Fairies' Tails

“So you see,” said the mother to her young son, “if you don't go to sleep when I tell you, the Malinquents will come and steal you away, just like they did that girl Lillie Poots. ”

Ezmeralda Tyke slumped down under the window through which she had been watching the mother put her child to bed.

“But we didn't steal her!” she sighed.

“We did steal her.” mumbled Hogart. The big oaf was sitting toying with a beetle that had crawled up his boot. “We stealed her 'cos Malink told us to, for that Leech Lady.”

“Well yeah, we did. But then we saved her - saved her from whatever the Leech Lady was going to do to her!”

Suddenly a small ragged girl skittered round the corner of the cottage, skidding to a halt in front of them.

“Are you coming?” she gasped, grinning widely. “We got the cellar door open and Kittlewick found the biggest cheese!”

Hogart lumbered to his feet and ran off excitedly with the girl.

“Brat!” hissed Ezmeralda.

Excerpt from 'The Tales of Lillie Poots', Anon.

(Currently sculpting a small girl.)

Ezmeralda Tyke of the Malinquents

Ezmeralda Tyke is a diminutive, elf-like creature, infamous across the land for the alleged abduction of one Lillie Poots, age seven and a quarter.

So here is the first of my fantasy offerings. As you can see she measures approximately 20mm to the top of her head as posed, so she's a pretty small elf. If indeed she is an elf. I deliberately didn't make her too pretty, as I wanted something slightly unsettling about her face, though I still think she's a little cutie. Don't tell her that to her face!

I'm planning a four figure adventuring party, along with Lillie Poots herself. It might take a while for Ezmeralda to go on sale in metal as I'd like to release the Malinquents as a set, though she'll likely be available in resin before that.

Keep an eye on the Statuesque Miniatures website or the Facebook page for the upcoming figures!

Fairy Tales

“And that is how, having spirited away little Lillie at the bidding of the Leech Lady, the Malinquents did defy their leader and swear to protect the girl from all evils. In her wrath Malink the Ostrich Knight slew her former followers, save the four brave heroes of our tale who, along with the child, escaped through luck and cunning.”

Excerpt from 'Lillie Poots and the Malinquents', Anon.

(first Malinquent nearly complete- photos soon)

Entering a fantasy world...

Well, Christmas and New Year (as well as a 'significant number' birthday) have been and gone and while it wasn't the most productive of festive periods, I do feel refreshed and have been really enjoying sculpting lately. I'm quite excited about some figures that are a bit different from the current Statuesque Miniatures line up.

For a while, I've had the urge to sculpt some fantasy figures but until now I hadn't been able to pin down quite what angle I was going to take. The sci-fi figures I do are fairly generic, though hopefully with a little twist or a nice pose to keep things interesting, and I find it easy to come up with ideas for that kind of figure. I guess I could do a similar thing for fantasy, making generic figures (most probably female and sexy...) in various styles of fantasy outfit, but to be honest I'm not really sufficiently interested in or knowledgeable of fantasy/historical armour and clothing to pull that off. Tre Manor of Red Box Games is for me the master of this type of figure and has created a brilliant range of figures. He's clearly know his stuff when it comes to the fantasy genre and I know I don't have the knowledge to do something similar. Plus, why would I try to compete when he's created such a comprehensive range?

No, I need to find my own way in the fantasy world. Part of my ugre to create some fantasy characters is a desire to sculpt some weirder and more unusual figures; scary monsters and gribbly creatures that are a world away from my sci-fi girls. Jody Siegel's amazing Imbrian Arts goblins and Dave King's rather joyful Bederken figures have captured my attention, as well as various  'old school' Citadel Miniatures blogs that showcase the charms of the often eccentric but always characterful nature of many older figures. I've also been pouring over artwork from the likes of John Bauer and Brian Froud, surely sources inspiration for many of the figures I've been admiring.

One thing that has been impressed on me is the story telling aspect of much of what I've mentioned above. While I do indeed have an elaborate, overarching story behind my sci-fi range (though it's all a bit shoehorned in...) it's not really necessary for me to convey that. Sexy girls with guns will be popular regardless of what history I have invented for them!

For my fantasy range, I really want a story to hang everything on from the beginning and I've had fun trying to create what is essentially a fairytale told through miniatures and various vague and cryptic passages of text. Through this, I hope the rather disparate range of figures I have planned will work together as a whole and allow the customer to invest some imagination in them beyond what the figure immediately portrays. The theme I have chosen to work around is the classic 'girl lost in a fantasy land' à la Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, Labyrinth and much more. So, sure it's not original but there nothing wrong with an archetype!

Apologies for the lack of pretty picture but hopefully I'll have something to share soon. In the meantime, here's the first piece of the story puzzle:


Malinquent /mə'lɪŋkwənt/ (n.)
1. A malingering delinquent.
2. (The) Malinquents: A band of rogues formerly led by Malink the Ostrich Knight.