WIP Highlander (Kirin 120mm)

[arj]

That's coming along great! I've had this kit sitting in my gray army for a loooong time, and I still don't have the courage to attempt the tartan. I look forward to seeing this finished.

Scott

Pleased you like it Scott.
Like you, I’ve had this kit lying around since 1999.
It’s a gem of a kit from sculpting through to casting, and great fun to put together.
Hope my efforts help you make a start on yours.

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[arj]

Great progress mate. Third time is the charm. Tartan isn't easy but once you get a handle on it its actually very satisfying to paint.

Don't forget that kilts weren't beautifully clean and washed. They are dirty, wet and faded, the texture of the wool is rough in places and worn thin and smooth in others. It's a great figure to practice a wide range of weathering techniques. Keep going mate, its looking ace.

Thanks for the encouragement Tony.
You’re right about it not being easy, but it is such a regular pattern that, once you get into the swing of it, the regularity tends to keep you on the right track.
Using Humbrol helps. Painting in set stages and letting coats dry properly allows for easy cleaning off when you go wrong.
I’m going to have to do some practicing on the weathering before I start any application.
Thanks for looking, and taking the time to advise.

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[arj]

i did this figure years ago and due to the excellent sculpting it was a pleasure to do./ badger

Thanks for looking Bill.
I totally agree with your comment regarding this kit.

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[Mark Dollery]

hey Andy!,
superb start to this great figure & really enjoying your progress.
I did this one for a good friend of mine a few years ago as he was a decended Scot.
I found & did his Tartan clan plaid on the kilt...bloody hard work but worth it when I saw the look on his face...
I have some pictures somewhere??? (never find them when you look for them... )
Mark D.

 

[arj]

hey Andy!,
superb start to this great figure & really enjoying your progress.
I did this one for a good friend of mine a few years ago as he was a decended Scot.
I found & did his Tartan clan plaid on the kilt...bloody hard work but worth it when I saw the look on his face...
I have some pictures somewhere??? (never find them when you look for them... )
Mark D.

Thanks for the kind comments Mark.
I look forward to seeing the photos of your Highlander, if you manage to find them.

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[arj]

Continuing with the kilt, I’ve managed to get the thin black, red and yellow lines completed.

Now I’ll have to do the same for the upper section. To get the positioning roughly matching I’ve put the two sections together. They’re not pushed fully together yet, but enough for me to be able to mark some red and yellow start lines.

While I had them together, I couldn’t resist putting the ‘armless’ fella onto the base to see how he might look.

The dirk is nearly complete. The fine detailing that has been sculpted on this item is quite amazing. Full marks to Mike Good’s expertise.

Until the next time.

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[Mark Dollery]

Hi Andy, found the pictures of my attempt of the highlander... but yours looks a damn sight harder to do....

hope it helps!
Mark D

 

[billyturnip]

The tartan's coming along very well Andrew, keep it up!

Mark's a pretty good too!

 

[smudger1960]

Lovely piece of work Andrew,especially the tartan,I never did get round to buying one of these,great work mate

 

[tonydawe]

Hi Andrew,

Steady progress mate. Chipping away at that tartan has paid dividends. Great result and certainly worth all the effort and the false starts.

Now that he's starting to come together, you can see how well engineered the kit is and how much detail was sculpted into it. No wonder its such a classic piece.

 

[Nap]

Tartan’s slow going Kevin. Lots to do on the face and hair, but it’ll have to wait until the blue oil that I’ve applied to the hat has dried.
I’ll make no promises for BC; there’s still the socks, which are bound to slow me down.

Cheers,
Andrew

I can well imagine it's a slow process but you will get there I am sure ...BC bring it along anyway!

The pattern looks good together and that dirk has some lovely details and nicely painted

Nap

PS ..Mark that's looks really nice , love the straggly hair a great sculpt by MG for sure

 

[arj]

Hi Andy, found the pictures of my attempt of the highlander... but yours looks a damn sight harder to do....

hope it helps!
Mark D

Hi Mike,
Thanks for uploading your photos, which showed an excellent take on this figure.
The way you presented the tartan was superb. I particularly liked the way you achieved a very realistically rough and well-worn cloth.
Unfortunately, your pictures have disappeared, but hopefully will re-appear when Photobucket completes their maintenance.

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[arj]

The tartan's coming along very well Andrew, keep it up!

Mark's a pretty good too!

Thanks for the encouragement Roger.
I concur with you on Mike’s Highlander, which is superb.

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[arj]

Lovely piece of work Andrew,especially the tartan,I never did get round to buying one of these,great work mate

Thanks for the kind comment Brian.
You missed out on a splendid kit.

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[arj]

Hi Andrew,

Steady progress mate. Chipping away at that tartan has paid dividends. Great result and certainly worth all the effort and the false starts.

Now that he's starting to come together, you can see how well engineered the kit is and how much detail was sculpted into it. No wonder its such a classic piece.

Chipping away is a very accurate terminology for my progress.
I’ve just taken my usual two (or perhaps three) steps back when working on the upper body tartan.
When putting the red/yellow lines in place, I inevitably found some mis-matches in the tartan pattern on the convoluted foldings (thank you Sod, or was it Murphy?).
So it was back to my set colours and simple mixes to re-paint individual squares and redo the black/grey lines. Thank goodness I’m using Humbrol enamels.
I think/hope(?) I’m back on track again.
I’d like to think I’ll have some progress to show after the weekend.

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[arj]

I can well imagine it's a slow process but you will get there I am sure ...BC bring it along anyway!

The pattern looks good together and that dirk has some lovely details and nicely painted

Nap

PS ..Mark that's looks really nice , love the straggly hair a great sculpt by MG for sure

You hit the nail on the head Kevin. ‘Slow’ is spot-on.
I always expected this one to take a good while, but completely failed to take into account my unerring ability to cock things up.
As for BC, this one will be there if I manage to finish it, but will otherwise remain safely on the bench.

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[swralph]

Tartan is looking good Andrewkeep up the good work..

 

[arj]

Tartan is looking good Andrewkeep up the good work..

Pleased you're liking it Ralph, and thanks for looking.
I've just about uncrossed my eyes after the last correction session.

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[arj]

A slow movement forward, with a light coloured filter to tone down the tartan.
The torso section now has the cross-belt finished.
I’ve also finally painted the legs and socks (but not the ribbon holding up the sock), and made a start at undercoating the footwear.
I took photos, and couldn’t believe the total loss of overall drab that I’d achieved. So I took a second set and made sure that the flash was inactive.
I’ve set them side by side to show how much a digital camera can enhance colours.


I think I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel on this one (famous last words?).

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[arj]

Hi Folks,

I’m now on the home straight, at last.
Torso has been fixed to the legs, and was test fitted to the base. Just as well that I checked because I found that the shrubbery was pushing the figure away from its original position on the base.
Back to the Magic Sculp and a re-build of the contact area. I used some Andrea low tack tape to protect the paint in the contact area to ensure a snug fit. Then a quick paint match put me back on track. It isn’t fixed yet, but this is how it should look (The flash is making everything look over bright).

I’d used plastic electrical tape for the targe straps. These had been cut long, fixed and painted. Then, with the targe epoxied to the arm, they were trimmed and super-glued.

The tricorne‘s finished and ready for the base. The casting has a massive sabre slash in it, so it had to have some blood from the ensuing head wound. The broadsword will also have some blood on it, but I don’t want to overdo things with any more gore …. I’d probably get it wrong and spoil the model.

All that’s left is to get the arms fitted, fix the dagger, sporran and scabbard and glue the fella and tricorne to the base (I'm leaving fixing the broadsword till last)
…. What can possibly go wrong?
If all goes well, this should be my last post before posting it as ‘completed’.

Cheers,
Andrew