Hello dear jungle readers,
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The second volume is at the same time the first that follows the by now customary format of the series: A monograph by a single artist - in this case Christof Keil, a miniature artist and blacksmith from Germany.
To be fair and as mentioned in the last article, the journey to review all of the "The Art of …"-Books started somewhere in early 2023, but then life happened. To be honest, Christof's book was the first of the whole series I saw and when I took a first look at it, I was not terribly impressed. While I am a huge fan of John Blanche and his Artwork, I cannot say the same for the style of dark and grimy miniature painting he inspired with the "blanchitsu"-Movement back in the day. This first impression wasn't helped by the fact, that the act of assembling and building models before painting (and in this vein kit bashing) is something that I loathe. So, from here on out, please take everything I am writing with a grain of salt...
BUT - in the end, you shall not judge a book by its cover and a monograph about the work of an artist not by just cursory leafing through the pages and looking whether you like the shiny pictures. And so, after quite a hiatus, I eventually sat down on a quiet afternoon to read the book. And what can I say - I read the 110 pages in one sitting.
Christof's work in this book is mostly in the realm of smaller miniatures (28-32 mm), more specifically it mostly focuses on Games Workshop - but given the huge impact those worlds had on many, if not most of the painters in the current hobby community, that's not necessarily a bad thing. And in fact, I would actually recommend it for most hobbyists interested in modding and building hero scale miniatures in that scale range.
The content
The book features roughly 110 amply illustrated pages, the quality (and size!) of the photos is mostly good to very good. Its printed on a high quality glossy paper, thread bound and with a good solid hardcover with some silver embossed titling - the production value is pretty high.
Beginning with a foreword by Tommy Soule and a short introduction, The Art of Christof Keil starts off with some clarifications of terminology and the basics of Kit bashing - including tools and a number of examples.
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The first section - aptly titled "Kit bashing" consists of a number of short articles on individual projects of varying sizes, focusing on the concepts, ideas and the workflow behind the projects. It culminates in a slightly longer tutorial, in which the conversion process is shown in a lot more detail and step by step. For me as somewhat of a GW-Fan, most of the kits and parts mentioned in passing are familiar. However, that might not be the case for a more general audience - I would have preferred a more detailed labelling of the pictures, maybe even with arrows for specific parts and how they looked before and after integration into the kit bash. I think its a missed opportunity - and if Christof does another book in the future, I would find that really helpful. All in all, the part was good though and it even got me thinking of a few simple conversions for future projects in the small scale.
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The next section is on the Black Phallanx, essentially a love child where Christof really starts to put together a coherent, strongly individualized force with its own lore and background. And while a hardcore puritan GW-Fan might find the deviation from standard design patterns disturbing, I was really impressed what he designed and put together: Especially his HALO-strike team and the second big suit were really awe inspiring.
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The third section deals with his foray into larger scale models, especially Busts and here I liked especially his elaborations on how he learned to sculpt, first in Busts and how that change of medium again helped him to improve to become more free on his smaller scale conversions.
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Chapter 4 - Adeptus Astartes - is all about space marines, space marine conversions and his well known black templar diorama, inspired by the cover art of the 3rd Edition Box Set of Warhammer 40k. Again, he lets us participate in the thoughts and considerations as well as the limitations of the medium that informed and shaped the creation of this piece as well as a small number of other Astartes works.
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The final chapter - Food for Thought goes into the depths of thoughts and ideas that had and have an impact on Christof's work. To be frank, these kind of introspective insights are usually what makes it worth spending the time and read a book by an artist. And he does not disappoint here.
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Conclusion and judgement :)
The Good: All in all, the book provides some satisfying insights into the processes and considerations at the foundation of this artists works. Its not just that, it has its tutorial aspects, the pictures of Christof's work over the last few years and some solid ideas how to tackle certain aspects from a craftsmanship- or sometimes organisational perspective.
The Bad: My main criticism is at times the implicitness with which the author assumes a quite high level of familiarity with the world of Warhammer 40k and also recent and older kits. Here it would have been really helpful to be even more explicit in the selection and preparation of parts for the kit bash - although admittedly that might have been nigh impossible given the fluid nature of his process.
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The ugly personal view: To me personally, it seems that the author got better and better in finding his voice as the book goes on. Chapter 1 can be a bit lengthy and somewhat repetitive but it definitely picks up from here.
For me, this book is a clear recommendation if you are interested in:
- Christof Keil
- kit bashing tabletop models
- in well converted Grim-Dark model
- artists' work and thought processes
- blanchitsu
Its not so much a recommendation if you are looking for:
- loads of information on painting
- painting instructions
I hope this review was informative and helpful - looking forward to reading Volume 03 - the Art of … Ana Polanscak.
Yours,
Hansrainer
Hello dear Jungle readers,
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Aaron Lovejoy
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Elizabeth Beckley
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Matt DiPietro
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My Impressions and Conclusion
See you for the the next review!
Hey Jungle!
This is Andy, David and Petra bringing you a massive Bembel review! From 09.03.2024 - 10.03.2024 some of us ventured to the first ever edition of the Bembel Miniature Cup in Rodgau near Frankfurt, Germany and we'd love to share our review of this event. So let's dive in!
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The Bembel Miniature Cup logo |
Andy
What a beautiful event!
A whole weekend meeting friends who share the same hobby is always nice. Because the Bembel Miniature Cup took place just a 2-hour drive away, participation was quickly clear. All that was left to do was packing up the miniatures…
What I brought to the contest |
All in all, in my opinion, the first Bembel Miniatures Cup was a complete success! The organizers did a great job and the ratio of the miniature exhibition to the sales area was on point. I was impressed by how many vendors and miniatures were displayed - after all, it was the first time and no one could have estimated how many people would come. The venue was very accessible, had plenty of parking, and also the attached bistro was perfectly organized and a nice place to take a few minutes break.
Colorful galleries of miniature art |
I limited my shopping to brushes from various brands and a few bases from Dino ;)
My haul |
About the competition: Medals are absolutely unimportant to me, I paint to balance my job and mainly for myself - but it's always a nice, refreshing thrill to submit something! I've had a bit of a motivation problem since Monte and no creative energy, but a week before the Bembel I decided I didn't want to go there without something new. What better way than to tackle a item that had been on my list for this year, anyway, and paint one of the hipster heads I sculpted some time ago? No sooner said than done and it was actually a “3 evening project” in which the Viking-inspired version of the hipster was created. While painting it, I noticed that the sculpt had a few weaknesses, which I might try to correct.
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The first version of my sculpted Hipster - now with color! |
Anyway, back to the competition - as always, I didn't expect anything from this quick project that was submitted in the Master Technical category and well, there was no medal for it either. :D
In the Master Storytelling/Atmosphere category I submitted the same pieces as for the Monte San Savino show last November, for which I received a Highly Commended - in Monte it was a Bronze in Master Storytelling.
Was I hoping for bronze as confirmation? - sure. Am I disappointed? - absolutely not! It was a really tough competition and the judges did a great job. Different judges value different things and that is ok – Thank you so much for your work and time.
Hansrainer and his team did an amazing job and during the award ceremony he showed his anchorman qualities!
The Bembel orga |
I'll be back next year and I'm really looking forward to hopefully meeting some of you there.
David
Last week, I had the great pleasure of visiting the first ever Bembel Miniature Cup with some of my jungle brothers and sisters and close painting-friends. And: Wow, what a first this was! The organization-team, including MV's very own Hansrainer and Petra, outdid themselves in putting together a fantastic new miniature event in Germany to proudly walk in the footsteps of the sorely missed Herzog von Bayern show (R.I.P.).
In terms of organization, from setting up the well-structured and visually pleasing homepage to laying out the exhibition, the vendors area and the little bistro (including a small but sunny place to enjoy a drink outdoors), the team really outdid themselves in ensuring that all was well-planned and ran smoothly. This made sure that show participants and visitors (who had to pay no entrance fee!) could focus solely on shopping to their heart's content and enjoying the amazing mini-artistry on display.
People admiring miniatures |
Speaking of mini-artistry, I think it was a very interesting experiment to break up the classical division of "historical" and "fantasy" painting categories - as well as including sculpting together with painting into the same categories - and have judges evaluate all this work together in one of three categories: "technique", "expression", and "gaming". While I heard some participants expressing doubts whether that would work well, I think it's good to try out new approaches and bring some fresh ideas into the way miniature exhibitions and competitions are set-up. In my eyes, including gaming pieces into the competition was a great idea to open up the event to new and broader audiences, i.e., to those who mainly paint minis (albeit to very high standards) for the gaming-table and are not interested in sticking their pieces to unwieldy plinths. Finally, I especially liked that there was a dedicated "out-of-competition" category for those of us (like me, currently) who would like to show some of their work and contribute to the event without interest in participating in the competition.
What for me truly set the first edition of the Bembel Miniature Cup apart, however, was its cozy and inviting atmosphere. Even more than all of the miniature-related events I have visited over the last few years, the Bembel-Cup really felt like a big family-meet, and a wonderful get-together of some of the many people I have met in my now 12 years of painting.
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Good stork company at the back of the venue |
So, I want to end this little review with congratulations and dealing out a big Thank You hug to the organizers of the Bembel Miniature Cup 2024. You truly did a terrific job in putting this one on the tracks and running it so successfully - so please be proud of yourself! I am already looking forward to the Bembel, 2025 edition!
Petra
Our Jungle brother Hansrainer co-organized this great new show together with Frank from Frank Miniatures. The full organizing crew also included me, Gabi and Maren; which meant that during the show, I did what I normally enjoy most: working (and lingering) in the background and enjoying observing that our contest participants, visitors and vendors sparkled with joy over the show. When we opened the doors on Saturday, I welcomed our contestants together with my Jungle brother Johannes and Hansi from our painting community.
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Little frogs outside, taking a rest |
What filled me with great joy were all our first time participants, to whom we explained how the contest works and where they can place their minis. Soon we had to extend our space, as it was getting quite crowded in the contest area - which was wonderful to see! In the end we had over 500 exhibits to ogle our eyes at - so many great new minis from a whole lot of people who never stuck their toes into competition, it was breathtaking! I didn't find time to finish anything new, so I did bring a ton of old stuff for the "Out of Competition" area.
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My "Out of Competition" entries |
Even though I didn't find much time for deep conversation (I promise this will change next year!), I enjoyed meeting the monkey crew (Andy, David, Hansrainer, Johannes and Kilian), our pirate friends from Hamburg, the judges, the vendors, all those great artists from Germany and over 11 other countries. And I even did some very minor shopping - some bases from Dino was all that I was looking forward to, and then somehow some more things ended up in my shopping cart. :)
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My haul |
I can't put it into all the words this event deserves, it was great to finally have a painting and community event again happening in Germany. I am currently in the aftermath of preparing updates for the website & going through the pictures we have taken of the event to also show you all the entries of the competition. Hope to see you at our next year's edition of the Bembel Miniature Cup.
Mark your calendars for the next Bembel Miniature Cup!
22.03.2025 - 23.03.2025
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Happy and tired (back at home) |
Of course we also handed out our Most Creative Award at this show. It went to Gabi for her beautiful interpretation of the Spira Mirabilis bust of Merlin & Arthur. Congratulations again!
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MV Most Creative Award went to: Merlin and Arthur (Spira Mirabilis) |
A happy monkey crew with our MV winner Gabi |
SBS: Puss in Boots' Today
Hey there!
This is Daniele :-) First of all, I apologize if I don't write on the blog as much as I'd like, but I'm pretty short on time, and there are plenty of sculptures to sculpt! :-)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYurvRA_r8vDnRAh3YL6wtxWk1loxTyDliM6hI8m0BxlPKIc-lg66uVYttos2pdEWrSegoLixLVx9TfhOH6RAsyebpuMZ3hXNy7aGH0XaJo09iHcSXW1Fo6s3l4oe3fiaPk2F3Eej2_WUoWSg3uK4xFfcwL5MkQZKy2PutziT08m5BMK3v7zhGu4G-zYhG/w640-h480/daniele-found-trovato-4.jpg)
I'm excited to share with you the story behind my latest creation: the Detective Cat in a NOIR style from the '20s and '30s!
It all started with my deep love for the Puss in Boots sculpture I made at the beginning of 2023.
I pictured him as an undercover detective, somewhere between James Bond and Mission Impossible. ahahahahhaha
The inspiration for this new creation struck me while rewatching Martin Scorsese's "The Untouchables."
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6j5yttV0drog4oAVzh1hOcPH7gaq8KSRm7RWyQ2fT-AVTF9Dickd-8gmfZNakTcSt681qTlJPw9VwLNBIB1rbgarU-CnwPwYygfY4HJhK19XjbX7wMPonjM9uYEaMTqrrqyx0qkiWhx6-ylQlMW9XrwktR2S_AWK7ZP1W0Ad5CiwED67QFpVplXDIYrfd/w640-h480/daniele-found-trovato-3.jpg)
Before I dive into the creation process, let me emphasize the importance of references in art.
Picasso said,
But I believe there's another quote that perfectly fits art:
In 2023, art is all about evolving thoughts and continuous transformation.
Now, let's talk about how I brought this sculpture to life.
I used a simple cork as a base, and I inserted pieces of steel wire.
Normally, I don't use steel because molding it into a shape can be tricky (especially if I need to cut some parts), but for this project, I wanted something straightforward, something anyone could paint without much hassle.
Next, I covered the structure with Super Sculpey Original (that pink modeling clay).
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9gm4labUGnYyDvFqV23EnWK6y6GXct9sObayG4-hV8tQxM2JrJ0ndb1YfHaMVWRPiLGyfA0Ubx5CJrqj7Hi2af52GSQwzP8uivkqAS9ZWU2Sc34thVaGpkpeDkuq-6I93V7Jh4IkXnJK3tuhY_fRyDxSjsthWPpsm3qaAYtHbpmNeUTbR-3W1wGSaPsEw/w640-h480/daniele-found-trovato-2.jpg)
When you're creating the initial masses in a sculpture, "block-out" is crucial, and speed is your best friend in any art form.
That's why I adore water-based clay—it's incredibly soft initially, and as the water evaporates, it takes on a different consistency.
After laying down the first layer, I baked the sculpture in the oven for about an hour at 120°C (250°F).
Then, I added the first masses to shape the cat.
My mix has stayed consistent over the years:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje1rfYrpL0NIB39EI_X99zVw0HJS5PbpBHG4PC7wDeoniSqcIZU511Ey7W4_HLDojZo-pbnIIJD_nsOXmdT2qUu2UB6MB_basjdiicnHdTB5b8IioV2G_uiGbolxYd01ylCK29uatN_0XOp6oCuE1lBTsH2jP6Zxnr2FMeNxyNmcEC_CbjYHkmZoIiXxER/w640-h480/daniele-found-trovato-1.jpg)
To prevent the material from sticking to the table while working, I always place a sheet of paper underneath.
For smoothing the surface, I use either turpentine or white spirit.
Finally, I baked the sculpture again using the same instructions as above.
Thanks for joining me on this artistic adventure.
Daniele
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We could watch the newest TV series on Netflix, instead, we're here to write articles for you!!