I have mostly been working on a single miniature this week and while I’ve made some good progress, it wouldn’t really make for an interesting update so I thought I’d tackle a topic that I don’t talk about or show off very much on my site. I’ve had the idea of exploring this for a little while and something else happened this week that made this the perfect topic. So let’s take a look at some notable hobby failures I’ve had and what I learned from them.
One night this week, I happened to look at the diorama base in between applying paints and thought the rug was “warping” (something I am a bit concerned about with how soft the plastic is). It turns out that it wasn’t so much warping as the glue was holding it down anymore. I pulled the rug off the base without even trying. Not good. I then tested the wooden planks and two of those popped off two. Even worse! Truthfully, I cannot remember whether I used wood glue or super glue on either part. I decided to give the base a bath since it is resin which I should have done from the beginning (hobby failure number one!) just to be safe and then I’ll try to superglue the planks back on soon. I want to try and get some more of the glue off the wooden parts so I can attempt to reglue the rug on as well. I’m hoping that super glue will hold that down better and that I can then get everything back to where it was. I am obviously a bit concerned about this as gluing and assembly is part of the diorama that I was hoping would be pretty easy. I’d really hate to have put this much time in the dio and have it not come together but I’m refusing to believe that that outcome is very likely at his point. I’ll let you know how I get on with this once I have had a chance to work on it further. Its on my to-do list this weekend.
So that is my recent hobby failure. Let’s look at some less recent ones and talk about what went wrong there and what I learned. Next up is Arwen and truthfully, I cannot remember why I bought this miniature. There is another Arwen sculpt in resin instead of metal which is much higher quality and has a better likeness to Liv Tyler than this original one but for whatever reason, I decided I wanted to paint her in a color scheme that is a bit different than in the movie.
While it was a good idea, I didn’t get very far unfortunately and I quickly learned why most people paint the other sculpt for painting competitions Golden Demon. This is a really old metal sculpt that came out when Fellowship of the Ring did and it really lacks detail in the robes. The face is off and those cheekbones are a nightmare to paint correctly. Even worse are the eyes which looked bug-eyed sadly after I attempted 3-4 times to get them right and I just couldn’t do it. I think the reason for this is that the eyes are poorly sculpted which doesn’t give you much of a guide to painting them correctly. I learned a valuable lesson from this mini that you need to paint on a nice canvas to get your best work. While I don’t want to blame the sculpt exclusively, I set myself up for a difficult task and my abilities at the time were not up to it. I think I could do a lot better on the robes, for example, if I painted this now but I have absolutely no desire to do anything with this sculpt and should probably give it to someone who might enjoy painting and owning it (after they strip the poor job I’ve done).
That one was an obvious failure but the next one is a little less obvious. A while back I painted this lady who I am still proud of.
I had some big plans for her as well. What I wanted to do was paint her mirror and husband and then create a kind of diorama of sorts. Unfortunately, the project has stalled and has since been cancelled. The first thing that went wrong was painting Celeborn just did not come together like Galadriel did unfortunately. Let’s start with his face which has pretty tiny eyes and I could not get the two of them to match up very well which annoys me every time I see him. Getting the eyes right is just one of those things you have to do if you want to have a nicely painted mini.
The eyes alone didn’t stop me from working on this guy though. I put a fair bit of time into the back of the mini and his hair as well. The hair is by far the nicest part which I think looks very realistic and elven. Unfortunately, I do not like how his cloak has turned out and I don’t really know what to do with it to fix it.
I actually consulted with my painting friend on the robes and he suggested that I crank up the “edge” highlights and while I don’t think they look terrible, I just don’t like how they look, especially compared to how Galadriel’s are. They were a bit less noticeable before I took this advice but even then, I still didn’t like how it looked. It might be because I’m not that comfortable or knowledgeable about the specific shades of blue I used. That can make things difficult for you as well at times. Once I realized how stumped I was on Celeborn, I stopped with this project.
It might be just as well because my idea was to finish him and the mirror and then buy this MDF kit from TTCombat to make a kind of diorama with it.
I had this idea before I realized that I have some storage/space issues so I think making something like this just for this display (when I don’t even have space to display it in the first place) was deeply flawed. At some point, I realized an even bigger issue. Even if I did all this and made it look great, I think properly lighting the scene of Galadriel and Celeborn under the pavilion to get a good picture would very, very tough with the fact that the top of the pavilion lets in no light. So you’d have to work the light in on the sides which I don’t think would look that great or at least not to the level I would want after putting in all of that work. So in that sense, I think this project was unfortunately somewhat doomed from the start. Certainly well before I ran into trouble with Celeborn.
So what did I learn from this hobby failure? Make sure you really think through your diorama ideas to make sure they’re a good idea. This plan had a lot of flaws in it and even if Celeborn and the mirror got done (which was unlikely because every time I look at it and I want to put it away and not paint it), I think it ultimately would not have been the level of success that I originally envisioned and hoped for. So I really encourage you to think through projects as much as you can before starting them. I don’t have regrets that this one didn’t turn out. I think it actually taught me some valuable lessons and I’m still really pleased with how Galadriel looks so I got something positive out of it as well but it could have easily been a bigger time and money sink before I realized its flaws.
I hope you got something positive out of reading this article and I think it can be liberating to own hobby mistakes and put some thought into why they occurred and how you can improve in the future. Not unlike the plot in the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings, our hobby paths are a long-term journey and the setbacks don’t define us, unless we give up and let them. Ultimately, if a project fizzles out, there is often a newer and better one that emerges and we can later be proud of when it ends in success.
Kuribo's Painting 
An interesting read, Jeff! 🙂 We all have little mishaps from time to time! One thing I do when using superglue is to always stick bare metal/plastic/resin/whatever surfaces together, never painted surfaces – I’m assuming that the glue bond is stronger than the paint bond in doing this!
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Thanks, John! We learn more from failures than our successes I think 🙂 I think that’s a great tip about gluing things unpainted as well. If I remember right, that’s also really true with plastics. If you use plastic glue on painted pieces, it won’t work as well because the glue basically melts the plastic together. Between the two of us, I bet we could put together a handy guide on gluing! 😀
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“Make sure you really think through your diorama ideas to make sure they’re a good idea.” This, a thousand times this. I have had a lot of ideas that once I start them realize that they won’t work or won’t work the way I visualize them. That is why I have a box of failed projects/bits. It also matters where you are going to place the diorama – on a shelf with books behind them look different than on a shelf by themselves.
Regarding Arwen, that is an awkward pose to begin with. You could always strip it and use it to try color combinations on.
Sorry about the glue, I keep thinking I should keep a journal on what glue/paints/bases I use when I do figures/terrain. I usually get another figure in a range and can’t think what paints I used the first time for the rest of them.
For your diorama in process, I hope you spend the time to try different settings on the rug before you glue them down. To tell you the truth, I am concerned about the addition of the chair. I don’t know what else you are having on the rug but I feel three solid pieces might be too much. I agree that it needs an odd number of pieces (something my wife has drilled into my head that odd numbers are better) but the solid piece might distract from the characters, maybe something smaller than the chair? Just my two cents worth. Again, I don’t know the proportions of the chair to the figures so I could just be way off on how it will look.
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I don’t have a spot to display this diorama in my current apartment but I will definitely try and find a place in the next place I live. I doubt I will put it on a shelf because I know it will get dusty that way so I’ll hopefully have a case for it and other dioramas I work on in the future.
I’ve been able to reglue the wooden parts to the base successfully so I think I just goofed up and used the wrong glue. I’ll stick with superglue from here on out on the dio!
For the current dio, it will have four things on it which does break the rule of making things odd (unless the rug counts as 5!). It will have The Master and Alfrid and then the chair in the back and then a smaller item that is the main focus of the piece. When I get a little further along, I’ll post a picture of what I have planned even though it will probably make seeing the final result a bit less exciting. The shape of the diorama is going to be odd since it is so narrow but I tested it out with all of the items I intend to use for it and I think it looked pretty good with everything unpainted so I’m optimistic we’ll like the results when done!
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Sounds like you have everything under control (of course you do), should have just kept quiet until you had finished everything – please no more spoilers – make us wait until you are ready to show off the final scene.
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We’ll see how under control it is soon! All this talk about the diorama makes me want to get back to work on it so maybe I’ll do that this week once I get this super mutant done 🙂
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First I wanted to say I love the effect you’ve gotten on Galadriel’s hair, it looks amazing!
I think with diorama’s and modelling in general there’s a ‘sometime you win, sometimes you learn’ theme to it where there’s always something you would do differently today. Terrain storage is an issue I’m facing too as I get through my collection, and I haven’t found a good permanent solution yet!
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Thanks Dave! I tried to make her hair look as realistic as I could so I’m really glad to hear you like it 🙂
I couldn’t agree more about sometimes you win and sometimes you learn. It does make the wins really satisfying when you achieve them too. I’m sorry to hear you’re suffering from the same lack of storage problem as well. If I find any magic solutions to it, I’ll be sure and share 🙂
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Nice read. I do think it can b beneficial to discuss our mistakes and what we learn from them; if anything to help others along the way. I usually discuss my mistakes in a tongue in cheek way the RARE times that I make them. 😀
The glue on the Dio pieces coming off is such a strange problem to have. It’s just hard to fathom how that came about. I’ve made some large terrain pieces using normal tacky glue that haven’t come apart like that. I don’t really have a solution to fix it, except maybe be more generous in your application.
Again, I enjoyed reading the post. 😀
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Haha, I would agree with the tongue in cheek part 😉 That is part of the charm of your website!
It really surprised me initially that the glue was that weak. I bet I used wood glue on everything and I should have known better than that. Resin always requires super glue and it wouldn’t have hurt at all to use superglue on the plastic and wood. I have the diorama mostly straightened out as we speak and I’ll superglue the rug back on and hopefully will be back in business 🙂
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An interesting topic and yet again I agree with you. I hope you eventually you get a place with an abundance of storage and display space so you can let your imagination run wild on the hobby.
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Thank you as always! 🙂 While I would love to have lots of space, even I will admit that the Lothlorien idea would have been pretty wasteful of space since I wouldn’t use that piece for gaming anytime soon. So in the case of that project, it definitely worked out for the best.
That isn’t to say I don’t want more room for Hobbit Holes and lots of larger houses for Fallout though 🙂
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In the early days we would all marvel at our own stuff but as we improve we look back with nostalgia or horror at our past work. The higher the bar we set ourselves in the pursuit of perfection the more every minor error becomes unacceptable. The danger is frustration sets in and the hobby stops becoming fun. I guess what I am saying is don’t reach that point by getting to hard on yourself and stay focused on enjoying the hobby.
Dioramas as you are learning are something else entirely. In time you will know what instinctively works for you. Photos and photography composition is a good place to start, for example the rule of thirds. As for space it is a problem for us all and magic really is the only solution!
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I appreciate your perspective and advice as always, TIM! I think there is a danger that seeking perfection can ruin your enjoyment of the hobby. That is why I enjoy painting for gaming. I always try to paint things to my best ability but if it doesn’t turn out, I’m still going to use the mini on the tabletop so it is not a huge problem or disappointment. When you’re painting strictly for a diorama or competition though, things can get frustrating very quickly and I think I’ve learned how better to manage that but only time will tell!
Those are good tips and I have a book by AK Interactive that talks about diorama composition that I should review. This one might break some rules but I think/hope it will be worth it in the end. We shall see!
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Good luck getting everything glued back together, I’m sure it’s well within your abilities to get it sorted – but what a faff for you all the same! Good points regarding the hobby failures, they happen to us all and so long as we learn from them and don’t get discouraged it’s not the end of the world (the man who never made a mistake never made anything as they say). The one that always sticks in my mind is testing that you’ve got the right spray can before you point it at a miniature. Not one that happened to me but a mate’s brother – went to spray his entire army with what he thought was varnish, turned out to be white primer. Oops! Think my worst personal screw up was knackering the shoulder pad of my Chaos Knight but the real mistake wasn’t so much the damage to the model as much as allowing it to put me off from working on it again for years.
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Regluing stuff is definitely a pain and humbling at the same time. Persistence is a good trait to have for the reasons you highlighted as well. I could be accused of lacking persistence because I gave up on all of the projects I wrote about in this article for various reasons except for the diorama. With that said, I think misadventures spraying are by far the worst thing that can happen to you. If you get frosting while varnishing, that is absolutely devastating too. It completely ruins paint jobs just like spraying primer did for your friend’s brother and then you have to start all over. I feel sorry for that guy and I wouldn’t blame him if we quit the hobby after that 😦 It had to have been so demoralizing!
On a more positive note, I’m glad that you got the Chaos Knight done in spite of the adversity. In many ways, that makes it an even more impressive accomplishment! 🙂
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A great post Jeff! I have to agree with all the comments from the lads, I feel that some dios are not meant to be! I have had a few and I realized after I binned them that my heart wasn’t really in it from the start, bad planning!
Galadriel is so good, shes green, my favorite colour so I would have put more effort into her than Celeborn , I don’t like blue unless its a very dark navy or turquoise thus anything in between generally turns out pretty average as I don’t put the same amount of energy int it if that makes sense.
Johns on the money, bare on bare,I learnt that one early even though I sometime fail to take my own advice, just goes to show one might get older but not wiser !!! One thing that I have mastered though is to superglue my fingers together,so much so that I now buy glue remover just in case I cant use the scalpel! The strange thing is mate they only sell it in the tiniest tubes!
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Thanks, Pat! I couldn’t agree more that sometimes diorama ideas just don’t pan out the way we want. I do think you get better at taking ideas and creating them as you get more experience as I’ve improved in that regard quite a bit over time.
Thanks for the kind words on Galadriel. I was very proud of her at the time and still think she is one of my better Lord of the Rings minis. Not gluing myself to myself is one of the few hobby mistakes I’ve yet to make. I’m hoping I can avoid it but I reckon its only a matter of time! 😀
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