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

Darkness Resin

Just a really quick post to show the resin of Darkness - quite an odd looking beast, but I think he's got a really brooding sense of power and danger about him. I don't think I would want to meet him when he's fully formed...

I meant to post this last week - but the guys over at Dragonpainting.net have been holding a painting competition featuring our very own Pan. You can see the results for yourself at the site. The results were just great - all of them had a totally different take on the miniature. I particularly liked all of the bases - we put a lot of thought into the bases we supply our miniatures on (if they come with sculpted bases), so it's really great to see some thought going into how the painted versions are presented.

Great stuff! It's really exciting for Ali and I to see people painting Studio McVey miniatures.

Just a quick shipping and orders update. Things have been very busy since we got back from the US, so we are just a few days behind with orders. We're getting a re-stock of Ar-Fienel (who has been astoundingly popular - odds on she'll be the first miniature we sell out of...) tomorrow, but apart from that we have everything in stock and should be up to date with orders by the middle of this week.

cheers!

mike

Y'Sala resin

I thought I would share a shot of Y'Sala on her own so you can see the details all the way round, it's a amazingly detailed sculpt. I find the detail on the top of the stocking particularly astonishing. Someone asked me if the clothing was press-mouded, and I can tell you that none of it is - Yannick sculpted the whole thing traditionally. Pretty amazing... I've also got a single picture of Darkness that I will post here soon.

Just a quick shipping update - as of today we're up to date with orders placed before we released Y'Sala, so if you are waiting for something from before then - it's on the way to you. We'll start shipping out orders for Y'Sala either today or Monday, and there shouldn't be any delays after that. We have plenty of stock of everything, and now we're back in the Studio, we'll get back to regular shipping procedures.

Cheers!

mike

Y'Sala and Darkness

I have just added the new release to the Studio Store over on the Studio McVey main website - and there are no prizes for guessing what it is! The response to Y'Sala and Darkness at Salute was great, and we have had a similarly enthusiastic response from our mailing list (just in case you don't know, I generally pre-release miniatures to members of our list a couple of days early).

I did promise to show pictures here last week - but with one thing and another (travelling back from the US, BA strikes and jet lag), I just never found the time. Apologies for that - but I do plan to have several blog posts in the next couple of weeks to make up for it.

We're thrilled with this set -it the first double release we have ever done and the sculptor (Yannick - who is fast becoming a Studio McVey favourite), also drew the concept. We supply the set with a 40mm base, but Y'Sala is also tagged to fit on a base on her own.

I've got pictures of the two pieces separate from each other, so I'l post those tomorrow.

Cheers!

mike

Salute and status update

Sorry things have been quiet from Studio McVey for the last couple of weeks, truth be told it's been incredibly busy for us, and it's been hard to find the time to post.

Salute was a really great event for us - it's was a tremendously busy day and we had a great deal of fun meeting people we had only previously talked to online. Ali entered the painting competition (her first ever!), and managed to win the overall prize with her Studio version of Ar-Fienel. I was absolutely speechless when she walked back to the booth with arms full of prizes - I just wish I'd taken a picture, the look on her face was priceless! There are a couple of small pictures on the Salute site if you click the 2010 winners link.

Right after Salute we had Adam and Anna from Kingdom Death staying with us for a couple of days - great people and they are making a wonderful job on their miniatures. Quite inspiring to see some fresh ideas.

I'm actually writing this from the US - we're spending a little time over here on some work matters, so we have temporarily re-located Studio McVey here for a couple of weeks. It shouldn't make much difference to orders - except people who order from the US will get orders quicker, and people who order from Europe will get them a little slower. Apologies if you are adversely affected by this arrangement - it's strictly temporary and normal service will be resumed soon!

We are a little behind with filling orders though - Ar-Fienel has been extremely popular and it's been hard to keep pace. The last two months have been great for us - first Isabella and now the new release have both gone down really well. That's the problem with us being such a small operation (just Ali and I!) - when things go well it can be a struggle to keep up. We're not far behind though - just a few days in fact, and I certainly hope to have all outstanding orders filled before the end of the week. We have increased our production capacity quite a lot too - so I certainly think we'll never see the sort of delays we had with Kara again!

As always - thanks for your patience and understanding if your order takes just a little longer to get to you than normal.

I plan to update the blog a few times in the next week. I have a few things I want to show here - the concept art for Ar-Fienel, some more shots of Ali's painted version, and some pictures of next month's release. Pictures of Y'Sala have already made it online - taken at Salute, so I have been meaning to show some official pictures. I'll definitely get to that soon - she's an amazing piece and I'm excited to share some pictures of her.

cheers for now!

mike