"The Tom Meier painting challenge: Fail" Topic

I'm sure everyone that reads this (these) boards will be well aware of some of the sculpting goodness that Tom Meier has produced over at Khurasan.

As far as painting them is concerned they certainly offer a pretty intimidating prospect.

I've written a blog entry detailing my personal encounter with these particular chaps and thought others here would also like to share pics and/or thoughts.

Are they too detailed for 15mm?
Are they the future of 15mm?

I know what I think. More please…

They are 15s? Holy

True, yours don't look quite as detailed as the TM examples, but those are professionally painted to "Showcase Quality" and not many people can fully emulate.

Most people can't even paint 28mm figures to that level of detail, much less 15's. Take comfort in that. Unless you're a "Golden Daemon" caliber painter don't be too hard on yourself.

I'm only interested in historical figures but they look good to me. Sometimes less is more and I like the understated modelling … !

Phil

These are quite superb! Keep up the good work.

Your paint jobs are fine.

Look good to me!

Wow! I thought they were 28mm! Great painting.

Yours look great!

Sometimes it the photography that can make/break a painted figure, ie lighting, backdrop, etc.

Your brush work looks awesome and I agree with the other posters.

R

You are too harsh; your brush work is fine (and better than just about everyone I game with).

Yes Brian, that's the reaction these miniatures often receive. A+ sculpting and painting.

Thanks all for the positive comments on the paint job(s). Honestly I wasn't looking for praise. I know my limits but wanted to try and push them a bit and these seemed to be the way to do that.

I'd love to see a step by step on these. If anyone happens to know the painter I'd happily go a stalk them for tips.

Well these were painted by some very good painters, whose work I've seen live at Adepticon in past years.

"The paintups feature the phenomenal brushwork of Marike Reimer and Jennifer Haley." from the Khurasan web site.

Many thanks for the names Von Blucher. Unfortunately they both appear to be ladies so my 'stalker' proposal is scrubbed should I end up being threatened with legal action!

Agreed, you did a great job on those figures, and shouldn't beat yourself up just because you couldn't duplicate two of the best painters in the world. Also, painters like Reimer and Haley are really in a related but distinct hobby from what most of us do. They are artists who work with miniatures, whereas most of us are gamers who paint miniatures to play games with.

"… Marike Reimer and Jennifer Haley…"

Yes, true goddesses of the paint brush. Like that young superb painter lady on LAF (whose name I forgot) that has the potential to achieve a like status – beyond our mortal ken.

Nicely done, the figs are truly hard to believe 15mm

I think you did an incredible job.

You did just fine, I thought. You're too self-critical.

Yours look great!

Gentlemen, he was asking for your honest opinions. You know they're horrible. He must ship them to me IMMEDIATELY, or die of shame.

;->=

Very handsomely done. Really.

As for the figs themselves… Damn.

Doug

@Jimboba: Those two have released painting DVDs, should you still desire a lesser level of "stalking."

Thanks all for your positive comments. I honestly wasn't looking for praise! (But I'll take it).

My main questions were;
Have you experienced the same level of painting frustration with such super-fine detailed 15mm figures?
Do you think the market wants more like these (are they the way forward) or is this really a proof of concept?

Lion – thanks – yes, I noticed the DVDs when I began my stalking *cough* research. I've a DVD to look at by Jeremie Bonamant in hand but may well look into these too.

Also, while the issue was raised – has anyone got a link to a good idiots guide to photographing miniatures? I know there is a load of material out there but I find much of it 'too' detailed.

Just a note of a few camera settings for me to explore…

Using an ageing but capable Canon Ixus 900Ti. Oddly my iPhone camera can sometimes do a better job!

Try this link Jimboba , should be useful.

taleofpainters.blogspot.com/2015/01/tutorial-beginners-guide-to-miniature.html?utm_source=bp_recent2&utm-medium=gadget&utm_campaign=bp_recent2

Z

Thanks zrunelord. Bookmarked and will make good use of that article. Looks the ticket.

Jimboba – your painting is fine. The jeans on the "resistance leader" are particularly good

Painting for wargaming isn't the same as competition painting. At arm's length the blending cannot be seen and only contrast stands out. Another definition of arm's length is the distance I can see without my reading glasses :)

Your figures may even look better on the table than the ones photographed. Actually I think you could push the contrast a bit more – bit brighter highlights – see how in the photo the "resistance leader"'s faded shirt goes to white

I have been painting Napoleonic 15mm recently so have been thinking about this a lot. I put a lot of effort into my samples, but it honestly wasn't worth it – I need to simplify.

Skirmish is a little different, but I would have to look under a magnifier to see the difference between a good and great paint job (yours counts as great by the way)

If you really want paint to focus on paint jobs on individual figures, go 28 mm

And this has its implications on the sculpting, except that the better the sculpting, the easier it is to get a good paint job of any standard. There are some great sculptors out there pushing the boundaries which I hope will never stop

I hope this is the future of 15mm

John

Thanks John. And a couple of good points which is partly why I posed the question;

Despite the amazing detail on these 15mm is it 'worthwhile'? You are completely right that to the naked eye and at arms length such detail and the accompanying paint job are lost. Indeed, some 'not so fine' sculpts actually work better as 'playing pieces' which is effectively what they are (just don't let any toy soldiers hear you say that!).

Yes, I used to do a lot of 28mm and have recently got back in to it with various Kickstarters arriving (Guildball and Zombicide for example). And they are certainly fun to paint and justify the paint job more… but a.) they take so much longer to paint (my lack of patience at fault) and b.) to my sensibilities 15mm as a scale seems more 'right' for the tabletop.

Nowadays however I'm less of a gamer and more of a collector/painter/storyteller (in my own head) and I often catch myself wondering if my recent (last 5 years) commitment to 15mm was a mistake.

I should stop going to shows and looking at 28mm figures online!

You're welcome Jimboba,
And I couldn't agree more with the last 2 comments …. one must also bear in mind that those 2 minis are painted to showcase standard, so unless one is taking part in a competition or show casing 15mm then it is not worth the time to do them that way.

That is the beauty of 15mm & downwards scales after all, you can get away with a quick paint job and still have "nice to look at minis " on the tabletop.

Another thing, it is not the first time that I take pics of my finished minis using macro and all the previously unseen faults come out !!! So even macro photography doesn't work out sometimes.

Z

I think you're on to something; some sculpts are easier to paint well than others. I find that chunky details are easier to wrap a brush around, find the edge and keep the lines neat and clean. Thin, delicate transitions from one surface to another require more precision, and somehow more time. I'm particularly fond of the O8 15mm stuff. It seems somehow to be designed to paint easily yet still look fantastic, many of Khurasan's sculpts too, like the exterminators.

Of course I might be using the wrong painting techniques. On my most recent batch of ClearHorizon mini's I tried to back off from my usual smooth shading, and let the ink wash do more of the work. It was much easier, and it picked out a lot of the fine detail that, previously, I had just brushed over.