Happy New Year!

To round off 2014, I am posting pics of a figure, fresh off the workbench. It's a 54mm figure from Ulrich Puchala that I bought off ebay many years ago. The subject is a Prussian Artillery Officer, Prinz Luitpold Regiment, 1795. It's a beautiful sculpture and was a joy to paint. I really like how the whites turned out with this project in particular.

Some winter projects

Here's a few of my latest. All musicians this time. I think I'm starting to run out of poses for my drummers! The subjects are as follows: Drummer, Brunswick Dragoon Regiment. Drummer, 15th Light Dragoon. Trumpeter, Brandenburg Court. More on the backgrounds once the painting is complete.

LINCOLN Redux

With the Chicago Show fast approaching, I am doing some final touch-ups to pieces before packing. The Lincoln bust needed some more contrast and transition between the whiskers and skin. Thanks to those friends with helpful suggestions. It's always nice to have several pairs of eyes to help with projects.

Officer, Swedish Lifeguards Painted

Officer, Swedish Lifeguards

A big thanks to fellow figure modeler, Mike Blank, for uniform information and inspiration. The horse I'm using is from Airfix. It's a tad "beefier" than the Historex model horses, and is better rendered in pose and muscle structure. More later.

A favorite Civil War author of mine has come out with a new book. Can't wait to get my hands on it! http://johnmpriest.blogspot.com/

More pics of 'Doc' painted.

"You're a daisy if you do." Painted

Here's a few pics of the 'Doc'. There was more detail to be done than anticipated. Looking at several film stills, one would think this would be an easy project. The holster contraption had it's own challenges, as well as the shirt. Painting was fairly straight forward. The pin stripes are always a bear to do. Some may wonder why I didn't paint his skin tone that pale complexion as depicted in the film. Well, I tried, but the overall look turned the entire piece into a black and white figure, no matter how subtle I added color to his face. To my eyes, it didn't look right. Alas, I went back to my usual Caucasian formula. I'm pretty happy with how he turned out. Now, I'm considering modeling his antagonist, Johnny Ringo. Stay tuned.

"You're a daisy if you do." Part 2

Well, if you hadn't guessed who the character is, I'll let you off the hook. The man and the pose come from the movie 'Tombstone' and the character is 'Doc' Holiday, played by the actor Val Kilmer. Not an exact likeness, and the pose is slightly exaggerated from the movie still, with how the legs are spread and back arched, but it gives a good sense of defiance. I'm really happy with how the folds turned out, so it helps to have some great pictures to go by as a guide.

"You're a daisy if you do." Part 1

This is a project I've wanted to do for YEARS. If your a Western movie fan, you may guess from the title what film the subject is based on.

Lincoln Bust

Lincoln is for the most part finished. What a wonderful sculpture, but a pain in the ass to paint. The detail on his features can be so subtle, that I was constantly finding something new to paint, even when I swore I just hightlighted/shaded that area! I think putting him aside for a bit, will give me a new perspective for the final touches later. The figure, by the way, is painted all in acrylics...Practically all the black and white colors in my collection, from cool to warm, are being used on him.

Louis William, Margrave of Baden

Finally got around to this fella. He was a little rough cleaning up but painted up nicely. I'll have to keep my eye out for another casting and other Puchala figures.

Summer project-Lincoln

This is a wonderful sculpture from ARGUDO Miniatures. Pretty good likeness of the 'Great Emancipator'. Abe was known for his sometimes unkempt appearance, so I added some green stuff to his hair and whiskers to help "mess" him up. The kicker of the project is to paint him in black and white. This time, I plan to prime the bust in black...Never used black as a primer before. We'll see how that works out. Now, off to throw Spielberg's LINCOLN in the DVD player and get lost for an hour or two.

MFCA Pics #5 Mike Blank's "Wings of Darkness"

Mike Blank does it again! Another superb vignette created by the miniature artist. Wonderfully composed, painted, etc. If a figure modeler wants to find inspiration, look no further. I need to build a mounted piece...Soon!

MFCA Pics #4