'Storm Child'

This is a piece that I worked on during summer. It's from Classicae and sculpted by the late Roy Hunt.

The subject is of a Japanese girl the day after the bomb fell on Hiroshima.

Well, I can't say I really enjoyed painting it. Needless to say it can be an emotional and thought provoking subject. But, I tried my best and I hope I did the piece justice.

Painting was pretty straight forward. The ground work was a free-for-all of washes and light dry brushing. All shades of greys and browns were used with touches of metal dry brushed here and there.

I chose a red shirt with flower pattern to help make the scene 'pop' and add a little contrast to the devastation surrounding her.

As for the kit itself, the figure was horribly casted. Quality control was certainly at a loss here. Many pits and voids were present. Luckily these were dominant on the figures back, but much putty and sanding time was used when needn't be. If I ever buy a Classicae kit, I will insist opening the box and inspecting first.

Still, I recommend the piece for only it's subject matter and wonderful sculpting by one of the Greats in the hobby who went too soon. Your work will be missed, Mr Hunt.

Thanks for looking.

Clark's Illinois Regiment, 1782

Here's my latest original. It will be donated to the MMSI figure auction this October. It was inspired by Don Troiani's study.

I tried to come up with an original pose too. As you can see, cleaning one's pipe dosn't exactly make a figure "pop". But it's one that was common while in camp, or at rest during a march. And I don't believe I've seen one like it in figure form.

These men where issued with French made royal blue coats (it's much darker in person) and carried Spanish made muskets.

The head is from Hornet and the Musket is a Shenandoah conversion.

44th Regiment of Foot, Gandamak 1842

I'm back up and running! Here's my latest, it's Latorre Models, British soldier at Gandamak.
It's a nice kit with few pieces, clean with little flash. It was easy to paint with ALOT of grey.
Again, sorry for the poor pics. Thanks for looking!

No new post...

Having computer problems. Thanks for still visiting my blog.
I will try to post new stuff soon, hopefully before the Chicago Show.

Elite Gendarmes, 1814

Here's my latest original, a Napoleonic cavalryman from the Elite Gendarmes a' cheval. The pose is similiar to the American dragoon I built recently
but I could find no other that would suit this fellow.
So I changed it a bit and had his free hand tucked into his coat tail pocket. I think this added to his jaunty stance.

The head is from Hornet and the body built up with Aves. Kneadatite was used for the buttons and cords. The saber and scabbard are from thick plastic card which, btw, took FOREVER to shave down! For swords, I like to use thicker card. The more dense the plastic the more durable the piece to work with.

All painted with acrylics.

Sorry for the poor pics.

Highlander Caricature, AWI

My latest is a Highlander caricature from the AWI. It was inspired by Tom Meyer's recent caricature of a Napoleonic Highlander.

The head, from Mig, had character but not enough for what I wanted so I decided to add features I thought "looked" Scottish. I like the tough guy chin
and stiff lip, goofy ears with some bushy eyebrows. I wanted features that resembled a couple of my favorite British film actors, Jack Watson and Harry Andrews.

I wanted the painting simple. The tartan is generic as is the jacket and diced cap. The fleshtones I wanted muted, not too much highlight or shadow but cartoonish.

4th Continental Light Dragoons, 1779

Here's my latest original. It was inspired by a pose in a Don Troiani study of a different dragoon regiment. The head is from Hornet and the pistol is a Shenandoah conversion.

Thanks for looking!

Officer, 79th Regt. (Cameron Highlanders) Crimea 1854

My latest figure is Latorre's Highlander Officer in the Crimea. This is the type of figure that can take any good sculptor back to school. The detail Latorre put into this piece is phenomenal. It practically painted itself. At first I was a bit intimidated but once I started spreading colors it flowed nicely. And this was my first real attempt at a tartan which turned out better than I thought.
This figure will surely go down as a classic if only for it's elegance.
I apologize for the lousy pics. The red of the jacket is not that bright.

"Dandy Jim" Early War Confederate

This bust is from The Regimental S-4. It's 1/9 (200mm) scale and was sculpted by Anders Heintz.

Alot of conversion work went into this piece. The collector wanted the bust wearing a shirt that is featured in Time-Life's "Echoes of Glory-Arms and Equipment of the Confederacy" (pg.155) as well as the hat (pg.167). I was also asked to have him holding a Bowie knife rather than a saber.

I started on the hat brim. This was probably the easiest part of the conversion. I cut off the entire brim and replaced with one made of rolled out putty. The reason I did this was to replicate the original which was more "curled" than the kit version. I then added the star and buttons.

The shirt front, placket and collar was next. I filled in much of the creases and folds to give a flatter painting surface.

The hair was the most labor intensive part. I felt the hair was too thin for the subject. I looked at examples in Baroque sculpture to give me ideas and inspiration but of which left me with "how the heck did they do that?!" I know I wanted more fullness and curl, something that reflects his attire...A Dandy!... Needless to say alot of putty went into this part. Knowing that I had little time before the putty starts to cure I decided to sculpt this in two sections. After much manipulation I ended up with something I was satisfied with. How those Masters sculpted/chisled elegant flowing hair is still a mystery to me.

There is some touch-ups to be done and I'm waiting on the base. Sorry for the poor pics I used the OTT-Lite's to help with photographing.

Workbench Tools, Part 1

This is my first installment of workbench tools that have helped me over the years.

First off are paint trays. These plastic paint trays are cheap and can be found in any craft or art store. I wrap these trays in aluminum foil (heavy duty) and carefully press the foil into the cups of the tray... But not all the way! Just deep enough to mix the paint. I use five trays, this way I can paint for several hours before making "new" trays. When done, simply toss them out. Don't forget to use the rim of the trays for small mixes! The use of foil is much cleaner than washing the trays out in the sink after every use. And it will keep you on the good side of the people who share the sink with you!

Lighting is a huge tool in our hobby. For years I've been using standard desk lamps with 75 watt Reveal light bulbs. But now I've switched to the OTT-LITE. And what a difference! These lamps show colors in a true light. There's no glare and that yellow glow. Yes, even the Reveal bulbs produce a yellow glow. I did a test. I painted for an hour under the OTT-LITE then switched to the old lamps. Wow, my eyes actually hurt when I looked at my project under the Reveal bulbs and made me strain to see my work! So the great thing about the OTT-LITE is there's no eye strain. Colors are true and there's NO heat from them. When I worked under the Reveals, I begin sweating after a few minutes. Now, you should invest in two of these lamps. One will not be enough light for painting. They're not cheap at $50+ a pop. I lucked out when I bought these at Micheals at 40% off.

For sculpting, I use a 4x6 piece of glass that came from an old picture frame. I coat this with a very thin film of baby powder to keep the putty from sticking. I have a bowl of water in which to dip my toothpick in to keep the "tool" lubricated. And I use a baby wipes to wipe off putty residue.

Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick

I finished this guy just before the MFCA show. It's a Puchala 54mm I got of ebay a year or so ago. The pose really appealed to me... and was cheap! I've been working on him off and on for the past few months. The casting was bad and the head didn't have much character, so I decided to go with a head from MIG. It fit pretty well. Whether it looks like the Duke is up to the viewer. Sorry for the poor pics.

Some of these Puchala figures are real gems. I have the Margrave of Baden itching to be painted.