Not A Blog

My friends at Dark Sword Miniatures in Minnesota have released some terrific new figures in their range of Ice & Fire miniatures.

Here's Strong Belwas, sculpted by the incomparable Tom Meier and painted by the amazing Jen Haley.



And here's his travelling companion, Arstan Whitebeard, who may be more than he seems. Another Tom Meier sculpt, another Jen Haley paintjob.



The latest batch of "GRRM Masterworks" also includes Ser Jorah Mormont, Lady Margaery Tyrell, two new ladies of the court, and a battling brother of the Night's Watch, all by Tom Meier, and Balon Greyjoy of Pyke, sculpted by Jeff Grace. To see them all, and lots of other cool minis besides, visit Dark Sword's own website at http://darkswordminiatures.com/

Welcome to 2013. everyone. Hope you're all not too hungover this morning.

No wild parties for us this year, alas. We sat at home and read. Nothing much on television, but good books never let you down.

To kick off the new year, here's a peek at two new figures coming from Dark Sword -- Strong Belwas and Margaery Tyrell, sculpted by Tom Meier and painted by Jen Haley.



Amazing work, I think you'll agree. Unpainted versions will be available soon from Dark Sword. Be sure and keep an eye on their website. Lots more cool stuff coming for 2013,

Okay, for all your miniature fans, and the others who asked, here are some pix of the miniature me that Santa brought me for Christmas. (No, not in my stocking, he's much too fragile to go into a stocking).

The original figure, of course, is Fat King Robert from Dark Sword's "George R.R. Martin Masterworks" range, sculpted by the incomparable Tom Meier. But he's been transformed into...



(Turtles are my totem animal. The only pets I was allowed as a kid in the projects).



Lil' GRRM was painted by the amazing Anne Foerster. Hat (with turtle pin!) and glasses were provided by wonderful Raya Golden.

And of course my lady Parris was behind the whole thing.

Love you all! Merry Christmas!!!

Here's a great new 54mm release from my friends at Dark Sword Miniatures: a Winterfell set with Jon Snow and Arya Starrk, before time and chance sent them on their separate paths.





The sculpts are from the incomparable Tom Meier.

For more shots of this set, and a lot of other great miniatures in the Ice & Fire range (not to mention the ranges based on the art of Jim Elmore, Keith Parkinson, etc), visit Dark Sword's own website at http://darkswordminiatures.com/

Dark Sword Miniatures has posted lovely pictures of some painted versions of their latest crop of Ice & Fire miniatures over to their website. Gorgeous stuff. I thought I'd share them.

Here's Varys the Spider, painted by the amazing Jen Haley.




And here's Bronn, son of no one in particular, again by Jen Haley.




And this one is Benjen Stark, First Ranger of the Night's Watch, painted by Marike Reimer.




These figures, and the rest of the range, are all available (unpainted) from the Dark Sword website at http://darkswordminiatures.com Lots more pictures there as well... including the two latest additions to the range, sculpted by the incomparable Tom Meier -- King Robert I Baratheon, and Lord Tywin Lannister.

Judging by the comments I'm hearing, one of the favorite scenes in this week's episode of HBO's GAME OF THRONES was the throne room verbal sparring between Lord Varys and Lord Baelish. (For which all credit goes to David Benioff and Dan Weiss. The scene was not in the novel. Which is not to say it could not have happened, but neither Petyr nor Varys is a viewpoint character, so I had no pov from which to present such a scene).

So for all you miniature collectors out there who would like to recreate such a scene in your own throne room diorama... here are the two latest releases from Dark Sword Miniature.

VARYS THE SPIDER


LORD PETYR BAELISH


Both sculpts are by the talented Jeff Grace, who just keeps getting better.

(And no, they don't look like the actors in the show. They are not meant to. Dark Sword is licensed to produce miniatures based on the novels, not the television series).

You can order these, and the rest of the amazing Ice & Fire line, from the Dark Sword website at http://darkswordminiatures.com/ There's a gorgeous painted version of Varys up there as I write, and a painted Littlefinger will not be far behind.

((Just a reminder. I've mentioned the show here, but that does not mean I am opening up the Not a Blog to discussion of the series. Oh, a passing mention is okay, but serious debates and discussions should be taken to Westeros, Tower of the Hand, Television Without Pity, or Winter Is Coming. Comments are open here... for comments about the miniatures.))

Dark Sword Miniatures have just rolled out five new figures in their Ice & Fire range, all sculpted by the incomparable Tom Meier. I thought I'd give you guys a peek.

First off we have Benjen Stark, younger brother of Lord Eddard, and First Ranger of the Night's Watch.




Next up is Bronn, sellsword, sometime companion to Chiggen, occasional henchman of a certain Imp of House Lannister.



Then there's Young Robert: which is to say, Robert Baratheon, Lord of Storm's End, wielding his warhammer at the Battle of the Trident.



Next, Lady Lysa Arryn, sister to Catelyn and Edmure, wife to Jon Arryn, mother of Sweetrobin.



And finally (for now), Maester Luwin, tutor, healer, and counselor to House Stark of Winterfell.



What you're seeing here are Tom's original sculpts, done in the sculpting medium called "greenstuff." When cast, all these miniatures will be in pewter, in 32mm scale.

For more information about these, and the rest of Dark Sword's figures, check out their website at http://darkswordminiatures.com/

More figures are already in the works, from both Tom Meier and Jeff Grace.

Tom Meier is really sclupting up a storm for Dark Sword Miniatures. Here's a peek at his latest green, an awesome Maester Luwin.



Purists should take special note of the maester's chain about Luwin's neck. Tom's is the most accurate visualization of the chain-of-many-metals I have seen to date. This is how I have always pictured these chains, and how I described them in my books. (though I should mention that Pycelle's chain is much grander, larger, and more ostentatious, him being the GRAND Maester and all).

Next up from Tom and Dark Sword: Young Robert at the Trident. Watch this space. (And Dark Sword's website).

I miss football already. Looking forward to the draft. Not looking forward to months of fighting between the owners and players, and maybe a lockout/ strike.

Things are rolling along nicely on the Ice & Fire comic book. Check out the new interview with Daniel Abraham on Suvudu:

http://graphic-novels-manga.suvudu.com/2011/02/interview-daniel-abraham-on-grrm-comics.html

Suvudu also informs me of a new round of Cage Matches, wherein Jon Snow will be one of the contestants. Details here: http://sf-fantasy.suvudu.com/2011/02/cage-match-2011-its-coming.html

I never had the chance to talk about their "Villains" Cage Match (too busy), in which Ser Gregor Clegane emerged victorious over a murderer's rows of nasties and narsties from screen and page. Congratulations to the Mountain That Rides, and thanks to all of you who voted!

There's been lots of talk about ebooks and digital publishing swirling around me of late. It's a brave new world for this old dinosaur. Kindles, Nooks, iPads, iPods, ebooks, PODs, all confusing as hell. But it is something that I am looking into for some of my backlist titles... some of the out of print Wild Cards books might be well received in such formats, I think. So expect news on that front eventually, though maybe not soon. I have this other book I'm writing, you know, and that comes first. I can deal with putting the old wine in new bottles when that's done.

That being said, y'know, I DO have some stuff available as ebooks and downloads, for all of you who have been asking. Check out my listings on Fictionwise and Electric Story if you would like to sample some of it:

http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/GeorgeRRMartineBooks.htm



https://www.electricstory.com/authors/author.aspx?authorid=78



Meanwhile, over in miniature town, the good folks at Dark Sword are rolling out four great new Tom Meier sculpts in their Ice & Fire range: the Reed siblings, Meera and Jojen, and a double of Hodor (HODOR!) with Bran riding on his back. Have a look at the greens.





The new minis should be available soon from the Dark Sword website at http://darkswordminiatures.com/ Along with the rest of the range, of course.

Should also mention that Hugo nominations are now open, for members of the current worldcon (Reno) and the last one (Melbourne). I did not have a novel out last year (some of you might have noticed that), but I am eligible to be nominated in Best Editor/ Short Form for my anthology work with Gardner Dozois, and in the novella category for "The Mystery Knight" from WARRIORS. All the other stories in WARRIORS and SONGS OF LOVE AND DEATH are eligible as well. I hope you will consider some of them when filling out your ballot; I think there was some fine work in both books, worthy of recognition. And let me once again suggest that it is long past time that MICHAEL KOMARCK was nominated as Best Pro Artist. His cover art for Wild Cards has been extraordinary, and he's done amazing work for other books as well.

Must run now. Kong is calling.