Wednesday 8 February 2023

From SarahHC: Travelling Minstrel (30 Points - nope, its' 31!))


Hey Everyone

I’m thrilled to be finally posting my second entry for this years Challenge.

Snooping around on MyMiniFactory, I discovered this Flautist by STL Miniatures.

Something about her reminds me of the Pied Piper of Hamelin - I quite like the motion of her frock coat, flowing hair and her very carefree attitude.

According to Wikipedia, the folktale of the Pied Piper has its roots in the very real mystery of 130 vanished children from Hamelin in 1284.

One theory of the missing children is that the worthy burghers of Hamelin hired a rat-catcher to rid the town of its plague of rats. Trailing after the hypnotic notes of the rat catchers flute, the rodents politely filed through the city gate to their doom!

The town refused to pay the Piper and he then used the music of his flute to lure away the towns children.

Well, my flautist is not as sinister as all that …

I envision her as a merry minstrel and ‘maybe’ a little mischievous while she travels the highways and byways of her world.  I think her adventures, similar to the Pied Piper, could be made into a historical drama, right?

Painting this figure was a little challenging, but I am really pleased with the way she turned out.


After priming with black gesso, I dry brushed with a grey paint then I started the glorious red colour of her frock coat. But, then I realized that painting her face and hands was going to be difficult. Curt, being the most magnanimous SnowLord, gave me a lot of tips and suggestions and I did (this time) follow most of his recommendations. Full disclosure, Curt helped me with painting the flute and with her face and hands (but do I feel like I am getting a little more confident with the brush!). 


Once the difficult bits were done I then proceeded to have way too much fun with the rest of her fashionable ensemble … a jaunty black brimmed hat with feather adornment and purple thigh high boots!


The basing was done according to Curt’s recipe … he literally stood beside me at the painting desk and gave me step by step instructions.


I even managed to cause Curt a bit of anxiety as I inadvertently left a paint pot uncovered and sadly the contents are no longer. Oops! (Actually, it was mostly used up -Curt)

Points wise, this is a 60mm figure, but let's round down to a 54mm which is 10 points, plus another 20 for the Historical Drama studio.


Next post … this is exciting, I get to play with the airbrush!

Sarah

Minion Miles: What a wonderful second submission - a superbly painted and stage musician - I really like how the figure is cast "mid-twirl" very nicely done.  Sadly, your point total is incorrect - it's actually 31 points as you've been awarded 1 bonus point for causing Curt some anxiety by leaving the paint pot open - it happens and I suspect the REAL culprit is Curt.  Off course, in the future, when I commit the same error I shall now hear a flautist in the background - my own personal soundtrack for mistakes!

32 comments:

  1. Fantastic work Sarah - the figure is excellent (as you say, the motion is delightful), but the brushwork is top shelf too. Well done.

    And I still don't know what "gesso" is...

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    1. Gesso is an old school primer used by artists to coat canvases, although the formula has changed with the times - the binding agent now is an acrylic medium rather than the original rabbit-skin glue.

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    2. Thanks Greg! My paint brush skills are improving!

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  2. Fabulous miniature and wonderful painting, Sarah! :)

    There's a female bard in the book "Bloody Rose" by Nicholas Eames - I'd highly recommend it, along with his previous book "Kings of the Wyld". They are an interesting take on D&D type milieu - adventuring parties are the equivalent of rock bands, with managers, agents and fan clubs.

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    1. Thanks for the book recommendation… sounds like a fun read! I will definitely add to my library borrowing list!

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  3. Awesome paint job. I particularly like the feather and the detail on the hair.

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    1. Thank you Peter! I tried three or four different colours for the feather before I was happy with the results … I appreciate good accessories!

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  4. Great job here! Even if it did cause Curt a bit of anxiety on the bottle! šŸ¤£ Great print quality also which helps for making a great paint job!

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    1. Haha! Minion Miles keeps awarding me extra points for causing Curt anxiety … what will I do next??

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  5. Great work on the piper Sarah. Love the hair, boots but especially the red cloak. I’ve heard theories connecting the pied piper to both the Black Death and the Childrens Crusade.

    It’s good fir Curt to find his neatly ordered world slightly askew at times.

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  6. Hi Peter
    Glad you like the red & purple combo.
    The Pied Piper tale is very interesting/disturbing and led me down a Wiki rabbit hole. The town of Hamelin itself has a complicated relationship with the tale .. it’s a primary source of tourism but also celebrates a very tramautic incident in their history.

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  7. @miles
    Thank you Miles! I appreciate the extra ‘Curt anxiety’ point … I’ll see what shenanigans I accidentally come up with for next post,
    Haha! I imagine that your paint mishaps will now have a flute rendition of Greensleeves as your personal soundtrack. What an ear worm šŸŽµšŸŽ¶

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    1. No more paint mishaps, please!

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    2. No more mishaps? And you are giving her an airbrush? *grin*

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    3. @Teemu
      I promise a full report on my airbrush adventure

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  8. Lovely work, especially the purple thigh highs šŸ‘¢ šŸ˜Ž

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  9. These boots were made for walking!

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  10. Awesome looking travelling musician, lovely finish!
    Best Iain

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  11. Replies
    1. Yes, a terrific 3D print and fun to paint!

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  12. She looks gorgeous, Sarah! The Piper of Hameln was always one of my favourite Grimm Brothers fairytales, even though it is a little grim. Your figure evokes it admirably. I guess it’s nice to have such a good coach around! Anyway, well done and I look forward to seeing your next project!

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    1. I’ve very fortunate to have an expert painter at my beck and call šŸ˜Š

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  13. What a cracking paint job! Love your bold colour choices especially the boots.

    Is it just me or is there something weird going on with her legs as a sculpt? She's either got thunder thighs, chicken ankles or an unfortunate case of both at once.

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    1. You are correct, her legs are weird.
      Curt originally printed this figure for me in 10mm, she looks better in the smaller scale. I had hoped to paint the mini-minstrel and post her along side the big sister … maybe next post?

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  14. Thats a superb figure even if she's having wobbly leg syndrome.

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  15. Excellent paint job and story. Well done.

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