Some hobby weeks are better than others and unfortunately, this one has proven to not be a great one. I only finished one mini this week though it is an important one. Liz Sherman’s mini for Hellboy is done and unfortunately, it was a bit rough going and I can’t say that Liz is my best work.
One of the big reasons is that the sculpt is not the best. Her face does not have sharp detail to it and is very much a board game mini in terms of quality. I did the best I could with it and I also got a fairly nice looking flames on her hand which is probably the most important thing. Unfortunately, I don’t think the OSL came out as cleanly as I had hoped either. The whole mini just isn’t quite my best work no matter how much I tried. I see some further issues like on the bridge of her nose that I didn’t notice until I took pictures and that about sums it up. The only thing I can say is that I like how the base looks. I think adding a bit of dirt and grime fits the tone of Hellboy and makes the base look less “naked” though I suspect that board gamers may prefer the plain black base scheme I initially tried. I guess there is a divide between board gamers and wargamers! 🙂
Here is a quick look at how Liz and her bust look next to each other. If nothing else, the colors match each other well and they look nice next to each other.
Unfortunately, that is not the only bad thing that happened. I started working on the Fallout signal box and realized that I messed up gluing the staircase so it is noticeably crooked! I only realized it on Friday so I have no idea what I’m going to do to try and fix it. I tried sanding down the bottom of the uneven staircase and that did not work. I thought maybe if I used less stairs (like some had broken off, that might be a good idea but even that still looks off. I’m not too pleased with myself for messing up yet another part of this project. I also discovered that the walkway around the signal box does not fit because of past mistakes so I think this project is going to have to go in the bin because I don’t think I can complete it to a standard I’m happy with. There is a lot of room for improvement in my terrain skills at the moment and I need to build a lot of terrain (and much of it is MDF terrain for that matter) for Fallout so I’m feeling a bit daunted by the prospects of that at the moment.
The only thing that I have been able to diagnose is that I’m having a lot of assembly issues because of my glue. I need to stop using super glue because it does the job too well and too fast and I’m putting things together incorrectly like with this staircase and it has ruined this project I believe. I only wish I could have saved some time and realized my mistakes earlier.
To end this week’s update on a more positive note, I did want to give a mention that I’ve been experimenting with how I take pictures which is why you’re seeing the white background more. I think I might be able to improve the overall quality of the photos going forward as I’m using a desk tripod to keep my camera more stable (and hopefully have sharper pictures as a result). I don’t know if the rest of the things I’m doing are paying off quite yet because what I painted this week wasn’t too spectacular. Hopefully you’ll see some gradual improvement in the coming weeks and if not, I may decide to get a new camera as the one I have is closer to ten years old than five and I think I might be able to improve my photos further with better equipment.
Kuribo's Painting 
I think you are being to critical of yourself. The Liz board gaming piece looks great. You need to look at it from a gaming height vs camera. The dirtying of the base worked well, if you had added some tufts then you would have crossed over into wargaming bases.
I haven’t had the “pleasure” of working with mdf terrain so I can’t really offer any advice there except since it is mdf, wood wood glue work better?
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I think I set myself up to be disappointed by referencing images of the resin version which looks noticeably better than what I painted. I did what I could with it but ultimately, painting Liz didn’t bring much joy like I would have hoped.
Super glue works so fast that you have almost no time to adjust a piece if you put it together slightly wrong. That’s what happened with the staircase unfortunately, so I think switch to a slower bonding glue would really help me out and help prevent mistakes. We’ll see how it goes!
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We all have tough weeks Jeff but it could be argued that is also how we learn. I’d say you’ve been on quite a role of late so I guess a lesser figure was on the cards at some point. I’d say you’ve done a good job with a questionable figure but it is hard to pick out detail that isn’t there in the first place. I’ve had few like that myself lately so I feel your pain! 🙂
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We certainly learn from our mistakes and I was probably due to have a bad mini as most have gone well lately. I’m sure I’ll bounce back this week and I think I’ve learned a few lessons that will help me down the road which is about all I can hope in this case 🙂
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I have to admit, I think you’re being a bit hard on yourself. The painting looks great, I think the issue is with the sculpt itself; from the photos the details look really soft and you managed to bring out bits that are barely there. She does match her bust though (ooer!) so well done on duplicating the colours.
As for the MDF, PVA glue works well but takes a lot longer to dry. One advantage is that you can shift bits if needed as it’s drying but you have to have some way of holding the bits in place till it’s dried. Then again the signal box is a post-apoc piece so wonky stairs aren’t unexpected 🙂
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The sculpt definitely let me down and I did the best I could with it, I just didn’t get as much joy as I normally do while painting it, if you know what I mean.
I think PVA glue is what is needed to help me catch and prevent mistakes. In this case, the staircase got messed up mostly because of super glue bonding before I could fix it which is a real bummer. Lesson learned though and I will try to do better in the future!
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Man, I think you’re being pretty harsh on yourself. I know you like to paint things really well but give yourself a break! Plastic game pieces are not really made to be painted well anyway. Probably just some block painting a highlight and a wash is all anyone really expects. 😀
The MDF tower looked acceptable to me. Was it that flawed or would of just bothered you endlessly? But No big deal to throw stuff away if not what you wanted. I’ve done it.
Regarding MDF kits; I’ve found there are quality ones and crap ones. Good one come from 4ground or Charlie Fox Trot or Things From the Basement. Poor very basic and need a lot of love kits come from Sarissa. I’d all recommend using PDA glue. That’s what I’ve have used.
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For me, I just didn’t have a lot of joy with this particular mini. I’m not completely upset with the final results (I think it looks alright), but I was hoping I’d enjoy the process a bit more. I also should not have looked at the much nicer looking resin version as a reference as I think it made me a bit envious by the time I was done with the inferior sculpt!
In this case, I’ve made multiple mistakes on the tower and now I can’t get it anywhere near where I want it. That is frustrating but the time wasted is more so.
Your mention about different kinds of MDF companies is invaluable. I think I’ve been going about this the wrong way by only using Sarissa and Multiverse Gaming thus far. I think the biggest issue I have had with the signal tower is that there is zero room for error. Everything fit so tightly even when I dry fit things together and I think that is poor design. Any mistake is going to absolutely punish you, unfortunately and that’s what happened here.
So I’m going to ditch the cheaper MDF products unless they have something I just can’t get elsewhere and go for higher quality ones and use PVA/Wood Glue to make things a bit more forgiving too! Thanks as always for your input. It has really been a help this weekend! 🙂
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I’d echo the other comments and say that PVA glue is a good way to go for mdf terrain. Has that extra working time, and the final product is probably more robust than super glue. Regardless, terrain is pretty forgiving and post apocalyptic terrain more than most! A wooden building like this is more than likely to have shifted and settled over time, with the wood beams also warping if not being dried out properly before construction. Think of it as a happy little accident, that building might now be known by locals as the building with the warped stairs, a useful landmark in the wasteland.
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Cheers, mate! I am switching away from super glue for sure as I think that is causing my problems with assembling the terrain. I’m willing to let some mistakes go and had already made some with this particular project but now it is past the point of no return so I’ll try to take what I’ve learned and apply it in the future!
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You are definitely too hard on yourself mate!
I know I am echoing the other comments here but in a sterner tone of voice. You do yourself no favors when being too hard or too soft on your work. Removing some steps was a step in the right direction… sorry, I could not help myself. Perhaps add some mutated vines pulling down one side? It is post-apoc, and Fallout in particular, so wonky works.
With the Liz Sherman gaming piece, again I think you are too critical of yourself. You have done well given the soft sculpt. If you can get them thin enough some eyebrows might help but that would need to be pretty fine. I have been struggling with that lately with even very thin brushwork so I am considering a microfine tip pen like I use for the pupils of the eyes on many of my figures.
As always a joy reading your posts!
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I didn’t get to where I am by being soft on myself, mate! 🙂 In all seriousness, I am a perfectionist and I let a mistake go but now there are multiple mistakes on the terrain which is past the point of no return sadly.
I was more upset with the process of painting Liz than the final results. I don’t think I can do much better with the sculpt than I have. I just expected to enjoy painting her more since she is one of my favorite Hellboy characters. There are no other sculpts of her left to paint either.
Thanks as always for stopping by and sharing your thoughts, mate! 🙂
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Liz there is a classic example of the phenomenon that you can only paint details if there are details there to paint. Maybe she isn’t your best work but your standards are very high to begin with. I’d still say she’s pretty damn good.
As for the Fallout terrain I think you’re being a bit harsh on yourself. Without maintenance buildings start to slump and decay. Take a look at old ruins and you’ll see wooden stairs like that start to collapse in exactly the same way as the model. In fact I used to work out of an office next door to an old railway station with a disused signal box. The stairs were going just the same way as the ones in your model (in fact if you’d told me you’d based the model on a photo of an old signal box I’d have wondered if it was the same one). If it really bothers you maybe stick a few post-apocalyptic bits on there (chains, scrap metal, the obligatory skull!), you can bury a lot in the details and in turn they help set the scene. Oh and I’d agree, PVA glue seems to be the way to go for mdf terrain.
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Thanks, mate and you’re right about the sculpt quality. It definitely puts a ceiling on how high quality of work you can achieve.
Unfortunately, the stairs aren’t the only problem with the terrain. The walkway doesn’t fit because of other mistakes so even if I can get over the staircase, other parts of the building won’t work right and the terrain isn’t playable so that is why it is more than likely going in the bin. Live and learn in this case and I won’t be using super glue for terrain anymore! Thanks for the support as always, mate 🙂
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That’s a shame but I know how it goes, you win some you lose some and the main thing is you’ve learned a few things you can put to use next time.
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With the quality of the sculpt, you’ve done an excellent job on Liz Jeff, I have read on a few blogs, that the sculpting was soft on several of the models in the set.
Finding the right glue for the job should help greatly, as for the stairs build up the ground on the raised side, should help disguise the stairs. As for the walkway, extreme damage is your friend, so you could have whole sections missing, through erosion or battle damage.
Try to use this as an exercise piece on seeing what you can do , rather than binning it, and don’t forget MDF kits are tricky, so don’t be disheartened.
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I forgot to mention it in this week’s update but there are resin versions of Hellboy, Liz, etc. and that is what I referenced to help understand what all of the details are on the mini and I think that made me even more sour about the sculpt quality. I think now I might actually consider buying the resin version but sadly it is sold out so that isn’t going to be an option most likely which is too bad.
I have certainly learned from my failures with MDF and can only hope to improve in the very near future. I’ll hang onto this one a bit longer and see if there is anything I can do to salvage it. I have my eyes on a bigger and hopefully better MDF project so hopefully I can throw myself into that and use some of the hard lessons I’ve recently learned to do better!
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I think that you’re being a bit critical here, Liz Sherman looks really good. By your standards the eyes are perhaps a little less good than usual but even there it might be that the photo is an unflattering mistress.
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I think the photo is harsh this time around for sure, mate. The issues you can see on her face and not visible to the naked eye so that did cheer me up a bit!
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I think you’ve done as good a job as you could with Liz, she certainly lacks definition, and from gaming distance I’m sure she looks pretty good, eh?
Isn’t the signal box for Fallout? From what I remember of the video game there were were some right rickety staircases in it, so personally, I’d play on it, put a few broken planks for steps, put a break in the bannister, something like that. But then hey, I’m pretty hopeless at scenery, so feel free to ignore anything after the question mark!
I use Gorilla wood glue with MDF. It dries a bit quicker than standard PVA, it’s thicker so it doesn’t run everywhere, and when it does dry it forms a really strong bond.
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Liz does look good from a tabletop standard so I can feel good about that. You’re correct that the signal box is for Fallout. Unfortunately, I think this project will be too hard to finish so I’m more than likely going to let it go, which is painful but necessary.
I think I’ve seen Gorilla wood glue and I would definitely give that a try. If you can believe it, Gorilla glue is made in my hometown so I’m glad to hear something from Cincinnati and made it to the Black Country! 😀
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Maybe just one of those weeks, Jeff! I can see from the Liz sculpt that the detail’s “soft” but you’ve done a pretty good job I think! 🙂 The only thing I might have tried (and it’d be different to the bust) would be to have given her lips more colour to maybe draw attention to a different part of her face (but I’m pretty sure I don’t know what I’m talking about). As far as the MDF goes (and my experience is limited), I dry assemble everything first to get an idea about which areas may prove tricky. I then normally use superglue but you could just brush coat the whole assembly in PVA after dry-fitting it. Maybe depends on how much you paint before final assembly. You could partially conceal “mistakes” with a cluttered base or maybe even place the walkway partially on the ground where it’s collapsed in poor repair!
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I think it was hobby-wise for me, John. The rest of the week was fine, if you can believe it! 🙂 One of the problems with Liz’s sculpts is that her lips were so soft (and not in the way that you want to kiss them!) that it was really hard to find and paint them at all! In hindsight, I do think I’ve done about all I can with this sculpt. I can only hope that the rest of the Hellboy minis go a bit better!
I dry fit the signal tower before painting it and everything was really snug which did concern me but I didn’t really know what to do about it. Now, I think I have a better idea of how to handle that. Unfortunately, I think this piece of terrain won’t work because too many pieces aren’t going to fit due to my mistakes sadly. You live and learn! 🙂
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On the signal box stairs can you save it simply by it bring for fallout, I mean a nuke might well knock a set of wooden stairs of balance, a bit more added damage might help it?
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Unfortunately, with the way it is designed, there are noticeable holes for any pieces that are not attached. As a result, this one can’t be saved unfortunately.
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That is a real shame.
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Liz looks fine. It’s a good paintjob on a PVC board game miniature – you know the saying about silk purses and sow’s ears. It’s not going to win a Golden Demon or Crystal Brush. but it’ll get the job done on the table, and look a hell of a lot better than the unpainted PVC, and as such will improve your enjoyment of playing HB via improved aesthetics. You’ve seen the quality of some of those D&D Boardgame models I’ve done in the past couple of years. Passable paint on passable models – but better than the unpainted PVC!
With the assembly issues on the signal box, I think it’s a shame but they’re easily turned into non-issues because of the setting. That one is a perfect modelling challenge to turn it into something that looks amazing. Old and Abandoned signal boxes get plenty of wonk – especially ones with wooden structures and externals:
I think you should make yourself finish it, and do so as a challenge to yourself so you can see how you feel when you finish it. It might well change your thinking and attitude about perfection vs turning chicken shit into chicken salad. Watch that video above and then google some images of ruined/abandoned/wooden signal boxes, and other similar structures in disrepair and get inspired!
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I know what you mean about Liz and while I don’t know that I say it often, you have my utmost respect for not only painting stuff that has been in your backlog but also inferior quality board game minis. I really try to be careful in what I buy so I don’t have to paint stuff as bad as when I started and truthfully, the Hellboy minis that are not resin for the base game seem to be a lower quality than I hoped. So that has been an adjustment process to say the least!
While I agree that the signal tower would be a good experiment and I certainly considered it, but I ultimately decided that I made too many mistakes to save it and I threw it in the bin a couple of days ago.
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Argh! It would have been a good personal challenge I reckon!
As for sub par boardgame models, it’s simply a matter of adjusting your own standards to match the quality and use of the model in question – or so you can play a board game, etc without too much unpainted coloured plastic on the table.
Frogmans vs Blood Elf on steed is a good example. 👍
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It would have been and I regret throwing it away a bit now. You’re right that your own mentality with the board game minis is key. This past week I focused on speed and getting the frogs painted as quick as I could and I enjoyed the challenge of it so I’ll take your advice to heart!
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Hey mate I do like what you have done with this lass!!
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Cheers, mate!
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