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MESBG – A Shirriff joins the fray

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I’m happy to report that this past week was much better. I got some forward momentum on the diorama and have a few things to show off. First up, I finally got to put my green stuff and tools to work and patched up this little guy.

Can you see any rough spots or where he is patched up? If not, then I figure I did well enough with the green stuff! Truthfully, this guy isn’t as interesting as the previous two minis and there aren’t many opportunities to show off any cool textures or advanced painting techniques either. His face and eyes gave me some trouble as well so I’m not as happy with him as the previous two minis. I may see if I can touch up the face a bit more before the diorama is finished but I’ll take a break from him for now anyway.

Friend of the site, Davekay, who runs Scent of a Gamer posed an interesting question. Since hobbits are available in metal, could I use those in the diorama? I painted the original metal hobbits a few years ago for a Scouring in the Shire campaign that never got off the ground so why not compare the two? The metal one is on the right in the picture above. The level of detail and the sharpness in the newer resin Robin Smallburrow by Forge World is definitely superior in my eyes. The differences may seem subtle but the Forge World version is both easier and more enjoyable to paint.

I also made progress on the base this week. It isn’t too exciting but I did sculpt the cobblestone on my own with green stuff. I wanted the stones to be a bit smaller than they are but I found it hard to get the green stuff to cooperate. Overall though, the base is ready for more interesting things to happen now which is great news. Hopefully seeing this wets your appetite for more as well!

This week was also better because it was my birthday. I got a few hobby related gifts which I will briefly share.

First, I got more Survivors for Fallout. I already have more minis for that faction than any of the others combined. Did I need more? Absolutely not, but I think minis make a good gift and these are one of the few minis that I want and don’t have on Amazon so I was happy to ask for and receive them all the same.

Next up is something simple but that I really wanted for Hellboy. I think some 3D doors will really up the visual immersion and they’ll be easier to see while playing and less fiddly than the cardboard door counters. I expect these will move towards the front of the hobby queue outside of the diorama as a result.

And lastly I got a big surprise from my brother who got me this fairly new kit for MESBG! I had given some thought to buying this and trying to make a display with the Forge World Ringwraiths and now I have no excuse not to do so. It will be an epic project but I have a feeling I can do some cool things with this and its definitely something to look forward to!

Lastly, I found myself with a bit of time on my birthday so I finally watched Shang Chi. I had heard good things and I was excited to finally watch it. I would have to say its one of the better Marvel movies in recent years and it made me a bit sad and nostalgic in a way that I didn’t expect.

In the early 2000’s, Chinese cinema made some real inroads in the US and I assume globally as well. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was the big one (which ironically, I’ve never seen) but quite a few movies came out afterwards because that was a global hit. The landscapes in Asian countries, the art and architecture are all beautiful. So when they put that to film with high-quality martial arts, you’ve got something well worth watching. Hero and House of Flying Daggers are two great examples but you could find more obscure movies in places like Best Buy in the US. Unless I’m missing something, either those movies aren’t being made anymore or they aren’t brought to the US any longer which is a real shame. Hero, for example, might be a piece of propaganda for Chinese communism, but it is a visually stunning movie with a poetic and thoughtful ending. House of Flying Daggers is still visually stunning and has plenty of plot twists as well.

So all this is to say, I loved seeing the amazing martial arts and stunning Chinese landscapes in Shang Chi and I’d love to see more. The movie isn’t perfect (but man, the first half of it pretty much is). The second half is focused on mythology/fantasy and didn’t work quite as well for me. It also got pretty dark there at the end. Visually though, that part of the movie is still stunning and it made me wish there were high quality miniatures made in that kind of setting. I have no business taking on a new game as my backlog is out of control right now but I think that is a real gap in the miniatures market and even someone like Games Workshop could take an Asian style like Mongolian which they did in the past with the Ogres and really go somewhere cool with it. Alas, I’m not holding my breath that we’ll see anything like that anytime soon.

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39 thoughts on “MESBG – A Shirriff joins the fray”

  1. Great work on the Hobbit Jeff, and can see the differences between the original metal, and the new resin, where the definition and detail are a lot crisper, and I think you have done an excellent job with the greenstuff to cover the holes. The diorama is off to a cracking start, I would say those were more flagstone than cobblestone, but you’ve done a great job on them, If I’d known that was the size you were doing, I would have suggested getting a piece of slate to press on the top to add some texture, but you’ve done a great job anyway.

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    1. Cheers, Dave! I think you’re right that flagstone is the proper term here. Can you tell that cobblestone and flagstone aren’t used in the US that much? 🙂 I textured each piece of green stuff with an old brush and sculpting tool which was somewhat tedious. I’m glad it turned out alright in the end!

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      1. There something we see a lot of in the UK and Europe, so are a common place term, I should remember this in future ! LOL Completely forgot to say a belated Happy Birthday, and some great gifts you got.

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      2. That’s what I suspected, Dave, but I wasn’t sure 🙂 I clearly need to visit England and do a bit of research. I tease one of my English friends and say I’m coming over to visit Stoke, Scunthorpe, Blackpool, Grimsby, and all of the “worst” towns you’ve got over there haha! Thanks for the birthday wishes as well! 🙂

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  3. Nice work on the Hobbits, Jeff! 🙂 Read Dave’s comment above, and I can see the difference between the two of them, but I think I’d be expecting decent metal minis these days to have the crisper detail – is it more a case of the difference is in their ages rather than the material? I don’t know! Anyway, a belated Happy Birthday and glad you got some nice presents!

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    1. Cheers, John! That is a good question about the metal minis. Those metal hobbits came out sometime around the mid-2000’s if I had to guess so they are not very new anymore. That could play a big part in the difference in quality too. Thanks for the birthday wishes as well. My family certainly spoils me and I’m very thankful for it 🙂

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  4. Pingback: MESBG – A Shirriff joins the fray — Kuribo’s Painting | Ups Downs Family History

  5. I’ve seen House of Flying Daggers and Hero and enjoyed both so now, on your recommendation, I’ll give the new marvel one a go. I just watched Werewolf by night which was a lot of fun.

    I can’t see any patchiness on the mini at all mate so well done. I’m glad you’re making progress on the Diorama.

    Happy birthday mate seems like you got a little spoilt which I’m sure is well deserved.

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    1. I’m glad to hear you like those movies as well. I’d be surprised if you don’t like Shang Chi then! I’ve heard good things about Werewolf by Night as well so I’ll have to give it a watch sometime soon.

      Thanks for the kind words and the birthday wishes. I certainly did get a bit spoiled but I’ll try not to let it go to my head 😀

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  6. Nice hobbits! I like the detail on forgeworld figures but that detail is wasted on my painting skills, glad to see that they meet yours.

    I enjoyed the visuals of the early 2000’s Chinese movies, my favorite of the era is Curse of the Golden Flower.

    Wargs vs Hobbits, nice idea for a diorama. The Dol Guldur set is actually one of the GW terrain sets I don’t have, will be interested in seeing what you do with it.

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    1. Thanks, Bret! Finishing this hobbit means I can finally ship something out to you so I’ll be in touch when its in the mail.

      Curse of the Golden Flower is one I never saw but always wanted to. I may have to go back and hunt it down. It looks like a visually impressive movie.

      I’m glad you like the diorama idea as well. It is finally coming together and I’m hoping I’ll be happy with the final results. I don’t know how practical the Dol Guldur terrain set is from a gaming point of view since it costs a lot to buy and how many scenarios would you really use it in? But I’m hoping I can make it look cool for a display anyway!

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      2. Thanks for letting me know. I’ll definitely see if I can take a look at the article for ideas. I was watching Zorpazorp on Youtube this week hoping for similar inspiration so this is timely.

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  7. Happy Birthday buddy! The mini looks good to me, and nice work with the green stuff. Some friends took me to the theater to see Crouching Tiger and I had no idea.
    I was pretty blown away by it. I’ve always been intrigued by Asian culture and history since I was little.

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    1. Thank you, Faust! Crouching Tiger was definitely a phenomenon when it came out and opened people’s eyes to Chinese cinema. I’m the same way with Asian culture and history. Its fascinating and visually appealing!

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      1. Yea, I guess I forgot that the wire work in that movie is another thing American movies have borrowed heavily from. Though I think it predates Crouching Tiger, as they used wire fu in the Matrix and possibly other earlier movies.

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  8. That repair is seamless, well done! Those hobbit models from forge world look great, haven’t painted any but you’re making me want to. Love the new ruins set, keen to see what you put together with it.

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  9. I agree with Nicolas, a seamless repair. Great work as always.

    Like you I enjoyed Shang-Chi as well as Hero and House of Flying Daggers. The “Over the Top” martial arts in much of contemporary Chinese cinema is on the Marvel Superhero level so no surprise Shang-Chi could work so well.

    As a kid I was always into Japanese history but not Chinese or Korean. Now I am equally interested in all three. I would like to see more good movies/tv shows exploring that.

    I think we will see GW introduce Fantasy Chinese miniatures when they bring back the Old World.

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    2. I’m glad to hear it and I remember your vote of confidence in the repair so that means I didn’t let you down! 🙂

      I’m not surprised to hear we have similar tastes in movies even if we didn’t know it before! I am with you on more movies and TV shows exploring Asian history. There are many interesting stories to tell there.

      I hope GW does actually release the Old World sometime before we’re in a retirement home! I’d love to see Cathay or even the classic Ogre feel come back.

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  10. Ooohhh, aawww; those are some nice bday presents. Happy birthday!

    Great job on the hobbit and the diorama is off to a good start. Nice job on the flagstones. Yes, I know the difference but makes no never mind. 😀

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    1. Thanks for all the kind words, Stew! 🙂 I feel fortunate to get such great hobby related gifts most years. And look at you! You’re a man of class, refinement, and education 😀 Apparently, more so than me, haha!

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    1. Thanks for the kind words and the birthday wishes, mate! I’m really glad to hear you like the hat. I spent a little extra time on it to try and get it looking good. Its always nice to hear when something like that pays off 🙂

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  12. Top work on that Hobbit, you’ve done a great job on a rather mundane looking mini.

    Malifaux’s Ten Thunders Faction has a load of ‘Eastern inspired’ minis, though they get to cheat a bit because in their world several of the major powers in East Asia somehow became unified which lets them have a mix of many different cultures all under one banner. I’ve had a great time painting them (and, more importantly, playing the game) over the years.

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    1. Thanks, mate! It is definitely a mundane mini overall and tough to do anything fancy with. I have never painted Malifaux before but I have seen people get good results from their minis. I will have to try one of their sculpts out sometime and see how I get on with it. Thanks for mentioning this because I somehow seem to forget about Malifaux. I’m not sure why that is.

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  13. Excellent work on the Hobbit and the base! They both look amazing and really are a testament to how much time and effort you’re putting into painting them.

    As for the Fallout stuff, there’s a few Etsy stores selling squads of guys in power armour from the game. I keep meaning to tell you that but also kept forgetting LOL!

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    1. Thanks, mate! Hopefully it all starts coming together soon. That is interesting about Fallout on Etsy. I wonder if those are officially licensed ones or not. Modiphius makes a lot of STL files and I wouldn’t be surprised if people are buying them and then printing them for people at a small profit. I could be interested in that kind of arrangement because I don’t really want a printer of my own. Thanks for mentioning it and I will certainly have a look!

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    1. Thank you for the kind words, Pat! Painting eyes is a skill that takes practice but the more you paint, the better you get. Although having said that, some of the minis you paint are so small that it might not be worth doing them because its nearly impossible to achieve realistic results. So a bit of a double-edged sword there!

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      1. Hey Jeff there is a guy that paints eyes on my guys scale 😳his WordPress is Deturnation. WordPress .com
        Anthony is certainly an interesting guy and has given me a lot of advice along the way 👍🏻🤓.

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