Door Number 9 - An Unexpected Party

Hello everybody,

long time not seen - it's me, Lukas. Boy it feels like it has been ages since I have written something for you.... much to do besides the hobby, I didn't even make it to Monte Sansavino - which made me very sad. But enough of that, now for something completely different!

All of you probably know this: a miniature you always want, than get the chance to buy it and... forget that you done so - until a a package arrives at your door.... well at least this happens from time to time to me, again a few days ago. 

Hm, what the hell did I order? And where did it come from?

A little damage by mail, but nothing severe just the outer wrapping - and a glimpse on the order.

Oh, look at THAT, a nice box - sealed with a SEAL - thats so cool. 

Just look at that seal, That's how you pack a miniature - and we have a clue what I ordered. A little something from Lucas Piana/Spira mirabilis - to be precise the Bearded Dwarf bust. So, after that riddle is solved, lets take a look inside and check out the miniature.

Inside, one finds a print of the artwork of the bust - and yes as you can see the bust is limited to 300 50* copies. Under the print the bust is bedded on bast, safe and guarded from damage through transportation.

The bust itself is pure awesomeness and character made out of resin, Just look at this little guy braiding his beard, minding nothing but his facial hair.

The cast is superb.  No mould lines or flesh has to be taken care of, You can nearly start painting right away. Only a little bit of resin at the bottom has to be cut of - but that's a really quick chop job.
The quality of the sculpt itself is even better. The dwarf is not cluttered with details and leaves enough freedom to the painter to ad some textures or freehands. At the same time, there is so much character in it. The hands look like real dwarven paws, used to hard labour. The face shows some age and a lot of character - he seams to be at peace with him self and fully concentrated on his beard braiding. Talking about the beard the hair on the miniature is a real highlight, Just rough strands, not those over detailed hairmesses that look good until you try painting it and that are a pain in the ass. No, these are looking so promising and  have a nice flow and structure to it.Just look at the beard and the back of his head - there the hairline has no clear edge to it and transits smoothly from the scalp into the hair  - so much interesting possibilities.

If you are interested in buying one - which I highly can recommend to you - head over to Spira mirabilis and write Lucas a PM. Oh and like him on FB and check out his other sculpts, they are really awesome and sometimes gone to quickly..... - like the Baba Yaga bust! Oh and on his Page you can finde some awesome painted versions of this bust - which reminds me, I have to paint some more....

What more can I say, other than that I'm looking forward to paint this little fellow.
Stay tuned for more and come back tomorrow for another door of our advent calendar.

* I got the numbers wrong. Lucas told me, 300 was the old declaration, when the bust could be purchased through H&V. Since this company doesn't exist any longer -sadly - the bust is now limited to 50 casts.