I'm baaaack!

If you hadn't noticed, I've been gone from blogging for some years. Having switched to Facebook for posting current projects, I have felt it was a better choice for reaching a wider audience. However, to my surprise, this site is still getting regular daily viewership. I am humbled by that. Therefore, I will start posting projects effective, ehhh, sometime soon. This time, the content will be a mix of my proper miniature sculpting and painting, but I will add a guilty pleasure of mine, but non-the less related to figure modeling, and that is miniature wargaming. Now, my first love was small scale, 1/72, that's what I grew up with. Hundreds of Airfix and Esci Napoleonic, American Civil War, Zulu War and the like, were painted, dioramas and vignettes built, but eventually went through the rigors of teen years and finally disrepair. But at one time, I had enough Napoleonics to wargame with. All Esci and Airfix, with lots of conversions (we are spoiled today by the huge variety of subjects in that scale). Bases were cut from dollhouse hardwood sheeting using an primitive jigsaw with a rusty blade. Flocked with cheap bright green railroad model "grass", and viola, I was in business! Played a few solo games using made up rules. Being a kid, I could not afford proper rule books (rather spend money on paints and minis), but used anything rules related I could glean from popular wargaming magazines. Glorious times! Today, I have amassed quit a collection of 1/72 and 28mm miniatures, all the while juggling my large scale projects (not enough hours in a day!). Anyway, keep an eye out for those posts. In the meantime, I will try to up-to date current projects that this page has missed. Until then... FeR's De Nederlandse Edelman, 1624 1/10 scale Painted with acrylics.

Lincoln re-visit. Toning down the contrast.

"He has a face like a Hoosier Michel Angelo, so awful ugly it becomes beautiful, with it's strange mouth, it's deep cut, criss cross lines, and it's doughnut complexion." -Walt Whitman

"On our next date, let's go 'Dutch Treat"

Commission Re-Visit

Happy St. Paddy's Day...

Irish Warrior-St. Paddy's Day Parade 2015

Here's a different take on Latorre Models Irish Warrior 9th-10th Century.This commission will rank high on the (almost) over-the-top pieces I've ever done. Not that there's anything wrong with that...

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.

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.

The Bishop

What a brilliant sculpture by Castle Miniatures. The piece really painted itself. Especially the face, what wonderful character! The toughest part was of course the mitre. I had to first carve, file and sand the original detail off. I then applied a coat of putty (carve, file and sand again) to give a smooth surface to paint on. Thankfully, I had some really good reference images to go by. The bust was a pleasure to paint and I hope I did it justice.