Crossbowman number 3

My third quareller is a model from the Marauder Miniatures range. I couldn't find a solution to get a proper beard. Never mind, I will hide him behind his quareller fellows... As you can see below, I had already painted his two brothers (for a Golden Demon two years ago): the first one crushes skulls with his hammer, the second one deafens his opponents with his big horn (for more pictures, see the gallery on Haekel & Jaeckel's website). Now, the whole family is ready for war... but not for the same battle (damned bases!)

Crossbowman number 2

Incredible! Two dwarves in less than one week. To be honest, this one is the result of a simple 'refreshing' of the painting I did last year. I've tried to improve the light and shadows on the helmet and on the leather armour, and of course, I've changed the base.
More 'refreshed' dwarves should follow quickly.

Beer again

 This month's theme for the Bugman's Brewery painting challenge is... Beer.

I've decided to restart from zero a crossbowman I had painted last year in my last attempt to make a full unit. I had to work (rather) quickly, and I wasn't totally convinced by the result, which lacked of contrast (my usual flaw).

So, new year, new try.

As you can see, the colours haven't changed a lot. I've tried to deepen the shadows with Dark blue, black and Devlan Mud and to reden the face with thin washes of Arcavia Red (a Rackham Color).
Again, the helmet was the most difficult part of the miniature, and I've tried to go from almost pure black (actually a mix of Chaos Black, Dark Sea Blue and Mahogany Brown) to pure white...


Finally, since a friend of mine noticed that a 'desert' base was not very appropriate with such a heavy leather armour, I've opted for a standard 'stone and moss' base. The moss part is not very convincing: I'll try to improve that on the next crossbowman!

Jaeckel France's Dwarf Army

Although I've been collecting Citadel miniatures for over twenty years, I've never been able to paint a whole army. The first and most obvious reason is that I'm a really, really slow painter. And the second one is that I'm not a Warhammer player, and my motivation languishes after a few weeks, a few months at best.
But the brainwashing operated by the White Dwarf magazine still works: even so many years after their publication, when I go through the pages where Mike McVey explained the making of his wood elves army, or Andy Chambers showed his skaven horde, the same old reflex comes again and again: "Hey, what if I painted an army?"
 
For the admirers of the Dwarf people, two issues were particularly inspiring (and still are): in March and December, 1991, Wayne England exposed his incredible Imperial Dwarf army, painted with some basic but efficient principles: simple colour schemes, grey beards on a black undercoat and a nice selection of Citadel and Marauder Miniatures models. The result was impressive, and I think it made me buy all the blisters I could find including a model painted by Mr. England.

So, twenty years after Wayne England's Dwarf Army, it's time for me to build my own force! 2012 will be the year of Jaeckel France's Dwarf army...
All right all right, probably 2013 and 2014 too :o)

Look at these beauties...

A pint of beer for my first mini!

Cheers! I've recently re-discovered this miniature in one of my many boxes of to-do dwarves. One week before the term of the September painting contest of Bugman's Brewery, perfect timing!

The model comes in two parts, plus little accessories and, the most important, a ready-to-paint base (yeah, making bases is not exactly my favorite part of the hobby):

(picture from Freebooter Miniatures)

I had no idea where I was supposed to fix the first item (maybe a miniature heater?) and I've finally glued it on the base, in front of the model... As you can see on the resulting pictures, that was a really bad idea, since it distracts the eye from the most important part... the Dwarf Hero!

Introduction

All right, first message, what can I say? In addition to the website I lead with my pal, Haekel & Jaeckel, I've decided to open a blog to share pictures in a more regular way.

Besides, my love for dwarf miniatures tends to pollute the first page with bearded faces: this blog will allow me to give free rein to my obsessions without undergoing the acerbic comments of my partner. So, be prepared to monotonous updates with dwarfs, dwarfs and errr... dwarfs.