Figurine: Black Dragon

I haven't got a lot of music reviews this week because I'm busy grokking a new band so I can better enjoy their show on Friday. I'd tell you who it was, but that would spoil the surprise when I review their new album and the concert!

So instead...an occasional miniature! Here is a black dragon figurine for your viewing excitement. Scroll down if you'd rather just read music reviews.

I worked on this guy for quite a while. He was very badly cast and required a serious amount of carving and refitting to even glue together:

I also built the base from scratch. I was originally going to do a swampy pool, but working with the low-temperature melted plastic is annoying so I went more woodland/ruins.

The wings on this guy are metal, and I lived in constant fear of him breaking while I was maneuvering him around to paint.

Here he is, looking all snarly. I'm guessing he didn't get a lot of hugs as a kid, probably on account of all the pointy bits.

 Close up the head and signs of bad oral hygiene:

 And the obligatory "He's coming right at me!" pose.

Don't worry; he's just a model.

Back to music in a couple of days!

Figurine: Dwarven Gyrocopter

If you read the byline to the blog's title you'll see it is not just music - it is also the occasional painted miniature.

I don't pursue this hobby much anymore, as most of my spare time goes to writing my book. As a result these posts have gone from occasional to rare. With that said, here's my latest - a dwarven gyrocopter:

 This is one of those figures that takes forever to paint, with all kinds of finicky little details that look great when they are done, but aren't very much fun in the doing.

Here's a shot of our helicopter pilot. I decorated the base with model railroad bushes and rocks to make it look more authentic.

Here he is from the other side:

And here are the blades of the 'copter. I tried to capture the feel of yellowed fabric stitched to a steel frame and I think it works to some degree.

And that's about it. We now return you to your regularly scheduled music review programming.

Figurine: Behir

It has been a long time since I posted a painted miniature, but after a long hiatus I'm back into painting them again. For a while all the time I was spending writing and then learning the guitar ate up my leisure time. I just have too many fun things to do, I suppose.

This figure is my first post in two years (the two I finished in between I was not sufficiently happy with to share with the world).

This is a behir - a fantastical worm that has many sets of limbs and breathes lightning.

Behir are said to live in frozen wastelands, so I took these pictures up against the stucco of my building to try to simulate a frozen cave, since I didn't think this guy warranted the full diorama treatment. Not exactly frozen, but it'll have to do.

I tried to make the ground look like it was dusted with snow, but I'm not sure it doesn't look more like gravel. Either way, I like the effect.

He looks suitably grumpy, but maybe he just needs a hug. With fourteen legs, I bet behirs are really good at hugs.

Figurine: Swordfighting Cheerleader

I've had a fair bit of time to paint miniatures lately, which would usually mean that I've gotten more albums to review (painting being one of the concurrently 'allowed' activities as per the rules).  However, because of my birthday I have an influx of new music I've been listening to instead, and I try to stick to random album selection as much as possible.

The long and the short of it is that I've got another miniature to post, but not an album.  I'm back at work tomorrow though, so with the walks to and from I'll be through another music review in no time.

Today's figurine isn't terribly exciting.  She's a scantily clad swordfighter - I can only assume she comes from a very hot climate:

Her outfit and ridiculously big hair made me think of NFL cheerleaders, so naturally I put her in Miami Dolphins orange and aqua.

Here she is in more natural lighting, such as you might encounter at Dolphins stadium, although in my experience the cheerleaders there are less likely to be wielding two scimitars.

Well, that's it for today.  Back to music for my next entry.

Figurine: Steampunk Angel

Welcome back, music lovers!  You may be thinking, "hey - that doesn't look like an album cover."

As you will note from the subtitle to the blog, I talk about music AND the occasional painted miniature. It is very occasional these days; the last figurine I posted was in July 2012.  I finally finished this guy on Sunday.

I call him "Steampunk Angel."  If you can't tell from this photo, he is actually floating above the ground (although he's foolishly dropped his helmet).  He has a censer swinging between his legs, and two 'attendants' holding up his cloak:

I think I did a good job on this guy, even if it did take way too long.  Here he is from behind, showing the shading detail on his cloak.  Also, you'll see the 'attendants' are plugged in somehow with rubber tubing.  Hmmm...

Those tubes are the first clue that not all is at it seems.  He is actually flying by means of some kind of jetpack technology hidden under his cloak, and affixed to the back of his armour.  It is hard to see, but on this side view you can see them just below his shoulders.  This angle also shows his sword, which is gratuitously festooned with roses.

This figure is a good reminder that if an 'angel' ever does descend from the sky one day and start issuing edicts, it is always wise to check for a jet pack before you decide to fall in line.

Figurine: Elf Paladin

Over the Canada Day long weekend I set myself three goals.  The first was to write my Janelle Monae review (scroll down for that).  The second was to write another chapter in my new novel - which I finished doing yesterday morning (only 60,000 words to go!) and the third was to finish painting this elf paladin figure I've been working on.

I'm officially three for three - here's the elf paladin (click on photos to see a bigger version):

I was drawn to this figure because of her beautiful hair - I love the way it cascades across her face, which seems a popular thing to do for these sculptors when they're carving female elves.

I was also drawn to her very cool shield - here she is from the back:

Of course as I paint these figures, I always imagine some kind of back story for them (I'm a writer, after all).  This figure is very fey indeed, with golden hair and violet eyes.  I imagine she comes from deep in the heart of an unspoiled woodland, and has committed herself to travelling through more 'civilized' lands, because she knows that is where she will find evil to battle (like Conan travelling to Zamora, except with less camel punching).

Here she is in her 'she's coming right at me!" pose.

I think I got her face pretty well, which is the hardest part with these things.

Next up is a very weird steampunk angel figure that I'm looking forward to painting.  But in between, a whole lot of album reviews, since this is a music blog, with an occasional painted miniature, not the other way around.

Figurine: Vampire Church

Welcome, gentle reader!  Warning - this is a long post on miniatures, with nary a music review to be found.  Music reviews will return soon, however.

In the meantime, at long last I've finished another major project on the figurine front.  This particular item is a diorama both Sheila and I have been working on (in fits and starts) for over two years.  It started with an idea I had of an old, abandoned church that had become a vampire lair.  I bought the initial pieces, but then kept working on other figures instead.

After a while, Sheila asked if she could start doing the diorama, since I wouldn't get on top of it.  I said that would be great, and after we agreed on the general concept, she put together the church and painted it up beautifully.  Then her interest began to wane, and the project sat fallow for a while, until I took it on and finished the grounds and interior.

So two years later, here it is - a collaborative effort with my favourite person! (note - click on photos for larger images):

Note the vampire knight at the left - his other scenes in this post got cut.  I am expecting a call from his agent.

The whole thing is about 18 inches deep by about 30 inches wide.  Any diorama should have a good back story about what is going on, and this one does - but before we get to that, let's zoom in a little on the front end and admire Sheila's stained glass windows.  The church is full of these, and they are Sheila finding great images of stained glass and then shrinking them to the right size, printing them, and fitting them into the church windows.  On the lower right, you can even see where she's simulated one being smashed by a fallen tree.

As you can see, there is some action in front of the church - what's that about?  Let's zoom in and take a look at the interior (with the help of a flash - it's dark in a vampire lair):

They don't like what the vampires have done with the place.

The story goes that years ago an imprisoned vampire was freed when his coffin was thrust up through the floor of the church (I have another cooler coffin for this purpose, but haven't painted it yet).  The clergy were driven out, and vampires took the place over.  For years, this nest of vampires has been preying on the local villagers, who have learned to shun the church as a place of evil.

Now, with the help of some vampire hunters, protected by a holy order of battle nuns (these folks are on the left), the locals have decided to attack the church and drive out the vampire menace.  Or perhaps just rescue that victim in the back right.

Outside, local villagers who've joined in desperately try to hold the door against vampire reinforcements (including a fetching lass that looks fairly relaxed up on the hilltop to the left).  We'll see more of these over-matched villagers in a minute, but I like this shot, which shows some of my work building trees and scenery, and if you look carefully, you can see the lead vampire hunter through the open door, raising his cross!

Below, behind a collapsed column, a local townsfolk holds off a vampire wizard.  She looks like more than a match for him, although going into battle with a yellow moon standard and a goblet is a bit flaky, and doesn't speak well of her judgment.

On the back left  you can see a holy warrior doing battle with the vampire's champion, who is desperately trying to get into the church and lend aid to his king and queen.

I will crush you with my evil sorcery, you balding do-gooder, but first - a toast!

Further down the path to the church, another townsman holds off a vampire knight with his lamp and crudely fashioned mace.  I don't like his chances.  In behind, a lunging vampire leaps from the hill at a determined looking (but older) villager with a two handed sword.  I imagine the last thoughts in the villager's mind will be "he's coming right at me!"

As the battle rages, in the shadows the church evil continues to claim its victims.  Will our heroes win the day, and if they do, will they notice this poor lass before she expires?  Who knows?  This action will be forever left unresolved.

So much for this diorama's PG rating.

And now, since this took two frickin' years to finish, here's a few shots for those who like to look at 'making of' features on their blu-rays.

As I noted prior, Sheila got the ball rolling by assembling and painting the church itself.  Here she is hard at work.  It was very large and unwieldy and at times she just took the whole thing into her lap:

The next step were finishing touches, including the brass on the door, and the stained glass windows I mentioned earlier.  These really make the finished product look great - this church wouldn't be nearly as cool without all the work Sheila put into those.  Also in this shot, Inigo peers up nervously at our work, no doubt wondering 'will there be vampires?'  Damn, I miss you, Inigo.

"Actually, I was wondering if there would be tuna" - Inigo

Then Sheila glued down some basic 'train set' grass as a base to build up from.  She also 'laid' the interior floor, but more on that in a second:

Above:  another sad example of how vampire vandalism is damaging heritage properties.

Around this time, Sheila lost interest and I took over.  She had started to build some model trees, but they are finicky and time consuming.  Here's how they start:

That unpainted miniature with the blue cloak looks exactly like that today.

And here's me doing my magic and finishing them off, one tiny branch at a time.  I'm getting some 'help' here from Vizzini, who is not nearly the well-behaved lap cat for modeling that Inigo was but is still very cute, I suppose:

May I  wreck it now? - Vizzini

And here are the trees complete, and glued to the base.  I really enjoy building these trees.  I'm kind of like that guy in the Tolkien short story "Leaf by Niggle" who loves painting leaves.  I find building trees very meditative and restful.  You can't over-think or under-think the placement of each piece of foliage.  The best I can describe it is that you have to think organically, but try not be aware of doing that.

Originally the 'hill' was made out of a cat food tin, but I switched that out for some modelling Styrofoam.

I though that hiding all the seams and staples holding the grass down would be difficult, but it was actually easier than I expected.  The key is to hide the seams, but not let what you're hiding them with look straight and uniform.  Nature doesn't do that.

A big assist on this front are bushes.  I put a lot growing up against the building, since bushes do that.

Sheila had initially copied a picture of marble over and over again and created realistic 'tile' paper that she glued down on the inside of the church.  To add to this, I built a mound of earth in the middle of the floor with some simulated broken tiles where we could later add a coffin.  Sheila suggested I also put some rubble and rocks around the edge of the interior to make it look more run-down, which was a good idea.  Here it is just before it gets figures added to it.

So that's how you do it, folks!  I'm looking forward to a less ambitious project for my next miniature.  It will be a female elf paladin.  Maybe she can help out the assault on the vampire church, because I think the villagers and battle nuns are a bit out-numbered.

Figurine: Vintage Knight

As is my wont, every five figures or so I like to repaint an old figure from the collection (I've been painting these things since I was ten, so there are plenty of poorly painted figures to choose from).

This particular figure brought back a lot of pleasant memories. He is "The Fighter" figure from a game called "Crypt of the Sorceror." This game came out in 1980 and combined elements of a board game with fantasy roleplaying and hobbying. It came with eight unpainted miniatures that you got to paint yourself (when I was a kid this was considered a good thing). The game itself seems to have been out of print for a long time, and the only online reference I could find to it was here. The game rules begin with:

"You lead a band of daring adventurers through the dark portal, into the tomb of an ancient, evil Sorceror. Fighting past his horrid monsters, avoiding traps and pitfalls, you finally reach the crypt itself to battle the sorceror for this treasure and his magical secrets."

Not much of a pitch line, but I recall the standards for getting fantasy games published in 1980 were considerably lower.

Anyway, my brother Virgil bought me this game for my tenth birthday. Before that he had never painted these figures and neither had I, but the game came with about twelve paints and instructions on what to do. Besides, we had both built plastic models for years, and felt up to the challenge.

We played the hell out of this game for years afterward. Sitting around the house on the weekend in our pajamas, with Mom yelling at us to get dressed and go outside (n.b. weather and temperature were not mitigating factors for her).

Painting the metal figurines could have been nothing but a sidebar to the story, but as it happens both Virgil and I got hooked on that as well. The brand that the game was published under - Dungeon Dwellers - also sold a lot of blister packs of miniatures, and so began my collection. Later we learned other companies also made miniatures (Ral Partha, RAFM, Grenadier etc.) and we were off and running.

I'd save up for a year, and he'd take me on a Saturday trip to the hobby shop in Courtenay (an all day journey from our town). I'd usually bring as much as $60-$70 with me - a fortune for me that I had carefully hoarded over the past twelve months. I was always determined to spend it all, but once I arrived the enormity of spending that much money would be too much, and I'd chicken out and only spend half of it. Fortunately, the other half would be enough to purchase two or three box sets of miniatures and maybe a couple of blister packs if I were lucky.

Before too long, despite our constant tweaking of the rules, the Crypt of the Sorceror game board couldn't house all the new arrivals. My brother built a two story castle out of balsa wood, with the exterior walls removed so you could reach in and move pieces around. We made that the new crypt, and one of us would meticulously fill it with monsters to defend against the assault of the other person's heroes. What started as a game of 4 heroes and 4 monsters soon grew to ten times the size, taking an entire afternoon to play.

Eventually even that wasn't big enough, so Virgil found some large cardboard boxes and using a felt pen, he drew a complicate map with a 'crypt' at each end. Our armies would work their way through a forest between the crypts, meeting in the middle to do battle. This could take all day, or longer. Everything was based on the rules from the original game, although we tweaked them whenever we felt like it for greater enjoyment and amusement.

Over thirty years later, the balsa wood castle is gone, and the cardboard battle boards are lost in the mists of time, but I still own everything from the original game except the box that it came in. I cut that up and used it to decorate my painting table. (Hardcore collectors, you may now shriek in horror).

And of course the joy I got from painting these first eight figures resulted in my current collection; thousands of these damned miniatures populating display cases throughout our condo. Painting miniatures is a hobby that still settles my mind when I'm troubled and helps me concentrate, although I've outgrown the need to pit them in battle against one another (mostly). Sheila has also taken up painting them, and I am both proud and embarassed to note she is a damned site better at it than I am despite my fifteen year head start.

Anyway, the eight original hero figures the game came with were the Fighter, the Halfling, the Wizard, and the Dwarf. You also got the four villains, the Evil Sorceror, the Skeleton, the Orc and the the Troll.

Without further ado, here is the knight, according to the bad flavour text from the game, he is "strong of arm and enemy of all things foul and evil." First with my original paint job:
"But wait", you say, "there are two of the same figure!"

Very true, and a nice opportunity to quickly move away from discussing the quality of my early work. You see from the earliest days, companies have cheated a little on design costs by putting the same figure in two or more blister packs (Warhammer actually pretends this is a positive). I got the second guy from a four-pack called 'fighters' because I desperately wanted the other three.

Anyway I painted the second fighter gold, partly to differentiate him from the first one, and partly to indicate that he was wearing magic armour. This was a big deal under the expanded Calvinball rules of the game Virgil and I were playing at the time.

Here they are from the back. Originally, they only had blue shields, but a few years after getting them I "improved" my work by putting lightning bolts on their shields. At least I intended them to look like lightning bolts...
OK, now on to the actually improved version. I generally like to stick to the original colour schemes when I repaint old figures (call me sentimental) so they're both still wearing red, however you'll note I removed the 'magic armour' element. There is no way armour this poorly carved is magical and besides, there's no longer a need to tell them apart.
It was very hard to paint the eyes on these guys because of their low quality. I actually gave one of them an eyepatch because he didn't have discernible facial features on one side. No, I'm not providing a close up of that.

Here they are on the shield side. I kept the lightning bolt theme, and added a crescent moon, for reasons I'd rather keep to myself. In retrospect, I wish I'd painted the horizontal line of the cross a bit lower, but I'm not going back now - maybe in another thirty years or so.
So there he is, one of the figures that started it all. The hobby equivalent of Kiss' "Destroyer" in my music collection.

My next project is at the opposite end of the hobbying spectrum, as I help Sheila finish a large 'vampire church' diorama she's been working on for months. It is a complicated set piece many months in the making, but I'm not worried about my ability to contribute. I've learned a few things about hobbying since 1980.

Figurine: Ghost And Gravestones

I haven't posted a new figurine in over six weeks (this is what happens once football season starts), but yesterday being a holiday I was able to get some painting time in.

My last figure was a ghost knight, begging the question, "what happens when someone dies and they aren't a knight?" Well my friends, then you just get a ghost of the ordinary variety. Here he is:
For some reason, this figure was sold with three little gravestones as well. I presume that is what passes for 'value added' in undead commerce. Here's a closer look at just the ghost:
I tried to slowly lighten the colour at the edges of the figure to give it the illusion of being insubstantial, and fading into the surrounding mist.

Maybe this ghost would rest if someone would just put his skull back in his grave. Having it sit out naked like that is just embarassing.

Here he is from the back:
And of course, no scary ghost photo gallery would be complete without the obligatory "He's coming right at me!" pose.
Happy early Halloween!

Figurine: Ghost Knight

In addition to finishing another CD review, I also finished painting another figure this afternoon - the much promised ghost knight.

I know what you're wondering - 'Is he a knight that has become a ghost, or is he a ghost that somewhere after entering a state of undeath got knighted. Whichever it is, here he is:
I imagine he was some long forgotten tyrant who died on a battlefield and now returns to haunt the living because he can't accept his own defeat (I like a good back story - it keeps me young).

This is one of those figures that is very easy to paint (the only real colours on it are purple and black) and easy to make look good. The movement is all there, and it just takes some patience and highlighting to bring it out. Here he is from the back:

And here is an oblique view, where you can see his helmet detail a bit better. Wait a minute...is he starting to turn this way?

Oh my God - he's coming right at me!

This "he's coming right at me!' moment has been brought to you by A Creative Maelstrom. I hope that combined with the Black Mountain album cover below you have not found today's blog postings too frightening.

Figurine: Rodents of Unusual Size

More figurines for your viewing pleasure. Here we have a couple Rodents of Unusual Size (ROUS) - for all those people who thought they didn't exist.

These ones were gifts from my friend Tony - thanks!

I think I'll call them 'Bitey' and 'Growley' - you can guess which is which (hint: I call the big one Bitey).

These rats were covered in some kind of boils that I tried to look festered and ready to pop, with a modicum of success. Here's a close up of Growley:
And now a little Bitey:
These guys turned out OK in the end. They are almost doglike in their pose and movement - I guess when you're as big as these rats, you don't have to skulk about like a rodent.

Next figure will be..a ghost knight! Until then, we return you to regularly scheduled musical programming.