I had ordered two custom, 3D-printed 30mm miniatures from Hero Forge in August 2016. Even as I was placing the order, I knew my next steps would be to find a painter. While I had never commissioned a miniature painter before, I had experience with print art commissions as well as commissions for custom action figure modifications. It was time to add another type of commission artist to my contact list.
Finding an artist to work with (in any medium) without reference is always a bit of a challenge. It takes some searching, examining of posted work, communication, and general savvy. There’s always a few artists using someone else’s art as examples, just looking to make a quick cash grab from down payments. So, I ran searches for “custom miniature painter review,” “commission miniature painter,” and surfed around on Reddit’s /r/minipainting forum. One of the things I found surprising in my searches were that some artists specifically said they did not paint Hero Forge miniatures. It turns out that, prior to March 2016, the plastics used by Hero Forge were extremely brittle and many painters didn’t want to worry about breaking someone else’s figure just in the process of painting. Others considered the newer plastic to be too porous to present a high-quality figure and didn’t want the issue of the plastic to potentially present negative reviews. There were, however, still enough painters out there I could turn to. So, list of notes in hand, I emailed a few artists. My emails varied from artist to artist, but had the same core content:
I have recently purchased two custom 30mm HeroForge.com miniatures (using “strong plastic” materials) and am seeking someone with better skills than I to paint them.
- Level of detail: These are player characters, so I would like a good level of detail, but I don’t need “showcase” detail. I’m thinking there may be 5-7 core colors per miniature
- The miniatures have built-in bases, so don’t know if this is a factor. The bases themselves do not have to be painted or can be a solid color.
- I can provide an image for color ideas for one of the figures and a description of desired colors for the other figure.
The miniatures are still in processing, so I don’t have them yet. I’m hoping to establish a dialogue and get a general idea on pricing and, possibly, timing–especially given the upcoming holiday season (having purchased custom artwork, I am aware of the delays that can cause).
While I received a few emails back and some went unanswered, I was fortunate in that my first choice for the commission wrote back swiftly and politely. Jennifer Tallman of Still Life Miniatures began a dialog with me in 24 hours. Not only did we discuss pricing, she also went into detail known issues with the Hero Forge plastic, an idea of turn-around, and made sure all my questions were answered. For me, steady communication (not necessarily same-day) with discussion and acknowledgement of any issues/pitfalls is a hallmark of a true professional. It’s how I treat my clients as a programmer and how I want to be treated as a customer. Even beyond the samples provided on Jennifer’s website, I felt I had made the right choice and chose to do business with her.
I supplied Ms. Tallman with links to my (in creation/shipping queue) Hero Forge figures Vaya Phaedras and Gyre “Gears” McGimble along with an attached image of Vaya for an ideal color scheme (taken from a NeverWinter online screenshot), mostly trying to give an idea for skin tone and hair color. In my communication I indicated that clothing color was variable, and I primarily wanted a leather/stealth feel to what she wore. For Gyre, I requested more standard flesh-tone with ginger hair–brown trenchcoat and boots, but other colors were left to artist’s digression.
Vaya Phaedras as created in Neverwinter Online..
Jennifer suggested I have the miniatures shipped directly to her to reduce my own shipping costs as well as any delays. My order was already too far in the works, however, so extra shipping costs would have to be eaten. I did not mind the additional cost to myself, as I kind of was anxious to see the figures as quickly as possible. There’s a certain joy I take in knowing a package is coming and when it arrives. The package from Shapeways was delivered in late September of 2016, slightly less than a month after my initial Hero Forge order. I examined the figures and found them to my liking. Even with the die representation on the website, I don’t think I was quite ready for how small the 30mm scale was. It had been years since I even looked at a more official gaming figure, as my gaming groups over the past few years rarely used figures and, when we did need to have more tactical battles, turned to a whiteboard or, more frequently, LEGO. After years of larger figures a 30mm scale dwarf seems short indeed.
In retrospect, despite being solid-color, light gray plastic, I wish I had taken some photos of the unpainted miniatures. Re-branding my site as a gaming blog was already in my plans, but I wasn’t sure yet how it would look or be built out. If anyone has a time machine, I can tell that you’ve not helped me out here…
I shipped the miniatures to Jennifer and received an email from her about a week later, letting me know that my shipment arrived on her (metaphorical) doorstep. In my shipment I also included a printout of the screenshot of Vaya as well as my notes on color. This way she wouldn’t have to look at anything electronic while also dealing with paint. She let me know that she had a few commissions in line ahead of mine and specifically noted that the miniatures “have a bit of fuzziness that will remain… I’ll do my best to work that into textures.”
A more “Table Top” scale photo.
Almost exactly a month later (in late October), I received emails with photographs of her work. Ms. Tallman added the note “These prints are a bit rough. It’s difficult to get decent details and smooth transitions….but I did what I could with them.” When Hero Forge gives nylon plastic a “Paintability” score of 1 out of 5, they weren’t kidding around! High-res and up close photographs really reveal the flaws in the nylon. As mentioned, Hero Forge had only recently switched plastics a few months prior, so she had not dealt with that specific plastic before. The previous cheaper plastic used by Hero Forge had been less durable, but was slightly better for painting (albeit just slightly). That said, while the figures may not photograph well or be showcase quality due to the nature of their materials, they don’t look bad when in actual play on a tabletop or even to the naked eye.
Though my groups will still likely continue to use LEGO for tacticals (or, as we move to a more tech-driven gaming age, monitors and tablets with digital figures), Hero Forge does offer a pretty decent service for more classically-minded groups or for those who want to immortalize their favorite characters in plastic. However, the issue with the Nylon Plastic’s paintability does seem to be a negative factor in the larger scales. The 4x scale figures are only available in the cheaper plastic and, as of this write-up, will cost about $220 USD, plus shipping. Even at a larger scale, I can’t imagine the paint job looking that great. Hero Forge does seem its best when at the 30mm scale. If paint is not needed, they offer printing in steel and bronze (though bronze shows a 4 out of 5 paintability). If you do want your miniature painted, I highly recommend paying the additional cost for the “Premium Plastic,” which offers greater detail and paintability. I know my next miniature will be done in that material and I hope I can have it painted from Still Life Miniatures again. And, when I make my next order, I’ll be sure to share it here.
Final Note: Kate on Facebook commented that her order had be printed in the “clear plastic” variant due to stock issues. Her order occurred after the March 2016 plastic update, so due to stock this option may appear on the Hero Forge site every blue moon. Not only does this plastic have some of the same graininess issues as the nylon plastic, it’s also extremely fragile. If the forge is out of nylon or premium plastic, I’d suggest waiting until they have the more durable plastics back in stock before ordering.
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