Monday, 16 September 2013

Mahdist Emir 'Ali ash-Sharif

Still trying to resolve my dearth of commanders for Black Powder, I bring you my first Mahdist leader, the Emir 'Ali ash-Sharif. Quite a colourful chap with his patched jibbeh, which most of my Mahdists don't have. One of the early adopters, maybe he is trying to curry favour with the Mahdi (clearly works, as he's got himself a command...). He may get a ride out tomorrow as Samulus is over for a game of something.


I've not really got into a painting rhythm yet, so I'm pleased he's finished and I can move onto the next batch. I tried to jazz up the horse furniture with some freehand but it didn't quite come out how I imagined, though is better than my first attempt.


These snaps were taken with a new camera that I got last week: a new Olympus 'compact system camera'. This clever new breed of cameras are more like a DSLRs but in a significantly smaller body, so is a massive step up from the four year old compact I was using before. On a positive note, the unsightly blob of dust is no longer present, but I definitely wouldn't say I know how to use it yet. I was getting better results without using the flash, but look forward to pushing the camera a little bit more as I figure it out.



And with flash, the colours come out more like my shots with the old camera.


And as is customary, a final picture with added vintage effect. I like how this one came out, very moody.




23 comments:

  1. Quite nice. A simple paint job, but one that works well for the figure.

    Do you plan on a dismounted version for small-scale actions?

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  2. Very nice painting work, sir. Perfect for this model!

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  3. Looking good. Not picked up a brush in months so any progress is good progress.

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    1. Get back on it, slacker. Winter is coming, after all.

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  4. Great work it may be a simple figure but the painting make's it a stunning model
    Peace James

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  5. A great looking figure, I really like the look of him

    Ian

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    1. Cheer Ian - much of it in the posing though!

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  6. Nicely painted and what a great heroic pose as well. The new camera seems to be doing its job quite well as well!

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    1. No doubt I'll be a photography expert soon (or not!)

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  7. Really nice work Phil. I've got the same miniature and struggled a bit to get him looking as I wanted. Yours has come out really well indeed.

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  8. Ha! I really had not noticed the smudge until I looked back at some of your earlier posts. (It just tells you how good you painting is.) Very nice work, as usual Phil. As a suggestion, see if you can get some more light directed on the front of your figures as they often seem underexposed (especially those with dark skin).

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    1. Crikey, that blob has been bugging me for months. In such a prominent place. On honeymoon we developed extra blobs, really pushing us into getting a new camera (though we'll keep the old as a spare point and shoot).

      Thanks for the suggestion, I'm by a window but will try a daylight lamp face-on. The skin is very dark though, his in particular, quite a contrast with the robes.

      I am moving house in a month or so and will have more space, so hoping to set up a better place to take photos, including lighting and some more interesting backdrops. Maybe even a light tent sort of setup, who knows?!

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  9. Cracking job and a suitable leader for enemies of the queen.
    Cheers
    Stu

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  10. That is really excellent. Great job.

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