Capybara picture frame diorama

Here is a picture frame diorama I made for my girlfriend for her birthday.

Capybara in a jungle setting, something which I'd planned on making for a long while since I bought the Capybara miniatures at Salute last year. They are made by a fantastic company called Bad Squido games if you are interested you can find them here

When thinking about how I would set up the scene I knew I wanted one riding a crocodile, the video of this happening was just too damn cute.

Because my girlfriend loves bright and fun colours as well as a healthy dose of whimsy I added a bowler hat which I painted purple with a pink band. I knew it would likely make her smile as well as give this Cappy a dapper look the others would envy.

I've had a random stick in my terrain bits box for years and years knowing that I'd use it one day
(a hoarders mentality I know!)
I cut it in half and attached it to the inside edge of the picture frame box. I pinned them in place using paperclip to ensure they stay in place.

I loved the moment when I was able to bring the whole piece together, gluing on the capybaras which I had painted separately as well as adding things like this spider and a hidden centipede in front of the crocodile (its really hard to photograph)

The morning after I finished making it but before I glued the crocodile and the ground its onto the frame I had a bit of an accident! 

I picked it up the next morning to get a better look at it in the daylight (as I normally do crafting in the evenings) and the croc its cappy and the ground its on (which is a sheet of card folded with sand glued on and loads of fake plants attached) the whole thing fell into my freshly made cup of tea! 

I scolded my fingers pulling it out then had the nightmare of what to do next!
I ran the whole thing under a cold tap to wash the tea off and cool my fingers down, then placed it next to a radiator to dry out for a few days. 
I did have to touch up the paint in places as well as replace some of the foliage but overall it could have been much worse!

I figure a ruler for scale should help you know what size the thing is! I guess that's important too right?

I'm really pleased with how it turned out and I hope she is too, the only thing I wish I had figured out was a way to contain it to be displayed without it eventually getting dusty. I will keep a lookout for a display box or case that will fit it!

I really love making gifts using geeky hobby skills, though the time pressure is a limiting factor in my enjoyment of it I think its worthwhile. 
Finding inspiration for something to make someone though is not always certain. With that in mind I think I will continue to follow my inspiration and make things as I feel interested, and if that means I have to give it to someone at a later date because I missed a birthday or xmas in the future then that will just have to happen!

If you want to support my content consider taking a look at my Patreon which you can find here. Or Kofi here. I don't put any finished content behind a paywall but I do offer rewards to people who support me in ways like getting to vote on what content I work on in the future.

Even if it's just $1 it really helps me out!

See you all next time!

Fairy and Toadstool Glass dome Diorama

This diorama in a glass dome I made last year and gave to my 6 year old daughter as a Christmas present. (Haven't had much time/energy to write it up here though sorry!)

My daughter loves fairies she even has a fairy door we painted together in her room.

I painted this fairy in the same colours she has used when drawing pictures of "her fairy".

The fine details on the fairies face were incredibly small and after a few failed attempts to paint them I went with a more simplistic look to save my sanity.

I liked painting on the silver viens onto the wings, adds an ethereal look to it.

I've had this tiny frog smoking a pipe for years now sitting in my bits box and this seemed like the perfect time to use it! It was a joy to paint and has tons of character.

I added these little clumps of mushrooms to the log pile. (Log pile is from Mantic terrain crate, mushrooms are 3d printed from esty)

Painting them a nice bright colour to stand out was fun, allowing myself to use colours I haven't often allowed myself to.

My kiddo also quite likes pirates and treasure so I added a treasure chest to make her smile!

The mushroom is resin, bought from ebay. It came pre painted though the quality was poor so I repainted it myself. I did leave the white spots as they came though because they are glow in the dark and I wanted to keep that feature.

The wooden stand also has LEDs built into the part where the glass meets the wood to light up the whole piece. Its battery powered though not rechargeable so it won't be on very often.

What do you think of it? She was delighted which was lovely. I have greatly enjoyed making gifts for loved ones using my geeky skills it really makes for a (hopefully) special present.

If you want to support my content consider taking a look at my Patreon which you can find here. Or Kofi here. I don't put any finished content behind a paywall but I do offer rewards to people who support me in ways like getting to vote on what content I work on in the future.

Even if it's just $1 it really helps me out!

See you all next time!

Labyrinth The Board Game Painted

Today I'll be showing off the Labyrinth Board game I painted for my mum last Christmas. 

I've been doing more hobby projects as gifts for the last couple of years and continue to enjoy it. 

Though it can be quite stressful to have a solid deadline to work towards, as normally I flit between projects (as I imagine most hobbyists do). 

Sarah was a challenge for sure. I struggled to paint her face and eyes to the standard I would like, I made the concession to let it go.

I did add twiddly gold detailing on the waistcoat which is brighter than in the film but I found it hard to get a 100% match. 

With Jareth I had similar issues with the face so again decided not to stress about it. I enjoyed painting some texture onto the trousers giving them a sketchy look to add some visual interest.

(yes the Bowie bulge is not as big as some people would like it to be lol) 

Painting the bone details on his cape was easy enough, I've had a decent amount of practice painting the various wargaming miniatures over the years!

Hoggle was a fun little guy to paint and to follow a theme I again didn't paint his eyes, though his face being larger did allow for more detail in the nose and eyebrows which was nice.

The dirtyish looking white shirt was a joy to paint with its various folds, the other parts of his clothes are just various shades of browns leaving him a rather plain looking mini in the end but that is rather fitting for him.

Sir Didymus and his trusty steed Ambrosius were fun but challenging to paint. His is the most detailed of the models. It was fun painting his fur with its various colours fading into each other.

When painting the caparison hanging on either side of Ambrosius I had intended to paint more details and getting it screen accurate, however given the size and my limited skill at patterned freehand painting then combine that with Christmas rapidly approaching I decided quarter colours would be enough to give the idea of what was there without driving me insane!

Ludo was the most enjoyable to paint for me. I have really been liking trying out new ways to paint fur and in different colours so he was a great variation for that practice with his ginger fur.

The brown/grey skin tone was tricky to match to the screen version but I think I did a pretty decent job, as well as the redish brown eyes. 

And they fit quite nicely back into the box on display!
I hope my mum likes the game, she said she was happy with the painting at least.

If you want to support my content consider taking a look at my Patreon which you can find here. Or Kofi here. I don't put any finished content behind a paywall but I do offer rewards to people who support me in ways like getting to vote on what content I work on in the future.

Even if it's just $1 it really helps me out!

See you all next time!

Cat vs Dog mini Diorama

Up for your viewing pleasure today is a mini diorama I created. It's on a 50mm base, I included a 2p coin in the picture below to show how small it is!

The cat is from a Cygnar Trencher solo I bought years ago but did not put on the models base because I was intimidated to paint it back when I first got it. Now it finds its new forever home in this project.

The dog is from a Greylord minicrate model by Privateer press, it was a limited sculpt which I didn't buy, the dog was given to me as a freebie in a different order. 

The pile of groceries is by Bad Squiddo games, you can find them here

Painting the cat was always going to be a challenge. I had long ago decided to try and paint it like my cat Noodle. My daughter would never forgive me if I didn't!

Here's what my cat looks like for reference. (Shes 13 this year bless her)

Getting in her various markings or at least the suggestion of them was important to me. I think I did well enough to capture her likeness. However the eyes took me forever! I had to repaint them so many times they are so small!

I really enjoyed painting the dog, going with the yellow brown was a fun choice, I would typically in the past have defaulted to a brown or grey for a dog. 

I really like the spread of colours I used for the various supplies piled up. They were a joy to paint, I can fully recommend these if you want to add some detail to your terrain or basing.

I made the cobbles with a greenstuff roller. It seemed to be 3d printed so the stones had lines across them unfortunately. I spent some time smoothing them over so thankfully it doesn't show up too much now. Painting them in various colours helps add to the realism and break up the look of the ground without detracting from the scene.

What do you think of this mini diorama?
I'm really pleased with it, it was a fun challenge to my painting skills and make me feel more confident that I will one day be ready to make my Dungeons and Doggies & Cats and Catacombs minis (which really intimidate me with their tiny size and high detail!)

If you want to support my content consider taking a look at my Patreon which you can find here. Or Kofi here. I don't put any finished content behind a paywall but I do offer rewards to people who support me in ways like getting to vote on what content I work on in the future or outright just picking the next subject of an article as well as posting wip projects.

Even if it's just $1 it really helps me out!

See you all next time!