Last year at the Tulsa Figure Show, I managed to pick up a couple of Milosh Approved Miniatures that are designed by a friend of mine known in the Historical Figure and some other parts of the miniature painting community as Milosh. Milosh, is a very talented, award winning artist who purely does his art for enjoyment to relax and escape from his very busy work life. His favorite models to paint are fantasy genre females. He did drawings of different female models that he wanted to paint and from there, he created characters like Stacy Champion and Cindy Justice, and made them into miniatures. I love these models and the characters. I currently have Cindy Justice on the work bench and hope to have her done for World Expo. The models come in different sizes, 32mm, 54mm, and 75-80mm. You might remember the video unboxing that I did last year on YouTube of Cindy Justice. I have included the video just in case you want to check it out:
Without further ado, let's check out Miss Stacy Champion:
Each of the Milosh Approved Miniatures come in tea tin boxes, with the pieces in a baggie, and wrapped in bubble wrap. This makes the pieces well protected and pretty ideal for safe shipping in a box. The 80mm Stacy Champion comes in six resin pieces. By eye, you can see that the model kit will require a moderate amount of prep work. Primarily, it looks like the most amount of work might be in the cape which should be handled carefully. Myself and few others, think that Stacy Champion's look is inspired by superhero characters Supergirl and Power Girl. Definitely looks like it will be fun to paint once all is prepped and ready to go.
Here is the torso area and one of the legs. As you can see, there is "under boob" shown in the sculpt. Therefore, it is safe to say that this model is not intended for children, nor for people who are sensitive to figures with any sort of nudity.
There is a mold line along the back and abdomen area, which can easily be fixed with a file and 400-800 grit sandpaper. The bottom of the skirt can also be smoothed with sanding, The front of the boot shows a pitting hole which can be filled with putty and then sanded. The sprue cut part infront of the boot can also be filed off and sanded smooth.
Stacy has a clean, well sculpted face. I like that the face has a more realistic roundness to it and that the hair has movement. The hair has a mold line which can be removed with a small file. However, it would have to be done very carefully in order to not ruin the lines in the hair. You can of course always resculpt parts of the hair if able and needed as well using products such as Green Stuff and Milliput. The edges of the hair can be fine grit sanded to make the edges smoother. There will be sanding needed under the chin as well.
Stacy's standing leg is well sculpted. The boot seems to have the wrinkling in the right places. There is a mold line down the leg that can easily be removed with files and fine grit sandpaper. The excess resin on the bottom of the boot can be removed with a hobby knife, but must be done carefully.
Here is the cape. This is the part that will require the most work. The sprue cut parts will have to be very carefully filed off so that the cape won't break since it is thin resin. The challenge to me, is going to be in the middle part of the cape. It looks like the original sculpt is thick in the middle most likely so that the cape will stand up in the air as shown in the box art. I am thinking the best course of action for this might be to add on to the ends of where it is thicker and smooth it out. It will take time, but I feel it will be much safer than trying to file and sand the area. Of course, there is also always the option of converting her without the cape or changing the position of the cape somehow.
The following photos show how the pieces come together on the model. The pieces come together well and require little gap filling. For filling small gaps, I love using Vallejo Plastic Putty. It is very easy to use, easy for me to clean up, and easy to smooth out.
I feel that when it comes to the preparation part, intermediate to advanced level hobbyists will be more comfortable working on this model. When it comes to painting the model, I feel that modelers of all levels can enjoy painting this miniature. Intermediate to advanced level hobbyists can do fun things on the model such as freehanding tattoos, freehanding on the clothes, and doing fun study of color and light with the clothes. Beginner level hobbyists would most likely have fun with a model like this since she is a larger size and does not have an intimidating amount of detail.
Milosh Approved Miniatures can be purchased from The Hussar Hobby Store and on eBay from the same store under the seller name "tulsahussar". Seriously, check these models out, they are really cool and fun to work on!
Until next time!
Stay crispy in milk!
Keep on Painting!
--Lyn