Wednesday, June 2, 2010

What's on deck for June?

Well, April and May were a disaster. Finishing one mini a month is not a very good way to make a living, even if they do go for a few hundred bucks a piece. This month I will be kickin' the tires, and lightin' the fires, and finish two minis!!! Hahahahaha...

First up I have a plastic Commander Dante model, built from the Sanguinary Guard sprue. I was sent most of the new Blood Angels stuff for free from Wayland Games in England. They were one of the sponsors for the Golden Bolter painting contest over on the Bolter and Chainsword website back in February. They liked my Salamanders Captain so much, they awarded me the random prize. With a pile of boxes and blisters sitting in front of me, I knew I had to put them to some use. The new plastics are a great opportunity to update some of the old Character models. Dante is first, and there will be a plastic version of Death Company Tycho which I have been commissioned to start on next month.

Speaking of free stuff, I'm waiting on a package of samples to come from Red Box Games. Tre Manor has been nice enough to send me some samples of his latest sculpts. This is when being known as a painter in the industry really feels good. To have artists who appreciate my hard work enough to send me free stuff is a wonderful feeling. Small garage companies struggle to get by, yet still have the generosity to hook up their boys. I'm really looking forward to seeing his Goblin Chief riding the Kodiak Grizzly in the flesh. The sculpt looked great, and the detail he fits into his tiny minis is incredible. You're the man Tre!

I am only accepting one commission a month right now, so I don't get swamped, and my customers will not have to wait more than a month to get their finished piece, once the building starts. Right now I am booked for the next three months, which means I have three minis on deck.

This month is a Space marine Captain for a DIY Chapter. Some nice sculpting and conversion work is involved with this job, so it should be a cool one-of-a-kind piece. I really enjoy the interaction between myself and customers, where I suggest the things that I think should be done with the mini, and they tell me what they like, or dislike. It makes for a better product in the end, when you take the time to bounce ideas around, and explore all the options.

Check back next week for the finished Dante, and maybe a few sneak peeks of the sculpting I'm doing on the Captain job.

Thanks for looking.

Cheers
 JAH