Door number 14 - Painting the generatorium

And we go into the 7th installment of  our redmaw series today!

Door number 13 - The work of a master

Hello again,

its time for another review. This time a beautiful sculpt from the one and only Raul Garcia Latorre. You might Know him for his many awesome and sometimes even breathtaking historical sculpts, especially but not only from Latorre models - a company which is sadly out of business, again, and which miniatures are hard to get nowadays. But Raul doesn't do exclusively historical miniatures, he also has done some beautiful fantasy sculpts, probably some of his best can be bought at MProyec, highly detailed resin models with a very limited batch. I, myself, have three of his MProyec works lying around - and luckily some more of his other stuff - but today I like to show you the Thorag bust.

Like all the MProyec stuff Thorag comes in a simple but safe and sturdy cardboard box filled with those foamy stuff to protect the miniature. And, again like all the other MProyec stuff, a signed print of the artwork is added - a really nice touch, especially when it comes to limited miniatures, and a trend that spread through the hobbys, thank god, I really like those little details....

As you can see Thorag is a very angry and characterful bust with nice details. 

Speaking of details, just look at this close-up of the breast-belly plat. It is just breathtaking how fine and precise those engravings are. And a bit intimidating, when you realise that you have to paint those... Again, Raul Garcia Latorre shows his awesome skills with this sculpt. Fine and sharp details, a clear concept, a certain mood and character and an outstanding understanding of volumes and behaviour of different materials and textures. The bust offers just the right amount of predefined details and room for some creative freedom while painting. Due to the extreme fine details I would recommend the bust, like most of the MProyec stuff, only to experienced painters. As a compensation to the level of detail and higher workload concerning the painting progress, the cast is nearly flawless. No mould lines, no flash or bubbles. You just can start painting right away after unboxing. That is, unless you want to replace the precasted base of the bust. This might result in a bit of sawing and sanding, but it might be worth it - at least it is what I will do.

Finally, let me say that you get a beautiful miniature for your money and I can recommend following MProyec on FB.

Stay tuned for more and come back for another door of the advents calendar tomorrow.

Door 12 - To'ad - keeper of a sacred place

Heyho people of the internets,

yesterday we didn't manage to open a door. Martin is sick right now and I had to much work on my hands. But today we are back, and brought some pictures along. Without further words, enjoy them.

To'ad - a warrior of ancient times
he stands loyal to his duty
guarding the long forgotten temple
deep in the jungles 

where scarcely a soul bothers to go.
But in the name of sleeping gods

he will stand watch for countless millennia more

until they rise again from the depths 

This little fellow from Aradia miniatures was a real pleasure to paint - like most of Alan Carrasco's sculpts.

If you like him, leave a comment, aske questions and got to Putty & Paint for a vote.

Door Number 10 - Senatus Populusque Romanus

Hi folks,

its me again, Lukas. Today its not review time, instead let me show you a finished work of mine. Some of you might remember the review of the Roman legionary from last years advents calendar. It took some time, but finally I managed to take some pictures (kind of good, maybe). But rest assure, it didn't take me that long to paint this little fella. Actually, I finished him right in time for the Duke of Bavaria this year and send him to the World Expo in Stresa*, too. But before I say more have a look at him for yourself.

If you like you can vote for him at Putty & Paint.


Leave some comments, stay tuned form more AND come back tomorrow for another door!







* So much can be said here, the display he was part of took Gold in Historic Master Painting - I don't know why and how, but never the less I will show you the rest of the display

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.

Door number 8 - Battle of light and darkness

Good morning everyone. Most will have noticed we've missed a door yesterday.
Right now we all here are very busy and try our best to bring you daily hobby goodness, but sometimes jobs and our families have to come first.

Today the calendar is back with a mission for Warhammer 40k we played in our local store last Halloween.

The mission objectives were candles. One side was the team of darkness, the other the fighters of the light. Before we began, half the candles were lit.

Every time a unit ended their movement at a candle, they could lit it (if they were on the good side) or  put it out. The winner would be the side with most secured objectives, or the side that lit/ put out all candles. The game was played in darkness with flashlights and things like a laser pointer for random lightning strikes.

It was not much different from normal games, but the atmosphere was very cool and the players won't forget it soon.

Every turn i  rolled the number of lightnings on the battlefield, and then used a laser pointer that i random rolled in my hand. where the line would fall, units would be hit.

Maybe you'll have a game in darkness too ? It was really nice seeing the battlefield drowning in shadows and lighting up again, as evil and good tried their best to win.

Door number 6 is a portal to the far east!

I'ts been nearly one year now, that we traveled to the far east and spent some rather impressive days in Tokyo. We tried to capture some sights and many nerd and modeler/ painter attractions and made a little, rather silly documentary. We still record and edit audios, but we wanted to show you some of the footage of Tokyo's gigantic municipal building. Just lean back and see how big everything there is!

As we all have jobs and studies, it's rare that we find the time to work on our travel report, but I think these pictures don't need further explanation. We felt really small when we came down there.