(commercial) Edinburgh Miniature Company - Wraith Hoplites preview

[M.O.T.N]

A female hoplite captain along with some archer packs are up on the shop now.

Back to sculpting for me... more finished sculpt images due this week.





And some comparison shots between Victrix plastic Greeks and Macedonian plastics from Warlord games. They all seem to scale up nicely, doing some head swaps obviously helps.

[MrHlaine]

one thing I think it's worth mentioning.
would it be possible to swap the single different mini in the archers blisters around?
having 3 armored humans in one and 3 unarmored satyrs in the other would be much more desirable imo.

I almost forgot to mention that I really like this miniature line and can't wait for those spartans you have in the pipeline to hit the shelves!

[M.O.T.N]

one thing I think it's worth mentioning.
would it be possible to swap the single different mini in the archers blisters around?
having 3 armored humans in one and 3 unarmored satyrs in the other would be much more desirable imo.

I almost forgot to mention that I really like this miniature line and can't wait for those spartans you have in the pipeline to hit the shelves!

I've had some issues with the production of the archers so this is just a small sample run for specific folks that wanted them, I've got another mould being made that will enable me to offer individual packs of humans or fauns, with a few extra poses in there. Annoying, but only short term. Hoping to hear in the coming days the timeframe.

[MrHlaine]

That's excellent, I only asked because being able to create difderent units is a big plus and having them in cohesive blisters is a big boon for wargamers.
I want to reoterate how I think that what you are releasing is awesome imo and strangely needed in the 28 mm landscape, there's a surprising lack of fantasy greekish miniatures. Amd things like those from Crocodile are really hard to come by in europe.
I really like how your minis are clearly on the fantasy side of the spectrum without being over the top.

[M.O.T.N]

Cheers MrHlaine, I appreciate stuff like that being called out in case it's something I've missed or overlooked.

I'm itching to get some of the creatures and beasts sculpted, but I felt getting the basic humans done first helps me set the tone and style. I've got designs on crossovers between regional mythologies.

I agree on Crocodile games, it's a shame they're not more available in the UK. I used to like their style but it doesn't blend well with historical, which is something I'm trying to do.

[MrHlaine]

Honestly making the minis 100% compatible with the like of victrix is a genius move. 

[M.O.T.N]

Some WIP shots here, lots more work required but the overall style and composition should be evident. The wraith spear arms are separate and interchangeable so there's some cool alternative poses. There's a couple more undead sculpts in progress that will go into the same mould as the wraiths.

[Lost Egg]

They look cool, I love the flowing robes. They look like they will be pretty imposing against the normal guys.

[Captain Harlock]

The wraiths are my favorite.
One technical question if you dont mind. The parts that are going to be molded seperately, do you sculpt them on their own, or you sculpt the whole mini and then cut it down?

[M.O.T.N]

The wraiths are my favorite.
One technical question if you dont mind. The parts that are going to be molded seperately, do you sculpt them on their own, or you sculpt the whole mini and then cut it down?

Thanks all. I love sculpting cloth and robes, it took a lot of practice and study before I feel like I found my own style.

Regarding sculpting parts separate or on the mini it can vary, and again took me a lot of trial an error to find my way of doing things:

- Generally I'll sculpt the torso and legs as one piece first.

- I'll drill holes into the arm sockets and super glue in armature wire, before sculpting the arms in place. I can then pop the arms out easily if required for the mould making process.

- In the case of the wraiths I used this method for the left arm that will hold the shields. They will be cast attached to the body. For the right arms however I sculped separately and used the spear as the anchor... because the spear arms are interchangeable I needed to check conectivity on all three torso's as I sculpted.

- For heads I'll generally sculpt them separately, as can be seen on the above Wraith photo. If I need to attach the heads I'll do the same as for the arms - drill a hole into the neck then use armature wire to connect the head in place, and finally sculpt the neck and any hair.

I usually consider the technicalities before sculpting, that way I know if I need to sculpt a socket for a ball joint head or simply leave that area flat for drilling and connecting a head.

To further complicate things I've got a lot of master parts and dollies in metal so there's a lot of cleaning, filing and drilling of those before I start sculpting. I much prefer to sculpt from scratch but using masters helps keep the scale and style consistent (the same helmet, torso or weapon for example).

When making animals I usually make the entire armature first and sculpt as one piece. I did some 28mm rhinos and needed to cut one of the hind legs off, I had sculpted in super sculpey so I did this with a scalpel before I cured the sculpt. Once hardened in the oven it was a simple task to wriggle the leg off then cut the armature. Some minor fixes were required with ProCreate epoxy putty but it worked out well... and will serve as a mount for a north african fantasy army.

Wings are new to me, I'm sculpting stymphalion birds are we speak and doing them as one piece over a template of plasticard. Considering Harpies, I'm making the wings separate then attaching to the torso with armature wire and they will be cast as one piece.

Very long answer but hope that was insightful! I think about all these things when I look at your sculpting thread too Harlock 

[Captain Harlock]

Thanks all. I love sculpting cloth and robes, it took a lot of practice and study before I feel like I found my own style.

Regarding sculpting parts separate or on the mini it can vary, and again took me a lot of trial an error to find my way of doing things:

- Generally I'll sculpt the torso and legs as one piece first.

- I'll drill holes into the arm sockets and super glue in armature wire, before sculpting the arms in place. I can then pop the arms out easily if required for the mould making process.

- In the case of the wraiths I used this method for the left arm that will hold the shields. They will be cast attached to the body. For the right arms however I sculped separately and used the spear as the anchor... because the spear arms are interchangeable I needed to check conectivity on all three torso's as I sculpted.

- For heads I'll generally sculpt them separately, as can be seen on the above Wraith photo. If I need to attach the heads I'll do the same as for the arms - drill a hole into the neck then use armature wire to connect the head in place, and finally sculpt the neck and any hair.

I usually consider the technicalities before sculpting, that way I know if I need to sculpt a socket for a ball joint head or simply leave that area flat for drilling and connecting a head.

To further complicate things I've got a lot of master parts and dollies in metal so there's a lot of cleaning, filing and drilling of those before I start sculpting. I much prefer to sculpt from scratch but using masters helps keep the scale and style consistent (the same helmet, torso or weapon for example).

When making animals I usually make the entire armature first and sculpt as one piece. I did some 28mm rhinos and needed to cut one of the hind legs off, I had sculpted in super sculpey so I did this with a scalpel before I cured the sculpt. Once hardened in the oven it was a simple task to wriggle the leg off then cut the armature. Some minor fixes were required with ProCreate epoxy putty but it worked out well... and will serve as a mount for a north african fantasy army.

Wings are new to me, I'm sculpting stymphalion birds are we speak and doing them as one piece over a template of plasticard. Considering Harpies, I'm making the wings separate then attaching to the torso with armature wire and they will be cast as one piece.

Very long answer but hope that was insightful! I think about all these things when I look at your sculpting thread too Harlock 

Wow! Thanks for the answer it was insightful indeed!
Im completely noob in sculpting and while there are many ''how to'' regarding the artistic aspect, there are not many technical guidelines out there. For example there is almost nothing about optimising a design even in the concept stage for casting. What to avoid, when you have and where you have to cut your mini. Its funny because you can be too absorbed trying to sculpt a mini the way you want, and then realise that its not enough to render the shapes, but you have to think ahead about the reproduction. As if it not hard already  .
Another thing I discovered is that even if you are a ''one man show'' doing the sculpting, the casting, the promotion and logistics, the profit margin is so tiny that you better really love what you do and count as ''payment'' the satisfaction of creating something out of nothing. Unless someone is extremely talented or simply dont care and keep churning out minis, this isnt a profitable endevour. Perhaps only for big companies that are willing to wait for a very long termed investment to bear fruit. Maybe Im getting something wrong though, time (and more experience) will tell 
Cheers

[MrHlaine]

When making animals I usually make the entire armature first and sculpt as one piece. I did some 28mm rhinos and needed to cut one of the hind legs off, I had sculpted in super sculpey so I did this with a scalpel before I cured the sculpt. Once hardened in the oven it was a simple task to wriggle the leg off then cut the armature. Some minor fixes were required with ProCreate epoxy putty but it worked out well... and will serve as a mount for a north african fantasy army.

Nice way to sneak in a little teaser of things to come. I'm really really curious on how a fantasy north-african army will look!

[M.O.T.N]

Nice way to sneak in a little teaser of things to come. I'm really really curious on how a fantasy north-african army will look!

I've got a plan, and a little list. I don't want to share it all yet because it might simply be read as a wish list. And there's a bit of explanation required. I'm just trying to find time for some graphic design before I present the background/setting for my range.

@Harlock - we can continue that conversation on your thread, drop me a PM if I can help with anything.

[FreakyFenton]

Some WIP shots here, lots more work required but the overall style and composition should be evident. The wraith spear arms are separate and interchangeable so there's some cool alternative poses. There's a couple more undead sculpts in progress that will go into the same mould as the wraiths.

Those extra head options on the cork look nice, and methinks prove perfect for conversion, if they happen to be seperate.  Apart from that, the miniatures look amazing as is!

[M.O.T.N]

Those extra head options on the cork look nice, and methinks prove perfect for conversion, if they happen to be seperate.  Apart from that, the miniatures look amazing as is!

I'm not sure yet, but it's likely... I'm sculpting a few more and experimenting with the size. Making a relatively 'in scale' skull means they are pretty tiny, stick a helmet on that and it's going to sit at an odd angle and perhaps look lame.

The heads on the left of the image are slightly larger to fill out the helmets but I'm not convinced I like them. If there's space I'll get them on a sprue in the mould.