Round 2 The last of us vs Francis at Pavia

[Captain Blood]

[Captain Blood]

I love both these entries. It's going to be a tough match I think.
The detailing and subtlety on the post-apoc team is just beautifully done. The camo, the stripes, the colour choices...
Against that, the dramatic, perfectly formed little vignette featuring some of my favourite figures, and lovely to see a couple of Painterman's wonderful hounds making it into the LPL.
So much lovely detail in this entry too.
A very tough match to call.
Really well done to both of you 

[Mr Tough Guy]

Really tough decision, both amazing entries

[Agis]

Oh whoahh, the Zombicide Survivors are just great!

[blacksoilbill]

Ouch, tough choice! Both fantastic entries.

[The Gray Ghost]

Francis had better watch that tan dog  

[mikedemana]

The colors of both are done so well! The realism of the survivors and the richness and beauty of the medieval one. Difficult choice!!

Mike Demana
www.firstcommandwargames.com
http://leadlegionaries.blogspot.com/

[Hawkeye]

What a match-up. The meticulous detail on the zombie survivors is brilliant - they jump off the plain background. What's interesting about the wonderful medieval vignette is that while they are just as meticulously painted (look at the stripe detailing in the knight in blue), that's not the effect that's first noticed - maybe because the models themselves have less intricate detail than the zombie survivor models. Rather, it's the unity of the models on the vignette base, and the interaction between them, that jumps off the screen, in part because of the way it's photographed. It's a fantastic "moment in time" that's depicted, and the dogs (which are lovely - can't get enough of LPL entries with dogs in them!) are a key part of that. One of the best match-ups in the LPL ever, I think, and a testimony to what the "five figures on a plain background" format can do. Don't get me wrong - I love the entries with the built-up layers of beautiful terrain, but there's something stripped down about both of these entries (and in Bugsda's entry for this round too) that I'm finding myself really responding to. Love this match-up, love both entries. Truly excellent.

p.s. As a small aside, where do the wonderful dog models come from? Captain Blood mentioned "Painterman" - is this a manufacturer? A quick Google search didn't give me much. I'm always on the lookout for good dog miniatures, so any info would be great.

[Curt]

Thanks for the kind words. It's very much appreciated. Nick, your zombie  survivors are just brilliant - fantastic brushwork, as usual my friend.

@Hawkeye: The two Alaunts were sculpted by Steve May as a private commission for Simon over at le Jay Empirins. He kindly provided me with a few sets which I plan to dole out judiciously with similar vignettes. If you go to his blog and drop him a note he may have some stock left.  I agree, these little figures are absolutely exquisite.

[Captain Blood]

Simon is here on LAF as Painterman. If you PM him, he may still have some spare sets for sale 

[Hawkeye]

Thanks to both Curt and Captain Blood - beautiful dog miniatures, well worth following up on, so I appreciate the info. We talk a lot on the forum about miniatures capturing "character," but usually we're thinking of human "character." Those dog sculpts really capture something of the character of two different dogs - and I say this as a long-time dog-owner who also used to do a lot of volunteer work at the Humane society. The perked-up ears of the white dog as it looks up over the edge of the table are a wonderful detail, for example. Seeing that detail in the sculpt and making it part of the vignette is a skill in itself, quite apart from painting and so on, and it's not something we might always think of when we look at an LPL entry. Excellent stuff.

[Curt]

@ Hawkeye: Yes, we are long-time dog owners (companions?) as well, and I when I saw these sculpts I immediately saw how inspired they were. There are four different poses in the set, and I spent several pleasurable hours contemplating various positions/combinations before settling on something that seemed natural to my eye. I'm delighted that you like the vignette.

Though it cannot be discerned from the angle of this image, the 'table' is in fact a wagon wheel that has been placed on the tree stump to act as a makeshift surface for the map. The stump, wine bottle, goblets, stool and wagon wheel are 3D prints I found on Thingiverse. Yes, very geeky, but it can be a very handy tool when you want to 'tart-up' a base.

[moiterei_1984]

Wonderful work Curt! I really love the composition of your little vignette. You're not simply putting "stuff" onto a base but you're creating a believable interaction between the figures. 

[ErikB]

Wow, tough call, here.  Two fantastic sets.

[Axebreaker]

No easy call here....again!

Nick your detailing is simply superb(as usual) and yet another thing you will need to bring for me to see! 

Curt your composition is excellent and makes you feel like your actually looking at the scene as it's taking place in real time!

Christopher