My First large Scale Figure.

[Leigh]

Hi I'm Leigh and I petty much model Armour. What I really want to do though is improve on my figure skills in 35th scale for figures that accompany my tanks and dioramas. My theory is that if I use a bigger canvas I will hopefully be able to learn some simple techniques and then apply those to smaller scale figures. So here a couple of my small scale attempts the one on the left being a Hornet? white metal and the other a cheap Dragon figure. As you can see there is room for improvement and any criticism is welcome.

 

[Leigh]

So this is he current project a 1/10 th scale Young Miniatures 101st Airborne bust. I must say the casting and detail on this thing is outstanding very impressed, and I picked it up for a steal, $15 at a model show.
So I'm using two similar approaches on the body and the head.
Body, primed with basic grey automotive primer, then used vallejo acrylics to slap on a basic undercoat of colour somewhat similar to the finished colour then I painted with model master and Humbrol enamels. I'm using Shep Paine's stop sign rule with a base colour for vertical surfaces, highlight colour for upward facing horizontal surfaces and shadow colour for downward surfaces. Then mixing the base colour and either the highlight or shadow and blending. All the paints where highly thinned and placed on almost as a glaze building the colours up. The body is pretty much done except for details like buttons and a little touch up but I'd appreciate any tips you guys have.

 

[Leigh]

Now for the head and this is where it's getting difficult.
Again primed with grey primer because I've learned that white primer can reflect too much light and not always show up flaws which will become apparent when painting. Brushed on some vallejo basic skin tone but I wasn't happy with the results, some brush marks and all attempts to smooth it out made it worse, so I stripped it, primed again and airbrushed Tamiya flesh, much smoother result. Let dry a day then used Windsor and Newton Flesh hue oil. Let that sit for three days then put another coat on in order to start wet blending. Used raw umber oils for shadows and tried to draw it out and blend it. This is not an easy process for me and it got a little grainy. For blending I was using both a round point and stabbing at it with a chisel brush. Added a little raw sienna in spots but that ended up a little too orange. Used unbleached titanium for highlights and that looked great until I learned the law of diminishing results and the longer I kept at it the worse the results. So I did slap on some crimson which looks good on the cheeks and a little on the nose and eyes to make the figure look cold and tired. At this point I'm planning on letting it dry for a couple of days before I try highlighting it. It's a bit grainy but it will have a heavy 5 O'clock shadow, right now there are no highlights, the pictures are showing the sheen from the wet oils, and hopefully highlights will blend it in some. Then I guess comes the really scary part, THE EYES. So all criticism and advice is welcome.

 

[housecarl]

I think that the uniform would take some more shadows. This may help with the eye painting. http://www.elgrecominiatures.co.uk/index1.html
Carl.

 

[Leigh]

Thanks Carl, I think the picture is a little deceptive as my photo booth blasts the model with light from all sides, here are some views with just a single overhead light source and the shadows are much more pronounced.
Also I'm wondering if the graininess I suffered was because I was using a post it note as a pallette for my oils. I've read differing opinions on this, some say put your oils on paper to suck the linseed oil out some say not?
I'm using quality Grumbacher oils so I don't think it's a problem with the paint.

 

[paul phillips]

Hi Leigh
good start on the face, i would however start with the eyes, you will make it quite hard for yourself by doing the eyes last and trying to fit them in without going over the eyelids. If you are using oils paint the white of the eye first with white mixed with a little flesh, then add the iris in black, then put the pupil colour in, say blue, just leaving a thin edge of the black iris showing, then add a black centre. You can then do the top eyelid quite dark and the bottom eyelid lighter. this leaves you free to paint the rest of the face without worrying about the eyes
If your mixing flesh tones use red, yellow and white and add a little green, this will take away the pinky look, then use raw sienna and burnt umber for the shading.
An excellent sbs on face painting was done by Malcome Cumming on the military modelling site on a youngs Blackbeard bust

hope this helps
Paul

 

[housecarl]

I think the consensus is use to something absorbent to drain off the oil, then transfer the paint over on to something nonporous. I can't help on the photography front, as that is something I'm useless at.
Carl.