Kili - 2/9/2014

I suppose all you really want to do is see the finished model so here's Kili the dwarf: 

Next: Oin

More of a Letter Opener Really - 15/8/2014

Balin was one of my favourite dwarves in the story, and here he is!  

Getting the highlights and shadows on the coat was very tricky, but I was very pleased with the results:

I was also quite happy with how the beard turned out, this is something I have always struggled with but perhaps I'm finally starting to get the hang of it!

And the finished product, I think I'm getting better at the highlights with the flesh tones as well, I was perhaps being a bit heavy handed before...

I've already made a start on Fili so watch this space, disappointingly it means a move back to boring brown. I've quite enjoyed having the chance to use some of the brighter colours! 

Dwalin, at your service - 8/8/2014

With a crew of dwarves to get through I decided to start with Dwalin.  First his coat...

It took me longer than expected to get to this point, but here he is nearly finished...

 I think I'm getting better at some of the details, the highlights on his face for example, and I was quite pleased with the belt buckle too!

Finished Dwalin:

Next up is Balin.  Though I may have to watch the film again in between! 

What is Bagginses? - 25/7/2014

Firstly, as promised, here is the finished Thorin figure. It's amazing how much difference painting the base makes (and yes I did paint over my thumb print!)

Next was a certain Mr Bilbo Baggins.  I really enjoyed this one, though it was quite tricky in places.

The detail on the clothing is always important, but it's the flesh colours that really bring these things to life.

You can just about make out the blue glow of Sting, a warning of the looming goblin army!

The Dwarf company is next on the list, should be good as they're all wearing different coloured clothing! 

Far over the misty mountains cold... - 25/7/2014

Time to paint Thorin Oakenshield.  It was quite nice to start painting someone whose main colour wasn't grey!  As ever it was just a case of building him up, colour by colour, layer by later...

The boots were quite fiddly, but other than that his clothing was fairly straight forward to paint. 

His hair though, was much trickier than Gandalf's, I think it looks OK, though I feel perhaps I could have done better here.  His oaken branch shield was also quite tricky to paint, but this was my fault - there were 2 options for his arms when assembling him - and it was the other option (with no shield) that was in the instructions for how to paint, so I had to improvise a bit here!

So with the exception of the base, here he is all done!  

You shall not pass... - 12/6/2014

I was almost surprised by the number of different paints I've had to use this afternoon to get Gandalf looking like Gandalf, but I am learning that it's important to get the details right!

The next job I had was getting his hair and beard sorted.  3 paints (one base, one highlight and one shadow) and here's the result. Quite odd sitting "washing" Gandalf's hair.

 Then, to get him looking like a person it was time for the fleshy bits.  This part was quite tricky as the areas are getting very small, particularly when it came to highlighting his cheek bones!

 A few more finishing touches and he's done.  I feel like I could have been a bit tidier with it, but I don't think he looks too bad!

Thorin Oakenshield next!

Are you sitting comfortably? - 12/7/2014

Then I'll begin...

Sitting comfortably is very important with the painting - spent all afternoon yesterday hunched over the table and am feeling the effects of it this morning!

But I finally finished the primer stage with the figures!

 So first on the list of figures to paint properly is Gandalf, not sure it was the best idea starting with one of the most tricky ones but here goes nothing.

Here's a reminder of boring black all over Gandalf:

All that I need to do now is carefully add in the colours one by one. I'd forgotten how much concentration it takes!

 Here's where I'm at with him now:

There's a few stages to go (flesh, beard, weapon etc.) and once I've done them all I intend to go back and tidy up the few rough edges that I've left.  I think the robe is looking a bit messy, but quite pleased with the staff so looking forward to see how it all looks when I've finished.

Am hoping to get the rest done later on today so check back later! 

Primed and Ready - 23/6/2014

There's not a lot to say at this point as it's just a matter of me plodding through all the different figures and hand painting them with the primer (I opted to do it this way rather than the probably quicker method of spraying them).
Lots done in the couple of hours I had spare, but lots more to do!

Down, Down to Goblin Town - 22/6/2014

Whilst my army of Goblin's had been put together it was missing something important.  They needed someone to rule over them...

It's time to introduce Grinnah, lieutenant of the Goblin Town rabble:

Of course Goblin Town wouldn't have been what it was without the Great Goblin, the Goblin King: (normal goblin alongside for purposes of scale)

My personal favourite of course is the Goblin Scribe.  He may have deformed legs, and slightly unusual face, but he hasn't let them stop him.

I have started assembling the scenery now too (pictures to come soon, no doubt) and then the painting begins. Assembling the figures has given me a chance to appreciate many of the details so I am very much looking forward to making some progress with them now I've got the least exciting bit out of the way. 

Yer a Wizard Harry - 19/6/2014

Oh yes, wrong film.  Well here's everybody's second favourite wizard. You shall not pass!  (OK, right character, wrong story!)

Perhaps more excitingly, this particular set contains an "exclusive figure" who starts life as this set of pieces:

Of course it's Radagast the Brown!  (I did accidentally snap his staff, but a bit of glue and I hope nobody will notice when he's painted...)

My final figure of the afternoon, it couldn't be "The Hobbit" without well, the hobbit...Bilbo!

Bilbo came with 2 options but I decided he ought to have a proper weapon so opted to attach Sting to his arm rather than his walking staff.

If I continue at the present rate, there's an outside chance I could start painting tomorrow...!

It's all 'armless fun - 19/6/2014

With the goblin army done it was time to tackle the dwarves, these were a bit trickier as they come in multiple parts so need gluing together, whilst taking care not to damage any of the very delicate swords etc - or at least attempting to! (I only managed to break two weapons, but stuck them back together again - oops!)

After a couple of hours work, allow me to introduce Dwalin, Balin, Kili, Fili, Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, Gloin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur and Thorin.

It's difficult to show without lots of pictures, but the level of detail on these is amazing. If I get the painting right (big if!) these have the potential to look really good. 

This is Thorin, you can just about see the texture in his hair and beard, not to mention his "oaken-shield".   (If you click on the picture it makes it bigger).

Only a few more characters to go, then the painting begins! 

Amassing an Army - 14/6/2014

Free time has been hard to come by in the last couple of days but whenever I've found some I've been hard at work on the goblin army.  All 36 are now ready for the next stage!

Before I think about beginning to paint these I am going to assemble the rest of the figures - 13 dwarves, 2 wizards, 1 hobbit and 1 (very large in comparison) goblin king if anyone is keeping score. These will be a bit more time consuming as they come in multiple parts so needs limbs and weapons attaching to bodies! Precision will also be very important with these as an extra lump or bump is more likely to be noticed on one of these characters compared to the goblins.

I enjoyed the painting much more than the assembling with my last set of figures but I know it's worth taking the time here if I'm going to be satisfied with the final outcome.

Oi, are you looking at me?

The Beginning - 12/6/2014

So as promised my project began with a shopping trip, if I'm going to do this properly I know having the right equipment is key, and my paint collection needed to be expanded too:

Before the models can be painted they must be assembled, they must also be carefully tidied up to ensure the end product looks smart.  This involves cutting off any excess plastic left over from the frame, removing the mouldlines and filing any rough patches down.  It's not a quick job to do all of that properly, but with it being such a sunny day I was happy to sit in the garden and work through the first set of figures.

I spent around 2 hours getting the first 18 goblins prepared. Doing this has reminded me just how long it's likely to take to get the whole thing done - here's hoping for a few more sunny days off work!  So here is the beginnings of my goblin army:

Formidable opponents for the poor dwarves! 

As you can tell from the pictures there are a lot more figures left to be assembled.  I decided I'd like to get them all together before I start painting them, though I might regret that choice when it comes to hand painting them all with primer! (I am hoping that will give a better finish to them than using a spray on primer).

Hopefully I can find some time to do some more soon! 

Introduction - 12/6/2014

Greetings and welcome!

I have recently discovered a new (to me) hobby, painting miniature figures. Particularly those related to Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.  I currently have a small collection of goblins and elves but am about to embark on a bigger project, and it is that project (and any future projects) that I intend to blog my journey through.

I am going to be recreating the "Escape from Goblin Town" so I am going to be attempting to turn this:

Into this:

Step one in the process is a shopping trip as I need to expand my collection of tools and paint if I'm to make a good job of this!  All being well I will begin constructing the models later on today so watch this space as I will be trying to post regular updates.

For those of you not familiar with the style of models, here is one of the elves I painted. She's just over an inch in height to give you an idea of how fine the details are!

That's all for now but I look forward to sharing my progress with you!

Thanks for reading.