Long time ago...

 ...in this very blog...

...I used to paint (and even play!) the long forgotten Imperial Assault game. You know, the kind of Star Wars dungeon crawler, before the times of Legion (and of course Shattered Point). Even before those days, Knightmodels produced some really beautiful 28mm Star Wars minis.

I was there. 

I still had some of them, unpainted, forgotten, waiting for years and years for their moment to finally come.

Well, better late than never. While I'm working on some other (titanic) projects, I've been putting some time on these, just to breathe within project stages.

I'll start with the Knightmodel minis. They were really, really sweet. I only managed to get a few of these second-hand, and honestly, I totally regret not buying more back then. I was caught up in other projects at the time and figured I could just get them later. But unfortunately, Knightmodels lost the license (same thing that happened later with the Lord of the Rings line), and the minis stopped being sold. Real shame, really.

Here you have them. Han Solo and Chewie carrying poor dismantled C3P0:

Space scoundrels

It was kind of a reedition of this post of ancient times, though I had totally forgotten the recipe for Chewbacca's fur, so I had to improvise a little.

The other couple is our favourite and most famous twins (apart from those from the Acolyte TV show, of course -sarcasm mode off): 

Ebony and Ivory

 There's really little to say about these. They are true 28mm, well scaled and proportionate, so they can pose a challenge to all those who, like me, are so used to GW and their kind of minis. To better illustrate what I say, let's compare them to the Imperial Assault ones: 

They are beautiful and really well sculpted

Of course they are enormously cool, don't take me wrong

But I think you can see what I'm talking about

The Knightmodels ones are delicate and are of a different scale. They are white metal, traditionally sculpted. They are not as clumsy or random as a 3D sculpted mini; an elegant miniature for a more civilized age...

Here you have them all:

Rebel fanfare sounding now

I also took this shot of the Knightmodels minis only, with the other one I had from long time ago:

Sigh, still so very few...

 It's been ages since last time I played Imperial Assault (or any other thing). I’ve gotta admit, painting these has totally reignited my urge to do some Star Wars projects and play something—anything, really. I don’t think I’ll be able to right now, but hey, the idea and the itch are definitely floating around out there...

 

Master Kenobi... you again...

A quick break today until I start new projects. I had this Obi Wan Kenobi from KnightModels awaiting  for some months. I made a quick job on the mini, one of these things you need to do to take some fresh air and get  the feeling of doing actual progress on something.

I don't realize how awful my pics are until I see stuff like this

Pretty straightforward paintjob, standard colours and a little mandatory OSL for the lightsaber.

I should take more risks and make more (and larger) layers. For now this is it.

It's not the first time I paint an Obi Wan, some years ago I showed the 72mm Kenobi, also from Knightmodels. I solemnly regret not hoarding the whole 30mm ranges when KnightModels released them, but I didn't expect them to drop the license so abruptly. Finding these minis (for a reasonable price) today is quite a challenge, but I take a look on the internet from time to time.

For the moment I think I'll use him for Imperial Assault, here you have a couple of scale comparison shots:

Seriously, man, I thought we were over this

One day you fight along them, the next day you fight against them

They are totally into the same scale, so it's a deal. That's another reason why I took this quick paintjob on the mini (one night's work), I was thinking more in having a tabletop ready mini than any other thing. I know some people playing the old WEG game, so I'm in fact curious about the possibilities. Shamefully the old 25mm minis don't match these new 30mm ones (or the other way back, you know), but anyway I'd like to have a look at the game and run a few skirmishes.

Ahhh, all in due time...

For the moment I'm just keeping my mood up for next week's Rogue One release :P

Darth Vader

Ha! For sure you expected an 'I am your father' or something for the title! Yeah, I know, I'm that predictable, that's why I have just said the name of the evilest among the evils, the infamous lord of the Sith. Ladies and gentlemen, with all of you... Daaaarth Vaaader!

 

Err... Not a great introduction, I guess

 

Once again this is a 72mm. miniature by Knightmodels. You can bet that if the licence was not profitable, it was not my fault!

 

Easy thing this time, black priming and then for the textures

 

I worked on greyscales for the pants and leather in general, and black and dark blue for the cloak, armour and  the rest of the clothes.

 

You can't see a thing here, but you get the idea

Maybe a little better here

 

The pose is great, but the mini has a main design flaw in my opinion, the lightsaber. At some moment you will have to stick a metal bar into the tiny end of the hilt. I really believe the whole lightsaber should be made in one piece.

 

It looks like I'm a rock star with my micro

 

I tried to kinda show the light effects coming from the lightsaber on the robes, armour and even slightly on the floor.

I just said 'I tried'

Then it came the dreadful moment. A drop of superglue and just a whisper... 'May the Force be with you...'

 

It works! Imperial March sounding from the back...

Hey, you thought I would not be able to achieve it? 'I find your lack of faith disturbing'.

The guy deserves a better final pic, doesn't he? Here you have:

 

Hhhh-khhhhh... Hhhh-khhhhh

 
Wow! This has been the last of the Knightmodels Star Wars range mini I had! (I still have more stuff from this company, just not SW). The minis are truly lovely, believe me. I have seen some online retailers that still have some minis in their stocks, so I don't refuse the thought of purchasing some more stuff.

But for the moment this is it, I still have too many different pending projects, as usual. Later this week you will begin to see one of them... ;)

Imperial Stormtrooper

Another painting challenge! Today, the iconic Imperial Stormtrooper, present at every corner of the galaxy.

 

Traditional Kaminoan way of cloning troopers had displeasant side effects

 

It is a 72mm. Knightmodels miniature, as the others you have seen other times. I always say the same, they were a lovely range, shamefully they dropped the licence.

 

Now imagine it painted and not this blurry

 

Though I was tempted to coat it in white, I finally took my chances with grey priming:

What do you mean 'my character is dull grey'?

Then it was just a matter of thin layers of different whites...

You can't see the difference, but there is some white here

...And whites...

Layers and layers

... And even more whites!

Oh! Now some black! What a difference!

 

By now the mini you see has eight different layers of different tones of white. Yup, I know, you do not see them nor perceive anything. That's my curse. I promise there are eight different colours there, from a light grey-blueish for the deepest shadows to almost a pure white for the highlights.

 

Close the blast doors! Open the blast doors!

 

It truly was a challenge, though it may does not look as one!

So another mini for my 72mm. Star Wars collection. This is escalating quite quickly...

Han & Chewie

Not wargame related minis again. Not strictly a vignette, but two standalone minis put along together :)

Beautiful Knightmodels minis again, from their Star Wars 72 mm. range.

Han Solo at Mos Eisley Cantina required some previous assembly, as you can see:

 

Stayin' alive, stayin' alive...

 

I needed some green stuff for a few joints, but nothing too serious.

 

Come on, Han, go home, you're drunk

 

 First layers of colour left him this way:

 

Yup, I'm drunk, look at my eyes, I feel dizzy...

 

On the other hand, Chewbacca was quite easy to assembly, but it would prove a hell of a work painting that fur.

 

Grrrwwwaaahh!

 

So this was going to be the merry couple:

 

Yeah, you messing with me? You messing with him

 

After some work on Han's face...

 

Am I blind or this Cantina is way too dark?

 

The mini is full of details, superbly sculpted, as everything Knightmodels do:

 

I've been trying to say something for a while, but nobody seems to notice my finger up

 

In the meanwhile, Chewie got some attention on his fur (again, a hell of a work!)

 

Can you imagine how much shampoo does he need?

 

Finally, Han ended up looking this way:

 

Waiter! Waiteeeer!!

You like me because I'm a scoundrel

And Chewie this way:

 

Grrrwwwaaahh!

 

Never upset a wookie

 

Here you have the final result:

 

A really nice couple indeed

 

By the way, I feel like I have no need to remember this, but you never know...

 

Han shot first.

You're my only hope

'This is our most desperate hour. Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope'.

A little break up from Warhammer for a change :)

This is the 72mm. model by Knightmodels, purchased before they dropped the Star Wars license. Gorgeous sculpt, as usual. If only my skills were up to it...

 

Ewan McKenobi

I painted this some time ago (some years in fact!) and it was my very first attempt of painting sourced light on clothes and skin. I was a little bit lost at the beginning, but the only way to learn is making mistakes!

 

Don't you smell like... burnt hair?

I didn't want to overdo the light effect. At the moment I was reasonably satisfied, but now I see it again and I find all the mistakes I made (well, I find some of them, I haven't learned about the rest...). The light transitions are too rough, the model needs more reflected light, smoother transitions and definitely more shades.

 

All the upper part needs blue everywhere

In spite of all that, I still find the model really, really great. It is on my shelf, waiting for me finding the skills (and courage) to repaint it properly.

One day. I hope that not far, far away...

Legolas Greenleaf, son of Thandruil

Here we have another member of the Fellowship of the Ring, by Knightmodels again. The Prince of Mirkwood, Legolas.

 

The blind Elf

 

This miniature is superbly sculpted, as usual, but is is a real challenge, as its pose is very, very dynamic. That makes the set a little unstable if you are not a little careful. You have to put some work on the base to make sure it's completely safe for the mini and it's not going to wobble. The whole mini is a little bit heavy, so it can unbalance (and eventually fall down!) if the base does not properly fit a flat surface.

Yup, my dad is an Elf who rides an elk. Problem?

As you can see by the shoulderpads and the sword, the mini depicts Legolas at Helm's Deep (new problem for my Fellowship timeline continuity, sigh)

 

Fortunately, he is not shield-skating

 

The mini is great and I have no doubt it is accurate to film production pics. However, I see some problems about shooting a bow the way he's doing. Position of the arms and bow, that kind of things. But hey, the mini is cool, that's part of cinema laws!

My hairstyle is great

I added some thread to mimic the bowstring, but once again you have to be careful when assembling the model, as you will have to glue the thread to the lower part of the bow, glue the bow to the wrist and then go on with the rest.

So that's it, we have four members of the Fellowship now. Who will be released next?

Strider, Ranger of the North

A change for today :)
Back to Knightmodels and their awesome LoTR range.

The sculpt of Aragorn is amazing, as always. The first thing that caught my attention is that he has no beard, not even a trace:

 

I shaved this morning before coming here

 

So the sculptor took the production photos as a reference, those at the beginning of the shooting, when Viggo Mortensen indeed didn't wear a beard yet. The head of the mini is a perfect portrait of him.

I painted the shadow of a beard, as he looks in the early stages of the movies, and begun to set up the mini.

Aaaaa! My arms, my arms!

As usual, the sculpt is superb, I wish I could make justice to it, but I'm afraid this is all I can achieve with brushes.

Ahh, now I feel better

What am I supposed to be looking at?

The miniature is full of tiny details that make it come to life. Now that I see the (awful despicable) pics, I think I should add some heavy weathering. My problem with taking photos still remains though, the mini looks much better in the flesh.

You can notice that he is wearing the leather bracers which belonged to Boromir, so you can set the timeline of this mini at some moment during 'The Two Towers'.

Well, I planned setting some kind of full vignette when all the Fellowship was released, but now I know it will have some incoherence, displaying characters at different moments. Hmm, it currently seems to bother only me, so I'm sure you will forgive my obsession with details ;)

Hope you like it!