Here’s something cool: the new miniature of Tyrion Lannister, soon to be rolling out from Dark Sword Miniatures.

The mini hasn’t been released yet. This is a prototype, painted by the amazing Jen Haley in a color scheme to match her gorgeous versions of Jaime and Cersei, which can be seen below.

You can order your own Dark Sword miniatures at http://darkswordminiatures.com/

And Jen has her own website at http://www.paintrix-miniatures.com/ where you can see a lot more of astonishing brushwork. She takes commissions, too.

Comments welcome, but only about miniatures, painting, and Tyrion. Please stay on topic.

Current Mood: null

I can’t resist sharing some more beautifully painted miniatures.

Here’s another set of the Lannister twins. These two were painted for me by the exquisitely talented Jen Haley of Paintrix Miniatures, whose website can be found at http://www.paintrix-miniatures.com/ First up is Jaime, this time in crimson Lannister plate, wearing the black silk cape he wore the first time we see him, at Winterfell in A GAME OF THRONES.

The facial details are just amazing, I think. I used to try my own hand at painting, when I had a bit more time, but at this scale I count myself lucky when I can get both eyes on the same side of the nose, with the pupil inside the white. But take a look at this close up —

And of course, Ser Jaime hardly ever goes anywhere without his sis, so here’s Cersei in a stunning brocade gown, all freehand work by Jen.

Many of you are not collectors or painters, I know. You may not have any idea how very very HARD it is to do this. Just to put it all in perspective, this shot will give you some idea of the scale of these figures:

It really requires painting of this quality to bring out all of the astonishing details of Tom Meier’s amazing sculpts.

The twins, and the rest of the range, are all available from Dark Sword Miniatures at http://darkswordminiatures.com/ for those who want to try their own hand.

Good luck.

Current Mood: null

Music: Randy Newman, “Short People”
Miniature fans rejoice. Tom Meier has finally found enough time from all his other commitments to sculpt another figure for the Dark Sword range of Ice & Fire miniatures. And this is one you guys have been clamoring for… the Imp himself, Tyrion Lannister.

The figure won’t actually go on sale for another month or thereabouts, but here’s some advance peeks at Tom’s green.

This is the early Tyrion, as he is when we first meet him in A GAME OF THRONES, before he grows the beard and loses… well, no, that would be telling.

Next up for Tom will be Ser Gregor Clegane, the Mountain That Rides, but he has to fit him in among his toy work, so it may not be tomorrow. To make the time pass faster, Dark Sword has some other surprises in the works. But more on that some other day.

Current Mood: null

Dark Sword Miniatures has just rolled out three new miniatures in their Ice & Fire line.

There’s a couple of hedge knights, one young and one old — no, not Dunk, he’s “the” hedge knight in my Dunk & Egg series, and we’ll get to him sooner or later, but these are just a pair of random hedge knights, the vagabonds of the Seven Kingdoms.

Here’s a look at the greens:

The third new figure is a named chareacter: everyone’s favorite turncloak, Theon of House Greyjoy, seen with his bow in happier days.

All three sculpts are by Jeff Grace. Sorry, no painted versions to show you yet, but those are in the works.

For more views… or to place an order… visit the Dark Sword website at http://darkswordminiatures.com/

Comments are welcome, but only on the miniatures, or minis and painting in general. Thanks for staying on topic.

Current Mood: null

Just wanted to post a couple more of the lovely figures from Dark Sword Miniatures.

These two are from the latest release in their Ice & Fire line — a wildling warrior and a lady of the court. They were painted for me by Matt Verzani, and a splendid job he did.

The wildling was sculpted by Jeff Grace, the court lady by Tom Meier. Both of them are available (unpainted, but there are many fine painters on the net who take commissions if you lack the skill yourself) at http://darkswordminiatures.com/

Current Mood: null

So many things I’d meant to post about, so little time in every day.

This one is for the painters, the would-be painters, and the miniature collectors out there. A few more examples of the wonderful figures that Dark Sword Miniatures are putting out, and the incredible things that talented painters can do with ’em.

First, four versions of the queen you love to hate, the one and only Cersei Lannister.

The first is by Marike Reimer, of Destroyer Minis. A classic in Lannister crimson.

Next we have Cersei in mourning dress (she does a lot of mourning, though black is not her
favorite color). This one is from Viking Lodge Studios, where Linus Svensson wields the brush.

Third up is Matt Verzani’s seductive Cersei in see-through silk, no doubt slinking through the halls to seduce her latest catspaw.

And our last lady comes from New Zealand, painted by Rachel Borthwick of Iron Halo Studios.

I’d love to hear which version is your favorite. Myself, I love all four of them… and for those of you who are no more talented with a paint brush than I am, be advised that all four of these painters take commissions. (But be warned, none of ’em are cheap).

Or you can order your own Cersei straight from Dark Sword, and paint her as you like.

To close with something different, some more of the women of Westeros — a wildling spearwife by Matt Verzani, and a court lady painted by Marike Reimer.

Comments are welcome… about the miniatures. Stay on topic, please.

Current Mood: null

Here’s a shout out for all the painters and wargamers and miniatures collectors reading this. Dark Sword Miniatures has released its second set of miniatures — “Wave 1.5” — in the “George R.R. Martin Masterworks” line, with some great sculpts by Jeff Grace and Tom Meier. Check out the Dark Sword website at http://darkswordminiatures.com/ for a look at some painted versions of the new wildlings and gold cloaks.

And speaking of the minis, I’ve been meaning to post pictures of some of the winners in the painting contest Dark Sword sponsored earlier this year at GenCon. Sorry to take so long about it, but with Spain and Portugal and worldcon and all the work sense, I lost track. But better late than never.

Here’s the first place winner, a double diorama of Melisandre and Cersei back to back.

And here’s one of the runners-up, another take on Cersei.

I have been known to paint a miniature or two myself from time to time, but I can’t even come close to these. It’s amazing what a really good painter can do with a brush.

Anyway, hope you all enjoy the look, whether you’re into miniatures or not. I’m going to leave comments open this time… but please, stay on topic.

Current Mood: null

Gamers attending last weekend’s GenCon in Indianapolis found a surprise waiting for them at the Dark Sword Miniatures booth — a half dozen new figures in the “George R.R. Martin Masterworks” range, being rolled out for the first time as special convention pre-release.

The talented Jeff Grace sculpted these new additions to the Dark Sword range, six wildings from beyond the Wall, to face off against the Night’s Watch figures featured in the first wave.

Two are spearwives, the women warriors of the far north, but don’t look for ludicrous chainmail bikinis on these gals. Fur and leather are a lot more practical in the wild.

The wildlings were a special GenCon run, available for purchase only at the convention, but Dark Sword expects to make them available for mail-order in another month or two, as soon as the rest of “wave 1.5” is ready. Gencon attendees also got a glimpse at prototypes of some of the other figures in the iopeline, including a court lady, two gold cloak guardsmen, and a stunning 54mm sculpt of Daenerys and her newborn dragons, fresh from the fires of Khal Drogo’s funeral pyre, all from Tom Meier. Watch this space for pictures for those figures, when they are available.

We’ll also have pictures of the winning entries in the painting contest. My friends at Dark Sword tell me that some of them were truly spectacular. I look forward to seeing them.

Current Mood: null