Front Rank Miniatures 28mm army command stand. The Duke of Marlborough. Beautiful miniatures and a pleasure to paint.

Keeping the brushes wet.

Here's a little nod to Emanuel Leutzes "Washington Crossing the Delaware". The figure was produced by Cavalier Miniatures. I picked it up several years ago off eBay for cheap. Not the sculpting standards of today, but makes for an attractive display piece. You will see more of these from me, while I try to thin the stock figure herd.

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

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.

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.

"Sir Francis Drake"

Alexandros Models' Sir Francis Drake. A wonderful sculpture. A ton of detail. A joy to paint. The sculptor, Angel Terol, did a brilliant job. His attention to detail is eye poping...and straining. Just when I thought I was finished paining an area on the piece, I go back over and find MORE to paint. I cursed him, yet praised him at the same time for his sculpting talents. Painted with acrylics.

"Turkenlouis"

A classic Puchala figure in the queue to be painted. I bought this fella a few years ago because the subject and pose is so elegant, it's just screaming to have color. The subject I'm not familiar with, but the title is Ludwig Wilhelm I, Margrave of Baden. Anyway, he's been primed.

War Photographer-Vietnam War, 1971

This bust is modeled after an image of famed Vietnam War photojournalist, Larry Burrows (1926-1971). Burrows captured many popular images of the war, from 1962 till his death. He and three fellow photographers were killed when their helicopter was shot down over Loas, covering Operation Lam Son 719 in February, 1971. The bust is a monster at 1/10 scale, and is offered through LIFE MINIATURES. I was commissioned to paint him black and white. It's painted with acrylics. I used pretty much the same palette that was used in my Airborne figure earlier this year. The construction of eyeglasses was a bit intimidating at first, but really wasn't as hard as one would think. It took a lot of "eye-balling" and checking of proportions, but a fairly quick project. I simply used clear plastic card and carefully carved out the lenses. Built up putty to make the frame and re-sculpted the hair around the ears. I hope I did this beautiful bust justice.