Completed Critique US trooper Bastogne

[Daywalker]

Hello! I am new here, and wanted to share my first feeble attempt at figure painting. I must be honest, I am a bit nervous to post this after looking at the jaw-dropping work I have seen here on these forums. I would appreciate any feedback and constructive criticism.

I used a Tamiya 1/35 scale US soldier from one of their 1/35 M4 Sherman tank kits, and added a modified head from a Verlinden set. The only other modification is the rifle sling, which I fashioned from a strip cut from a $1 bill. I painted him first with basecoats of Tamiya acrylics, and did the shading and highlighting with oils. I had a bit of trouble when I tried to use lamp black as a shadow color, which can be seen on his shoulders.

I also opted to leave his head separate to ease the painting of it, and found out when it was all painted that it really didn't want to stay glued on as I had initially neglected to pin the head. I quickly drilled holes and pinned it, but didn't get it lined up perfectly and there is a small gap. I will remember that bit next time!

Thanks all for looking, and again I would love to hear ways to improve.

 

[TonyT]

Ohhh I like that, I would if only minor critism add some straps dangling from his helmet, they would sort of pull the helmet down onto the figure and make it sit better.... If that makes sense.

 

[Daywalker]

Tony,
Thank you so much for the advise! That is a great idea, wish I had thought of it. I do appreciate the feedback!

 

[jcichon]

An honest critique would be that the jacket color is wrong. You need to push your contrast a lot more. Overall you are headed in the right direction. You have some nice brush control which is half the battle. My suggestion would be to look at some of the SBS threads to learn more about highlighting and shadows. And get rid of the Tamiya acrylics!! Go with Vallejo or Reaper or GW. THey are sooooo much better! Keep that figure in your case and refer to it with each new kit you do so you can guage your progress. I look at my first figure from a few years ago and look now and see such a world of difference as will you

 

[Daywalker]

Thank you Jason! I appreciate that. You mention the Vallejo paints, do you use their airbrush ready ones for base colors? I use their brush colors for small detail painting but have never tried the airbrush specific versions. Again, thank you so much for your advise!

 

[jcichon]

No, I dont. I use the standard game color or Panzer aces. I use a lot of the Games workshop and reaper also. I also use the Andrea color specific sets like their whites, blacks, blues, and greens. THey are nice sets because they provide the complete base, highlights and shadows. Though a bit pricey, on average 23-28 bucks per set, they are worth it in my opinion. I would not bother with their gold set as it is worthless. For metallics stick with printers inks or vallejo though I am sure some will disagree with my opinion. I am still somewhat new to acrylics as I used oils for the longest time but switched to primarily acrylics in the last year or so which has presented its own learning curves. Just remember that the smaller the figure, the more you have to push the contrast.

 

[Daywalker]

Great, thank you for the tips! I will look into those paints next time I visit my LHS.

 

[Ethan]

I agree, Beautiful piece and a little highlight and shadow will go a long way on the jacket. I almost exclusively use Reaper paints for all of my work and I have never had an issue. I know Vallejo makes a very similar consistency and it really comes down to price and availability but unless you wanted to delve into oils I would go with either one of those types of paint. I actually found my painting process easier when I went with something with a superior pigment. Crazy the things you learn from watching these masters!

 

[Daywalker]

Thank you Ethan! Another vote for the reaper paints, must admit I know nothing about this one. I will definitely look into them though. I do like the oils, very flexible and fun to work with. Thanks for stopping by!