I have a rare hobby triple threat this week and some other things to discuss on top of that so I won’t waste any time! First up is Lokaris. I did work on some key parts of this mini since the last update and I think he continues to come along nicely. Here’s a look at where he stands now.
One of my biggest concerns was getting that helmet and its unusual shapes right as I think its the coolest part on this mini. Thankfully, I think I just about got it right and Lokaris is looking pretty mean at the moment! Things got kind of busy and I was tired from work and life so I decided to stop and think about how to proceed with him as I don’t want to rush it and want to keep doing the best work possible. I’m sure he’ll make a triumphant return sooner or later as I do want to get him finished up one of these days.
I switched gears and worked on Fallout a bit as some mindless terrain sounded good. I worked on some more fencing and then finished all of them by varnishing and basing them. I have six pieces done now which isn’t as impressive looking as you would think. It is works as a pretty decent pen for some cattle but its not enough to protect someone’s yard yet.
I’ll have to keep chipping away at the fence as I have the motivation so I can use the fence in a game later this year. That will be really cool to see. In the meantime, I fiddled around with a few different miniatures to come up with a more cinematic photo using the fence and here is the best of what I came up with.
Since I finished up the fence, I decided I was ready to tackle another piece of terrain for Hellboy. I think this one is going to be a bit more arduous and time-consuming as there are a lot of details to paint.
Painting a bookcase is harder than you’d think because there are a lot of color choices to make. My thinking was to have some “themed” coloring on each shelf and I’m not so sure that was a good idea. I think it might look a little too “cutesy” in the end though I’d love to be wrong on that. I even painted one of the bookmarks in a space/cosmic pattern though it kind of looks more like dots than the evening sky in many ways. I’ll keep chipping away on this one this week and we’ll see if it doesn’t look better as I make some more progress. Of course, if you have any thoughts on the themed colors, I’m happy to hear ’em as well. Right now, I’m leaning towards doing a second book shelf and giving it mostly drab colors as I think that will probably fit Hellboy’s art style better.
Focusing on some easier painting was a good choice as I got sick on Memorial Day and had to take a couple days off this week to get over it. I did get a bit bored of painting and playing Binding of Isaac so I decided to rent Kong: Skull Island which I saw a few years ago when it was relatively new and I still really like that movie. I’m a fan of Kong, in general, but the visuals of the movie are great. It has a pretty strong cast and it might be the best pulp movie we’ve seen in the last decade. I also admire how the movie uses subtle horror and surprise character deaths to show how dangerous Skull Island is. I don’t like horror movies at all but I really like those aspects of this movie as much as anything else. I will also admit that I’ve watched a decent amount of Vietnam movies because my Dad is a baby boomer so that makes Kong appealing to me as well. Its almost a bit nostalgic going back to that time in movies as strange as that is because ‘Nam was hellacious. Is Skull Island going to change your life or bring about world peace? No! But it is a really entertaining movie and watching that big ape smash stuff is really satisfying. When I get Lokaris done, I’ll throw myself back into Monsterpocalypse as I’m eager to bring more of that diorama to life after watching Kong: Skull Island.
And finally, I wanted to highlight some cool miniatures I’ve seen lately. Modiphius has released some really nice looking new sculpts, some of which are quite cinematic. First up, there are new Minutemen officers including fan favorite, Preston Garvey. I have to say that the faces do look quite a bit better (and quite possibly, larger) on these miniatures and I like the look of them overall. I own the earlier sculpts for two of these characters but I’m still very tempted to double up and get the new versions to see if I can’t make them look even nicer.
Modiphius have also created two different sculpts in Power Armor using a Raider like they’re a toy. Its a shame I can’t find a better picture that shows the Raider which almost looks comical in its expression as its getting dragged along. Either way, these are really cool miniatures and could almost be turned into a vignette, if you were so inclined.
A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that I’ve recently become interested in fantasy dioramas. One of the ideas I had for Conan that I haven’t mentioned previously is a tavern where the Cimmerian can brawl. While I have no idea when I might work on such a project, I came across something equally intriguing. Have you heard of Dunkeldorf Miniatures before? They’re a Danish manufacturer that I just stumbled across and they make some pretty unique miniatures and terrain. It is ostensibly for people into RPGs but to me, they basically give you everything you could want to create a diorama which is very appealing to me.
As you can see, these minis have a lot of personality to them! I like how there is a bit of a cartoonish quality too. The only downside I can see is that they’re pretty pricey to get here in the US with no local supplier as far as I can tell. These are also metal minis with slotta bases, which I don’t like for dioramas because you have to figure out what to do with the tab and miniatures often don’t balance well without it. Having said that, I’m very intrigued by these and as I get a bit more spending money, I wouldn’t be shocked if I try some out and see what I can do with them. I know quite a few of you can appreciate this sort of thing so I figured I’d mention it in case it grabs anybody else’s attention out there.
Kuribo's Painting 
Excellent progress on Lokaris Jeff, the fencing looks fantastic, but falls into the category of needing lots to look effective, unless you have broken ends, and pieces on the ground. Nice progress on the bookshelf, I tend to only paint books that look the same in blocks of color as they look like encyclopedias then, but if you vary the rest, I’m sure it will look fine, and they don’t need to be drab to look good, unless you want them to look dusty ! LOL
Some great looking new releases for Fallout, and can see why you would want them, interesting looking models, indeed. If you are needing a different way to make a model stand after removing a slottabase tab, just run a pin into the foot and into the diorama that way if knocked will still stay glued.
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Thanks, Dave! I agree on the fence and unfortunately, they don’t give you any spare pieces like that. It would be really cool as parts of the fence already look pretty decrepit. I agree with you on the books. Random is probably better overall on the books. I may go back and add some variations once I get more done. We’ll see what it looks like after some more progress. I have a feeling I’ll be tired of looking at the bookcase when I’m done!
I have heard of that technique for metal miniatures but have never tried it. That would definitely change with Dunkeldorf as I think the miniatures would look better without bases. I’ll try to file this one away for the future as I can see it being quite helpful!
If all goes well, I should be getting something of interest in the mail on Monday so expect an email from me this week.
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Excellent progress on Lokaris, the fences and that bookcase. I know that the fences are pretty low impact but at least now you’re a little closer to the brahmin scenario ;P
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Slowly but surely on the Brahmin scenario 🙂 I think it takes about as much fence for that as it does to cover one house’s yard. Go figure!
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Lokaris is looking fantastic! And I know I’ve already said so on insta, but I really like those fences! Is that a game mat, or have you made a board for it? Can’t quite tell…
Modiphius clearly make some very interesting minis, don’t they? I feel like I should stay firmly away from such things, as that could easily end in disaster!! They make Fallout though, right? So I guess I already knew that…
I know what you mean about the bookcase. It’s surprisingly difficult to paint anything at random like that, isn’t it? Trying to get that balance of the right amount of different colours to look realistic can be very tricky, in my experience at least! But so far, the bookcase is looking very good, looking forward to more updates there!
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Thanks, mate! It is a mat made out of mouse pad material. I got it from Deep Cut Studio which is somewhere in Eastern Europe. Croatia or Czech Republic, I want to say. It is very high quality and the only thing I use for Fallout games.
One thing that I don’t think you would like about Modiphius is that they’re non-heroic scale. The older Fallout stuff in particular has tiny heads and really small eyes which I know you wouldn’t go for. The newer minis have bigger heads so that might help but I think they’re likely still a bit smaller than Warhammer ones, if you can believe it!
Yes, painting “randomly” is not easy at all. I’m usually fixated on symmetry and smooth blends and so randomness doesn’t come easy to me. I may end up making some adjustments to the bookcase in the coming week if I don’t think things are looking good with it. Either way, its another step towards being able to play Hellboy again!
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I recently bought a mat from Deep Cut Studios as well, though I evidently got the wrong material because mine is really bad, I was very disappointed! It has put me off the whole idea, but I know I’m in dire need of something better than the paper thing I’ve been using for years now, so might have to try again at some point.
Smaller than Warhammer? Oh, you’re right, I don’t think I’d want to put myself through that 🤣 I hope you can get the bookcase sorted… and all the hundreds of other models you need to get through, so you can get that game to the table! I’m hoping to finally get in another game sometime this week. It’s been out of the loft long enough now…
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I forgot that they offer different materials. I just did some research and I got mine in 2021 and it is the mousepad material. That is what I would recommend of the three options they have though it is too late now, I suppose 😦 There are other places that sell mats, if you want to try someone else. I have the not so well-titled F.A.T. mats though they’re US based which could make them pricey for you.
Haha, I knew that would put you right off that idea 🙂 I’ll keep chipping away at everything. I was thinking I might play Hellboy at some point with the bookcase done because I will then have one of each terrain size done and will be a little over the halfway point in the whole terrain “project” but we shall see. Maybe I’m waiting for you to get a game in first! 😀
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Oh wow, I’ve just had a quick look at FAT mats – $40 for the mat, $75 for shipping! They do still look good, though. I haven’t entirely given up hope for using the mat that I have, but I think it’s probably something that would need to be mounted on a piece of wood, or something. Not sure really what to do there, but I’m sure I’ll be casting around again soon! I’ll have to remember to go with the mousepad stuff!
🤣 I guess there’s a challenge for me in there, then!!
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Believe it or not, we get the same treatment the other way. Between 5-10 years ago, I used to order stuff from your fair island somewhat regularly. Now I will go through a lot of hoops to not have to because shipping is insanely expensive. If you can find a UK based mat maker, that’d be your cheapest option by far. Surely one exists but none are coming to mind right now…
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That doesn’t surprise me, sadly! I’m not really sure if there are any UK companies who make them, most of the ones I’d been looking at were EU-based. It has made me start to think about maybe building a proper table, with tools and stuff 🤣 We shall see…
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I thought I knew one (Pwork) and it turns out their Italian. There has to be someone on your fair isle making them… A proper table is a really cool project if you’ve got the space to store it! 🙂
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Oh, I think I remember looking at Pwork before I landed on Deep Cut, I think their range is smaller but will have to properly compare and contrast, I think! There’s probably a few others around the EU that may not be super obnoxious postage… fingers crossed!!
I think I may look at doing the full-on table project once I’m retired, it strikes me as the sort of thing I could get my teeth into at that point! 🤣
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Sounds good. Do some Googling and you’ll find what’s out there pretty quickly. That sounds like a great time to take on that project to me. You’ll hopefully have nothing but time at that point 🙂
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I’ve only briefly looked so far – got very distracted by a site that makes custom playmats for card games, I think that could be extremely dangerous 🥴
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Haha, yes especially for The Man With A Million Card Games which sounds a bit like a James Bond movie title now that I’ve typed it out! 😀
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When I first started buying miniatures my plan was to do a tavern, unfortunately the selection wasn’t as great as it is today, thanks for the temptation.
Kong, Skull Island is a great movie! I’d watch it while painting and find i didn’t get any painting done.
Your terrain is coming along nicely, trying to get books to look different is quite a challenge.
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Oh wow. I’m glad to hear it isn’t just me who thinks that would be cool. The price of Dunkeldorf miniatures might put you off the idea, but if you can stomach them, I reckon it’d be a really fun project. I’m definitely tempted by it!
I wouldn’t be able to paint while watching Skull Island either. It has great pacing and is very engaging. I hope the other Kong x Godzilla movies are as good as it is.
Thanks for the kind words as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if I make some alterations to the bookcase as I go along to make it look nicer and perhaps a little more understated. Time will tell on that, however!
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Good progress this week, Jeff! 🙂 I think Kong: Skull Island is an excellent film, probably the best Kong film for me!
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Thanks, John and that means you have great taste! 🙂 I completely agree with you that it is the best one yet.
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Lokaris is looking great, really like that helmet! The fences are noice too, it’s good to have a collection of those, they’re a nice bit of terrain to have from a gaming perspective.
I like the bookshelf too, reminds me of the bookshelf we have at work for technical books. Someone ordered it by colour which was very cool looking but made finding books quite difficult as you might imagine.
I’d love to see you take on those tavern minis, I think they’d suit your painting style really well.
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Thanks, Nic! I’m happy with how it all turned out too. I just have to work hard to finish both projects now which will take some time and patience.
That’s interesting to hear about the bookshelf at work. I tend to think of shelves having a pretty random setup in terms of colors but I can see where you might have books arranged by color in some places too. I’m curious to see how I feel about the books as I get them done, hopefully this week. They’re a bit tedious because I actually use washes which incur drying time and all that.
I think you’d do a great job with the Dunkeldorf minis as well, truthfully. Its definitely a future project that I intend to do, when I can get around to it!
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