Sven's Fantasy Miniatures

[Sven Ironhand]

A series of heavy footfalls sounded out in the Great Hall of Mount Eremite as Horek Stonehelm reclined in his throne of dressed stone, atop the great flight of stairs. His wan brow furrowed in frustration. So many threats were faced by his realm in these days. The unquiet dead. Moon-dwarf ¹ incursions into the Deep Ways beneath the mountain. Greenskins. “It is a wonder the Hold is in one piece,” The king muttered breathily to himself. “Were our enemies to have their way, the entire thing would be shaken apart.”

His armies stretched below him, marching in revue. Strong, stout men and women saluted him with a fist to their armor as they passed by. They marched to war again. A barrow had been uncovered, and they were to clear it out. Horek whispered a few short passages from the Di-Zimra, the series of chanted verses and praises to the god of smiths, Galimir. “Godspeed and good graces to the just,” He said of the ones below him. “Good hunting to the just, O Maker, O orderer of all things.”

He formed the chain of brotherhood with each that passed. In lieu of names, faces would have to do. Some of them would not live to see tomorrow. But they would be remembered. By his Oathmark, they would be remembered!



_{1. Moon-Dwarfs, also known as "Petty" Dwarfs, are the twisted brethren of good, upright Dwarfs. Exiled for some long-forgotten sin, they have adopted the ways of cunning, trickery, and wild magic. The Dwarfs have sworn on several Oathmarks to exterminate them, but have yet to succeed.}


So, with the positive reception to my Border Guard, I figured I'd start a general PLOG thread. Here's my current WIP, some Dwarf Soldiers.



And here's the Border Guard from the Oathmark thread.

[boneio]

Nice work and enjoyable background text 

[Bloggard]

looking great.

[Sven Ironhand]

So, not much progress on the painting front. Banging out Dwarf Soldiers, working towards my personal goal of a unit half before I go back to completing the Border Guard. However, I have made progress on the photography front! I've made a little setup in the corner of my bedroom, with two lamps overhead and a white sheet behind it. Did some putzing around with camera settings, and voila!



Now whether it makes things look better is another question, but at least there's stuff like...lighting!

[Ogrob]

Photoprahy is fidly indeed, I am always amazed at the quality some people manage.

Anyway, I think this new photo is better, and so worth the effort!

[Seditiosus]

I believe, if you would put the miniature on the paper( in contrast to putting it in front... so basicallly building a little slope on which the miniature rests, thereby preventing the camera to focus on anything else but the miniature, that this makes this a lot easier. also one of the easiest things to improve the quality is the white balance (done with the same piece of paper) and a little tripod and then making pictures with the timer function so that your fingers are not holding it at that moment... also you could get rid of the extreme shadow by adjusting the angle of the lights... basically you want to aim for indirect lighting, so not shine it directly on the miniature, but rather on something that reflects it towards the miniature in a more diffuse way.

anyway, your dwarfs look pretty good

[Little Odo]

Nice dwarf. Your photographic set up seems to be getting there too. I am stuck with just using my phone camera - not ideal at all.

[BZ]

Miniature photography is mostly about the light. You can make good enough pictures with proper lights. And by proper lights I mean some soft lights (to avoid harsh shadows) with near-sunlight color temperature (to get the right colors), and by no way a flashlight. I use my painting lamp (variable color temperature led, about 30€) and/or my home made photo-light-box (a plastic box, lined on 5 sides with tinfoil, covered with thin-white packing paper on the 6st, and a daylight bulb in it, cost about 12€). And if you have some kind of tripod for your phone/camera, a sheet of a black and a white paper (for backdrop), and maybe some black and white cardbords (to use as light/shadow bouncer), youre done with a gear. Then you will just need some time to practice and you will have good enough pictures for sure!
And here are a lot of topics about miniature photography: https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?board=103.0

[BZ]

Here is a very good example about using a light bouncer, that can help a lot: https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=129588.0

[Sven Ironhand]

I bring a WIP of a Standard Bearer for the Dwarf Soldiers. He looks so...sullen.



Hello, Darkness, my old friend...

EDIT:

[Sven Ironhand]

The unit of Dwarf Soldiers thus far.

[Sven Ironhand]

The world was sullied in its conception, the Dwarfs say, when Evil spilled out into the world like a great wave of darkness. From the first, their ancestors were there in the Known World, to set it all right. Created by Galimir, the God of Smiths, they were made an obdurate, hardy folk to resist and battle evil. He made them crafty, creative creatures, such that their knowledge outpaces Men and Elves. Forged from fire, made of stone, the first Dwarfs came to dwell in the northernmost reaches of the world and have ever since. Their Eternal Realm shines like a jewel, though diminished it might be.

Within the verses of the Di-Zimra, psalms to Galimir, the Dwarfs lay out the cause of the world’s imperfections and blights. Evil, they tell themselves, is not a nebulous concept. It is a miasma, a discord introduced in the world’s creation by a wicked, cruel god. Galimir, seeing that his Creation was being twisted, proactively worked to reverse it. And so he created the Dwarfs, who helped him to wrought a great many beautiful things. The moon, stars, and sun were all collaborations between the Ancestor Dwarfs and their creator.

But Evil crept into the Dwarfs, too. Gold, a substance that every upright Dwarf is wary of, became an object of fascination to them. The metal, and the love of it, corrupted a good half of the Ancestors. Feeding them lies, the gold hardened their hearts and allowed them to make use of wicked wild magic. Eventually, these twisted Dwarfs outright rebelled when Galimir would not allow them to take full credit for the Moon’s creation. Rising up against their creator, these Moon Dwarfs unleashed all the fury at their disposal against their God and his loyalists.

The resulting war shook the world like an earthquake. Mountains were rent, the heavens torn asunder by the fury of the Ancestors. Men and Elves fled from their homes in the south. Finally, however, the Dwarfs were victorious over their erstwhile kin. Galimir, weary of war and death, could not bring himself to destroy the twisted remaining Moon Dwarfs. Rather, he cast them out, never to return to the Eternal Realm. Leaving the world, the God of Smiths left its protection to his creations.

To this day, the Dwarfs are watchful. They live in a state of constant vigilance, for fear that evils such as their Moon Dwarf kin, the Orcs, or the Wicked Elves may destroy everything they have built. To safeguard the world, they have built mighty Holds in its mountains, fortresses built such that there is little to no hope of successfully besieging them. Hosts of Dwarfs march far and wide, striking down Evil and attempting to set things right. Yet, many great and noble heroes have fallen in this eternal crusade. Their graves are all the world.

And the unit is done. I intend to have the following list:

1x Dwarf King (Oathmark metal)
1x Champion (likewise)
5x Linebreakers (Mantic Dwarfs)
10x Soldiers
5x Border Guard
5x Human Heavy Cavalry (to represent the men of Sceard, a land near Mount Eremite)

[Sven Ironhand]

Ulfskar barreled forth at his foe, his stumpy Dwarfish legs pumping him forward at the limits of his will. A deep, loud bellow escaped the auburn-haired dwarf’s mouth. Springing forwards, he swung his twin hand axes in a downwards arc at the creature of animated bones before him. He struck true, sending it crumpling to the ground. Shooting out his foot, he made especial care to grind the bones underfoot. They had already been desecrated once, he thought to himself as he twisted his boot.

“You’re always showy.” Horek disapprovingly said, calmly stepping towards his brother. Ulfskar frowned. He didn’t like the sibling rivalry much; it had always been one-sided. That was what he had come to Sceard to escape from. But with the Hold under threat, he had no choice to return and face the scorn. “A dwarf stays on his feet if he knows what’s good for him. The Maker made us that way for a reason.”

“Galimir also gave us strong leg muscles, so that we may run fast.” They could not be less alike. Ulfskar was a free spirit, a Dwarf of the wild places of the world. In the empty lands where no men were, he had walked. “But you would prefer to walk towards the foe, rather than run into glory.” His beard was red and shaggy, unrestrained by such things as a helm. On his back, he wore a grey wolf’s pelt. Much of his naked flesh was exposed. “What do they call that, pray tell?”

Horek growled, gritting his teeth. “You show your impertinence to your king!?” His expression darkened, there in the barrow gloom. “I am no coward, Hound of Sceard.”

“Perhaps not. But a Dwarf meets his death whether he walks towards it, or runs to feed the ravens. We all have a day of doom. When Galimir stands before you, what will your story be?”

Horek was silent. A lack of surety was betrayed by his anguished expression.





Another WIP. This time, the Champion Ulfskar, the Hound of Sceard.

[Sven Ironhand]

A Standard Bearer, using a paper banner I whipped up with some sealant, copy paper, and paint. Not sure how to run him? Maybe a a Captain?

[bc99]

Good stuff keep it going.