Available for download, in a selection of colors, images which you can use as a backdrop for your miniature photographs. I'm planning to put up a similar set of classic gradients very soon.






Be sure to put the bright spot behind the figure for a very nice effect.

For a long while I have plans for a dedicated photo studio for taking pictures of painted miniatures. The most common solution for taking macro photographs is a lightbox. You can buy these out-of-the-box (this is a little fabric tent) or make one of your own with a cardboard box and some translucent paper. But the drawback (for me at least) is that it takes up some room and you need at least two decent lights to get good results.

But last week I got an idea for a compact photo studio after seeing this picture on the Mantic Games website: it actually features walls with aluminum foil to reflect and disperse the light.

So I used a cardboard box, cut out one side and the top and the bottom, and used some tape to cover it with aluminum foil. I also put some foil on the floor of the small studio. It's easy to fold up and store flat somewhere.

Since I have only one light, I positioned it right in front of the mini. On the picture you can also see my tripod, which doesn't have a camera on it obviously:


I'm also testing out a new backdrop I have created instead of the usual gray gradient... I think the sepia one looks best, what do you think? Oh yeah: I will be offering these backgrounds to download soon. I created them myself in Photoshop.


Here's a comparison with my previous photo setup. I think it's really a big difference.


When I have enough room and the cash to buy some decent daylight lamps I will most probably build myself a big lightbox studio, but right now I think this is a great alternative. And I'm really happy about my new backdrops as wel.

Assembling and basing for this little diorama has been very fun, but unfortunately the priming didn't go so smoothly. Since a few months I'm using Army Painter primer. Great stuff, but the can sprays a lot more primer than your usual canned varnish or primer. I primed the skeleton first, so he got way too much primer on him. Especially the skull and most of the frontal areas, such as the shield. The base and dead elf came second, they were primed to near perfection, simply because I got used to the Army Painter primer again...

Normally I would go crazy when something like that happened, but not this time, since I already decided I wouldn't paint this one up to a very high standard. I'm going for a quick paintjob on this one... there are some miniatures in the mail I will be reviewing and painting soon. This is still a secret project, can't tell you guys anything more at the moment, sorry :)

I've just created a Facebook page for Corvus' Miniatures. There's nothing there yet, but you can already become a fan of course. This is the link to the page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Corvus-Miniatures/115014731842945

Using two figures from the Mantic undead sprue and some bits from the Mantic elves sprues I started working on a new project. At first I wanted to do the skeleton alone, but then I thought it was cool to add the undead dog and the dead elf from the


Everything is mounted on a plastic cup, which will be primed and painted black. I used some cork to make a surface for the base, then used some plaster to create the broken tiles and used some sand to fill everything up. Easy, but looks good. I might do a little picture tutorial on the plaster tiles later... I've taken some pictures of the progress.

Regular readers of my blog will know I got some exclusive preview sprues of the Mantic Games Elves last summer. Well, a while ago the guys at Mantic were so friendly to send me some undead sprues to check out.

And again they did a great job. Not everyone liked the design of the Elves, but I think these skeletons will appeal to a wider public. The figures are filled with bits of armor, chainmail, weaponry and shields. And again the sprues are filled with a huge amount of extra bits and options. Again the casting quality is very good.

There's no real reason not to buy these if you're looking for a cheap or better looking alternative for your favorite wargame's undead troops.

Personally I think I will take one skeleton from the sprue, add some bits to a base and paint it up. They look very tempting to paint :)

Time to reveal the first mystery package! It is actually a figure I ordered from Kabuki Models a while ago.

The order on the site was smoothly, and I was kept up to date when the order was processed. I expected the package to arrive a bit quicker, but it was still under two weeks shipping time. The website tells me the company is based in Italy, but I got e-mails from a Polish guy and in the end the package appeared to be shipped from the UK.

The figure itself is contained in a small cardboard box with a simple sticker on it:

The model itself consists of three parts: the body, head and the axe. There's a great sculpted base provided with the figure, featuring a pile of skulls, nice!

The overall quality of this figure is very high. There are some minor mould lines on the model, but nothing serious that can't be removed with a file or knife.

Here's official studio paintjob: