Birsi Bearsson, Dwarf Berserker Released!

Statuesque Miniatures is pleased to announce the release of a new Statuesque Fantasy Adventurer – Birsi Bearsson. A dwarf berserker of fearsome reputation, Birsi claims he was raised by a she-bear alongside her cubs. Few would dare question his account, even those who grew up with him.

Birsi Bearsson is available in two versions. First up we have Birsi armed with his favoured twin axes.

Next we have an older, more experienced Birsi armed with a finely-wrought great axe and magical ring. Down which dark dungeon did he find those fine weapons?

Each version is available at a special release price of only £4.25, saving over 10%.

Alternatively, you can purchase both versions together in the Birsi Rising Special Offer for only £8, saving over 15% over the regular, separate purchase price.

Finally, why not pick up our other fantasy dwarf Lowri Lowrisson along with Birsi in the Dangerous Dwarves Deal? You can chose either version of Birsi alongside Lowri, or go for both versions for a three figure pack.

The Dangerous Dwarves Deal is priced at £8.25 to £12.25, again offering a saving over buying the items separately.

All these offers will run until the 14th of August or while stocks last so don't delay and grab yourself some dangerous dwarves!

Of figure scales and sizes

Statuesque Sci-fi, through Statuesque Pulp, to Statuesque Fantasy.

I thought I would write a post to highlight the different figure sizes and proportions that I'm now working to for our different ranges. For each genre - sci-fi, fantasy and pulp - I've altered how I use sizing and proportion, both to provide me with different sculpting opportunities and to perhaps better match the kind of ranges I see the Statuesque figures being used alongside.

Statuesque Sci-Fi

When I first started sculpting for Statuesque Miniatures, I was still working as a commission sculptor. I was often asked to make my figures bulkier than I would have normally at that time. I was still very much learning my craft (I still am!) and what I really wanted to do was sculpt how I thought I should be doing it, rather than what I was told to do. As such, the first Statuesque Miniatures figures allowed me to do just that. The likes of Havana Gray, the original Mei-Lin Mayfair and Bella the Partisan are at the taller and more slender end of wargame miniatures proportions. This was how I felt it best to learn figure sculpting, particularly female figures, as well as being an antidote to the chunkier figures I was being asked to sculpt for commissions.

Bella the Partisan - the remaining figure from the launch of Statuesque Miniatures.

The rest of the Statuesque Miniatures Sci-Fi range evolved out of these figures, largely keeping similar, slender proportions. All the sci-fi figures, from the S.O.E. Kill-Team to Mei-Lin 2.0 and her Hong Kong Killer Fembots, all work nicely together as a range.

So the Statuesque Miniatures Sci-Fi range perhaps features figures more slender than most, but it will work nicely with many other manufacturers' ranges, the most obvious being that of Infinity by Corvus Belli. It should be noted that all the head sprues in the Resistance Fighter Accessories range a designed for the Statuesque Sci-fi range, not as add-on parts for other manufacturers' figures, though I have seen them used nicely on Infinity and Sedition Wars figures amongst others.

L-R: Sedition Wars, Statuesque Sci-Fi, Infinity, Statuesque Sci-Fi, Hasslefree, Statuesque Sci-Fi

Pulp Alley and Statuesque Asylum

The recent and ongoing collaboration with Pulp Alley has led to two new pulp ranges - the Pulp Alley range of figures, designed by Dave and Mila Phipps and sculpted by myself, and the Statuesque Asylum range, my own pulp-horror project. Both these ranges share common figure proportions and sizing.

It was decided that the pulp genre figures should be slightly chunkier than the existing Statuesque Sci-fi figures, with slightly bigger heads and extremities, to better match existing pulp ranges such as those by Copplestone Castings and Pulp Figures. With such diverse figures already on the market, it would have been a bit silly to try and rewrite things with our new ranges.

L-R: Statuesque Sci-fi, Crooked Dice, Statuesque Asylum, Copplestone Castings, Pulp Alley, Copplestone, Pulp Alley, Copplestone, Statuesque Asylum, Hasslefree Miniatures.

I've actually really enjoyed that little bit more freedom that the change of proportions has allowed. I feel I can introduce more divergence in the shapes and sizes of the figures I'm sculpting. For example, Phantom Ace is broad and muscled, very much a comic book superhero, while the Frothing Loonies are twisted, hunched and distorted to better portray the madness of their nature. That said, they all work nicely together as a range. The difference between the pulp genre figures and the sci-fi range is also not so great as to stop me using them together in a game.

Statuesque Fantasy

The newly launched Statuesque Fantasy range is not my first foray into fantasy miniatures. That came with the release of the diminutive Ezmeralda Tyke.

A very small elf name Ezmeralda Tyke.

Ezmeralda was to be the figure figure in a range of fantasy figures themed around a little girl named Lillie Poots and her abductors/protectors known as the Malinquents. The problem was, not long after sculpting Ezmeralda, I switched to digital sculpting meaning a steep learning curve and priorities other than telling the story of Lillie and her friends. Not only that, Ezmeralda was so small and slight she didn't actually match any of my fantasy miniatures collection. I can only imagine this was of similar concern to my customers as despite being what I consider to be amongst my best work, Ezme has been a very slow seller!

Now I could have ploughed my own furrow and expanded the fantasy range in a style similar to Ezmeralda, but the thing is I actually really like exaggerated, caricatured fantasy figures. My Kev Adams Citadel goblins are some of my favourite figures and I really wanted to make fantasy characters of my own that I could use alongside (or more accurately in opposition to) those figures.

This has led to the new Statuesque Fantasy range of adventurers, unashamedly exaggerated, caricatured and ridiculous! And yes, they do have very big noses, don't they...

A big nose, a slightly smaller nose, a wide nose and a very big nose.

I'm placing no limits on myself regarding how much I push, pull and break figure anatomy and proportions for these figures. Even the two humans in the range so far, Oorik the Barbarian and Gomeril the Wizard, are very different in their physical characteristics, beyond one being a muscle-bound hulk and the other a withered old man. At the same time, the overall style of the figures means they all work well as a range. And most importantly of all, I have a group of figures with which to enter the dungeon and hunt some goblins.

Games Workshop and Statuesque Fantasy

Being so small, Ezmerlda Tyke doesn't actually stick out too badly. She just looks like a very small elf-like creature. However, due to issues with her mould, she will be going out of production very shortly, once the remaining castings have sold. She may see light of day again, either resculpted or not, and another imagining of her character will certainly be joining Lillie Poots in the Asylum.

Our four heroes fail to spot the diminutive, elf-like creature creeping along beside them in the shadows.

Heroic Scale Heads

Finally we come to the black sheep of the Statuesque range, the Heroic Scale Female Heads. These do not fit any existing Statuesque figure, but are designed for use on your heroic scale figures from other manufactures. I sculpted these because there appeared to be demand for heads similar to those that I'd made for the Resistance Fighter range, only larger.

L-R: Resistance Fighter Beret heads, Heroic Scale Female Heads, Resistance Fighter Cracking Hairdo heads.

The Heroic Scale Heads have proved popular (I keep running out of stock though I've got lots coming in the next restock) so I'll likely add more sprues in future. However, it is unlikely I will do figures to match the heads. You'll have to provide those yourselves.

So that's my run-down on the whys and wherefores of the perhaps ever-so-slightly confusing sizing differences between the different Statuesque ranges. I enjoy sculpting to these different styles as it allows me to do something different from the last figure I sculpted, so each range will continue to expand in future. Don't forget there are a number of comparison photos here on the blog so you can judge for yourselves how you think the figures will match your existing collection.

Regards,

Andrew Rae

Fantasy Adventurers Released and a new Pulp Alley Pre-Order

Statuesque Miniatures is pleased to announce the full release of our four Fantasy Adventurers, along with a Pre-Order deal for the next Pulp Alley expansion: Pulp Gadgets, Guns and Vehicles!

Priced from £4.75, Oorik the Barbarian, Misanter the Elf, Gomeril the Wizard and Lowri Lowrisson the Dwarf are now in stock and available individually or with a discount for purchasing all four characters. These four heroes will bravely venture into any dungeon in search of gold and glory so head over to the shop and pick them up now!

Also this month we have a Pre-Order deal for the next Pulp Alley expansion: Pulp Gadgets, Guns and Vehicles.

This thrilling expansion provides rules for BIG guns, strange gadgets, riding mounts, vehicles, custom modifications and much, much more. From dog-sleds to flying characters, and from aeroplanes to colossal walking robots, the Pulp Gadgets, Guns, and Vehicles book makes it fast and easy to add even more excitement to your Pulp Alley scenarios.

The Pulp Gadgets, Guns and Vehicles book is available at a special reduced Pre-Order price of £10.50, saving over 15% on the regular price. This offer runs until May 18th with an expected shipping date of May 19th.

Oorik the Barbarian and Misanter the Elf by Andy Wedmore

I've got two adventurers to show you today, both painted by Andy Wedmore of Belly Miniatures. Again, I think he's done an amazing job.

First up, Oorik the Barbarian:

And he is joined by Misanter the Elf:

And finally, here are the four brave adventurers, ready to enter the deadly dungeon!

I can't wait to see these figures in person and I'm planning on making a wee display set up for photography. Something with a dungeon tile and some doors...

I should be receiving the production castings very soon, after which I'll send out all the pre-orders (a rather large task!) and then get the figures on general release.

Gomeril the Wizard by Andy Wedmore

Andy Wedmore of Belly Miniatures continues his progress through the fantasy adventurers. This time he's completed the wizard of the group - Gomeril.

I think he's done a great job again, really capturing the look I was going for when I sculpted him. I can't wait to see what he's made of Oorik the Barbarian and Misanter the Elf!

The Pre-Order allocation of the Fantasy Adventurers has now sold out. But don't worry as they will soon be available again on general sale, both individually and as a group.

Lowri Lowrisson by Andy Wedmore

One of the best things about being a miniatures sculptor is seeing your work finished by a painter. I get a kick out of this regardless of the skill of the painter as the fact someone has taken the time and effort to complete a figure I've sculpted is an honour in itself. When the painter is particularly skilled, it's really something special.

For the new fantasy range, I decided to treat myself and commissioned Andy Wedmore of Belly Miniatures paint up a set of the forthcoming Adventurers. He's just completed the dwarf and I think he's done a fantastic job, really capturing the look I imagined in my head when I was sculpting him.

Without further ado, Lowri Lowrisson:

Andy is working on the rest of the warband now and I for one can't wait to see the results!

We're down to the last few Pre-Order sets of the Adventurers, so thanks to everyone who's placed an order so far. And tomorrow the next adventurer will go off to the mould makers for the first stage of moulding. Fear the Dwarf Berserker!

Statuesque Fantasy Adventurers Pre-Order!

“Our four adventurers stand on the shore of the Windswept Isle, the quest ahead of them made plain by the midden pile of human bones outside the entrance to the Trowie Howe. Locals had spoken of a great evil having taken over the Howe but also of great treasure, reason enough to brave the dank darkness...”

Statuesque Miniatures is pleased to announce a special Pre-Order Deal for the first releases from our new Statuesque Fantasy range of heroic adventurers. Featuring all four adventurers – Oorik the Barbarian, Misanter the Elf, Gomeril the Wizard and Lowri Lowrisson the Dwarf – this deal can be had for only £19, a price not to be repeated when the figures on general release.

Unashamedly 'heroic scale', these figures are available with the super special Retro Rectangular resin bases supplied by Zealot Miniatures for that proper dungeoneering look.

Master castings of the figures arrived back with the mould maker on the 28th of March, with delivery of production castings to Statuesque Miniatures expected within 2-4 weeks. The final retail price for the figures, which will be available individually upon general release, has not been set. However, due to the weight and size of the figures, it is safe to say the retail price will be much higher than this Pre-Order Deal. The number of castings for the Pre-Order is limited and the offer will run only until production castings have been delivered or while stocks last.

Order now so you don't miss out!