New Hobbit Trailer

So the first trailer for the new Hobbit movie has finally been released and the only thing I did not like about it was the fact that the film is not going to be released till December 2012. That is a long time to wait.

How to Make a Miniature Shed using Matchsticks

You will need matchsticks from a craft shop, cocktail sticks, wood glue, thread, brown acrylic paint and a bit of patience. The cocktail sticks and thread are optional, you could do without them but they improve the final result.

The Love Shack!!!

So our diorama is finally complete! It has been a few months in the making, mainly because we lost interest along the way, but we finally got the roof done.

My First Miniatures

Well...er, kind of...these are the first miniatures that I have painted since 1985 or so and thats a long time.

Miniature Oriental Scrolls

A set of printable miniature oriental scrolls designed for use with 28-32mm scale (heroic scale) miniatures.

Scroll 1

Scroll 3

Scroll 2

Printable Miniature Travel Posters

A set of miniature travel posters advertising travel to various fantasy locations, designed for use with 28-32mm scale metal miniatures. 

Rivendell Poster

Duillond Poster

Gondamon Poster

Printable Erotic Miniature Paintings

And a couple of 'erotic' miniature paintings, suitable perhaps for a harem scene, although at 28mm scale, it can be difficult to see what exactly is taking place in them.

Erotic Painting 2

Erotic Painting 1

Printable Miniature Paintings

Although printable miniature paintings are available on some websites, most are in a modern style, and not entirely appropriate for a fantasy/medieval setting. After all, perspective was only invented during the Renaissance. Real medieval art was stiff, two-dimensional and less 'realistic'.

I therefore made this set of printables, derived from Near Eastern and Indian miniature paintings. The figures are two-dimensional, less realistic, and therefore more believable in a fantasy medieval setting. Although they are non-European, this is not readily apparent at 28mm scale, and they can be used for both Western and non-Western settings. They do, of course, fit perfectly into Near Eastern / Arabian Nights settings, or even in a diorama of the Crusades.

Emir's Court

Lovers

Charioteer

Conan Movie Review

So I finally got to watch the new Conan the Barbarian film, with Jason Momoa starring as Conan. I had gone expecting a pretty bad film, as the reviews that I had come across had been somewhat scathing. However, both my girlfriend and I agreed that the film was actually quite good. 

Of course neither of us had gone with the expectation that it would have some kind of deeper meaning, or social message. If that was what we had wanted, we would probably have been better off going to the theatre instead, or watching a Continental art film with subtitles. But this of course was Conan the Barbarian. We went there with the expectation of an action adventure with lots of violence in it, and that is exactly what we got!