Work In Progress – ToadChapel Minis

Exotic Meats

From the outset I’ve had in mind a exaggerated tall narrow wall behind the kobold to reinforce his diminutive stature and shabby urban surroundings. It took a while to get the finish right, but I’m finally happy with this:

For some reason the phrase ‘exotic meats’ sprang to mind to provide a little ominous backdrop to this sinister character. He clearly doesn’t do much cutting himself anymore, but he keeps that old knife sharp.

I still need to try to kill the shine from the many ink washes and I’m planning some streaky slime on the wall and a few plants sneaking between the cobblestones. It may actually take a while before the project is finished, but it’s mostly there.

Let me know about the little fellow’s new home.

Don’t forget to follow ToadChapel on Instagram.

Sinister Shorty

After a delightful break from all mini related activity, which involved several days in the woods with my family, I’m back at this kobold (whom everyone calls a leprechaun) and starting to think about wrapping up the painting.

Here is where he stands now, needing gold NMM buttons, buckles, and bits and the inevitable tidying up before I move on to basing him.

A Full Figure at Last

After a good string of busts over the last few weeks, I got the urge to paint a full figure mini again. I dug this kobold from Blacksmith Miniatures out of the box and felt he’d do nicely. This is one of the models from the J.B. Monge line they did, which I kickstarted a few years back.

He’s 54mm, but short because, you know, he’s a kobold. Still, he’s got an enormous dome, so that is nice to work on.

Headed to Hastings

I’m still cranking out the projects here in the Chap. This time it’s a historical piece, a 1/16 scale bust of a Norman warrior at the battle of Hastings.

This is another great model from FeR, whose line has become a favorite of mine. These small busts are cheap and offer a good chance to practice different textures and ideas on a project you can complete in a matter of days.

Thanks for stopping in. Let me know what you think!

Papa Smurf

Though my posting has been sparse, I’ve been getting a lot of time on the hobby bench lately. Progress on Maulg is steady, but there’s often not a lot to show for it, as I’m going very slowly and trying to paint as well as I possibly can. It’s intimidating to approach a figure this way, but liberating at the same time. To just recognize that you’ll aim for your absolute best, but that it’s still a learning exercise, that you’ll fail some things you try, and that it won’t be as good as you can perhaps imagine helps to explode hang-ups and open the doors to improvement.

Here’s my boy. He’s starting to look a little closer to finished, though there are still entire bits left to paint and some major adjustments still to come.

Using a very similar palette on all elements of his ‘clothing’ and ornaments posed a challenge, but I wanted to avoid drawing attention away from the face and other more important sections.

I’m taking feedback from a few sources, which has improved the quality of the painting already. Feel free to add your thoughts, too!

Big Blue

I’ve perhaps turned a corner with Maulg. He seems to be progressing more quickly now. It’s fun to finally see some of the details come into focus.

Read on for some more views and a peek at my new painting space!

Mister Maulg

After the completion of my dwarf bust I was eager to continue pushing myself in new directions as a mini painter. I found an ideal figure sitting around, prepped and ready for action.

This is a WIP shot of King Maulg, sculpted by Allan Carrasco. He won’t really be a king for me, just a strange blue trollish monster who never misses arm day at the gym. The jungle gym!

Dwarven King Progress

While trapped inside with my little family, I’ve been making steady progress on the little dwarf bust I showed you a few days ago. This disease that has shut our society down, and which will cause suffering worldwide for a long time to come, does invite reflection, appreciation, and maintenance of the self. I’m thankful I have something creative to pour my efforts into in these strange and frightful times. I can say that I have enjoyed this project in a way I have never felt before.

I got the idea for the russet beard from a friend of mine. I would not have thought of that option myself.

The Return of the King

I’m going to try to buckle down and finish off this little bust from Lukáš Žaba. I started him a while ago but sort of lost steam. I think I succumbed to the paralysis that visits us when we fixate on how good, and how much better, every detail ought to be. I think I’m ready to just dive in, do my best, and move on the the next thing. If I have fun painting and learn a thing or two (which I already have), then he’ll be a success.

And since I’ve got nothing else to do, I’ve also got another 40k Kill Team project started!

Ready to Go Hunting!

This old bird is as sweet as they come…

… but she’ll never reveal her secret mushroom honey hole!

I think I’m done (though I’ve already said that well over a dozen times today). She was a lot of fun to paint, but I wrestled with this mini over and over, trying to improve the face. I think I’ve done about as well as I can.

Read on to check out some other very slow moving action shots of granny!