Blasts from the Past

I’ve recently completed the seven day art challenge on Facebook. Each day, for seven days, I had to post three pictures of my work. I decided to have a strong focus on some of my older, and more obscure, projects as my recent work has had plenty of coverage.

I’ve been a little cautious about dwelling on the past but that’s not to say I don’t value my mini painting past. I strongly believe that to know where you are going you have to understand where you have come from.

In that spirit, I’ve decided to compile these pictures of my older work and post them here. All of the photographs are taken recently. The miniatures were painted between the early 1980s and the late 1990s. They include the minis I painted before the first Golden Demon painting competitions, my entries to the first four Golden Demons, from 1987 to 1990, and the miniatures I painted in the years after.

I’ve given dates and descriptions for the models that are as accurate as memory allows.

Balrog
Games Workshop Early 1980s

Wizard
Games Workshop Early 1980s

Death Giant
Grenadier Early1980s

Troll Champion in Classical Armour
Games Workshop - Golden Demon 1987 entry

Eldar Warrior
Games Workshop - Golden Demon 1988
Gold - Single Miniature

Troll
Games Workshop - Golden Demon 1988
Gold - Monster

Space Wolves Rhino
Games Workshop - Golden Demon 1989
Gold - 40k Vehicle

Chimera
Games Workshop - Golden Demon 1989
Gold - Monster

Champion of Slaanesh vs Bloodletter
Games Workshop - Golden Demon 1989 entry

Nurgle Predator conversion
Games Workshop - Golden Demon 1990
Gold - 40k Vehicle & Slayer Sword

Eldar Death Jester
Games Workshop - Golden Demon 1990 entry

Champion of Nurgle
Games Workshop - 1990

Champion of Tzeentch conversion
Games Workshop - Early 1990s

Eldar Fire Dragon
Games Workshop - Early 1990s

Eldar Gaurdians
Games Workshop - Early 1990s

Gargoyle
Games Workshop - Early 1990s

Eldar Warlock
Games Workshop - Early 1990s

Skaven Assasin
Games Workshop - Early 1990s

Silver Helm
Games Workshop - Mid 1990s

Wood Elf Champion
Games Workshop - Mid 1990s

Dragon Prince
Games Workshop - Mid 1990s

Swooping Hawk
Games Workshop - Mid 1990s

Ariel & Wardancers
Games Workshop - Late 1990s

Jain Zar
Games Workshop - Late 1990s

Dark Eldar Incubi
Games Workshop - Late 1990s

Everyone has to start somewhere!

I needed to get up into my loft last night and in one of the many boxes of forgotten treasures I found this little gem. A real blast from the past - my first ever painted mini! 

Time has not been kind to him. The sword went many years ago and the varnish has gone yellow but despite that he has a special place in my affections. He's an Orc Chief with Sword and Flail from the Citadel Fantasy Tribes range. As best as I can remember I must have been about 14 when I painted him sometime around 1980.

I can actually remember painting him but had forgotten my experiments with fluorescent colour and NMM. Quite ambitious for a fourteen year old beginner and it's only taken me another 33 years to start getting a grip on the NMM!

A blast from the past - Sculpting my own models

I’ve previously mentioned a period when I wasn’t painting minis but in truth there’s rarely been a time when my hobby activity wasn’t related to mini painting in one way or another. I want to showcase some of the work I produced in this period as although it was produced during a time when I moved away from mini painting it ultimately led me back to the hobby with a renewed enthusiasm. 

Most relevant to this blog was the time I spent making Dr Who action figure customs. This was something that my mini painting experience equipped me for particularly well and it didn’t take too long for me to shift from customising to sculpting from scratch. It’s through sculpting that I became aware of the many online hobby communities and blogs that are out there. As a direct result I reconnected with the wider on-line mini painting community and started this very blog.

My sculpts were very much made as action figures hence the neutral poses and rather basic paint jobs. I started sculpting with green stuff as it was familiar to me it and It’s the only epoxy putty I’m not highly allergic to! Once I began trying to sculpt an entire figure from scratch I made the shift to Super Sculpey Firm and found myself on a very steep learning curve. 

Scratch built Dr Who action figure sculpts

My focus when sculpting these figures was on developing my technique and trying to capture a likeness (with varying results!). I then decided to try sculpting a couple of busts and found these far more creatively rewarding. I brought an element of design to these that I’d purposefully avoided with the figures. Painting the busts was also a more rewarding experience. I began to call once more on my mini painting experience in an attempt to create something more fully realised than the paint jobs on the action figure sculpts. Both of the busts I produced are my own re-imagined designs of classic Dr Who monsters.

Scratch built Silurian bust

Scratch built Sea Devil bust

It was just after finishing the Sea Devil bust that a fellow member on a Dr Who fan forum made me aware of the then newly released mini of the 11th Doctor sculpted by Steve Buddle. You can see where that led me by going to the start of this blog - my hobby interests had come full circle.

Mummy Mania - Painting the Tomb King part 6

Over the last few weeks I've been fitting in a bit of mini painting time whenever I can and seeing how much I can do. Not a lot as it turns out!

This weekend I took a more focused approach and set myself a target. I decided to concentrate on painting the Tomb King's weapon to see if I could get it finished. In total I managed about ten hours painting time and as it's turned out the weapon isn't finished but that's only because I've decided to go back and rework the blade.

I really dislike the orange areas of the blade so I've decided to regard them as underpainting. They are far too bright and look crude and ugly! I will be knocking them right back by creating a darker overall look for the blade with some washes and glazing. For the most part I'll be using a mix of GW scorched brown and Vallejo dark sea blue. I'm hoping for a more sinister and nuanced feel to the colours on the blade.

UPDATE
I've just spent some more time painting the blade this evening and I'm feeling much happier about how its looking.

To help me get familiar with my new camera I've been photographing some of my older minis. I think it can be really useful to go back and take a critical look at your older work. One mini in particular is very relevant and in many ways similar to my current Tomb King Project. It's a Dark Harbinger from Crocodile Games. 

I painted this mini back in 2006 following on from a couple of years where I hadn't painted any minis at all. It one of the last examples of my bright '80s' style of painting but it also shows my first proper attempt at NMM. I didn't realise it at the time but in this respect it shows the turning point when I started to try and update my painting style. 

The main benefit of reapraising older minis isn't to relive the past. By looking back at earlier achievements and failures I'm better able to assess my current status and plan where I want to take my mini painting in the future.