said, this is
strictly limited to 100 pieces and as
with other TKS pieces they can sell
out very quickly; and when they’re
gone, well they’re gone!
108

Hello, everyone. My name is Ángel Verdejo Olmeda. I am from

Valencia, Spain and I’m 40 years old. I began making models
from Rebel and Tamiya when I was 16 years old. After that, when I
was 20 I stepped into the wargaming world, playing Warhammer
Fantasy and later 40k. Painting has been the part of this hobby I
have liked the most, so a few years ago I decided to stop painting
for playing and start painting at a contest level.

For me, it is a dream that Figure Painter Magazine gives me the

opportunity to publish this article and I appreciate it very much.
It will consist of a little step by step of my last scene “Into the
Woods”, with which I won a silver prize in the standard category in
the last Ciudad de Leganés modelling contest.

The figure is a model from Terrible Kids Stuff, based on a concept

by Paul Bonner.

Paints Used
I always use acrylic paints; mainly Citadel, Vallejo Model Color,
ScaleColor and Jo Sonja. It always depending on the effect I want
to achieve. In this work, I have used all of them as you will see.
 109
perspective and decided to position ground for the scene, I pin it to the
The Base it in a diagonal position over the
piece of wood used as base for
base and with green stuff I amend
any imperfections and adjust the
One of the hardest parts when the scene. This also contributes to pieces I don’t really like. After that,
planning a scene is deciding its break the symmetry of the scene, I seal it all with a layer of Tamiya
composition; the piece of wood making it more natural. putty diluted with acetone. For this
I will use as a base, the figure step, you should use an old brush
position and the different elements After having decided the figure’s because it will suffer a lot.
that will take part on it. Making sure position and the composition of the
all of them are balanced, integrated
and make sense is the part that
takes most of the time I spend on a
project.

This time I used pinewood bark and

thyme root to represent the trees in
the woods.

I worked the figure position using

tack to search the position I liked
the most and to see how much
volume it will use on the base.
At the beginning, I thought of a
front position, but after seeing the
figure’s enormous nose I saw that
in a frontal position it lost all its
 I layered a generous amount of giving it a weighted sensation. I wrap around the scene. I am always
110

Milliput over the base and texture it also pinned the trees to the base, making sure everything works with
using a scourer. After that, I pressed integrated them with Milliput, added the figure in place.
the figure into its pinning position more thyme wood to simulate roots,
to plunge it a bit into the Milliput, in order to give the sensation they

I layered the trees with Tamiya I added some bushes using sea
putty just as I did with the base. I rod, fixing them in the Milliput
integrated it all using some more when it was still wet or using
Milliput, and adding some pebbles some cyanoacrylate.
and twigs.
 111
Let’s go for some mushrooms! 😉

As I have mentioned, I was a WFB player and my

favourite army has always been the Orks and Goblins, so
I cannot imagine a good goblin without mushrooms.

In this step, I have used two kinds of mushrooms, the

ones on the trees were modelled by me using green
stuff and the ones on the floor were part of an old GW
basing kit.
112

Green (also from Citadel and using I airbrushed the bushes with
Painting an airbrush). Castellan Green from Citadel,
highlighting it by adding a bit of
To begin the painting process, I I shaded the trees and the ground yellow.
primed the scene with Vallejo black in the scene using Vallejo’s black
primer with an airbrush and after primer with an airbrush over its Using a brush, I started shadowing
that pre-lighted it with Vallejo’s grey Tamiya putty layer. After that, it more using Brown Leather, Red
and white primers. I airbrushed all the scene with Leather and Black Leather from
Vallejo’s Model Air Sand Yellow, ScaleColor. After that I highlighted
I primed the goblin using an going to darker tones with Mud the trees a bit using Iroko from
airbrush with Warboss Green from Brown and Medium Brown from ScaleColor.
Citadel, highlighting it with Skarsnik Vallejo’s Model Air.
 113
I painted the cape separately, to a mixture adding Citadel’s Ushabti it, until getting almost black in the
have a better access to the inner Bone and white for the last lights. inner parts. For the lights, I added
parts of the figure. to the base colour Ushabti Bone
For the shadows, I used pure and white.
For the fur on the cape, I layered a black, adding some red tones later
base of Citadel’s Rhinox Hide, and using glazes.
highlighted it with Mournfang Brown
and a mix of Mournfang Brown and For the inner part of the cape, I
Tau Light Ochre, both of them from used Ungor Flesh as a first layer
Citadel. After that, I highlighted it that I shadowed using Tau Light
again with pure Tau Light Ochre and Ochre and adding Rhinox Hide to
114

I painted the goblin’s fur outfit exactly the same way as

the cape.

I started to apply shadows to the skin with Merm Green

from the ScaleColor’s Fantasy & Games series, adding
a bit of blue to intensify it and after that, adding a bit of
black to the mix.

I highlighted it using Slimer Green from the same range

of colours, adding some yellow to intensify the light.

Then I started to apply tones and glazes to the nose with

Citadel’s Evil Sunz Scarlet. The lower lip was painted
using Vallejo’s Violet Red and applying glazes with Jo
Sonja’s Brilliant Violet. I used the same technique for the
eye sockets, to represent the eye bags, and to the ear
tips adding some white.

I applied to the transition zones in the skin some soft

glazes using Jo Sonja’s Brilliant Violet.
 115
I liked the cane’s shape a lot, but for the wood grain. As you can
not its smooth texture, so I started see, I have used the same colours
sketching the wood grain using I used for the cape but with
freehand. I first started drawing different intensities.
some very soft lines using heavy
diluted black. After that, I used
Mournfang Brown to shade them
and a bit of Tau Light Ochre to
highlight them until Ushabti Bone,
achieving this way a sort of relief
116

For the sword handle, I used the I like working the leathers using
same colors as I did with the cane, Citadel and Vallejo paints, as they
but with a lower highlighting level are more satin than ScaleColor or
because the sword is much lower Jo Sonja which are more matt and
than the cane in the scene. achieving the effect of a worn and
polished leather will be a lot harder,
For the sword holster, I used a layer although you can always use
base of Leather Brown mixed with some inks.
Burnt Cadmium Red, both from
Vallejo. For the highlights, I used
a mixture adding Vallejo’s Orange
Brown, and Orange Brown with
Ushabti Bone for the last highlight. I
applied shadows using Rhinox Hide,
black glazes and some tones with
Violet Red.

For the hat, I used the same colours

and technique, but intensifying the
highlights to represent its higher
position on the scene.
 117
I decided to use non-metallic metals; for the silver parts
I used a base of Vallejo’s Neutral Grey, adding black for
the shadows and white for the lights, and some glazes in
blue using ScaleColor’s Sky Blue.

For the golden ones, I used a base of Snakebite Leather,

adding Bubonic Brown for the lights and pure white for
the maximum lights, and Rhinox Hide for the shadows
going to pure black. To smooth the transition zones, I
used Vallejo’s Smoke.

For the bones, I used ScaleColor’s Rainy Gray and Brown

Gray, adding pure white for the lights and a dark brown
tone for the shadows.

For the horns I used a base of Rainy Gray with some

pure white for the highlights, some light shadows with
Brown Gray and adding some black to intensify the
shadows. To the horn tips I applied some black glazes,
and some white stripes to add texture.
118

I wanted to break the monotony of the greens and

browns on the scene, so the pine bark representing
stone was painted using Cantabric Blue, shadowing the
deepest parts in black and highlighting with Caribbean
Blue and a mixture with white to achieve the higher
lights. I applied some glazes using Boreal Tree Green. All
these colours are from ScaleColor.

I continued applying shadows to the trees using

ScaleColor’s Brown Leather, shadowing with black and
highlighting with ScaleColor’s Iroko. I added glazes using
greens, oranges and fuchsia.
At this point, I started adding moss
and vegetation to the scene.

For the different moss types on the

trees and over the floor, I used the
Landscape’s moss kit.

The rest of the vegetation is

formed from a mixture of different
references from MiniNatur.

For the leaves on the treetops,

I used reference 936-32.1:45+. I
pinned to the trees some strips I
obtained cutting a squared metal
mesh into the shape I liked, to
simulate little branches and add
volume to the trees. I covered them
with a layer of Tamiya putty and
painted them with a dark green. I
painted some leaves using a lighter
green or an orange, to achieve
contrast, but always checking the

119
result of the global composition.

I keep adding vegetation to the

base, bushes with flowers which is
the 726-32.s.1:45+ reference, with
red and white flowers. For the ones
with the yellow flowers, I combined
two references; for the body I used
926-22 which I airbrushed with a
lighter green, and added branches
with leafs from reference 910-
33.S.1:45+.

The grass is Army Painter swamp

tuft-6mm, airbrushed with
ScaleColor’s Irati Green.

I checked the figure’s position,

adding grass and flock to simulate
the goblin’s steps over the grass.
 The Nameplate
I love adding little signs to all my
compositions, even integrated some
way into the scene, because I think
it helps to understand the story you
want to tell.

I made a rectangle using Super

Sculpey, stretched it and wrap its
border as if it was a cover. After
cutting out the excess, I started
detailing it. Using a knife, I cut
multiple stripes on the side to
simulate the book pages, the book
mold and with more Super Sculpey
the corners and plates on the book
mold. I smoothed it using a silicon
brush and sculptor Vaseline. After
baking it, I smoothed it using a fine
sanding paper.
120

I painted it the same way I did with

the leathers in the figure, but adding
more Tau Light Ochre to the mix.
The same for the metals.

When I placed the book on the

composition I did it a little crooked,
as it seemed more natural, just like
if someone had left it on the table.

And that’s all folks! I hope you have

enjoyed it.

Greetings and enjoy this hobby!

121
 Details
Price: €60
Scale: 1:9th
Material: Resin

Available from

Dolman Miniatures
122

Dolman Miniature’s King Under the Mountain

King Under the Mountain is a bust in 1/9 scale that
comes in a jam packed clam shell blister. The multipart
bust arrives in a couple of zip bags protected by
several layers of bubble wrap. The packaging leaves no
possibility of parts getting damaged during transport and
even the 10cm white metal blade arrived straight and
without any bends.
It’s a 13 piece model with 4
pieces cast in resin while 9
are white metal that represent
Thorin from the Hobbit movies
(I say movies, because he
is modelled after the actor
Richard Armitage). Torso, head
and both arms are cast in resin
while both hands, the blade
and several braids are white
metal casts.

Immediately upon inspection

you can see that the original
is a 3D digital sculpt, as some
of the details are not that
crisp (which can best be seen
on the fur and the dwarven
bracers where the engravings
are not really sharp). This fact
is visible on both the resin and
metal parts.

123
While the cast is good, in
some places there is evidence
of excess material left over
from the castings, both in the
vent holes and where the two
halves of the mould meet.

All this being said, the pieces

still snugly fit each other. The
connectors (pins) are well
designed, which will enable a
rather fast assembly time.

The impressive size of the bust

will provide the painter with
some nice surfaces to express
himself/herself, especially on
the sleeves and the face. The
fact that the hair has limited
texture will also enable the
painter to practice his skills.

To sum up, although this bust

is a pricey one, I would highly
recommend it. However, if
the price is too steep for
you, Dolman Miniatures has
recently put out a smaller (1/16
scale) bust called Dwarven
King that is based on this bust.
The only difference (apart from
the size) is the helmet, which is
featured on the smaller one.
124

Iwata Workstation Range

If you’re like me and prefer your painting desk tidy, at
least once in a while, then the new Iwata Work Station
range of products are perfect for you. Back in the day,
when I started this hobby, I just had a few paints, a brush
and high hopes that I would one day be able to turn out
miniatures like Mike McVey. Today, my paint room looks
more like an alchemist’s lab, with bottles, tubes and the
various other equipment I need littering the work surface
of my paint desk. What takes up most of the room is my
airbrush equipment. 3 brushes, a compressor, brush pot
and brush holder, not to mention the various chemicals
I need to clean the airbrushes after use. Well, Iwata has
thought of this and come up with a cool solution to some
of the problems faced by everyone needing all of these
items--the new Iwata Work Station range.

The range consists of three stand-alone products that all

do their job extremely well, but when used in conjunction,
build up a workstation that saves us a lot of space. It
stops things from slipping around and possible breaking
and also is good for storing our airbrushes when they are
not in use.
 Details
Price: £29.95
Features: Non-skid pot sleeve
Easy to clean

Available from

airbrushes.com

safe, has a non-slip sleeve. My old

pot used to slip around and wasn’t
too stable when I had an airbrush

125
stored in the top. This one, with
the soft plastic sleeve doesn’t slip
around at all. Also included is the
First up is the Iwata Universal inhaling the atomised AB cleaner universal airbrush holder. Unlike
Spray Pot (IWCL-300). This comes isn’t the best idea, the pot is an other holders, this works well with
in a nice yellow and black box and essential piece of kit. Once it’s all all types of airbrushes; trigger,
inside it is well packed to protect it out, you’ll find all the accessories gravity feed, mac (pac) valve, side
from breaking. Its primary use is for inside the pot itself. The first thing feed and bottom feed airbrushes
when you’re cleaning your airbrush; you’ll notice is that the glass, which all fit and are held snugly in place.
it prevents overspray and since is shatter proof and dishwasher The two arms are also flexible,
so you can bend them in to suit
your own needs. Also included is
a steadying handle which is useful
when the pot is being used on its
own. It stops the pot from tipping
over when you have a connected
airbrush resting in it. The pot also
comes with two spare filters and a
spare nozzle holder just in case the
original breaks or gets lost. Also on
top of the filter is a small tray which
is handy to store any small parts,
like the airbrush cap while you’re
spraying.
 Details
Price: £29.95
Features: Fits all types of airbrushs
Heavy duty clamp

Available from

airbrushes.com

Next up is the Iwata Universal

Airbrush Holder (IWA-AH-400). This
piece needs some easy assembly,
but once installed and used as
a stand-alone piece, is a strong,
robust and secure way to store
your brushes when they’re not in
126

use. There is a right way for the

hangers to be installed, so you’ll
need to check the instructions on
this. The heavy duty clamp can be

used on thick table tops and once

tight won’t move at all, making sure
your preciouses (the collective name
for your airbrushes), are kept safe
and sound. Like the Universal Spray
Pot, the Universal Holder stores any
type of airbrush and again, can be
modified to suit your own needs.

Also included with the hanger

is a bracket that can be used to
secure the Universal Spray Pot (by
replacing the steadying handle).
Also included in the package
is a small screw that is used in
conjunction with the Iwata Filter/
Regulator.
 Details
Price: TBA
Features: Desktop pressure control
Moisture trap

Available from

TBH

127
Lastly is the third part that makes the smallest of droplets and stops All of the items work well on their
up the complete Iwata Workstation your paint from splattering on your own, but together form a very
Range. The Iwata Filter/Regulator. model. secure and stable workstation.
I haven’t gotten my hands on this They might be a little bit expensive
accessory because it’s not available It connects to the bracket of the but working in tandem together
(yet), but I can’t wait. My compressor Universal Airbrush Holder with the they’re a lot cheaper than having to
is under my painting desk, so it’s screw mentioned above and I feel is constantly buy replacement parts for
annoying when I have to keep an essential piece of kit to optimise airbrushes that have dropped onto
stooping down to alter the pressure. the way I airbrush. the floor (trust me I know). Keep an
This, connected to airflow on your eye out for the Workstation logo for
compressor, acts as an extension at Also in this package is some PTFE parts that work in this range.
desk level where you can regulate tape to make sure all the seals are
the airflow with accuracy and properly airtight and some thread
ease. It also has a built in (5 micron converters so all the popular hose
filter) moister trap that collected diameters fit.
 Details
Price: 38€
Scale: 1/10th
Material: Resin

Available from

Hera Models
128

Hera Model’s Durgar the Blacksmith

A few months ago, Hera Models released its new bust,
Durgar the Blacksmith, the fifth of his regular series.

The company is owned by the talented and well known

Diego Esteban Perez, who has chosen as his subject a
very classic character from the fantasy world: a dwarf
warrior.

When we look at such classic characters, obviously we

compare them to our idea of them… how we imagine
they should appear, as well as how other famous
companies, or illustrators, film makers, etc, have already
portrayed them. It’s far from easy to handle such
characters without risking a fall into something already
seen and miss the “wow effect”.

So, what’s the main feature such a “new dwarf” should

have to hit the market and let everybody say “I want it!”?
In my humble opinion, it’s all about feelings. Actually,
being this miniature is a bust, well, the feelings it has to
transmit are always the most important thing.

I believe this dwarf gets the point because his austere

facial expression invokes more feelings than a
determined and evident expression or an act like yelling
or growling, whatever, can do.
Most of all, these veiled feelings
can be interpreted by the painter
depending on what mood he wants
the bust to express. Despite all
the reasons I told you, if this bust
pushes me to paint it following the
sensations he transmit to me… well,
there are not hundreds of other
dwarves already painted that can
stop me from painting one more.
For me, this is the strongest feature
a model can have: to challenge me
to express myself into an idea or a
feeling through painting.

Does this bust transmit to me this

sensation? Hell, yes!

Let’s talk now about Durgar himself

on how Hera Models introduces him
to us.

This resin bust comes in 3 parts: the

129
whole bust in one piece and 2 hair
options. Indeed, there are three hair
options, because I consider the bald
version another convincing solution.

The bust comes in a sturdy

cardboard box, sealed and covered
with a Hera Models logo. Inside
the box, two thick layers of foam
keep the resin parts steady and
safe. Again, as usual for Hera
Models, I found inside a poker card
personalized with the character’s
concept art.

The overall quality of the bust is

amazing. When I saw it for the first
time, I thought it was much bigger
than it really is. The mould quality
and the level of detail on the face
suggested to me a bigger scale;
however, this bust is only 45mm
tall, which makes me appreciate are pretty good. The options include ourselves if we want. It presents,
the beautiful box art much more. a crest or a tail, which can both in a small space, many materials
The mould is perfect and there is change the final look of your dwarf to practice on: skin, “fur”, leather,
nothing to sand off. You should, in a lot…both in mood and in age. This metals and fabrics.
case you choose one of the hair point is another good quality about
options, just sand a bit his head in how the bust can have much more My opinion about this bust is pretty
order to glue it easier. versatility than I expected. clear, I guess; no more words are
needed.
Both the hair options, however, In the end, I would also consider
will need a bit of cleaning work. how much Durgar could be a I hope you will agree with me and
There are a few thin films of resin to didactic model over being already admire many of Durgars painted all
remove, but the pieces themselves a fun paint and a challenge to over the world.
 Gate47 by Jim Brown
130
Beauty and the Beast
by Juan Ignacio Corujo

131
Gwalchmai’s Revenge
by Graham Rich
 by Kenny Hibberds
132

by Javier Garcia Patient Zero Sculpted & painted

by Daniel Rezende
Hurricane, Cygnar Colossal
by Guillaume Juneau

133