Ayora Studio – Meinolf, the last Captain

In June of this year Ayora Studio released a limited edition of Meinolf, the last Captain, a 54mm miniature.

This fantasy miniature, inspired by the Soldiers of the Empire, was sculpted by Oriol Quin. Ayora Studio is a spanish producer of high quality resin casts in small series.

I noticed the announcement of this miniature on Facebook, and as a miniature inspired in the soldiers of the empire, it catched my attention. It is was a limited edition of only 75 copies, with a pre-order run of 25 copies, of which the shown miniature is part of.

Ayora Studios sets the price at 21,90 Euro for this 6 part resin kit. It consists of a small kidney shaped base, the body, head, left and right arm, as well as the sword scabbard.

After a gentle scrub in luke warm soap water and cutting of the small casting strips, the miniature was ready to be assembled. For a miniature like this, you need a proper plinth. I had an old Voodoo Worx 40mm resin plinth around. The range was sold and now is available via Secret Weapon Miniatures.

At first I found a suiting pose on top of the plinth. I didn't glue it into position yet, as the composion might shift after adding arms etc. on to it. Next would be the shield arm, easy to add due to the plug in pin and a drop of super glue.

Same goes with the sword arm and head. They have a small pin on one side of the cast and a socket on the body, so you can plug them in for attaching. The cast is very clean and crisp. The casting strips can be easily be cleaned off. You have to be careful about the sword, as it is very thin and might be easily be bend.

After final assembly of the miniature, which is not big of deal, as the connecting joints are clean and only 6 parts, the only thing that is left to do is adding Meinolf to the plinth. I pinned him, to strenghten the bond to the base.

And for the final step a detailled 360° shot of the Captain, along with a close up of the details.

I have the Uniforms & Heraldy of The Empire book here, along with some of the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay books, like Sigmar's Heirs. So these will be a good ressource and inspiration on the proper paint job, but I favor the Carroburg colours of red and black.

Ayora offers a set of conversion part for this kit, with an alternate head. The weapon can easily be swapped for something else, a two-handed weapon of the more bulky heroic scale 28mm will do a nice hand weapon in 54mm.

Conclusion
It is a well done miniature. A really beautiful sculpt and proper cast. At 21,90 Euro you can't argue about this kit. Many 28mm are 15 Euro or more, and resin miniatures - especially small series - are a lot of manual labour. If you take a look at the entertainment value of euro / hour, it is incredible cheap (As this is a showcase model, where spending at least 10 hrs isn't unlikely, you end up at around 2,19 Euro / hour, which is far less than cinema etc.).

Any how, Ayora Studio definitely has its place around the resin studios. Well priced, good quality and appealing sculpts. If you're looking for something interesting to paint, you should keep an eye on their facebook page, as they promote small and limited series of resin casts.

Link: Ayora Studio