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Kimera Models – Minerva VIII

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It took a while to get her in this state, but I’m happy to share what Minerva looks like with her shield and arm attached. I think I’ve said this multiple times now because it is a long project but she’s really shaping up nicely!

As has been the case with previous sections, some of the finer gold armor takes quite a bit of patience and several attempts to get right so I’m relieved to have those finished. In fact, I don’t think there is any further gold pieces left to paint so that is a relief. There are basically two pieces left to go on Minerva. I need to do some modelling work to get the next one ready and I’m not sure if I’ll take another quick break or press on. We’ll see where my mood takes me this week.

I do have some news to share as well. After giving it some thought, I’ve decided to essentially spin off all comic coverage into a new website. I did this for a couple of reasons. One is that I don’t think the comic sections I’ve been writing are being seen by the core comic book audience since they’re often buried in articles about miniature painting. Second, I’d like to write some more in-depth articles that don’t fit on this website all that well. Third, this website is what it is at this point. I don’t blog to create a “hit” website with millions of viewers but at the same time, I don’t see a path to grow this site in viewership much. The articles that draw the most eyes are “how to get started in Fallout or MESBG” and the few review articles I’ve written. I can’t start new games to keep those articles flowing so I don’t see this website ever being much more than it is. Even the efforts last year to redesign the website and make old content easier to find had no noticeable impact. Viewership actually dropped in 2023 for the first time in this website’s existence and that’s okay. I did what I could anyway and I enjoy having this website to interact with everyone who comments (both regularly and infrequently) and being able to follow other people’s work as well! That is what keeps me coming back week after week.

That does not mean that anything is changing on Kuribospainting.com beyond the comics coverage being on a new website. This site still comes first for me and it probably will be easier to update since future updates will be more concise.

I also want to thank anyone and everyone who has commented on the various comics topics in the last six months to a year. I have appreciated your support and interest! With that said, there is zero pressure to follow, like, or comment on anything I write on the new comic book website. There is no hard feelings if you’re not interested in that subject matter and are here for the miniatures and gaming conversations. That is what brought us all together, after all!

If you want to check out the website (which is very much a WIP, I’d like to find a better design for it), you can see it and my first article which is a review of Ghost Machine, a new comic universe being launched by Image Comics, which includes a really cool post-apocalyptic series called Geiger. I suspect I won’t able to update two websites in a single week like I did this time so posting on Not Just Capes! will probably be irregular. Thank you all for the support and I look forward to seeing what the rest of the year brings for both of these hobbies!

37 thoughts on “Kimera Models – Minerva VIII”

  1. I do like your title for your comic’s blog.

    It’s been awhile since I’ve been in a comic book store and am out of touch with the “latest and greatest” 😄

    Is your interest only in series or do you also follow one off artist novels? By that I mean I liked the Groo books because i liked Sergio Aragones. Same characters but each comic stood on it’s own. Difference between graphic novels and comic books, maybe?

    Back to Minerva, interesting to see the figure coming together and how the base is coming along.

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    2. Thank you! I did put a lot of thought into the title 🙂

      I hope you’re sitting down because the hottest thing in comics right now is, I kid you not, Transformers and GI Joe. Both of those licenses switched over to the company owned by Robert Kirkman (creator of Walking Dead) and people are going crazy over it so far. I haven’t read any of it because I was just a little too young to be into either of those franchises.

      There is a new Conan comic coming out that is in a black and white magazine format and so I’m going to try and pick that up and review it next potentially!

      Your question is a good one! I do like stories that have a beginning, middle, and end. That is one reason why I’m less into superheroes than most. If you read enough of them, you start to see that while there might be a good beginning or middle but the end rarely delivers and is often rushed for various business reasons.

      I’ve only heard of Groo but I think I have a pretty good idea of what you’re talking about. For some reason, Dark Horse Comics has the most books that stand on their own whereas Marvel and DC don’t do a ton of that. Usagi Yojimbo, the samurai rabbit, is the same way as Groo. Even many of the Hellboy titles are easy to read out of order and still enjoy. I’m not necessarily drawn to those titles because they’re standalone, but I do think it can be a good idea as it is new reader friendly and comics need new readers pretty badly these days.

      Lastly, thank you for the kind words! I’m not sure the base looks as good as I want it too, so there could be changes to the dirt colors before I apply any vegetation.

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      1. I was more of a Sgt Rock, Haunted Tank era vs GI Joe, Transformers. Thinking after I sent my note I realized that Hellboy fit into the standalone universe somewhat.

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      2. I looked those up because I hadn’t heard of them and it sounds like you like war stories. There aren’t as many of those being published as there used to be. If I see anything along those lines that I think you might like, I’ll let you know!

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  2. You must do what you feel is right, of course. I am on of those folks who enjoyed your different interests being on the same blog but I can understand others feel differently… especially yourself! You need to do what satisfies your artistic desires.

    And your artistic expression is well demonstrated with your brushwork on Minerva. Looking brilliant mate!

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    1. I appreciate your support and understanding. Unless I’m forgetting anyone, I think you and I are the only people who regularly write about TV, movies, video games, and comics (in my case) so the article format we’ve been using is somewhat atypical. It does seem like you are not the only one who would like to be in one place which I can understand. Its another website to visit and read in a world where we don’t need that.

      If the new website doesn’t work out after a few months, I may shift back to having it here. We’ll see how things go. I am looking forward to experimenting with new articles and content on the new website.

      Thank you for the kind words as well. Minerva is rounding third base now to use an Americanism so there isn’t too far to go!

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  3. Oh my, she’s looking amazing! You’re a true artist, and I’m even impressed with your photography skills to be able to show off your amazing work.

    I’ll admit that I quite liked having miniatures and comics on one nice page, but I’ve happily subscribed to your comic page and will carry on enjoying your thoughtful writing style over on that separate blog.

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    1. Thank you, mate! The photos have been looking really nice with this miniature. I don’t know if that is my newish camera or a by-product of painting a larger miniature or maybe both. I’m not complaining though!

      I appreciate your willingness to follow the new website and you’re not alone in preferring the content to stay here. I hope to win you over with some new and interesting content on there in the long run. We’ll see how it goes and I can always bring stuff back over to this website, if it doesn’t pan out.

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  4. Minerva is really coming along well! 🙂 I wouldn’t be surprised at blog visits dropping last year as that seems to be a not uncommon thing. I’ve subscribed to your comics blog but I might not comment so much and show myself up amongst die-hard comic fans! 😉

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    1. Thank you, John! I agree that website viewership dropping is not a huge surprise. I think maybe coming out of the pandemic is part of that. Thank you for giving it a follow and no worries on commenting! I wouldn’t be surprised if I garner few comments on there overall. The amount we comment on each other’s work is uncommon in the blogging space!

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  5. Minerva is progressing well mate, and each time you show her is another step closer to completion, and hopefully you don’t feel burned out on her, and keep it up until finish.
    Have enjoyed the comic reviews, although I don’t follow comics nearly as much as I did years gone by, but I’ll check out your new blog as well.

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    1. Thank you, Dave. I was a little dismayed recently with how slow progress has felt lately but getting this section done really helped. There isn’t too far to go now and then I can take a break and work on more gaming stuff for a while which will be nice.

      I appreciate your kind words and willingness to follow the comics articles over to the new website. We’ll see how it goes and I can always bring a lot of it back over here if it doesn’t work out or there isn’t much interest.

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  7. Minerva is looking amazing. That shield is incredible. I also like the flesh tones on that exposed leg (her right). There’s so much to look at with all the metals and textures. Also her pose, just reminded me of a comics interview I was watching and they were explaining how to make a pose more interesting by throwing it essentially off balance. The sculptor has thrown the center of gravity off by shifting the shoulders away from the hips. Makes a much more dynamic stance.

    Oh man, not another comics blog! How many blogs do I need to follow now?! Yea, I liked and subscribed and rang the bell. Oh wait, that’s the youtwixt thing…can someone tell me how to work this…?! 😉

    I’ll be interested to see how the new blog goes and what you put up there! 😀

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    1. Thank you, Brian! I like the pose too. You described what’s going on much better than I could. To me, its something a little different and also helps her look like a Greek God.

      Yeah, its a comics blog and I promise to only talk about comics you’re interested in 😉 Thank you for subscribing and I’ll be curious to hear what you think of various things I write, as I get time!

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  8. Minerva is incredible mate, especially her face. So lifelike. I followed the comic page. To be honest I haven’t read a comic in years BUT it is something I’d like to do again one day but, more than that, I’m happy to support you in whatever you do.

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    1. Thank you, mate! You’re too kind. If you do decide to read a comic, try and hunt down this one: https://www.amazon.com/Orc-Stain-1-James-Stokoe/dp/160706295X/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9._6lQXst4xnDd7MDgqzPjE3Z-NEF3zFWzObaphc5e0dXntlArrdFcDUUlYGPvKn8P.nho7biYi-EikZxJ274RaxHgHBzeBBmsoOKkC8URArGc&dib_tag=se&hvadid=241608640240&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9021745&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=9170446684554199341&hvtargid=kwd-375578796866&hydadcr=22534_10353872&keywords=orc+stain+vol+1&qid=1709687615&sr=8-1. The cover isn’t amazing but I’ve heard it has amazing artwork and its about Orks so it probably doesn’t get much better than that 🙂 It might get you fired up for the next Orktober, in fact.

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      3. No worries! It is called Orc Stain by James Stokoe. It should be relatively easy to find at online retailers. Its not published by Marvel or DC so you probably won’t see it in a local bookstore or comic shop.

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  9. Minerva is looking really cool, some really clean and smooth painting there. I haven’t gone and found the sculpt online so I’m interested to see what she’ll be holding (traditionally Athena is holding a spear so I assume that will be the case here too!), but I’ll wait for the follow on updates to find out!
    Really interested to see what you do with the basing too.

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    2. Thank you, Nic! I don’t think many people do look up the mini and I generally don’t show it because I’d rather people be surprised over the weeks and months they take to finish 🙂 We’ll see what you think soon enough as I am working on her weapon this week.

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  10. Well, M is looking superb so far. How big is that miniature again? looks huge.

    Man, I’d be wary of starting another blog, seems like a lot of work. Also, i kinda think that the more specialized a blog gets the less active it becomes. But I know nothing. I won’t pop over to the comic site as I don’t have a strong interest in discussing comics on a regular basis (haven’t read one in probably 15 years or more) but never minded when comic content showed up here as part of other stuff. felt like I could read that part or not depending on what it was but still have stuff to comment on.

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    1. Cheers, Stew! She’s 75mm and about as big as an action figure (probably bigger than the old Star Wars ones you’d see in stores, actually). I will show a size comparison at the end when I get her off the blu-tak’d figure handle.

      I appreciate your words of caution. Not Just Capes! is very much a side project for me and this site comes first. I’ve known since I started talking about comics that some people like it and some people are indifferent or skip over it which is totally fine and understandable. That is part of the reason why I feel like having it be on its own blog makes sense. Of course, its really just an experiment and we’ll find out soon enough if I can make it work or not. Its sink or swim time! 🙂

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  11. Subbed to the comics blog. I’m way out of touch these days when it comes to comics so I may end up doing a lot of commenting around them instead of about the specific stories. You could always repost some of the comics content and reviews that you originally posted here over there as well for the more focused audience

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    1. Thanks, mate and all comments are appreciated. I hadn’t thought about it, but that isn’t a bad idea. Especially since some people prefer to have the comics content here and not elsewhere. Thank you for mentioning it!

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