WIP Critique Australian SAS Vietnam, 1/6th scale bust, Naked Army

[tonydawe]

Hi guys,

First pics of my latest project, a magnificent 1/6th scale bust of an Australian SAS trooper in Vietnam.

The bust is similar, but not identical to a full cold cast bronze figure of an Australian SAS trooper in Vietnam that I painted many years ago, and retains many of the same facial features and equipment. The major difference is the way he is holding the modified SLR, and that the ERDL pattern is not sculpted into the shirt. Oh, and he has no lower torso!!

I'm looking forward to trying ERDL pattern camouflage in large scale and also trying to capture the tension, stress and exhaustion of the solider in combat.

As with my previous version, I will go to town with the weathering and camo.

At this stage I have done the prep work and applied the primer.

Base coating starts tonight.

As always I welcome any comments/ suggestions.

 

[kiwi45]

Tony, that looks fantastic, will watch with interest.
Les

 

[megroot]

great work.

Marc

 

[mil-mart]

Tony that's an excellent looking bust , a great face so full of character. Following.

Cheers Ken

 

[taff edwards]

Hi tony
I think this s going to be something special casting and sculpting is beautiful cant wait to see the paint start to go on will be following with interest .
Cheers Chris

 

[NickM]

Superb bust, mate, can't wait to see what you do with him.
I'm guessing he's going to be box art, like the Chopper pilot?

 

[Mike - The Kiwi]

I'll be along with you on this ride to Tony

Later in May I'll be embarking on my own project - can't wait!

See more soon I hope.

Mike

 

[StefanBerlin]

Hi Tony,

great bust from naked Army. Can´t wait to see this one painted by you in ERDL camo pattern. I am in progress to paint my 1:35 scale SASR Figures in ERDL camo too. So it would be Interesting what kind of colors you use to get the right color sheme. I have my problems with that lime green in the green dominant Version.

Happy painting Tony

bye, bye

Stefan

 

[Joe55]

This is a fine looking piece! I have one question about the FAL though. Did they not have flash hiders?

Joe

 

[tonydawe]

Hi guys

Thanks for your comments and encouragement.

Nick, this bust is just for me not box art.

Joe, flash suppressor was deliberately removed and the barrel shortened as an SAS field modification in their workshop. This served the purpose of increasing the muzzle flash and the report from the weapon as it was fired in an ambush. This increase in noise and flash was intended to temporarily confuse and surprise the enemy and create the impression the weapon was a larger caliber than 7.62mm. The patrol would exploit this confusion to disengage contact with the enemy and disappear back into the jungle. According to reports I've heard and read from SAS troopers who served in South Vietnam, these were highly effective tactics to confuse the enemy and sew seeds of doubt about the size of the force they were facing.

 

[Joe55]

Thanks for the detailed explanation Tony! I have fired a 'few' rounds from an FN FAL before, and consider it a fine weapon. Like you say, those that are on the receiving end will definately put their heads down!

Joe

 

[tonydawe]

I've fired quite a few rounds from the SLR myself, and wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of a 7.62mm round.
A most effective combat weapon- robust, reliable and packs a punch. SAS also modified the SLR by adding a 30 round magazine and in some cases converting it to full auto mode.

 

[Joe55]

Right, I forgot that in the UK its called SLR. Curious though that the SAS didn't get select fire SLR's from the get go.

Joe

 

[Allen230]

Hi Tony,

I have just purchased this bust myself and am about to start on it, so will be keenly following your progress.

Joe,

Have put the old number of rounds tough the SLR L1A1 myself over the years. Back in the 60's SASR didn't have the budget they do these days so they didn't have the options of getting as much cool kit as they do today back then. So they did the best they could with what they had at times, hence the cut down SLR with the AR L2A1 Mag.

The Australian Army also used the AR L2A1 which was the light machine gun version of the SLR, had the full auto option, bipod, heavier barrel and 30 round magazine (that where the 30 rd mag came from). At that time (60's) the Australian Army was using 7.62mm Bren Guns, AR L2A1's and M60's as section (squad) machine guns.

Was even common in the Australian Infantry to use a L2A1 mag on a SLR if you could get hold of at least one as your first mag to get through a contact, also common was using a match stick in the trigger mechanism to allow the SLR to fire full auto (old infantry trick).

Allen

 

[Joe55]

Thanks for the added info Allen. Another example of: Adapt, Improvise, and Overcome!

Joe

 

[alamac]

Looking forward to following this Tony , he's a beauty
Cheers
Al

 

[Wings5797]

A great figure Tony.
A nice collection of fine detail for you to bring to life........fill your boots Mate.
All the best
Keith

 

[tonydawe]

Hi guys,

Got a start on the painting a couple of nights ago.

The vivid green base coat on the shirt will be toned down. At this point I'm just trying to block in the major areas of colour with base colours, and then I will start the process of getting an exact match to the shirt colour for the ERDL camo.

The face is similarly basic. I've painted a base coat, a first highlight and a first shadow but nothing extreme. I've also painted a dark red/ purple colour around the ears, lips, fingers and under the upper eyelids to mark the places where darker shadow tones will be applied.

As usual I'm using Josonja acrylics only at the moment. Once all the base coating is done and the highlights and shadows have been applied, I will then break out the oils to apply the colour filters and more subtle effects to the skin and clothing. The last step will be to apply metallic and any gloss effects.

I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. There is a mountain of fun to come over the next weeks as I try to bring this magnificent bust to life and to bring out the character of the figure. I hope you like this first step.

 

[Richie]

Hi Tony,
Another great looking figure, I look forward to you putting your stamp on this one, will be following. I'm sure by the time you are finished he will be more than ready for " The Odd Angry Shot".
cheers
Richie

 

[tonydawe]

Thanks Richie, putting my stamp on it mate.

Here are the latest update pics. Still blocking in the base colours. Will tackle the ERDL pattern this weekend if I get time.