Together with sculptor Elfhead, I’ve turned a dream into reality: my very own miniature. The small bust depicts my avatar, myself wearing my YouTube-famous mask and the armour of an Eldar Craftworlds’ Guardian. To celebrate, I’ve painted one of the miniatures, but actually, these little Stahlys were intended for something quite different…
The idea for my own miniature came to me a few months ago. I promise, I didn’t just do it to celebrate my ego 😅 I was looking for a way to have a small miniature produced in large quantities that I could use for paint tests for reviews here on Tale of Painters and on my YouTube channel. Just like some people put little Orc heads or similar things on the caps of their Speedpaints and dropper bottles, which they then paint with the corresponding colour. I was looking for suitable models, but then I got the idea to simply have my own miniature made, a likeness of my avatar.
Designing my own miniature
There was only one sculptor for the job: Elfhead3D, who designs wonderful High Elf bitz and miniatures compatible with Warhammer Fantasy and The Old World. His expressive heads and faces were the perfect starting point for my miniature, and he kindly designed a Guardian body around it. If you’re a High Elf fan, be sure to follow him on Instagram and check out his Etsy shop for prints and STLs.
My buddy Ross from Fauxhammer and The Painting Phase podcast offered technical support and helped me with the printing. Ross is a total expert when it comes to 3D printing and printers; on his YouTube channel, he always tests the latest models and technical innovations.
Painting Craftworld Iybraesil
As mentioned above, the miniature is primarily intended as a ‘throwaway piece’ for paint demonstrations. However, I couldn’t resist painting one of the little Stahlys for my collection, as a birthday gift to myself.
I wanted to match the colour scheme of my avatar as closely as possible, whose design is inspired by my Craftworld Iybraesil collection, which you can find here. I tried to push myself to ‘Eavy Metal quality, with multiple layers for highlights and glazes, and soft shading for more volume. Let’s just say, at arm’s length the miniature looks great, but when magnified in the camera, many small mistakes become apparent. The greatly enlarged pictures may be deceptive, but my bust is the size of the upper body of a normal Warhammer 40k Eldar miniature. But overall, I’m quite happy, and it was a nice little challenge to flex my skills. Trying different ways of painting is a great way to keep the hobby fresh.
You can find all my colour recipes here:
Turquoise armour:
Basecoat: VGC Turquoise
Soft shadow/glaze: TTC Sentient Turquoise
Panel lining/recess shading: VGC Abyssal Turquoise
Chunky highlight: VGC Turquoise
Highlight: VGC Turquoise / VGC Aquamarine mix
Sharp highlight: VGC Aquamarine
Dot highlight: VGC Verdigris
Black details:
Basecoat: VGC Black
Chunky highlight: Corvus Black
Highlight: WPF Deep Grey
Thin highlight: TTC Combat Admirality Grey
Dot highlight: VMC White Grey
White stripes freehanded with VMC White Grey, highlighted with VGC Dead White
Skin:
Basecoat: VGC Elf Skin Tone
Soft shadow/glaze: VGC Elf Skin Tone mixed with a little bit of VGC Evil Red
Recess shading: VGC Elf Skin Tone mixed with a little more of VGC Evil Red
Eyes: painted with VGC Evil Red, add two little dots of VGC Dead White to each side
Layer: VGC Elf Skin Tone
Highlight: VGC Elf Skin Tone / VGC Skin Tone mix
Highlight: VGC Skin Tone
Hair:
Basecoat: Rhinox Hide
Soft shadow/glaze: VGC Evil Red
Recess shading: VGC Evil Red mixed with VGC Black
Layer: Rhinox Hide
Highlight: Rhinox Hide mixed with WPF Urban Buff
Highlight: Rhinox Hide mixed with more WPF Urban Buff
Dot highlight: WPF Urban Buff
Soulstone setting:
Basecoat: TTC Griffon Claw
Layer: TTC Ivory Tusk
Highlight: RMS Leather White
Highlight: VGC Dead White
Soulstone:
Basecoat: VGC Evil Red
Layer: VGC Evil Red mixed with VMC Sunset Red
Layer: VMC Sunset Red
Layer: VMC Sunset Red mixed with TTC Hot Pink
Highlight: TTC Hot Pink
Highlight: TTC Hot Pink mixed with VGC Dead White
Dot highlight: VGC Dead White
Pink mask detail:
Basecoat: VMC Sunset Red
Shade/stipple: VMC Sunset Red mixed with VGC Evil Red
Shade/stipple: VGC Evil Red
Stipple: VMC Sunset Red
Highlight: VMC Sunset Red
Highlight: TTC Hot Pink
Highlight: TTC Hot Pink mixed with VGC Dead White
Dot highlight: TTC Hot Pink mixed with more VGC Dead White
Abbreviations: AK = AK 3rd Gen, COM = TT Combat, GSW = Greenstuff World, P3 = Privateer Press Formula P3, RMS = Reaper Master Series, TAP = The Army Painter Warpaints (OoP), TTC = Two Thin Coats, VGC = Vallejo Game Color, VGA = Vallejo Game Air, VMC = Vallejo Model Color, VMA = Vallejo Model Air, VMechaC = Vallejo Mecha Color, WPA = Warpaints Air, WPF = Warpaints Fanatic
And that’s it, a fun little project. My miniature won’t be for sale (who would even want it?), but is just for personal use. A hommage to my favourite Warhammer 40k faction, and a demo model for future paint reviews. Who else has ever dreamed of having their own miniature?
Feel free to leave a reaction, or drop a comment below, I’m also happy to answer any questions on our friendly hobby Discord server. Thanks a lot, and happy hobbying!
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