WIP Albanian Chieftain - 54mm Romeo Models

[phil_h]

Hello Everybody...

After finishing up my little Turk (which was a disaster), I'm starting this really impressive sculpt from Romeo Models - a 54mm Albanian Chieftain from the 19th century. For a 54mm figure, there is a TON of detail, and all of it is excellently cast. The cleaning and prepping required a only minimal amount of effort. I'm really looking forward to spending time painting this guy; all the detail will be a challenge - especially trying to get it crisp and clean, so it doesn't come across as this jumbled up mess.

Here is the model all cleaned and prepped:

Normally at this point I'd show a picture of the figure all primed up and ready for painting, but I forgot to take one before I started painting the face. Here are the colors used for the face and skin tones:

Not pictured above would also be Prussian Blue Hue, Transparent Red Oxide, Transparent Brown Oxide, and Transparent Yellow Oxide - all from Golden. I really like the tones made from these colors. You can get very ruddy tones or weather beaten tones with them.


The basic skin tone is a mix of Raw Sienna, Titanium White, and a very small amount of Alizarin Crimson. To create highlights, more Titanium White was mixed into the base skin tone mixture. The shadows are a mix of Violet Oxide and Burnt Umber (two of my favorite colors). To get various shadow tones, this was mixed with the base skin tone as needed. The Prussian Blue, Red, Yellow, and Brown Transparent Oxides were all used to glaze some various colors into the face. This what the palette looks like with all the color on it:

You can see the base skin tones in the bottom middle of the palette and the shadow tones at the bottom right of the palette. Towards the top of the palette, you can see all the colors that were used as glazes.


Here is the finished face:

I still need to finish up the left side of the face (it's about 95%), but otherwise it's time to move onto the shirt.


Regards,
Phil

 

[Viking Bob]

Very nice Phill, nice to see the colour palette and get an insight to other people's methods for painting.

 

[rossbach]

Looking good Steve Will follow this thread.

 

[Blind Pew]

A top thread, thanks for the detail about your colour mixes

 

[Perseas]

Excellent face Phil, another project with many details!
Thank you for sharing the face colors, it is always good to learn from you!
Waiting for the next step..

 

[MacCoy]

Looking very good, lots of details to paint in that figure.

 

[santi fernandez]

Great job in the face.

 

[Cannonball]

Great start Phil.

 

[Huw63]

Great start and thanks for sharing your palette. Looking forward to seeing more.

Cheers

Huw

 

[Kevtk135]

Wow! The face is outstanding. Looking fwd to see the next WIP pics.

 

[phil_h]

Hello Everybody

I've finally been able to make some more progress on the chieftain - but before I get to that, I'd just like to say thank you for all the interest and comments - it's always appreciated!

Here is where we are now at:

I won't get into how I approached every little thing since the initial post, but here are some areas that may be of interest (unless noted, all paints are Golden Heavy Body Artists Acrylics)...

1. Blue Vest
Normally I would decide a color for the main tone and then colors for the highlights and shadows mixed in as appropriate. However, I decided to approach it a little differently this time. I took Titanium White, and then right over the black primer, I carefully painted where I wanted all the highlights. You could say this would be a "sketch", but I applied the paint in a detailed, deliberate fashion. With that done, I used some grey-ish tones to blend in the (pretty stark looking) white into the black primer. Next I painted Carbon Black into the deepest shadows. After the black and white sketching was done I finally added the color. I took Prussian Blue and made a very translucent glaze by adding Golden's Satin Glazing Liquid to it. I then applied the glaze in several thin layers over the black and white sketching. Highlights got less layers than mid-tone areas, which got less layers than the shadows. The vest's trim was painted with Yellow Ochre - shadowed with Burnt Umber, and highlighted with Naples Yellow and Titanium White. Then the entire vest - trim and all - was given a couple of very dilute washes of Burnt Umber. (The leggings where done the exact same way, except that I used a mix of Prussian Blue and Titanium White to freehand the patterns in - and then I added the Burnt Umber washes).


2. White Pants
I also approached these a little differently than usual as well. Instead of a "warm" white or a "cooler" white (based on ambient light or environmental conditions), I went for a true neutral white - no real reason other than I wanted to change things up and do something different. Golden makes a bunch of true neutral "convenience" grey mixes numbered from 2 to 8 going darkest to lightest. I based coated everything with No. 5 (the darkest), and then blended in No. 7, No. 8, and then Titanium White for the final highlights. Basically I started with the darkest, and then just blended/layered up all the way to Titanium White. Not the usual approach, but I'm happy with the results.


3. Leather shoes and Belts
I wanted to give a more worn/textured look to the leather elements such as the shoes and belts. Ideally the leather texture will provide a nice contrast with the other materials on the model, such as the fabrics and metal elements. All the leather elements were base coated with Burnt Sienna. Next I stippled Yellow Ochre, then Naples Yellow, and finally Titanium White into the highlight areas. Burnt Umber was stippled into the Shadows. Applying the paint with a stippling motion is important, because it's the little dots, scratches, and squiggles that provide the texture. I next took Transparent Burnt Sienna Ink from Liquitex and covered the entire element. Once this dried, I (again) applied a couple of very, very dilute Burnt Umber washes - this tones down the reddish hue of the Burnt Sienna and mattes down the finish quite a bit).


Here is the palette for all the elements above:

At the bottom of the palette, you can see the colors used for the pants. The bottom right is the Prussian Blue that was used to glaze the color into the vest and leggings. At the top left are the Burnt Sienna, Yellow Ochre and Naples Yellow used for both the vest's trim and to provide the texture on the shoes/belts. You can also see some of the Burnt Sienna ink and the diluted Burnt Umber for the washes.


With only the arms, sword and rifle left, I think he'll be finished up soon - hopefully in the next session. If you have any questions about any of the other elements, please ask!


Regards,
Phil

 

[anstontyke]

great progress phil.
thanks for the great info on your techniques. these are really helpful and a great insight into how you get your great results

tony

 

[phil_h]

Hey guys - I just finished this figure. (Also thanks for the kind words Tony!)

This post has all the final pictures.

 

[Oda]

Excellent work Phil.Absolutely top class.

Oda.

 

[Wayneb]

Super paintwork Phil and excellent looking piece. Doing an SBS has to be tough because you have to stop your creative flow and mindset to take notes and pics and I think the whole process is a talent in itself. So after saying that;..I say...Thanks....and keep up the good work....

Wayne

 

[anstontyke]

another stunning piece phil

tony

 

[phil_h]

Excellent work Phil.Absolutely top class.

Oda.

Thanks so much Oda!

 

[phil_h]

Super paintwork Phil and excellent looking piece. Doing an SBS has to be tough because you have to stop your creative flow and mindset to take notes and pics and I think the whole process is a talent in itself. So after saying that;..I say...Thanks....and keep up the good work....

Wayne

Thanks for the very kind words Wayne! You're right - it is tough to just stop in the middle of something to take some pics/notes. I was planning on doing more SBS posts on this guy, but things were flowing during the last session, and by the time I realized it, he was finished!

 

[phil_h]

another stunning piece phil

tony

Thank you very much Tony!

 

[Jeff T]

Excellent work Phil!

Cheer's,
Jeff.