A thing a week 2023, week 22

This week, as threatened, we're back to minis and back to Ork-land because Orks are great. And yes, it's properly spelled with a k, even though none of the sculptors here spelled it correctly. I guess we just can't have nice things.

First up we have Gon'Tarr Orc Shaman who I got from Bones 5. If I'm honest, I don't super like this sculpt and I especially don't like that he skips leg day. I note that his muscleature wasn't super well painted mostly because he's small and also because I'm lazy. His cloak was mostly contrast paint and drybrushing and while I'm lamenting my laziness, I've definitely painted better bones/horns than I did on his staff. 

Next up we have Gara, the Half Orc from Bite the Bullet. Anyone even remotely aware of my work with even a couple brain cells to rub together should realize that I like painting gals way more than dudes so it should surprise no one that I put a bunch of extra time into this fig. The print was pretty lousy and as per usual I didn't do enough prep in removing the support scars. As a result I didn't push to higher levels of quality this go-around but at a total cost of around five hours, I think I got to a good place. I did make an effort to line things, though, which isn't a thing that I do super often. So there's that.

Last up we have Guldra - Orc Warlock from Twin Goddess Miniatures. I like this sculpt a lot though I do wish she was better clothed and I really wish her staff was less spindly. It's also notable that she really doesn't want to stand on her own without the funky sculpted base which I am not a fan of since I like making bases. Taking a look at the final shot on the right here, I'm reminded that the end of it snapped off one more time than I glued it back on. I also didn't realize that the purple base wash I stuck on was quite so shiny. The crystal bits are mostly phoned in but read OK on the tabletop. I'm not sold on these color choices, TBH, though they're about as faithful a triadic as I ever paint. Probably I'll print and paint her again, though likely at 25% larger.

2023 finished mini counter: 112/104

A thing a week 2023, week 21

And now for something completely different. Last weekend was BricksCascade and as is typical for Lego cons, when I get back I want to build. This is a heavy space truck that hauls containers. It's at the same scale as my other freighters even if the containers aren't the same. It's fairly complex but not particularly parts intensive and I worked awfully hard to squeeze it down to the size that it is. I may do more work to get it even smaller so watch this space!

A thing a week 2023, week 20

I'd like to claim that my four weeks of non-bangers were covering for this week's offering but that wouldn't be true (I was just being lazy). This week we have an actually reasonable paintjob--I might say quite reasonable. This is an Orc Thief 3d print by Vae Victis, a group of sculptors I really like. 

This is a good sculpt. It's got enough detail to be interesting but not too much to be tiresome--a difficult balance. It's also bereft of the typical-of-3d-sculpting-and-not-by-painters negative space that really bother me. If I have a gripe, it's that her main hand is at a weird angle that doesn't look entirely reasonable but that's really my fault for gluing her hand on weird.  

I didn't start this paint job with any lofty goals though I do think I pushed far enough to count as a high quality one for the  year. A wash of whatever was leftover from other paint jobs plus some sloppily applied contrast paints produced a less-than-stellar base. I spent a bunch of time avoiding other work doing the leather on her boots, a thing that I really want to get better at. The results were good enough that I kept pushing. After about eight hours of work with good paints and a dying Winsor & Newton, this is where I ended. Not glamorous, but I'll take it.

2023 finished mini counter: 108/104, 6/10 high quality

A thing a week 2023, week 19

Finishing up our mini-theme of non-bangers from Blacklist Fantasy Series 1. These are werewolves (hopefully obviously). I spent a little more time on them as they're slightly more interesting sculpts but don't get your hopes up, these still aren't well painted and as per usual, they're even more poorly photographed. Some day, some day.

2023 finished mini counter: 107/104