The Maniac Also Paints- Kings of War Shieldbreakers

On my visit at the Mantic towers during their open day I picked up some dwarf sprues. I already had some elves and undead, and I wanted to see the dwarves in person as well.
Only paying 40 pence per model made the decision much easier.

Now I finally came around to build and paint a unit of shieldbreakers, dwarfs with two-handed weapons.
I did not use the bases the models come with, but glued the models directly to their regiment base. This allows for a bit more dynamic posing ,as well as saving a few models per unit (yeah, I´m cheap).

Building the models was good fun. The low amount of parts per model means fewer details, but also less work in building and painting the buggers. "Bigger armies" indeed- these models beg to be fielded in mass.

The paintjob is simple, mostly only one solid colour and a wash for shading, with the faces being the only exception to this. After all, these models are meant to be played with, and an army in Kings of War tends to be rather large.

I think the Mantic dwarfs look best when seen in units, rather than as single models. The weaknesses in the sculpts are blurred away, and the stocky proportions of the models come to the fore.

All in all I recommed the models! They look fine as single model and great as a unit. And they are inexpensive, the above unit comes in at 3,20 GBP!

I did not intend to build an entire army of these fellows, since I already have a humongous dwarf army (mostly GW models), but I enjoyed painting the shieldbreakers and I like the look of the finished unit... we´ll see whether I´ll give in and get even more dwarfs.

Also, check out Kings of War! It´s a great wargame, it´s easy to learn, open for all miniatures and free to download on the Mantic website.

WIP Barbarian Update

The hands and boots are done, and his mighty axe well underway.

Also included: A size comparison shot with the dwarf lord and a mugshot.

WIP Barbarian

So far I did not sculpt any fur or muscles. The dwarf lord also sports the first face I ever sculpted, so I decided I need a bit more practice.

Why a barbarian? Well, I like the imagery of ridiculously overmuscled warriors clad in fur and leather, it is delightfully cheesy and silly. And it allows me to practice musculature, faces, fur and hair.

The body is sculpted out of FIMO, over a wire/green stuff armature, while the hair and fur is done in super sculpey. I just got my sculpey today and had to test it, and I must admit, it is a great putty. FIMO is not bad and is easily available in almost any crafts-store, but super sculpey takes the cake.

Next on the to-do list are his boots, hands and weapon, as well as some jewelery here and there, maybe a necklace or wristbands, tht kind of thing. Oh, and he´ll need a drinking horn, obviously.

WIP Dwarf Lord Update

The dwarf lord is nearing completion.

I have redone the base, and I really think it has improved the model´s looks.

The cape is done and I am quite satisfied with how it came out.

The Crown/helmet was a major pain though, but now it´s nearly done.

Now there are only some details left to do, and of course his weapons.

All Hail the Iguana!

Whenever I have some spare green stuff I work on some "leisure"-projects. This time, an iguana.

Here he rests lazily on the 50x50mm lost temple base, giving me an opportunity to quickly paint one of those as well.


Meanwhile, work on the dwarf lord continues, expect an update soon.

WIP Dwarf Lord

Inspired by this great artwork I have been working on this model of a dwarf lord.



He´ll go along nicely with my Kings of War army.

Commission: Grot Pilot Finished!

I finished the pilot for the grot bomb. The rocket comes from Kleiner Zorn, over at

!!! WAAAGH !!! ZORN !!!. Check him and his ork-kitbashs and conversions out. I hope the model is to his liking.

You know what he reminds me of?

" ... I'm a rocket man-
Rocket man -burning out his fuse up here alone"


"Oh yeah, that´s the good stuff"

Commission: Grot Pilot WIP

Kleiner Zorn over at !!! WAAAGH !!! ZORN !!! asked me to sculpt a grot pilot for his custom grot-rokkits.

So let me share the WIP mugshot of the grot with you all.

More to come...

The Maniac Also Paints- Deathwing Terminators

My first venture into the "dark future where there is only war" was when 4th edition was freshly released and a friend of mine picked it up. I was playing Warhammer at that time and more than willing to expand into 40k, so I picked up a Tau army.
Long story short I fell out of love with 40k after a few years, sold my Tau army and moved back to WHFB.

When 5th edition came around I decided to give 40k another shot. After all I have had lots of fun when I first picked up the game, so I decided to use the cheaply available "Assault on Black Reach"-terminators to build a deathwing army.

This was the first squad I painted for that army. I wanted a simple and clean look, quick to paint but good looking. I also enjoyed making the bases from plastic tubes, spare bits and wire. Early on I decided not to do many conversions or a stellar paintjob, so the bases should make the models stand out.

There are many more squads to this army, all in various stages of completion, but I lack any motivation to finish the army, because actually playing WH40k again turned out to be a tedious exercise.
I honestly do not get what I ever saw in the game.

Tyrannosaurus... still nearing completion

The Tyrannosaurus is nearing completion. Not long before he goes on his voyage to be cast...

Sculpting the arms has been a learning experience when it comes to modelling putties. The grey putty is ProCreate, while the green one is, well, green stuff. While sculpting the left arm I noticed that the ProCreate does not like to be spread to thin. It is far less sticky than green stuff, so thin layers of ProCreate do not adhere well to the model. But it offers much longer working time than green stuff, which can be immensely helpful.

The claws on the feet have been done with brown stuff, while I use green stuff to blend claw and toe.

I´m simultaneously working on two commissioned works and another project I´ll reveal in due time (read: when there is actually something to show). This means work on the T-Rex is not going as fast as it could, but I have been informed that the model cannot be cast immediately anyway, since the casters I approached are quite busy at the moment, so it does not matter.

Mantic Open Day

Ok, I´m back and only now posting about the trip. I apologize for the delay.

The visit to Mantic in Nottingham was a blast. So many impressions, information and the opportunity to meet the crew behind Mantic.

The picture above is of a nice conversion of Warlord Games WWII German infantry and Mantic Zombies. Simple and effective.
Further back you can see a resin cast of a revenant knight and the greens for elvish bowmen.

But the orc three-ups were the real highlight.


I cannot wait for these guys to be released.

And I´d like to thank Ronnie and Steve over at Mantic for the price support for our Kings of War tournament!

I also visited Warhammer World and Bugman´s Bar, but found it to be rather dissapointing. IMO not really worth the trip. But at least I got myself one of the older Bugman miniatures (the one standing on the ale barrels), which my collection was still missing. So it wasn´t all bad.


On the status of my current projects: Work on the tyrannosaurus has resumed, although with some slight setbacks. There will be pictures tomorrow, I promise!

Tyrannosaurus 97% Done

As promised yesterday, here are pictures of the progress on the Tyrannosaurus. Almost done.

And I have found a professional casting service for this model. Expect me to talk to no end about this when I come back from my trip!

Now I´m off to England... See you next week!

Fields of War - first Kings of War Tournament

I have not spent as much time sculpting as I maybe should have, but work on my Tyrannosaurus has continued... there will be pictures later.

The reason for my distraction is me organizing the first German Kings of War tournament.

Our tabletopclub "Eisenwaldoffensive" with generous support by Mantic Games invites all wargamers to join them on the Fields of War!

There will be games, great prices, free goodies and best of all: Everyone can join in on the fun. The rules are easy to pick up and play, eben absolute newcomers will have absolutely no trouble to dive right into it.


On a somewhat related note: Me and four mates are visiting Nottingham over the weekend... so there won´t be much sculpting done, but expect photos of our tour into the cradle of wargaming.

Almost done!

The skin texture is 99% done. Some touch ups here or there then it´s off to the oven to bake and harden.
Only arms, the tip pf the tail and claws and I´m done!

Even More Detailing On The Tyrannosaurus

I got even more detailing done. Thankfully the skin detailing is almost finished, since this tedious work has gone on long enough already. But at least I can share this tedium with you!

If everything goes as planned, I should have this beast completely finisehd by the end of the week.

And lest I forget: I have joined the FTW bloggers group and I look forward to participating in what appears to be a great and involved community.

Work On The Tyrannosaurus Continues- Detailing The Skin

And this model has lots of skin. There is still a lot of work to be done until I´m finished, but I like the look so far. I´m going for a skin with lots of wrinkles anf folds, to convey the mass and size of this creature. As a bonus this adds more interesting texture when painting this model.

See you next update!

WIP Tyrannosaurus Update

I got some sculpting done. Mainly the feet and toes, which recieved a basic structure and now eagerly await detailing. The claws as they were did not have sufficient length, so I´ll redo them later. But the old claws were at least useful as armature for the now longer toes.
I also worked on the tyrannosaurus left side, which has not yet received the same detailing as the right one. There is still much work to do.

I also broadened the neck and pelvis a bit, I think it improved the proportions. This is a 6 ton predator after all.

Baring the arms and the tip of the tail the proportions on this animal are now finalized. So I thought it might be fun to compare my Tyrannosaurus to two other dinosaur models I have lying around: A Carnotaurus and a Velociraptor (unfeathered), both available from Reaper Miniatures.

Another Tyrannosaurus Update!

I added "skin" to the T-Rex´s head and added the rough structures. Nothing´s finalized, though.
The clay not hardening by itself is a boon for large models as this one. I can take my time and correct or change features as I go.

I am not so keen on the eyes as of now, they look a bit "tired". I´ll have to work a bit more on those.

Expect some more updates this weekend, I really want to see this modell finished.

WIP Tyrannosaurus Update!

I coated the entire body (well, minus feet, arms and head so far) with polymer clay (FIMO) and started sculpting the skin. It is rough and has no texture yet, as I am still sculpting all the folds and creases. Polymer clay does not cure until baked, so I can take my time to work on the skin until I am satisfied with the look (or bored with the work :D).

I also bulked out the head (as indicated by the grey areas, where I applied ProCreate) and added claws to the feet.

The tail´s tip looks a bit stubby, but the polymer clay is to brittle to do a finer one. I´ll have to add one with green stuff after the skin is done.

I hope you like the results so far, this beast is slowly coming together.

"Jurassic Park III" All Over Again...

Quick update, and a long overdue one at that. I would have had the jaws done earlier, but I dropped the model, breaking the front teeth of the T-Rex.

But after another appointment at the dino-dentist the teeth are done. FINALLY I might add.

The basic head shape is coming together as well, it still needs more bulk in some places, but It made progress.

I must admit that I am enjoying myself immensely while working on this beast.

WIP Carnosaurus

Here Be Monsters.


I started to work on this monstrosity, a 28mm version of the "king of tyrant lizards".

Heavily WIP, as per the title, I want to have the basic shape of the beast done before I start adding details and texture.



Oh, and lest I forget: The lost temple bases will be available shortly, with more on the way (I have 40mm planned), but I am still waiting for more milliput. A tyrannosaurus truly is an insatiable beast.

Finally the moulding silicone and resin I ordered arrived. Now I´m set to start casting the temple bases.

Lost Temple Bases 25x25mm Mould

The mould for the 25x25mm bases is done. The 50x50mm needs more work, the vegetation as it is will likely cause trouble when moulding it, but it should be done by tomorrow *crosses fingers*

Painted Lost Temple Base

I could not wait and had to paint the first cast of the 100x50mm Lost Temple Base. It is by no means a perfect cast- being the first I undestimated the amount of resin needed, and the underside is not entirely filled out. But the cast shows the detail perfectly, I am very pleased with it.

The paintjob is a bit rushed, and I am still experimenting with the colors, but I think it works quite well. I simply don´t have the patience to sit down and paint a testshot to the best of my ability.

First Cast of the 50x100mm Lost Temple Base

The mould for this base is done and the first cast made. There have been some airbubbles, but I am confident that I can eliminate most of them for the next casts.

But this cast will not go to waste, I´ll fix the holes with a bit green stuff and paint it up, I´ve been itching to do that since I started to work on these bases.

Lost Temple Base 50x50 FINISHED!

And the 50x50mm base is done as well. Now on to casting it in resin....

Lost Temple Bases 25x25mm FINSHED!

Well, the light color of the milliput does not show the detail well, but it will have to do for now.
I´ll make a mold of these bases later this week, and then there will be painted versions!

WIP Lost Temple Bases 50x50mm & 25x25mm Update

After not having much time to work on my project last week, I´m in full swing again. The vegetation is almost done (but the snake is missing a head...), and I will make a mold for these bases tomorrow.

The skull on the 50x50mm base is a resin copy of a skull I sculpted for another project, which should find it´s way onto this blog soon(ish).

WIP Lost Temple Base 50x50mm Update

Quick Update: After more carving and sanding the floor design is finished. I included a comparison shot with the other bases, which I think was overdue anyway.

WIP Lost Temple Base 50x50mm

Very WIP, most of the lines still need further carving, and the surface needs some more sanding, yadda yadda yadda...

But I am rather pleased with the design, the inspiration for which I got from a fellow over at Lustria Online.

Now I have more than enough work in front of me putting vines and other plantlife on this base and it´s smaller cousins.

WIP Lost Temple Bases 25x25mm Update

Quick update: The five designs for the lost temple bases are done. Next I´ll sculpt the vines and farns and so on.

I´ll keep busy during the weekend, so check back in, there just might be an update waiting...

Preview of what is to come: Evil Dwarfs on the Horizon

It is an older picture, but it will serve as a preview of the line of evil dwarfs that will (slowly) appear on this blog.

He is so evil, he even frightens me...

Alien Antigrav Glider

And just to show how manic this workbench really is, here are some other projects I am working on. Here is an alien glider I made and cast in resin.
I am currently painting it and so far all I have done is apply the most basic colours, but I like the way it is turnig out already.

I´ll post more pictures once it is fully painted.

WIP Lost Temple Bases 25x25mm

After having had so much fun doing the 100x50mm Base, I´ll continue with a set of 5 25x25mm Bases in the same look.

Here is a WIP of the first 3, which shows a bit of the work process.

Lost Temple Base Finished!

The base is finished and I am quite happy with the way it looks.

WIP: Trophy Plinth for a tournament

I am working on this commissioned trophy for a tournament. The finished trophy will be cast in resin, spray painted in gold, silver and bronze and awarded to the winners.


The model should invoke a cliched fantasy-battlefield, with weapons, skulls and banners strewn about.




I´m also working on a project I had to put off quite a long time, but I want something substantial to
show before I post it on the net. More substantial than it is now at least.

Update: Lost Temple Base

I continue to work on this base, and I am quite tired of sculpting leaves for the vines... but at least I am nearly done with those.

But I had a lot of fun sculpting the little fellow in the detailshot below, so it evens out.

Kinda.

WIP: Lost Temple Base 100mm x 50mm

I am currently working on this custom base, a lost temple in a fantasy setting, long since overtaken by the surrounding jungle.

The Manic Workbench: Grand Opening

Admittedly, it is not all that grand.

Yet.


On this blog I intend to showcase and share my works in the fields of modelling and wargaming, ranging from painting some miniatures that caught my fancy to sculpting models of my own.

I´ll keep this first post short and sweet, it´s not like anyone is reading this anyway... yet.