The fabulous universe of miniature worlds<

Some do it to enhance their strategy game experience, others to indulge their passion for history. But whatever the reason, the result is fascinating. Incursion into fabulous miniature universes more real than life.

Daniel Desmarais: set designer

When play leads to art. It is indeed the love of the game that has pushed most “minis” enthusiasts to express a sometimes unsuspected creative side. For Daniel Desmarais, it has become so serious that he has come to sell decorative elements that he makes at home, in Trois-Rivières. Always with the objective of making the gaming experience as immersive as possible.

"With a real setting, we are really immersed in the game", he tells us, showing us his figurines installed in a breathtaking environment that we immediately identify with the battle of Helm's Deep, the highlight of the trilogy. from Lord of the Rings. "You play and you feel like you're there," he continues. Especially when it comes to Lord of the Rings, we've all seen the movies, it's fun to see that your table represents what you've seen. »

Daniel Desmarais has some 10,000 different figurines in the varnished wood cabinets that surround his gleaming game table, custom-made and installed in a room of his house entirely devoted to his passion. He was able to paint around 4,000 of them, taking advantage of the pandemic to speed up the pace.

In 35 years, Daniel has invested more than $50,000 in scenery, figurines and accessories, not to mention brushes, paint, lacquers and varnishes.

To the layman, his miniatures and scenery appear painted with incredible attention to detail; we are however far from the efforts made by the professionals: “In the painting competitions, people can spend a week on a single figurine, tells us the 52-year-old man. Some will go so far as to paint the shards on each of the armor scales of a two inch tall figure! Despite my artistic side, I won't go to that level, I think it's a lot of time and my passion for the game is strong enough to stop me. My army of elves, to paint 80 of them at the “contest” standard, it would take me a year, if not more! »

Putting his creativity to good use

Always in response to his eternal playful spirit, Daniel Desmarais chose instead to put his creative energy elsewhere by creating Old Barrow Scenery, a small business creating miniature sets. “The different strategic miniature games need the same elements on the table, rocks, cultivated fields, hills, all kinds of little things that make beautiful landscapes, he explains. When I saw this, I came up with the idea of ​​making generic scenery props that can be used in all games and painted as we see fit. »

So I created a collection that I sell online, but it was first and foremost to meet my own needs. If it's convenient for me, it'll be convenient for others.

Daniel Desmarais

"Five years ago, I started to deepen my techniques, I decided to take courses in decorating and molding, continues the one who also makes and sells online medieval style clothing and accessories. I also bought myself a high quality 3D printer, but I still prefer the old school method, by integrating real sand and real rocks into my casts, it allows for more detailed work than 3D printing. »

Formerly a manager in a store, Daniel Desmarais now earns his living with his passion for games and fantastic universes, through which he can express his artistic side. "It's fun because it touches on everything: painting, crafts, sculpture, he lists. When you see the result and put it on a game table, that's where you find your reward. And when I look at my table like that, I find it beautiful, it immediately makes me want to play! »

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— Boston Commons HTN Sat Jul 22 12:58:30 +0000 2017

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This is the number of reproductions that Daniel Desmarais can make from a single mould. With a braid of silicone resin bought at $300, he can make four different ones.

Hugo Tremblay: Mage Painter

For Hugo Tremblay, it all started with the Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game, a hobby he has been doing for over 30 years. He quickly felt the need to paint the miniatures he used in the game, a technique he deepened with scale models.

But it was only recently that he really decided to perfect his art, in particular to share it with his friends who are fans of Games Workshop games, the reference in the field of strategic miniature games. “Many friends played Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000, I thought I could offer to paint their miniatures, explains the one who is a manager in the federal public service. Afterwards, I wondered if there was a way to monetize that. People told me they had unpainted figures, so I started bartering, most of the time for a good bottle of wine! »

Despite the quality of his achievements, Hugo considers that he is still in a period of learning and perfecting his technique.

It takes a large supply of paint, consistency and the ability to perform the more advanced techniques.

Hugo Tremblay

“Making faces and eyes, for example, is difficult at first, but now I am able to find the shade of the eyelid, a direction in the gaze. The fact of arriving with a tangible result allows me to evaluate my progress, my skills are developing! “, he argues.

A new technique

The perfecting of his techniques could then lead him to create miniatures using the kitbashing technique, a process that is currently fashionable in the world of miniatures: "It consists of modifying an existing miniature or make a brand new one, he explains. You cut and you glue, you drill to be able to insert metal rods, you change hands, it's very creative. We often see this trend around Warhammer, but more and more elsewhere too, like in the game GasLand, where you modify small HotWheels cars. It's kind of the next wave, very much about personification. You give a unique character to your miniatures, it is motivating and rewarding. »

With the contracts unearthed in his entourage, Hugo Tremblay finds himself devoting up to 75 hours a month to painting figurines and decorative elements. "It's a time when I refocus on myself, when I get out of family and professional stress, supports the 47-year-old man. I think I'm a player who became an artist, but it's always been a facet of my personality; it is my vehicle of artistic expression. »

Mathieu Fecteau and Philip Morgan: history buffs

Over the past 15 years, Mathieu Fecteau and Philip Morgan have each spent $10,000 on miniatures to play Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000. time had come for the two friends to move on. “We were a little compulsive, admits Mathieu. But the rule changes were also too frequent, in addition to the fact that you now had to play seven or eight hours for it to be interesting, it was too much. »

He therefore turned to model making, the same thing for Philip, which responds to their love for miniatures, but also for military history. "There's something that still resonates with the Second World War," says Philip. When I make my model, I do research on what happened, on the reasons for our victory. In 2021, I consider that there is a lack of heroism in society, we freak out over minor matters, and when we read about what these people have done, we see that they have makes colossal, superhuman efforts. »

The two friends did not, however, content themselves with creating perfected “stick-on models”. They are also keen to stage them in dioramas as detailed as the central room. "We're still gamers, we're still board game enthusiasts, and what brought us to dioramas is the fact that we like to tell a story," says Mathieu Fecteau, manager in an immersion studio. interactive. We will not make a Messerschmitt Bf 109 alone, we will make an airstrip, with a kit of characters who do maintenance. »

“I am someone who needs creativity,” adds Philip, a pharmacist by profession. I like cooking, gardening, I have a need for reality. I like to see the boat, to know that the cannons are there and that it works like that. »

And to those who ask them what use such a passion can be, Philip replies tit for tat: "Someone who watches a baseball game on TV, what does he have left to the end ? Nothing. I still have something to show. He created nothing, I did. »