Welcome the the Studio McVey website. This is an early versions of the site, and while there is lots to see already, we are going to be updating the site regularly with more images and fresh content. This is especially true of the gallery section - Alison and I have many pictures of our past works to add, so check back regularly for updates.
So what can you expect to see on the Studio McVey site? Well there are obviously pictures of all our work, but we have other plans also! I can't tell you too much about what they may be at the moment, but keep coming back and we will be able to reveal more in the next few months. One thing is certain though - if you are interested in the miniature painting hobby - this will be an interesting place to visit. Alison and I are both passionate about miniatures, and we hope to share a little of that with you.
Both Alison and I are available for commission work,. There are some details included on the site, but it's best to email us to talk about your specific requirements.
We have also started a Studio McVey Blog! That is a place where we can share our thoughts on all things miniature related. We will be talking about what we are currently working on, and so we can share tips and techniques. We will also be talking about miniatures generally, and what's catching our attention at the moment.
We have provided a RSS feed for the Blog, so if you sign up, you will receive notice whenever we've added and update to the Blog, or this site - which we will try and do as regularly as possible.
Please feel free to contact either Alison of myself via email if you want to ask us anything, discuss a commission or maybe just say hi.
The Studio McVey website has been a while in the making - we hope you like it!
Mike McVey
Behemoth
Painted in Ali's original 5th Border Legion colour scheme. The aim was to get it looking a bit like a Soviet tank. From the collection of Donald Eric Davis. Sculpted by Mike McVey, painted by Ali and Mike McVey
Terminus
Amazing sculpt, complete and utter nightmare to assemble. We wanted to try something with a stronger colour scheme than the rather muted studio version. The base is built from some Hirstarts components - they can be really useful for scenic base effects. Painted by Ali and Mike McVey
Avatar
Quite close to the studio scheme this one, but with some extra freehand decoration on the red fabric. We added a scenic base to represent some kind of ruined temple setting, and this was one of the first times we used birch seeds for foliage. Painted by Ali and Mike McVey
Darius
We wanted to get a battle hardened look to the miniature, as if he was always in the thick of the action, and I think we achieved that quite sucessfully. Painted by Ali and Mike McVey
Death Jack
This is a pretty close approximation to the studio colour scheme, but with a more interesting base. Painted by Ali and Mike McVey
Hammersmith
We both thought this one came out really well, it's a strong colour scheme - Ali did a great job on the lighting effects from the glowing blue components. Painted by Ali and Mike McVey
Leonatos
This conversion was based on the Limited Edition Black Library miniature. Sculpted by Mike McVey. Painted by Ali and Mike McVey
Ultra Marine
One of the few Space Marines I have painted and one of my favorites. I wanted to break up the shape of the helmet and make the face the focal point, so I added the lighter colour. I little subtle lighting effects on this one too.
From the collection of Donato Salvi. Painted by Ali McVey
Mercenary Ogre
I painted this one over a white undercoat and it's an exercise I won't be repeating soon... It took way longer to paint than normal! I think the end result is good, but it definitely has a different feel to my usual style. Painted by Ali McVey
Alexia
There is some slight conversion work on the face - to make her look a little more feminine, the chin was made slightly more pointed and smooth. This is the first time that I tried cutting away the front of the plastic base, to give the impression that the skulls are spilling forwards out of the ground. Painted by Ali McVey
Artemis
I under-painted the skin with an olive green and worked the fleshier colours up from there. This was something of an experiment, but I'm pleased with how it came out - the slightly larger size gave me a little room to try something new. Painted by Ali McVey
Epic Haley
As this was a commission piece, I spent quite a lot of extra time and effort compared to the studio version, and as a result I think this version came out far better. The fabric in particular was incredibly time consuming, but worth the effort. Painted by Ali McVey
Epic Sorscha
This was a commission piece and the colour scheme was later picked up as one of the official Khador uniforms in Superiority. I scratch built a new base for her as I wasn't at all keen on the style of the base she came on.Painted by Ali McVey
Varangii - Femme Militant
This was a really great figure to paint, it's a beautiful sculpt by Kev White. The look was inspired by Deadwood - I wanted to capture that faded, dusty look that all the costumes have. All the colours are slightly muted as if they have a layer of grime on them. Mike made the base on this one, and he added all sorts of little touches that recall John's artwork.
From the collection of John Blanche. Painted by Ali McVey
Kaya
I choose an Autumnal colour scheme for this one, quite appropriate to the minaiture. The shape of the cloak made it difficult to paint freehand, so I went for something quite organic in shape. Painted by Ali McVey
Lylyth
I gave this miniature an overall icy colour scheme. The part that I really focused on was the freehand on the back of the cloak. Painted by Ali McVey
Paladin
This miniature was really quite a turning point in my painting development - It was a fairly early piece for me, and was the first time I had really focused on freehand decoration. I planned the designs out on paper first and then transfer that to the miniature using a thin paint mix to aid the flow of line. Painted by Ali McVey
Epic Skarre
I wanted Skarre's coat to look like it had been faded by the elements, so I made the red highlights quite pinky. I also wanted the lining of the coat to look like damask - the freehand was tricky to get to in parts but I am pleased with the results.
From the collection of Jason Thompson Painted by Ali McVey
Suzi
This sums up what I love about Hasslefree figures - the simplicity of the sculpt leave plenty of scope for painting. Painted by Ali McVey
Formula Waaaaa!
Fantastic Brian Nelson sculpt - originally made as a prize for a Games Day event. Really simple but just bursting with character, really nice to paint. Painted by Ali McVey
Libby on Tiger
Another great Hasslefree Miniatures sculpt. I painted this with quite a limited palette of colours to give a super-realistic look. I looked at quite a lot of reference to work out how a tiger's fur lays. Painted by Ali McVey
Siege
From the collection of Donald Eric Davis. Painted by Ali McVey
Troll Axer
It was nice to be able to experiment with something other than human skin. I added a normal flesh tone for the blue highlights, to get the skin to look as natural as possible.
Painted by Ali McVey
Widowmaker Kapitan
It was nice to revist this after the studio version. I like her better in the 5th Border legion scheme. This was the first of my 'tall base' phase :-)
From the collection of Donato Salvi
Painted by Ali McVey
Virago
I don't usually want to keep miniatures once they are painted - but this one was hard to let go...One of these days I will keep one! Painted by Ali McVey
Shanys
Quite an intimidating piece to paint - the Rackham studio version is just so beautiful. I opted for a completely different colour scheme for this version and this was my first attempt at none metallic metals. Painted by Ali McVey
Salamander Jet Bike
Mike converted this from the Master of the Ravenwing miniature. Very time consuming to paint... My favourite part is the weathering of the paintwork on the eagle.
From the collection of Marc Welch. Painted by Ali McVey
Swooping Hawk
One of the original Eldar Aspect Warriors I painted, all of which were featured on the back page of White Dwarf Magazine (round about issue 129 I think...). This one has lost the banner which used to hang from the gun.
From the collection of Jes Goodwin. Painted by Mike McVey
Striking Scorpion
Another of the original Eldar Aspect Warriors. Even though they are really pretty old now, the colours on this one have stood up really well.
From the collection of Jes Goodwin. Painted by Mike McVey
Howling Banshee
Another of the original Eldar Aspect Warriors.
From the collection of Jes Goodwin. Painted by Mike McVey
Dark Reaper
Another of the original Eldar Aspect Warriors. This one is showing it's age more than the others - I think it's because the dust shows up far more on the black.
From the collection of Jes Goodwin. Painted by Mike McVey
Assassin Diorama
This is a little display piece I based on the original Eversor Assassin sketch, by Jes Goodwin. The original had an arm hanging from the open hatch, with blood dripping from the hand.
From the collection of Jes Goodwin. Built and Painted by Mike McVey
Berserker
Still one of my favourite sculpts of those I did at Privateer Press, but this particular rendition proved difficult to photograph effectively. The chosen colours have tended to flatten out, making the pictures and look a little confusing.
From the collection of Donald Eric Davis. Sculpted and Painted by Mike McVey
Castigator
A conversion based on the earlier Reckoner sculpt, I think this one came our far better that the original which was too static. There is some freehand decoration on the body armour that hasn't picked up very well in the photographs. Sculpted and Painted by Mike McVey
The Emperor and Horus
I converted the Emperor and Horus miniatures in the late Eighties, but didn't finish the diorama until a few years later. This piece is based on the original black and white artwork by Adrian Smith.
From the Games Workshop Museum. Built and Painted by Mike McVey
Grissel
I really like this sculpt, it's by Felix Paniagua and has some great character and movement. Painted by Mike McVey
The Green Knight
This was quite an important piece for me to paint, it was the first miniature that Michael Perry sculpted after he had lost his right hand in a medieval reenactment accident (no, really...). It's a great model and of all the things I have ever painted, this is the one I have seen copied the most times. Painted by Mike McVey
Swooping Hawk
This was a wedding present from Joe Hill to Alison and myself. Sculpted and painted by Mike McVey
Konfessor Kirinov
This Brian Nelson sculpt is one of my all time favourites - it's so full of life - positively bursting with religious fervour! I wanted to give it a really ecclesiastical feel, and the freehand was great fun to paint. Painted by Mike McVey
Knight Panther
This is based on the painting by John Blanche, which in turn is based on the famous painting of Napolean by Jacques-Louis David. It was one of the pieces I did for the Games Workshop Modelling guide.
From the collection of Ewan McVey. Converted and painted by Mike McVey
Captain Maxwell
Great sculpt by Werner Klocke, and not a subject that you would normally expect from him. I added a small scenic base to make him look look like he is dug-in and fighting in a trench. Painted by Mike McVey
Dark Reaper Exarch
I think this is one of the best sculpts I did while at Games Workshop. Great paint-job by Dave, he is producing excellent sculpts for Games Workshop these days Sculpted by Mike McVey
Thagrosh
I wanted to try and completely different approach to the usual white colour scheme on this miniature, so I opted for a stronger and more tribal colour combination. I also did some slight conversion work - changing the horns (the original horns make it a nightmare to photograph the face) and making the split in the chest more pronounced. Painted by Mike McVey
The Rock
This is one of the dioramas I did for Games Workshop in the mid nineties, it was originally used in the Dark Angels Codex and I wrote an 'Eavy Metal Masterclass article around the same time. I was never very pleased with how the Stained-Glass window came out, and it was also difficult to photograph.
From the Games Workshop Museum. Painted by Mike McVey
Champion of Tzeentch
This was a commission piece that I did for Donald Eric Davis, who owns quite a lot or Studio McVey pieces. It was great fun to paint something in the way I used to paint Games Workshop miniatures - very bright, saturated colours, and I was quite pleased with the way it came out.
From the collection of Donald Eric Davis. Painted by Mike McVey
About Mike
Mike McVey has been working in the miniatures industry since 1987. He was one of the founder members of the Games Workshop 'Eavy Metal painting team and has been painting, sculpting and working in the hobby field ever since. Mike has worked for in the UK and US for several companies within the miniatures industry. He has filled in a number of different roles including Miniatures Painter, Sculptor, Art Director and Miniatures Director. He has been published extensively on various different aspects of the miniatures hobby, including a series of painting and modelling guides written for Games Workshop in the mid nineties.
About Alison
Alison McVey has been paining miniatures for five years, in which short time she has risen to be one of the best respected artists in the field.
Commissions
Studio McVey is available to work on commissions for a wide variety of miniature painting and sculpting skills. We offer the highest quality work, as well as a professional and reliable service.
Prices for painted display miniatures start at around £150 - Please contact us to discuss your individual requirements and to learn our working practices. New painting clients are required to pay 50% of the agreed fee in advance, and the remainder once the work is completed.