Fluffenhammer Community - Most Marvellous Minatures - Darren’s Frog
More community goodness for you all today. We recently asked on the Fluffenhammer Facebook for people’s favourite miniature, and the story that goes alongside it. If you have any interest in doing on of our Community releases, please give us a shout at Fluffenhammer@gmail.com
-Adam
Favourite mini you say?
This is Kai, from Zealot’s Lilipad 7 range. He’s a frog. On a beetle.
(Honestly, do I need to say more about why this guy is amazing? He’s a samurai frog, riding a beetle!)
So — back when I was last in Japan, I think it was like our third day there, we were in DenDenTown in Osaka and I was in heaven — it's a hobbyist's paradise. (Much more so than I found Akihabara to be.) Loads of wee model shops, lots of obscure kits. Just... amazing.
We were in, I think Volks — one of the bigger hobby store chains over there — when I stumbled on this chap and instantly fell in love. Having a quick look at the mini I spotted the price and hesitated, since we were still early in the trip and I was wary of overspending a few days into being there for 3 weeks. I also didn’t want to be carrying loads so early into the trip.
While checking the price tag, I happened to spot he was by Zealot — recognising the name, a few seconds of Googling later and it turns out he was the same price as he was in the UK. (Which honestly — how? Considering shipping costs, import fees and all the other stuff?) So I put him back down and vowed to pick him up when we got home.
Of course... he was then out of stock for the best part of 12 months, only coming back in stock when I was skint.
Luckily, my ever-patient wife stepped in and bought him without me knowing. A week later, he arrived — and despite fighting the urge to dive in and paint... the urge won.
Being a hybrid resin and pewter kit, he was a bit of a mare to assemble — particularly since he lacked instructions to speak of. Knowing which order to put the pewter legs onto the beetle was a bit of a puzzle. Doing so without breaking them was near impossible, sadly, so they’re all a bit battle damaged in places.
It was very much a between-tasks paint job — mostly done on work time over a couple of weeks, when I was mulling over things I was working on or thinking through code changes and things.(So I was technically working — I was just also letting my mind wander with paint, which I find really helpful for coming up with solutions to problems I’m stuck on.)
It was my first time using Turbo Dork paints — specifically SuperMassive on the beetle’s carapace, Black Ice on the legs of the beetle and apparently DeathBy, but I can’t recall where I used that one.
I wanted a ruddy brown-to-black shift, which SuperMassive can give, but since I was hand-painting, I’m not sure it worked too well. Still, the colour is lovely. To date, it’s probably still the one paint job I hold up as being amongst my best.
As for Kai and the Lilypad 7?
It’s a tiny range, sadly — only 3 models exist (so far):
Kai
The leader of any group he’s part of, full of unbroken optimism and natural charisma. He rides a large beetle everywhere he goes, as he can’t walk unassisted. Kai is always the first one into the fight, no matter the challenge. He comes from a long line of leaders and wants to earn his place amongst their pantheon. After being rejected from most places due to his condition, he survives by doing odd jobs on his own, before eventually joining up with the Lilypad 7.
Ren
The beating heart of the Lilypad 7. A lost princess, unaware of her true importance in the fate of her kingdom. Her destiny is deeply tied to dark forces she must one day overcome. Trained by Oki — a warrior and fellow member of the Lilypad 7 — Ren can defend herself in all situations. Though she barely remembers her parents, she grows to understand their strength, feeling their presence within her as she finds her own path.
Croc
A toad with crocodile attributes — violent, brutish, and an undeniably effective henchman. The sensible part of his brain was rattled loose long ago… and it never really came back.
I’ll definitely be picking up the other two at some point.
There’s loads of scope for more in the range, too — the minis are all based on the art of Conor Nolan, a US-based illustrator who was blending his love of Ghibli, Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, and other influences to create them. I know of at least 8 other pieces of art in the same series, so fingers crossed we see more frogs, toads, and general amphibian badasses down the line.
There’s also a small, ultra-limited range of pre-painted minis released by Unbox Industries — and I’d kill to get hold of them. Sadly, they’re long sold out and rare as hen’s teeth now.
