Monday Miniatures: Anval
This miniature is scary even when it is unpainted. One of our regular painters did point out that it is ridiculous to wear that much armor when none of it is protecting your vital organs. While I agree, I would never make judgements about the fashion sense of man that carries an axe that size in one hand.
That would be bad for my health.
There are no projects I want to recomend this week, but it is worth pointing out that Mierce has launched yet another Kickstarter. This would make their fifth project in a year and a half that has raked in half a million pounds.
So for my first try on this mini I went with a darker skined color scheme with bright colorful armor, but it just didn’t look right, so after a scrub with a greenie, this is my second attempt. I’m not in love with it either, but I think with a little more work, it will turn out okay.
Magnus really practiced his NMM technique this week. It looks really great. Though the choice in color scheme was largely the same as mine, he was , you know – not lazy. Really great work.
Arjen was not in love with this scuplt. He pointed out just how small the head was (though when I was painting it it was the size of the right hand that bothered me – it’s huge!) I feel like this color scheme was torn from the pages of heavy metal magazine – I really like it, even if he doesn’t.
Dirk surprises none of our regular readers by turning in another awesome mini. I love the axe detail, and the leather feels like it has real depth.
Rustkill finished a mini too. I love the clean edging and bright colors present on this model. It is exceptionally crisp and full of detail.
Dragoman – Please send pictures to Caffeineforge@gmail.com by 2100 MDT on 9/28/14
Caffeineforge 
Hey, my mini is not showing, “file not found”!
I’ll look into it when I get home.
I really have to look into a better camera. As you all seem to have better stuff than me, do you have suggestions for a camera suitable to shoot minis that will not bankrupt me?
I use my phone, with Photoshop to correct lighting. Photoshop is a powerful tool.
David wins the prize for most clunky mini, it looks very solid and you can hear him clanking about. Magnus and Rustkill both painted deceptively simple looking minis that are in fact craftily and meticously painted. I like the new style Rustkill is bringing to our team, it has a bright vibrant quality. Most of us go for grim realism. Dirk’s axe, that axe….wow!
Yeah, Dirk’s axe (Dirk’s Anval’s axe?) steals the show! I like how David’s armor looks well-worn, it’s a nice effect.
I wish I had thought of tattoos, as well; they’re perfect for the figure. The figure totally has a “Chaos” vibe to me, so the distorted proportions of the head and hand aren’t too out of place.
Fantastic all around. I must remember to get back to this!
I have to jump on the bandwagon here too. My first thought was: “Wow! Dirk nailed that axe!”
I have to say though that Magnus’ axe is also awesome. Different style, but great execution! (pun intended)
I’m looking forward to seeing Arjen’s once the link get sorted too!
As far as a camera goes. I use my phone as well; A Nexus 5. Getting it to focus on the minis can sometimes be a pain, but it’s usually not bad. I need to start working on actually taking shots of mine in front of some sort of backdrop though. Usually I take so long painting my minis that I just cop out and shoot them while the paint is still drying!
Oh! I really like the pale skin on Arjen’s mini. Looks kinda ghoulish.
Thanks for all the compliments on the axe!
It was quiet simple to paint, although with a little skilled hand I think.
After base colour (dark silver and shining gold – I wanted it to look brass) I layered carefully a wash with the army painter quickshade: dark tone; no hard rules how much to paint on, just as much as you may see fit.
Then I drybrushed a little blue around the eye and painted the white in after that, and brushed some dark red carefully on the edge.
By the way: I removed the axe hand from the mini (with a little force 😉 ) to paint it easily from all sides and reglued it later.
David, your mini looks great with this “used armour”-look, the warrior saw a lot of battles! And your darker skin tone fits well. Hadn´t thought about dark skin because I need him as a specific NPC, but I think I try him again.
@Magnus: your NMM strikes me, I can imagine your mini in a classical painting. And I like your axe: the vampire face has a ghostly feeling about it.
Arjen, I like your grim dark look as always.
@Rustkill: welcome aboard! I already saw your step-by-step-tutorial on your blog last week, thanks for sharing. And a good striking colour sheme also.
I would like to paint the Dragonman next week, but it is reserved for my wife… so see you soon!
On a completely unrelated note, did the Google+ integration get removed for comments? I used to be able to log in with that to post, but now it doesn’t seem like that’s an option (I only see WordPress, Twitter, and Facebook).