It has been a really up and down couple of weeks on the Blood Elf Project. I’ve made really steady progress on it and can see the end (finally) but there were some really big mishaps along the way. First, let’s take a look at something that came together smoothly. This back-piece was easy to paint and while I don’t look forward to assembling it as it doesn’t seem to fit where it is supposed to all that well, I’m glad it is done and looking nice. The big gem came out nicely and honestly, the bigger they are, the harder they are to paint. It takes a lot of extra work to make them look smooth where small ones don’t need that extra care.
With that out of the way, I focused on the scabbard, reins, and “elk” head. Many of these pieces were harder to paint than I would have liked because of they weren’t easy to glue on a base and paint separately. This mini is kind of a nightmare to hold even using a paint handle because it is so tall and its hard to find steady places to hold it and paint whatever you need reach.
A couple of disasters occurred during this process as well. First was that I took the mini out of the paint handle but set it on top (which was a big mistake) and I tried to pick it up as if it was secured in the handle and it took a tumble straight off my desk! This has happened to numerous Fallout minis and none of them have broken, but unfortunately, the blood elves’ reins and cape came off. It was devastating at first, because I was sure that I had ruined this project but once I calmed down and looked over things more carefully, I realized that I could salvage everything but only just. I had to touch up a number of things which wasn’t fun but I think all things considered, you wouldn’t know that I had dropped the thing and nearly ruined it. I am going to try to be much more careful with it going forward as you can imagine!
The next setback was trying to assemble the horns and headpiece on the elk. I barely got the horns in their slot and they’re not really assembled as well as they should be unfortunately. It was so frustrating and stressful. I had painted parts of the horns better and then messed those up with glue during this process. I repainted the lines in the horns but I don’t think they look as good as what I had done previously. Games Workshop really makes fiddly models and while they look amazing, the assembly is awful when you’re trying to paint at a high level. It makes me a little scared to take on more projects like this in the future though it is hard to resist Games Workshop’s products at the same time.
Regardless of all that drama, here is what the Blood Elf looks like now.
I nearly forgot. My mate, who always helps with painting questions and issues I run into suggested I try taking my pictures with a white background. I did dabble with this several years ago but didn’t give it a fair chance so I’m going to be patient and see what I can do with a humble sheet of white paper. I’m not sure that my current camera can handle this as well but I do think my iPhone did a nice job (go figure) so it will take me some time to get this worked out I imagine. Of course, always happy to hear what others thing of the white background too.
As it stands, I have the shield, the lance, another back piece, and the elk’s tail left to paint and assemble. Four pieces doesn’t sound too bad… Unfortunately, at least two of them are going to be stressful to glue to the mini so I’m not out of the woods yet! With any luck, I may be able to get this done in less than a month’s time and move onto other projects. Fingers crossed that I can avoid much more “excitement” between now and the end of this miniature!
Kuribo's Painting 
Glad you were able to recover from your disasters, if it had been me it would have fallen to the floor and pieces would have disappeared under the desk into the dust.
I keep thinking the next post will be the final one, you are way more patience than I am.
Regarding the white background, I think something needs to be adjusted, the fallen statue seems to be not as white as previous posts.
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It is always hard to find stuff on the floor but that is a whole other problem that I was lucky to avoid in this case! Unfortunately, there is still a ways to go on this project. I wish that next week’s post would be the final one but it almost certainly will not be. I’m sure there are improvements to be made on the white background. I will play around with it more for next time and see if I can make any improvement.
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I dunno man, painting miniatures is not supposed to be stressful. Relaxing perhaps, tedious for sure, but not stressful. Lol. (I’ve never truly enjoyed painting).
But the model seems to have recovered well since it still looks fantastic to me! I agree that GW has gone a direction where the miniatures are truly remarkable but also really difficult to put together and paint well.
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What I can say is that if you paint something for long enough, you will start to really care about seeing it done. There’s something to be said for spending too much time on a single project as it does make it more stressful as it goes on…
Thanks for the kind words and glad to hear it isn’t just me with GW’s intricate kits. It is a double-edged sword if I’ve ever seen one!
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I had two thoughts:
First: for a photo background you should use that tablecloth that looked like a rainbow bleed to death all over it. That will cover up any painting mistakes. 😀
Second: my biggest congratulations to you on your wedding as I missed that post while I was sans phone. I do hope that you and she will be happy forever.
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Haha, I’m going to save that tablecloth for my next masterpiece. Pink space marines! In all seriousness, I think it might not have survived the move which is real shame! 😀
Thanks for the kind words on the wedding as well. All I can say is so far so good 😉
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Looks fantastic mate but I can fully understand your reaction to dropping things, I’m very much the same but the moment is gone and there isn’t much you can do about it. Glad you were able to salvage it though. Assembly where glue is involved is always a dread for me so best of luck with the remaining bits you have still to do. 🙂
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I’m not surprised to hear you think similarly about this and it is always nice to have comradery in these sorts of things too! We’ll see if I can get through these last couple weeks of this project with the mini and my sanity intact or not 😀
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Well, it’s looking spectacular I must admit! 🙂 Nearly there! Can I make a trivial suggestion (well, I’m going to anyway)? If the black edges of the base need tidying up, I’d recommend doing it before those last fiddly bits have to get glued in place, particularly if there’s a lance poking out somewhere! Since this figure is very three-dimensional it will get progressively more difficult to handle as it nears completion (that sort of makes sense in my head at least).
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I think it is a great suggestion, John. Truthfully, I need to touch up the dirt around the base rim because some of it has become discolored by paint on my fingers. I haven’t done anything to the base yet because the paint handle digs into that and I’m pretty sure it will damage whatever paint I apply. However, I haven’t really given it a ton of thought so maybe what you’re suggesting would work best. I appreciate your input and insight as always! 🙂
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This is looking amazing, I know you said you has issues sticking it together but you really can not tell.
It’s really getting there I’m looking forward to see the finished thing.
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Thanks, mate! It is a relief to know that others can’t see the damage. I know where it is and I tried to hide it but it can be hard mentally to judge whether the mistake is really gone or not. I can’t wait to get this done too! 🙂
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Sorry to hear about all the trouble the model has been causing you Jeff, the end result is looking magnificent. A question the area you paint at, is it hard wood flooring or carpet ? As carpet will help the model bounce, even if you have a little rug area you put down when working, then roll it up and put away afterwards.
Hope these last few pieces go smoothly for you mate.
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Hopefully it is worth the grief in the end. We shall see! I paint on hardwood for now. I may get some kind of rug for the room to help dampen the sound a bit and if it helps protect minis a bit more than that is even better. Thanks for mentioning it as it is something I wouldn’t have thought of!
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Words fail me… a thing of beauty, a tear comes to my eye!
So glad you managed to rescue things; I think I’d have cried in my paint pot if you hadn’t!
I think the white background for this one is the right choice, you just need to correct the background colour to be true white. I do mine on a Mac and on the basic editor there’s a selection tool to do the job. It would really make the colour pop, especially that gorgeous cloak.
Oh, and that gem is superb!
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You are too kind, mate. I would have been crying in my paint pots too if I couldn’t have saved it!
I tried to adjust the background color to true white but I clearly need a bit more practice with it. I’ll keep playing around with it and see if I can’t improve things a bit more. Thanks for the feedback 🙂
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I share your frustration with fiddly model parts that don’t really fit well together. Especially when you pay such a premium for them.
But, the model looks spectacular and I’m happy it survived the fall! You’re doing great and I look forward to seeing it completed, it does seem like it can’t take that much longer now. 🙂
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It would be nice if the building experience was more fun for the price you’re paying for sure. Thanks for the kind words as well and I’m getting there and can’t wait to get back to some of the other projects I’ve started like Fallout 🙂
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Magnificent work mate. Truly sublime.
I prefer the colored background of previous posts to white.
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Thanks, mate 🙂 It seems that there is room for improvement with the white one so I’ll see what I can do with it for my next update. Thanks for the feedback!
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After seeing a headless elk for so long it’s nice to see it with its noggin! The whole model looks absolutely outstanding, beautifully painted, shaded and blended, the colours are perfect and it’s just superb. I’m awestruck at the work you’ve put into this and the results so far are amazing.
I too have a tendency to drop things on the floor, including one time my Xacto knife which landed point-down in the laminate about three inches from my bare foot!
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The suspense for what the elk’s head looks like has certainly gone on for way too long! Thank you for the kind words as well, Matt 🙂 That is crazy about your Xacto knife incident! I’m surprised Alicia lets you anywhere near them after that… Or maybe she doesn’t know and if so, your secret is safe with me 😉
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Wow, that is looking so good! It must have a heart-in-mouth moment when the mini fell so I’m really glad for you that the damage was fixable.
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Heart-in-mouth is a great way to describe it. I feel very lucky to have gotten through that experience with a decent looking model for sure!
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My heart was in my mouth when you described it hitting the floor, don’t do that to me man I can’t handle the stress! I know what you mean about GW models being a nightmare to assemble, it’s bad enough doing it before they’re painted let alone after. The whole model is looking great though, here’s to getting it finished without any more “excitement”.
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Imagine how I feel, mate! I’m pretty sure that was as close I get to hyperventilating. I’m a very calm and laidback person generally but this changed that!
Honestly, I don’t know how you manage to convert their models nowadays. The way you have to put legs and arms together in particular seem designed to make conversions much more difficult than how kits used to be. Regardless of that, I am being extra careful since the fall and with any luck, this project will be done soon!
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Jeff, magnificent artwork here. We have all had that “OH NOOOOOOOOOO” moment so man I feel your pain. I don’t think you have any issues here thankfully. I would experiment with different backgrounds AND lighting for your shots – I don’t think the white gives this beauty enough contrast.
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Absolutely! If you haven’t knocked a model to the floor than you have some kind of superpower 🙂 I feel lucky to be able to continue this project after that and I will experiment more with the photography for my next update and see if I can manage any improvement. If I have to, I can use a white background on Instagram and the brown background here as well. Thanks for weighing in!
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