Review Scale Model Handbook No 15 from Mr Black Publications

[Nap]

Hi to everyone,

Mr Black publications run by our good friend Stelios Demiras set himself quite a task when he first came out with the idea of these books , and now we are at number 15 in the series , its certainly been a labour of love and dedication and produced a quality product in the previous 14 releases has he continued in this way ? ....

OF COURSE he has as we are treated to Issue 15:​

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As always the product ooozes QUALITY in all aspects with the same speed of shipping , great communication details and great packing.As in the previous releases the format is the same , Matt finish card covers , high quality colour reproduction and the very best in articles . This issues has a total of 7 articles , spread over a book with 52 pages including covers in an A4 format as before.





This book was always going to catch my attention as it had a bust on the cover ...the first in the series to do so .

Contributions from:

Man Jin Kim

Louis D'Orio

Javier González (Arsies)

Stelios Neofytidis

Sergey Popovichenko

Juanma Vergara

Pietro Balloni


CONTENTS

Michael Wittmann - Tiger Ace in Normandy - 200mm

Captain, the Queens Own Cameron Highlanders at Tel El Kebir 1882 - 54mm

Praetorian Guard 1st Century BC - 200mm

Private, 1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders,Le Cateau 1914 - 54mm

Bear Clan Iroquois - 150mm

Pietro Balloni’s Gallery

Rhino! - 75mm/100mm


Lets now look at each article in turn where I will highlight what I liked , there are much more in each though!!!

1. Michael Wittmann - Tiger Ace in Normandy - 200mm

This is the subject on the cover painted by our good friend MJ , its a bust of course and has been covered over a total of 9 pages , full of excellent references to his technique , my favourite is the many pictures of the flesh painting , incredible to look at ..if only it was that easy for me !!!! There is something else I like to see as well the actual wet palettes with the colours used . Also covered is the painting of the leather jacket another interesting read....a really great start .






2.Captain, the Queens Own Cameron Highlanders at Tel El Kebir 1882 - 54mm

This article is by Juanma and using the TW figure , I immediately took down the flesh mixes for my little black book together with the red tunic one , the article is spread over 6 pages , same excellent colour pictures what's good is the details on the groundwork that has been produced simple but very effective . I also like the explanation of the kilit painting ..no tartan paint here!!!
3.Praetorian Guard 1st Century BC - 200mm

A roman this time from Louis over 4 pages for me the painting of the red cloak was straight into my book , the way he has achieved the armour as well is very impressive to see , interesting he has used Liquin to achieve an effect , this is a big figure at 1/9th so the painting has to be spot on ...it is!!!

4. Private, 1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders,Le Cateau 1914 - 54mm

We move forward many centuries now with a new contributor to the team Stelios Neofytidis ( welcome and thank you )covering just 2 action packed pages using again a figure from Tommy's War Stelios treats us to the painting , particularly like the uniform mix my friend ...one I will use on my painting. A good introduction piece and I hope we see more from you Stelios.
5.Bear Clan Iroquois - 150mm

Yes folks its a bust ..a very happy Nap is writing this , painted by someone we know.... Sergey , this time a Stormtroopers piece , in one of my favourite scales as well , its a great version , really liked the way he explained the warpaint effects , the skin tones again are in my book, over 4 pages this time with the flesh work being covered by a total of 9 pictures .
6.Pietro Balloni’s Gallery

Pietro is a master at his art , a longtime painter for Pegaso with over 50 pieces of box art to his credit ,as well as designing 17 masters . This article is as it say a gallery of his work highlighting superb examples of both sculpting and painting , over a total of 12 glorious pages we are treated to a burst of colour on every page possible , he is also good enough to share the way he approaches a model its no surprise that he has had so many major awards and acolades from all major shows including our very own Euro Militaire as well as World Expo.
This part of the book is one where you put your coffee down otherwise your jaw dropping might knock it out your hand!!!!

7.Rhino! - 75mm/100mm

This is the last article but by no means the least written by a previous contributor Javier scratch builds a fantasy piece , using his love of superheroes as a inspiration he produces a man in lycra aka spiderman bouncing around on the head of his enemy Rhino . In the article he explains his use of Milliput to achieve his result , the article has 40 WIP pictures , I sometimes wonder how sculptors work and this shows it well , we are also treated to a full colour page painted version.

Final thoughts
So there you have it No 15 in the series , another really good addition to the library , well produced to such a high quality indeed , these set of books are without doubt a must in any Figure loving modeller.

Thanks to Mr Black Publications for the review book ..enjoy getting this folks and I am looking forward to seeing No 16!

Stelios has many suppliers worldwide but if you are going to Euro at Folkstone this weekend , you will find them at various traders including Tommy's War , SK and many others .

I would like to say a BIG thank you to the company's that have helped in this volume ...cheers guys

These include (in no particular order) :

For more details and for great offers on this series of books visit the website at :

www.mrblackpublications.com

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: www.facebook.com/MrBlackPubications

Or you could always pm Stelios through this forum

Thanks for looking in ..off to look again at the other 14 from the series I have!

 

[Eludia]

Great review Nap

I'm picking my copy up tomorrow from the Historex stand