Advance to Arnhem 1/16 scale

[Steve Ski]

Wow. Just catching up on this, that is inspirational work. Superb work on the Denison Smocks. I now have another 'must have' on my list..
Looking forward to more progress.

Henk, yur gonna love this set, go for it! Thanks Amigo!

Great work Ski!! Always great watching you work your magic. Cheers, kempie

What a compliment, thanks Kempie!

Excellent progress. Liking the drab color of the trousers. I think it is just right! Adrian

Thank you Adrian. It was a mental bugger at first, but then that loud pop was me head dislodging into reality. This is a light tone, treat it as such, HA! Thanks again.

Trousers colouring looks fine Ski mate. Always lots of variation in these between batches, wearers etc. Keep it coming & chance to mix it up a bit with other guys. My rule is “Uniform ain’t Uniform” ;-)
MikeTheKiwi

Thanks Mike, great point. Trousers would be my best bet at changing it up a bit, the smocks are all pretty much locked in. Sometimes it's easy to Ruck On and miss the finer points, lose that focus. Thanks for the reminder, got it on the puch list, Mate!

Thanks Gents, Ski.

 

[MCPWilk]

DPM very impressive. As regards colouring, it is worth noting that uniforms came from a number of manufacturers and faded with use and time.

Mike

 

[Henk]

Henk, yur gonna love this set, go for it.

Thanks Gents, Ski.

Oh well, so much for my New Year's resolution.... :-/ :-D

 

[1969]

Excellent progress Ski, I agree with Mike that uniforms are never uniform after some wear, even in todays manufacturing standards, throw in age and field use and you have a wide variety of tones.
Cheers mate
Steve

 

[Nap]

Hi Ski

Glad to see you posting and painting these figures , nice work on the trousers and on the rats

Look forward to seeing more from the bench

Happy benchtime

Nap

 

[Dolf]

Excellent paintwork, Steve!

Cheers!

 

[Steve Ski]

DPM very impressive. As regards colouring, it is worth noting that uniforms came from a number of manufacturers and faded with use and time.
Mike

You are spot on Mike, and thanks for the compliments. I've seen those variations scream at me from the ref pics. I will be working that issue with the dusting and weathering process. Thanks for that third eye, Amigo, keeps the perspective alive!

Oh well, so much for my New Year's resolution.... :-/ :-D

Henk, who makes New years resolutions anymore, Ruck On Brother!

Excellent progress Ski, I agree with Mike that uniforms are never uniform after some wear, even in todays manufacturing standards, throw in age and field use and you have a wide variety of tones.
Cheers mate
Steve

Hey Bro, thanks for the kind words. Keeping the differentiations alive is logical, common sense, and realistic. Ditch the tunnel vision, stay focused, that's the key. Thanks Bro!

Hi Ski Glad to see you posting and painting these figures , nice work on the trousers and on the rats Look forward to seeing more from the bench
Happy bench time Nap

Ya Nap, themz wuz some big rats, but nothing a 28oz waffle faced framing hammer couldn't handle, HA! Thanks for your continued support Brother!

Excellent paintwork, Steve!

Cheers!

Thank you, my friend!

 

[Steve Ski]

Closer to Completion; Hands, Rifle and Strap, and a redo of the Anklets

Corp Reynolds will now be set aside to fully dry and await the others before mounting on the base. I did a semi-final wrap up by painting the hands, rifle and strap. Also done was a redo of the anklets as per a very knowledgeable source, Mr. Boots. Thank you, Mr. Boots, for the correction in historical accuracy.

Can’t forget his cigarette, by no means. The wrist holding the rifle and the head have not been fully secured yet, that will be done during the final punch list process.

As mentioned before all the brass will be done at once on all the figures when the line-up is complete.


Time to tackle the next pair of trousers and carry on. Thanks for watchin. Cheers, Ski.

 

[Dolf]

Wow! That is an amazing paintwork you've in there, Steve! Congratulations!

Cheers!

 

[kempie]

Stunning Ski! The only thing slightly out of balance in my eyes are the veins on the back of the hands. They look too sharply defined and stark. As I said, just one mans perspective on a very minor detail. I’m blown away by literally everything else.

Cheers, kempie

 

[1969]

I agree, stunning work Ski all round.
Cheers
Steve

 

[Steve Ski]

Wow! That is an amazing paintwork you've in there, Steve! Congratulations! Cheers!

Thanks Dolf, greatly appreciated!

Stunning Ski! The only thing slightly out of balance in my eyes are the veins on the back of the hands. They look too sharply defined and stark. Cheers, kempie

I think you're spot on Kempi, they could use some toning down. Thanks for the input and the compliments.

I agree, stunning work Ski all round. Cheers Steve

Thanks you Brother!

 

[Steve Brodie]

Looking brilliant

 

[KenBoyle]

Amazing work Steve!

Cheers,
Ken

 

[Henk]

Mine arrived Yesterday, and boy, am I excited with this one. I won't ramble on here, but start my own thread in due course. I have however found a bit more info on the soldiers in the picture.

The Corporal is Alfred Reynolds, from Wolverhampton (As confirmed on the ParaData website.) . To the right of him, is Pvt. Eric Witherford (Identified by his Daugther on the Para Regiment Facebook page). For the Bren gunner on the left, he is identified as Private George James by his grand son on the some Para Regiment Facebook page, and also identified as possibly 'Private John George James of the Anti-Tank Group, 2nd South Staffordshire's ' on the Pegasus Archive website. This is quite possible, as the South Staffs were in that area, and in the confussion after the landings, any foxhole was a good one. He has also been identified in another source as possibly Lance Corporal Alfred C Young, who was actually in the 1st platoon, R company, 1st Battalion. There is a resemblance, but its hard to tell.

 

[Nap]

Hi Ski

What to say except ...Boy !! ...you can sure paint camo , nice fleshwork as well ...agree ref the veins

If I may is there a spot missed on his neck scarf ....might be my glasses !

Look forward to more from you

Happy benchtime

Nap

 

[Steve Ski]

Looking brilliant

Thanks Steve, more coming soon.

Amazing work Steve! Cheers, Ken

Hey Ken, tanks Buddy!

Henk, great intel, good find. Sometimes it's a roll of the dice to find that little bit of info to wrap it up. You will enjoy the build, trust me, Steve made it that way.

If I may is there a spot missed on his neck scarf ....might be my glasses ! Nap

Nah, T'sall good from here Brother. Lense flare, maybe? lol.

Thanks, Gents!

 

[1969]

Mine arrived Yesterday, and boy, am I excited with this one. I won't ramble on here, but start my own thread in due course. I have however found a bit more info on the soldiers in the picture.

The Corporal is Alfred Reynolds, from Wolverhampton (As confirmed on the ParaData website.) . To the right of him, is Pvt. Eric Witherford (Identified by his Daugther on the Para Regiment Facebook page). For the Bren gunner on the left, he is identified as Private George James by his grand son on the some Para Regiment Facebook page, and also identified as possibly 'Private John George James of the Anti-Tank Group, 2nd South Staffordshire's ' on the Pegasus Archive website. This is quite possible, as the South Staffs were in that area, and in the confussion after the landings, any foxhole was a good one. He has also been identified in another source as possibly Lance Corporal Alfred C Young, who was actually in the 1st platoon, R company, 1st Battalion. There is a resemblance, but its hard to tell.

Hey Henk thanks for that further info on the troops, I got the information that the Cpl was Alfred Reynolds from a book where I found the photo but there was no info on the rest of the troops in the shell hole, didn't even think about looking on ParaData website to be honest, been a while since I visited it. Going to pop on there later and have a look at those names.
I have noted all the info down for future reference as it is a important part of the scene to give names to faces.
All the best
Steve

 

[Henk]

Hey Henk thanks for that further info on the troops, I got the information that the Cpl was Alfred Reynolds from a book where I found the photo but there was no info on the rest of the troops in the shell hole, didn't even think about looking on ParaData website to be honest, been a while since I visited it. Going to pop on there later and have a look at those names.
I have noted all the info down for future reference as it is a important part of the scene to give names to faces.
All the best
Steve

I agree, I am planning on adding a little info panel to this vignette, with the background, and the names of the identified soldiers.

 

[Henk]

You've cracked the camo pattern on the Denison smock perfectly, Steve - sweeping the brush across the base colour is exactly how the original was done, & the colours you've chosen are pretty close to the prototypes, to my eye.
Blanco colour for the webbing looks close to the original too, & the mid pouch on the rear of the figure's belt is the haversack for the 1942-Pattern Light Respirator, which remained in service until the late 1960s.
Keep at it, you're doing a great job here!

I thought that this was an Engineers Bag? Are they one and the same? I have seen very few photos (or mention of) of the issue or carrying of gas masks. I did not think (or know) that the para's carried gasmasks.