Mantic miniature blog by Karetsu

The wide crazy world of art and also stuff

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Killer Karetsu
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Mantic miniature blog by Karetsu

Post by Killer Karetsu » Fri Jun 10, 2011 4:59 am

Now, today I'm starting to build the forces...this blog will show the process I have made. I'm going to always update the first post, and the list with my process goes like this...

Unassembled
Unpainted
Painting in process
Painted/ready

Current process:

Undead:
20 skeletons with command group (infantry)
20 revenants with command group (elite infantry)
10 ghouls (infantry)
15 zombies (infantry)
Balefire catapult (warmachine)

Dwarfs:
20 ironclads (infantry)
5 shieldbreakers (elite infantry)
20 ironwatch (ranged troops)
Ironbelcher cannon/ organ gun (warmachine)


Elves:
10 spearmen (infantry)
10 archers (ranged troops)
10 scouts (infantry)

Orcs
:
3 ax (infantry)

BTW with the updates, its day/month/year

So it begins...

10.6.11


So, this is all the stuff I'm working on
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The black ones are zombies, they didn't have released them yet when the picture was taken...

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So, I have this size of a bunch to do! Wish me luck!
Oh, and the three orc axes came as a bonus, for free. As well as 10 revenats. Lucky me. :)

11.6.11

So, the hobby store was not open on weekends, so I borrowed glue from one of my friends. He only had super glue, which is ok but it sticks to my fingers and is harder to glue with than with plastic glue. Nevertheless, I succeeded to make these ten elven spearmen, as well as some damage point markers (gameplay-things).

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The spearmen regiment. No command group in this one.

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I made them to be like receiving a charge.

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Now, I have a little criticism. The archer and spearmen sprues are the same expect that the other has spearhands and other bowhands. Now, there are only !3! poses which can be assembled like they were shooting, or with the spearmen, that they would have their spears to the front. All 7 others have normal, not very poseable poses. This is okay with the spearmen, but with the archers I would like to get them like they would be shooting. To make this up, I swapped some bodies from the spearmen to for the archers, and vice versa. For the spearmen I also had to do a little cut and repositioning.They look good now, though it took a little time. The archers will have their front rank shooting, which would had been impossible if I hadn't swapped some bodies.

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Each sprue comes with one dead elf, as well as other nice extras. Here are the damage markers I have so far.

More to come this evening, hopefully, although I hate superglue. :evil:

In the evening...
I assembled the archers, damn it was frustating to get new poses!

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The whole unit.

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Without a whole lot of cutting and repositioning and kitbashing the front rank would look pretty much like the back row. Well, not quite, but still only 3 shooting and others just hanging around.

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Two new damage point markers. Resembling broken equipment.

Only one elf unit to assemble, the scouts!

14.6.11

This time, a few scouts and PIP archers. Well, now, the hobby shop was open. I was happy that I could at last get some plastic glue. But it was not to be - the only glue there was Games Workshop superglue...I hate it!! :fu: Well, I think I can manage..

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Archers and scouts.

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The archers. I tried a night sky design on the shields, IMO it turned out quite good (some of them are not ready, some are screwed up, but overall is good)What do you think? I have to redo most of them, but a good idea?

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As you might have noticed, there is one archers who is wholly painted. I tried to keep it simple, with washes but NOT drybrushing. Sorry zirrian, no eyes for them, their faces are too small for my skills (or patience). Now, when I look at it, the bow needs a highlight. And I know, it doesn't look that good, but I aimed for tabletop quality, and it looks good from bare eyes. The models are really small!

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This shield turned out quite well.

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Back side.

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PIP elves. In the background you see a other PIP elf too, but it was the first color scheme, which I scrapped.

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The first assembled scouts. As I inspected the sprues, I noticed that there is one right handed sword, and one left handed short sword. Same with bows. But then, there were only 5 quivers! What do the other 5 shoot?! So, I solved it by making the front rank with dual-swords and back rank with bows and quivers. And now, zirrian, you are going to be happy...

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You can make an archer without a shield from the scout sprue. Actually you can make 5 archers from 10 scouts, as there are 5 left handed bows, and you glue them, then you cut away the bows from the right hands and glue them too. A quiver and Voila! An archer!

More today or tomorrow.

17.6.11
So, I wasn't quite pleased with the elves and I have organized a KoW battle for sunday so I started to make the undead. After a few days, they are all ready! (assembled)

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First off, the skeletons. They are armed with both spears and "hand weapons", so I can use them as either spearmen or swordsmen. I really enjoyed the set, the skeleton sprue is awesome, the skeletons are simple to assemble but still customizable, great job mantic!

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What I did not like, was the banner. It only had an arrow stuck to it. So, I looted the orc sprue and crusified a orcling. Sick me. :twisted:

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I have tried a few medieval designs on the shield. I think it turned out quite well, I'll add some weathering to make them look old but looks good huh?

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Next, the revenants. They are basically just armored skeletons, in sideways poses. And cooler weapons, too.

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Again, the banner was the same with the skeletons. This time, I mutilated a high elf banner and gave it to the revenants. Looks good IMO.

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The shield design is a bit different; a wyvern/dragon on the white field. Looks ok, gotta fix that flame.

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Zaammmbeehhsss.....needs no explanation. It was funny to assemble them, you had to only care about ranking up!
Then, some kitbashing...

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G'day, lady! (no kitbashing with this one, just thought it was funny)

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Just had to try a skeleton head for a zombie...looks creepy.


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Jingle bells, jingle bells..

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Ghouls! Fast, cannibalistic and meaner zombies! Kind of. A nice kit, the option of two bodies and legs was not a problem, they look great, one is with a zombie head!

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I love their poses; they really look like they would be running/hopping for their prey.

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Their unit champion has robbed a revenant! :O

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The balefire catapult. The set gave me no instructions, so I had to use a picture as my quide. Happy ending, though. Doesn't look too dangerous, with only one skull fired at a time. :? At least it's movable, and realistic (apart from the skeletons :wink: )

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But, I did fuck up the axel of the wheels, so I replaced it with a spear. A bit flimsy, but will do. And I know, one wheel is missing, it broke off, gotta glue it back.

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I really like the crew, especially the skull-carrier. I like the hood and all.

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And the last, but not by any means least, an undead rat (or is it a dog?)! It is an upgrade for the skeletons, giving them a lot more faster resucurrection.

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Oh, and a size comparison with a games workshop skeleton and a mantic one. Mantic is "true scale", and as you can see, the gw's skeleton has a bigger head and arms. It's "heroic scale".

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Do the danse macabre!!

20.6.11

I got my first skeleton painted! Very happy about it, eager to do the whole unit!

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Here he is. I like the pose very much.

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The shield. As you can see, I did some weathering...this is the first time I try it out, good or bad?

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The back. I like the color scheme, but I think I put too much light blue for a highlight. Oh well.

More to come...I'll try to do the command group ready in a few days.
Oh, damn..the pictures aren't too good. Hope you can see something..

23.6.11

Although I have been doing the command group, I wanted to test paint dwarf faces...WITH EYES. With zirrian's help, I managed to get something decent done.

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The first try. It seemed fine, but from the picture it can be seen that I didn't paint with thinned enough paint. Well, live and learn!

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Now, this is my second try, and it is IMO a lot better! Some mistakes can be seen, but definitely an improvement! :)

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For some reason I had to use flash to get the camera see the red on the nose. Dwarfs are drunkards, right? :D

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I used the same techinique, albeit with different colors, on the unhappy orcling. Some blood effects too.
Last edited by Killer Karetsu on Thu Jun 23, 2011 7:15 am, edited 6 times in total.
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Post by zirrian » Fri Jun 10, 2011 6:03 am

About a week ago, I bought a box of spearmen troop on the "local ebay", but the seller haven't responded yet. So please, start with the elves, I want to see one or two painted :)

And good luck to the others, the skellies are way better than GW's ones, and so much cheaper. And of course, if you need any advice, you can contact me :D

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Post by Killer Karetsu » Fri Jun 10, 2011 11:06 am

Oh hi zirrian! Thank you for being keen to see the process, and I'm sure your help would be greatly appreciated if needed.
I wanted to build the elven spearmen today, but, I was out of plastic glue and the local hobby shop already closed. Even worse, I fear it's not open on weekends...damnit!
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Post by zirrian » Fri Jun 10, 2011 11:18 am

Killer Karetsu wrote:Oh hi zirrian! Thank you for being keen to see the process, and I'm sure your help would be greatly appreciated if needed.
I wanted to build the elven spearmen today, but, I was out of plastic glue and the local hobby shop already closed. Even worse, I fear it's not open on weekends...damnit!
Well, you should try superglue. I'm sure that you can buy it in any medium sized shop :) Or make your own glue. I currently use plastic sprue thrown into paint thinner (or at least I hope it is called this in english), and let it in for about a half day, and ta-da, you have plastic modelling glue :)

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Post by Killer Karetsu » Fri Jun 10, 2011 12:33 pm

Nah, I'll see if the hobby shop is open tomorrow. It's not a big deal. (although I'm itched to get working with the elves, their sprues look fantastic)
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Post by Killer Karetsu » Sat Jun 11, 2011 6:47 am

Updated, with the first 10 elves assembled!
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Post by RagnarokRose » Sat Jun 11, 2011 12:50 pm

Heh. Superglue is bloddy ridiculous, gets over everything. I'm of the opinion that when it and duct tape meet, they form a bond capable of holding a rocket launch to the ground.
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Post by zirrian » Sat Jun 11, 2011 1:00 pm

Ross_Varn wrote:Heh. Superglue is bloddy ridiculous, gets over everything. I'm of the opinion that when it and duct tape meet, they form a bond capable of holding a rocket launch to the ground.
But for metal you can't trust in plastic glue. Believe me, I've tried. Plus when you assemble your miniatures just to see them how do they look like, superglue is better because you can "tear it apart" with a little force on the points where you glued it. Plastic glue? It will broke, and faaaaar from where you glued it. But it is stronger, and - as it's name says- far better when word comes to gluing plastic.

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Post by RagnarokRose » Sat Jun 11, 2011 1:08 pm

Plastic glue actually melts two plastic surfaces into each other. The surrounding material will usually break before the bond itself does.
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Post by Killer Karetsu » Sat Jun 11, 2011 1:22 pm

Heh, superglue is still ANNOYING.
Updated again. This time archers, and 2 more damage point markers.
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Post by enders_shadow » Sat Jun 11, 2011 10:25 pm

wonderful. I'm actually going to be watching this thread with an interest now, these look great so far, and I only expect improvement once you get new glue. I love how it comes with dead elves, that's a great idea!

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Post by zirrian » Sun Jun 12, 2011 3:45 am

Well, a question that came into my mind. I don't like the shielded arms of the archers, so do the scout box have enough spare arms to make the archers without shields? Or is it necessary to buy the metal set to have them unshielded?

Thanks.

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Post by Killer Karetsu » Sun Jun 12, 2011 4:36 am

The scouts have a sword arm and a bow arm, in not so dynamic poses. It could be possible to cut away the sword from the other arm, though. I'll make the scouts today, so you can see yourself.
Btw, the scout set was a dissapointment. There are only !two! heads and !two! poses. And !two! different arm types. Boo mantic, it's quite a weird thing, as the spearmen and bowmen sets have 10 different poses. Weird, indeed.
Except a update in about 2 hours.
EDIT: Thanks enders, I really appreciate this. I would like to have comments, although from painted ones, or from the assembled ones if I will try to convert something. Thanks again! :)
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Post by Killer Karetsu » Mon Jun 13, 2011 2:22 pm

Sorry, no updates in two days. I have been too busy (to photograph stuff). But hey, it's just a bigger update next time! :wink:
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Post by Killer Karetsu » Tue Jun 14, 2011 7:20 am

Updated, archers can be made out of scouts! And the first elf is painted!
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