WIP Critique Officer, 72nd Highlanders, 1858

[Eludia]

I'm following to Billy and it looks like a good start. I've also made a note of some of your tips.

Thanks for looking in Roger. I feel honoured that an old sea dog like you is picking up tips from a biff like me, surely it should be the other way round

 

[Eludia]

No painting tonight, I decided to have a night off.

The second pass on the tunic didn't dry so well, quite patchy and shiny. I gave the offending area a quick squirt with W&N Artisan Matt varnish through the airbrush which helped a little. There's still a bit of a sheen but its a bit more even than it was.

Some before and after pics:

Before:



And after:



Overall, I'm happy with the way the red is progressing. The top and bottom bits look ok, I just need to tidy up the middle bit. The highlights need a bit more work too but I'm really chuffed with how its going, defo my best effort at painting red to date.

My itty bitty Andrea bases arrived today as well so he now has something to stand on when he's done (and also for his 3 brothers-in arms that are waiting in the cupboard ):

 

[peedee]

..........edit..adding a bit more contrast........edit.........some black dots in his eyes...(well dots, for now )

The extra contrast, (and your dots), look good mate.

I always try to put eye dots in first, even if the face is not the first priority on a model. It just kinda helps somehow.

Paul.

Paul

 

[Eludia]

Cheers Paul,

I'm trying a out a new method for eyes that I stumbled upon in Meg Maples' excellent blog:

https://plus.google.com/107527997948277853593

This is the second piece where I've used this method and it works for me (it takes a while with oils though). In a nutshell (courtesy of Meg's blog):

 

[Eludia]

Sorry, got my links mixed up. Meg's blog is awesome but I didn't find her article on 6-step eyes there. You'll find it here instead:

http://arcanepaintworks.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/six-easy-steps-for-eyes.html

She uses the method to paint eyes on 28mm gaming figures with a #2 brush. That is just mental imho.

 

[swralph]

Coming along real well Billy.

 

[Eludia]

Coming along real well Billy.

Thanks Ralph

 

[Eludia]

Happy Ne'erday Folks

I drilled out the base today and done some test fitting. Another couple of days in the hot box has cooked the varnish just nicely, Good Times (tm) :



I'll probably drop it down to 5 spacers like I did with another V12 bust a few months ago. Shown here for comparison, I used 5 spacers for the Grenadier Guard and this one currently has 6:



Thanks again for tuning in

Edit: Oops, looks like I need to straighten the brass tube up a bit (the camera never lies)

 

[Eludia]

It's been a good day today

I've done a bit more work on the tunic and step 4 of his eyes. He's now back in the hot box for a couple of hours while I get stuck into my New Year dinner. I might try and pop out to the shed again later, depends on how sober I am/feel (delete as applicable)



The painting looks a bit rough when you employ suicide zoom on the camera and use artificial light. He looks better at normal size, trust me.

Critique welcomed

 

[Eludia]

A bit more progress

 

[peedee]

Hi Billy, looking good

Can I ask you about the 'Spacers'.

Are these some form of brass rings slid down a brass rod, Or are you using a pipe cutter to put
'crimps' in a tube as Adrian Hopwood does?

I like the look of this effect however you do it.

Paul

 

[Eludia]

Cheers Paul

The spacers are beads used by costume jewellery makers. These particular ones are antique brass with a 2.5mm hole that I got from a craft site. There are literally thousands of different styles and sizes to choose from and I could easily waste a couple of hours browsing through them and thinking of different uses for them on different subjects. Just punch "spacer beads" into Google, then let your creative juices flow freely.

They are threaded over a brass tube that is just a bit smaller than 2.5mm (2.2 or 2.3mm ish) so that they are not too tight to fit. Erm, that's about it really. If you want a taller pillar then add more spacer beads, if you want it shorter then take some away. One thing to note though is that they do not come with a standard sized hole so you need to read the descriptions (and even then a lot of the descriptions will only give an outer diameter).

As an example of what is available, just think how awesome these would look supporting a pirate bust or something like that:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/258364134/bali-style-green-patina-round-bead?ref=related-5

 

[peedee]

Great idea Billy,
Being from a craft site I can imagine many forms and materials being available and
different types can suit differing types of bust I suppose.

It would be well worth using wooden or Horn effect ones on a western subject for example.

Hmmmmm I shall begin a browse now...... I shall probably be some time !!

Cheers for that..... Another example of why this forum opens eyes and new directions.

Paul

 

[Eludia]

A little bit more work done on the yellows. This is my first attempt at NMM and I'm quite pleased with how the braiding and buttons have turned out. I'm not too sure about the gloss coat on the eyes, I think I may have overdone it a bit as he looks like he's just about to burst into tears.

 

[Eludia]

Some more work done on his shirt. Also made a start on the face, and toned the gloss down on the eyes while I was at it. I best get my skates on or I'm going to have to mix some more paint up (that's what happens when you take your eye off the ball and get distracted by other stuff I s'pose).



I also got some more (different) spacer beads so I could try out different styles for the pillar. I've settled on this configuration, some large rounded beads separated by smaller washers.

Thanks again for tuning in and, as always, comments and critique are warmly welcomed

 

[Eludia]

Almost done. Just a few final finishing touches to be done, mainly to the belt.



Amazingly, most of my paint mixes are still usable. I started this thread on 28th Dec and only expected to spend about a week on it (2 at most).

Thanks again for tuning in. Comments and critique are still very welcome

 

[peedee]

Always worth pressing on to finish Billy.

Well done mate.

Paul.

 

[Eludia]

Cheers Paul and good luck with your "Epic", I'm looking forward to seeing it at Southwell later in the year (no pressure)

 

[peedee]

I would love it ti be done for then Billy, I could spring it on the Bulldogs that there is only going to be one model on our SMW 2016 display.... MINE !
(Guess who is the stand display manager, and they voted for him)
....... Payback hahahahahaha

Paul.

 

[arj]

Very nice and very neat.

Cheers,
Andrew