Monday 27 February 2023

Troll by Maraud Miniatures

 Hey all, following the dark Goblins I last showed, I thought I ought to show you the troll I painted from the same range by Maraud Miniatures. This guy is quite a big boy, towering over classic troll even when he's seated !
Like the goblins earlier, he was designed by Jean Peinture and sculpted by Alexandre Vallet and I had to say when I first saw Alex sculpt him at my FLGS, it was love at first sight, the proportions, mix of cartoony and brutal looks were a perfect match for me.

As you can see, the model sticks to the sketch to the letter and adds all the texture and realism to make the best of it.
Now a few people have mentionned Brian Froud about the earlier Goblins, this made me smile because I went full Froud on this guy, tightest palette I could, desaturated to the max to give it this old look.
I went for a greyish almost rhino hide like skin and milky white eyes to give him a sens of age and make him even more menacing.

Despite being quite a huge model, it was immensely pleasig and easy, you can tell when a sculptor is also a painter (a very talented one in this case), this one is extremely paint smart, it works for you, it's a great feeling for those of us who like fast and rewarding models.
I tried to add soem nuances in teh skin tones though because I tend to find large areas of skin dull, the face, elbows, knuckles, scars, ears all got some glazing to break the monotony a bit.


Like the goblins had turnips, I love that this guy has a dead fish, like he just came back from Mordheim and he's back on his way home


Just check this guy next to his goblin friends and you'll see what i'm talking about :


And here he is along my Mordheim merc band, being ambushed for his weirdstone (or maybe it's just the fish ?)


I'm not exactly sure I would want to face that guy in ine of our upcoming RPG games but as a GM this is definitely somethig I'd like to have near the table to stress my players a bit MWAHAHAHA


Happy painting you all !

15 comments:

  1. Très jolie peinture, tout en teintes désaturées et palette restreinte, mais ça reste très lisible !

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    1. Merci, c'était tout le défi donc ravi que ça ressorte, j'ai tendance à coller des contrastes de saturation sur mes figs en utilisant pas mal de gris dans mes teintes pour augmenter la lisibilité des zones mais là comme j'ai volontairement tout désaturé pour donner une ambiance spécifique j'ai joué plus sur l'opposition de teinte avec toujours le risque que ça soit pas assez poussé et du coup un peu brouillon.

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  2. That is awesome! I really like the Labyrinth-type look: it's a style I really like, especially on more cartoony models. He looks like a model from the Moonstone range. It's a really nice sculpt and the toned-down colours work well. Great stuff!

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    1. Thanks a lot ! I tend to like my fantasy a bit more grounded and earthly !

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  3. Almost something of a Big Daddy Goblin about his features. Little aspects like this sewn-on arm... Man I wish I had a little extra set aside to add these guys to my fantasy collection! Love the colour choices for the same reason you decided to apply them but those eyes! No wonder Trolls are terrible at hitting anything!

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    1. A long life in caves and the dimly lit parts of the forest will do that, not seeing this well only makes him more dangerous !

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  4. Well, since we had seen the whole warband at your suggestion, it was the troll we were waiting for: definitely the highlight of the ensemble! The palette you have chosen is excellent: compared to the "classic" solution of the blue skin that appears in the photos in the online shop, your result gives it a more realistic look - if "realism" can be spoken of for this creature ... How much is it high, 60-70 mm?

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    1. It's in the 60-70 ballpark I guess yes, the other ones are on 25mm bases, I like a few drops of realism to ground my work, it helps with the immersion and makes the more fantastic parts stand out even more I find, Thanks !

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  5. Another fantastic model and great paint job too! The skin turned out especially great.

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    1. Thank you !
      I wanted to give a real leathery/rubbery almost rhino/elephant kind of skin to him.

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  6. This is so awesome. I love the sculpt, i thas quite a Labyrinth vibe. But it's your paintjob what mesmerises me, it's wonderful!

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    1. Aw cheers mec, good models make themselves, this one was a pleasure from start to finish !

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  7. holy hell, this is godly. this model is the definition of the word Troll.
    love the grim dark colors and shades you use. always inspiring to look over.

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    1. The model was an eye-catcher right back during the sculpting process. I remember Alex sculpting it when I went to his FLGS and feeling that distinct brush itch, some models trigger your muscle memory and this one had me thinking how to paint it before it was even finished.

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  8. Wow a-man! This is an incredible piece of work. Love it!

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