Its been an exciting and nerve-wracking week but ultimately I have some major progress to show off this time around. I somehow powered through painting the back of the Elf’s torso which was daunting because I had to glaze the other side of the cloak. Thankfully, the cloak didn’t take too long. I don’t know that the colors on the back perfectly match the front but I did the best I could in a reasonable amount of time (between 5-10 hours). After polishing off the rest of the details on the back, I thought, why not varnish this and get it on the elk? I was anxious to see how it would all fit together as I knew that this was going to be the most important and trickiest part of this model to assemble. So I somewhat foolishly went ahead and gave it a try!
My concern was the area where I had to pin the torso was somewhat altered from the super glue that dried around where I drilled it and I couldn’t “fix” it. It made the fit with the leg much harder than it should have been. My first attempt to glue it together did not go well. The super glue didn’t bond and I could tell that the elf wasn’t situated correctly. The elf needs to be just right because the elk’s head actually connects to one of the arms of the elf. In other words, this is an incredibly fiddly model as GW seems to make these days. I was starting to get nervous because in my experience you have two chances to get a model to come together properly. If you fail a second time, the glue has usually messed things up and the quality of the mini is going to suffer to try any further. I couldn’t let that happen with this mini, not after spending three months on it!
Thankfully, my determination to get it right paid off and it came together on the second attempt. A few painted parts got roughed up and I had to touch up some stuff but all in all, it looks pretty darn good. Here’s a look after that long preamble!
I’m not one to pat myself on the back too much but I think this is really looking magnificent now. It honestly looks better than I ever expected when I started this project.
On a similar note, when I was painting the back, I noticed this tiny, tiny gem below a phoenix emblem. While normally, that kind of thing terrifies me, this particular time, I wanted to tackle the challenge head on. It took a couple of tries and adjustments but I actually managed to paint the ridiculously small thing! When I finished, I couldn’t help but smile. If I can handle this, then the rest of this mini will hopefully be academic. I also can’t tell you how many times I have been thankful to have good “close up” vision. It is so helpful when painting minis and I can’t imagine having to wear a huge magnifying visor to do what I love.
Moving on from the elf briefly, I am happy to report that I made my first eBay sale as I start to reduce my earthly possessions a bit and hopefully simplify my life in the process. Ironically, it is a book for a hobby I’m not getting rid of anytime soon which is miniature painting. I bought Dioramas F.A.Q. a number of years ago and while the book is well done, I never found the tutorials super helpful because it is really focused on historical dioramas (mostly WW2). The fact that Youtube offers so many helpful tutorials also takes away from the book’s value a bit too. So I knew it was time to move it on and someone snapped it up after a week on eBay. Not bad!
Finally, my brother has been out of town so we haven’t been able to play Lord of the Rings Online together so to make up for not having a video game to play (my Playstation 4’s controller is drifting badly and they are impossible to buy online thanks to the pandemic), I played Arkham Horror: The Card Game quite a bit this week. My Dunwich Legacy campaign ended poorly with a cult summoning an old god and destroying the earth but I had a blast playing it and can’t wait to get some more games in soon. I will certainly get some articles written and published about the game soon because it is such good fun to play. Between Arkham and painting, I’ve certainly been enjoying my freetime whenever I can get it.
Kuribo's Painting 
That is indeed stunningly magnificent work. On the path for a Golden Demon award in my opinion.
As a hobbyist with once brilliant but now failing eyesight I can tell you painting with a visor is annoying. Revel in your ability mate!
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Thanks, mate! That is very kind of you to say. I can only imagine how wearing a visor is. I will rue the day when I have to wear one but I imagine that it is all but inevitable one of these days…
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Jaw-dropping! Truly magnificent! A stunning model too, as someone who doesn’t usually like the aesthetic of Warhammer, this model actually looks really nice.
Arkham Horror: The Card Game is such a great game, even if things go horribly wrong. I’ve had my investigators permanently die during campaigns and it only added to the theme and the story! I’ve been wanting to get a new campaign going for some time now, but currently still too busy with work, the house and the Lord of the Rings campaign.
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Thanks, mate! 😀 I’m really glad to hear you’re liking it and I couldn’t agree more on this being one of the better Warhammer sculpts. I don’t paint many so I try to go with only the best!
I had a great time playing Arkham even with losing near the end of the campaign. I feel like I’m starting to learn how to build decks on my own so I’m excited to play more soon. I think I’m going to start a new campaign tomorrow, in fact 🙂 I hope you’re able to get some games in soon!
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This is just stunning, absolutely stunning. All the hours you’ve put into this have been totally worth it to produce this magnificent model. The highlighting and shading are wonderfully subtle and bring the whole thing to life. Feel free to pat yourself on the back as much as you want, you deserve it 🙂
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There are times where I question putting so much time into a single project so I really appreciate your kind words! Here’s to hoping I can finish the rest of this project strongly 🙂
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The elf is really coming together now Jeff, good to hear you got the torso stuck on the second attempt, as it would have been such a shame to have a bad fit after all the work you’ve put in.
Great that you’ve started your clearout, and managed your first sale, and that you’ve been getting some gaming in as well.
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Cheers, Dave! Disaster was averted but only just. As usual, I’m trying to do too many things at once but it feels good to make some progress on each of those tasks at the same time.
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I have to agree with you, it looks magnificent.
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Thanks, mate!
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Just to add to what others have said – Magnificent!
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Thanks, Bret! 🙂
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Glad you managed to overcome the assembly as it’s often the worst bit as far as I am concerned, all to often I get glue everywhere! As to the figure itself you have every right to pat yourself on the back, a truly excellent piece of work and your patience certainly paid off. 🙂
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You and I seem to assemble models in a similar fashion. I can confirm there is plenty of cursing when I’m assembling too! Thanks for the kind words as always, mate 🙂
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I can’t really add anything that’s not already been said about the elf! 🙂 Really does look excellent!
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Thanks, John! Its always good to know you’re on the right track. And truthfully, it can be hard to comment on something really nicely done because usually people have already said it six different ways before you got there and you’re stuck trying to come with the seventh way to say it 🙂
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Even though I’d skipped ahead and looked at the pictures before reading the text so I knew it would all turn out ok in the end I still had my heart in my mouth reading about the assembly stage. Modern GW models are tricky enough to assemble unpainted, let alone when they’re painted and looking good enough for a Golden Daemon. Just assemble the rest of the damn thing, I’m not sure I can handle the stress! 😉
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Haha, cheers mate! Assembling it with painted pieces is absolutely nerve wracking and not something I enjoy doing. At the same time, there is almost no choice because these models are so intricate and if you don’t do that, you won’t be able to paint every little detail nicely. It is a real pain and it makes me look forward to painting some simple infantry models when I get done with this project 🙂
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Magnificent painting, I think that you have every right to pat yourself on the back for this. I am looking forward to each future installment of this WIP series.
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Thanks, mate! I’m glad I haven’t bored you yet 🙂 Sometimes I get tired of looking at this same mini but I know it is in the name of progress in the end.
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Jeff you continue to amaze. This is spectacular.
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You’re too kind, Mark! I’m really glad to hear that you like it and hopefully you won’t mind a few more updates before this project is well and truly finished.
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It’s really a work of art.
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That is exactly what I’ve been going for so I’m glad to hear you think so!
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Wow man this is absolutely exquisite. You are very, very talented. I love your attention to detail. The only time I get nervous when it comes to painting things is when I’m doing the eye. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this hobby of ours is an extreme sport! Good job on the book sale too. De-cluttering is good fit the soul.
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Cheers, mate! The eyes are difficult to be sure. One of the hardest parts, I’d say. It feels good to de-clutter though there is a lot more to go before I can say that I’ve reduced what I own much so I can’t be patting myself on the back too hard yet!
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Can only reiterate what everyone else is saying Jeff, absolutely stunning!
Man, that must have been a bum squeaky time assembling it!
Extend the right arm, bend at the elbow, and give yourself one well deserved pat on the back… but not too many, you have to save something for when its complete😉
I see your venture into AH was as to be expected, with the end of the world – all the Arkham Files are great games, but I seldom win any of them!
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Cheers, mate! It was nerve-wracking but I had something not very pleasant happen today. I guess I should save it for my next update but let’s just say I was even more nervous than before… I think I better refrain from patting myself on the back until I finish this project at this point is all I can say!
Losing to the ancient gods is no surprise, innit? 😀 I actually went back and played the first campaign and was pleasantly surprised when I beat the last scenario using decks I built myself. I’m feeling quite chuffed about that and love the game even more, I think 😀
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Sorry to be missing for a bit. Trying to catch up. The details on the figure are indeed wonderful and it’s a very complicated set of armor made awesome looking. 😀
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No worries, Stew! I hope you were away because you got moved okay but I guess I’ll have to keep checking your site to find out! Thanks for the kind words as always, my friend 😀
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