Board art

It's been quite a while since we published any how-to articles on the blog - so this is really long overdue. We always have the best of intentions every time we put a new miniature out, and discuss all sorts of different things we could publish tutorials on. When we try and find the time to put them together, it's a different story.

This is just a quick run through on how Ali achieved the graphic pattern on Lisbeth's sky-board.

I'm going to leave the text to a minimum as the pictures are fairly self-explanatory. The key to this technique is the use of masking tape to create the design - in this case we used Tamyia masking tape as it's really smooth and finely textured, perfect for precise work. You can gently stick it to clean plastic card to cut it, and it peels away and re-sticks several times without leaving a trace. Try and use a brand new scalpel blade to ensure the cuts are as neat as possible. As with all of this sort of freehand work, a great deal is in the preparation - if you plan and sketch the design before you start, it will be far easier.

You can apply the colour to the exposed areas with either a brush or a sponge - both will give different effects. Try not to over-work it though or the paint can bleed under the edges of the tape and spoil the design.

The first pictures (1-6) show the basic weathered paint being built up on the board. This is achieved with thin, patchy washes - deeper at first, and building up the highlights over the top. You really don't need to be too neat with this - the desired effect is a battered, well-used board.

Pictures 6a-10 show the tape being cut, applied and the first colour added. Pictures 8-16 show the second application of tape, and the next colour. The last two pictures (17 and 18) show the edges being worked on a little and some definition added to the board itself.

There are plenty of different applications for this sort of masking work - it's great for vehicles and large smooth surfaces.

We're going to do another quick tutorial for the back side of the board to show the lighting on the hover engines.

cheers!

mike

Lisbeth concept art

Just thought I would share the original concept art for Lisbeth. This one went through quite a few different incarnations before we settled on a slightly darker, more serious look. The drawing is by Christophe Madura.

Just a quick update on shipping orders - we have been exceptionally busy so things are running a little behind (no change there then...) - the good news is we shipped a lot of orders yesterday and more will go out today. After that we'll be close to up to date.

We are also planning to do some how-to articles about Lisbeth - in fact Ali is working on the first at the moment so I hope to have that up here early next week. We always plan to do more painting content for the blog - but the busier things get, the harder it is to find the time. Hopefully we'll find a way to do more in the future - we always considered it an important part of Studio McVey.

In slightly more cryptic news, we are finally just about to start pushing putty on a new Studio McVey range. I won't say any more than that at present, but I hope they will see the light of day by October...

cheers!

mike

Lisbeth

New release time!

I'm know many miniature collectors in the UK grew up reading the weekly comic 2000AD, just as I did - so I'm sure quite a lot of people will immediately see where the inspiration for this miniature came from. The name is also a clue for where we got the inspiration for doing a tough, streetwise female character...

Funnily enough - after planning to do this miniature for a the last few months, we had just put the sculpt into a mould when this popped up on Coolminiornot. He just beat us to the punch! Really lovely piece though.

The concept for this was by Christophe Madura, the creative genius behind the Smog miniature range and the person who concepted our first ever release - The Raven Priest. The sculpt is by Yannick - who seems to be fast becoming a permanent fixture in our range!

I have to say, of all our releases so far - this is the one I think works best as a composed scene. I think she looks just great.

She's in the Studio Store on the website now.

mike