Happy New Year to all "Fantorical" readers! Well after stepping into the breach last year to do a Top Ten for this blog last year, I have been asked to repeat it for 2018 despite Roger being back. So apologies to Roger for duplicating his efforts, but hopefully I have chosen some different models to him...
This blog is a great source of inspiration to me, helps spur me on to paint my own models and has seen me having to invest in quite a bit of storage in order to house my own growing collection. However, as well as looking at the wonderful minis on "Fantorical", I have also found the website to be a great signpost to dip into the efforts of other bloggers, like the wonderful “Tail Feathers” World of Mice and Mystics miniatures on the "Da Gobbos Grotto".
I will be honest with Simon's prolific output this year it was actually hard to pick just ten models, so it became a bit of family effort. This then is the Undercoat Top Ten of 2018...
This may be a surprise choice as these are little models representing daemons of Nurgle, the plague god. However, despite their small size, they are amazing sculpts and the paint job is also just amazing, resulting in a miniature that I want. I want these Nurglings so much!!!
A chaos champion playing fantasy football that has bags of detail. The paint job picks out the detail superbly while staying true to the evil theme of the forces of chaos. The skin is well done and the metallics look great. I really like this a lot.
This blog has a knack of introducing comic book characters I have never heard of and this chap is no exception. This has a great paint job. The face is well done, but the star is the water effects which I think are stunning. Another model I wouldn’t mind owning!
We stumbled across the incredible "Burrows & Badgers" range of miniatures at Salute. I love nearly all these fantastic sculpts and there were plenty to choose from as the warband was painted over several months. As a result, I cheated and chose two to represent one choice. The little shrew looks so characterful he had to be selected, but so too did the adder, whose armour and scales are just amazing. A great "range of anthropomorphic animal miniatures" really brought to life.
A comic book character who I did know about! But only because he was in the movie "Thor"! Simon has a great technique for painting metal, and is far more patient about it than me. His dry-brushing, highlighting and “polishing” (as he calls it!) is really top notch and this sculpt captures that perfectly. There were plenty of other examples but this one was the best for me.
This Reaver of Khorne, from Games Workshop’s "Age of Sigmar" setting, is essentially a blood thirsty barbarian charging into battle, whose excellent skin tones really stood out for me. I also liked the way Simon didn't copy the traditional red of the followers of the Blood God, but used a more original colour scheme that still captured the character perfectly. Very nice indeed.
A blood soaked giant rabbit. Need I say more! Great paint job that is so full of character!!
Well it wouldn’t be "Fantorical" without "Doctor Who". This classic Patrick Troughton baddie looks great. The fur is so well done and it just begs to be in a
unit and on the tabletop. Simon’s techniques for picking out fur and hair are
really, really good and this is a great example.
I had never heard of this "Marvel Worldwide" comic book character before, but had to pay attention when I saw him. The sculpt is very dynamic and he really stands out because he is pure white. White is such a difficult colour to paint, well in my opinion at least, and the shading on this model is very subtle, very clean and precise, so this super-villain was always going to be high up the list.
This is a great sculpt and what makes it stand out is the realistic painting of it. It looks great in the photograph, but even better in real life. Simple, but so effective. This model really stood out for me.
Well that concludes my Top Ten and the reasons behind them. Happy New Year to all the readers of “Fantorical”.
A huge thanks to Undercoat for pouring through all of my 2018 output, and for being so patient whilst I waited for the comments/opinions concerning Roger’s “Top Ten” died down. It’s clear that white was a particularly popular colour for me during the past twelve months, and I’m pleased to see my favourite subjects “Heroclix”, “Doctor Who” and “Age Of Sigmar” all make their mark – not sure about an oversized-teddy bear being my best of show though!?! LOL!!!
ReplyDeleteAlways a pleasure, never a chore. Picking minis I like is always an odd thing to do as it is the combination of the painting and the mini that makes the choice and sometimes makes my brain do odd things! That polar bear just jumped out at me and stayed lodged in my mind. Even though it is a simple sculpt (but good!) the paint job just makes it so great. I just love that thing, irrational though it may be! Other times a characterful mini wins through: nurglings I am looking at you! Other times painting I look at and really admire sticks in my feeble brain; that Wendigo for example. Great job and makes me just try to emulate that, if I can! Keep up the blog sir, both inspiring to my own efforts and an entertaining read with a beverage.
DeleteThe demon bunny did it for me !!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Phil. The Bunny seems to have been one of my most popular paint-jobs of last year :-)
DeleteNurglings and rabbit for me!
ReplyDeleteCheers Fran, the Nurglings are cute but sadly serve no purpose in "Age Of Sigmar" except to use as hit markers for the larger monsters.
DeleteGreat choices one and all.
ReplyDeleteHmmm... Still not sure about the Nurglings and Polar Bear myself, Michael. LOL!! ;-)
DeleteThese top tens are always to delight to read. I appreciate both Roger and Undercoat taking the time to post them even if I don't agree with all of their choices... but isn't that just the way of the world? We all like different things.
ReplyDeleteThanks Bryan, I'm hoping to do a couple more Top Ten Manufacturers over the next few months, covering 2018 and 2016, as I find it interesting how certain ranges are really popular with me one year, and then almost disappear from my table in the next.
DeleteSome great choices there. The rabbit is always my favourite
ReplyDeleteCheers Andy. I think the Rabbit is probably my mini of 2018 for many people reading this blog. It usually gets a mention when its shown.
DeleteSome great choices there, but an unbelievably difficult task picking them out.
ReplyDeleteI loved the bunny when I first saw it and it still takes "star of the show" for me.
Another vote for the demon bunny. Definitely a pattern is emerging here, Joe. LOL :-)
DeleteProps to the nurglings, but Demon Bunny takes the blue ribbon.
ReplyDeleteThanks very much indeed, Finch, and its great to have you back commenting. You've been much missed :-)
Delete