Pirate!!!

Here is a new piece. It is Blackbeard, This is a Young Miniature Bust of the famous pirate. Painted with Vallejo Acrylics. It was a real fun piece to do. More pictures soon.

The Helmet Cover........

I had a lot of discussion on Missing Links about the helmet cover on this dude. So I cropped a shot and added it in. The technique is as follows:

The helmet cover was painted with Vallejo acrylics. The colors were kept very thin- watery. I add a drop of Tamiya Flat Base to the mix. I used lighter shades to highlight, and added black and Windsor Newton Sepia water color-(in a small tube) for shadows. I dry brushed the cover once I finished the camo with a slightly lighter base color. Then I used German Camo Beige and painted very fine/ faint lines to simulate the fabric texture. I used photos of a real cover as I went to have a reference. I dusted the very top of the cover with a small amount of MIG European dust pigment- just enough to simulate if the soldier set his helmet down while in the field. Its easy to make the colors too bright by using too much paint. Easier to add than take away--

Finished!

Here is the Young Miniatures SS Machine gunner finished. At first I did not like the face- but it is growing on me-

New Stuff Update

This is Young Miniatures SS Machine Gunner. So far this is a interesting kit to build. Its really a half figure. I painted the Italian camo jacket with Vallejo acrylics. I added very faint lines of paint to simulate the fabric texture of the jacket. Next up is gluing the machine gun to the shoulder. This will be tricky cause the gun has to mate with the sling and the figure's left hand. We'll see.............

New Project

If you follow Timelines (timelinesforum.com) you have seen my work in progress on the Young Miniatures SS Machine Gunner 1/2 figure. Not really a bust in the classic sense, but a full half figure (does that make sense?). Anywho, its been a fun one to paint. I tried to replicate the fabric texture of the herringbone type fabric. It will make you go blind. Right now, I am painting the fur and working on the details on the tunic.

Another Young Bust

Here is the Young Miniatures 1/10th scale Feldgendarmerie Bust. It is painted in acrylics and has a nice cocobolo base. This is a sweet kit. Fun to paint.

Chicago Report

As I have attended several shows in California, this was the first big adventure for me. Traveling by air is not my favorite thing to do. It’s boring and cramped (I’m a tall dude)- you can't move, fart or sneeze... well, maybe you can- I might get seat choice then. Right off the bat, the plane leaving San Diego the engines would not start....not a good sign... I told Douggie this and he asked what airline I flew...he looked at me cross eyed... So I guess they fixed it in a jiffy (miracle) and off we went. I guess I didn't fly the right one. I watched the engines the whole way.... I’ll drive thank you. Carrying the figures is a challenge too. No sweat in San Diego, but at O’Hare on the way home, TSA took waaaaaay too long to figure out what was in the box (it was in the xray machine 5 minutes!- no shit). The young TSA officer opened it finally and was really amazed by the contents. – Sorry to the 300+ people behind me in line. I did a miniature 101 seminar right there to the TSA employees... Is it Ok to say " I got six little dudes with guns in the box".......??

Once at the hotel after the cab ride from hell (cheap is not always better Matt….. I think the guy was doing IT support while he was driving- among other things) I was met by Dave Peschke. Dave is a super guy and made me feel welcome –even though I was from California. He was the show chair and did a great job with his club putting on the show.

I had a great time meeting everyone that meets here on the forums and those folks I have not seen in years- Jason Green, Jason Whitman and his wife, Matt Springer, Kreston, Chris, John Long, Steve Deyo, Stephan Ward, Dano and his wife, Jon Harbuck, Fletcher, Stephan Malia, Mike Blank, Russ (Rusty) Anders and the Texas crowd, the Jeffries, Doug Cohen, Dee Moore, Mark Mindeman, Mike Stelzel and of course Dutch. The list goes on and on, and I sincerely apologize if I left your name out- I'm going off memory and that aint too good. Chime in here if you had a good time and shout out a name or two. (oh, I did join APG- what a great cause- so Herrera owes me dinner)

Overall the show was bigger than I expected and the people just as nice as they could be. That’s what this hobby is all about. The entries were just superb. It either makes you want to go home and burn your stuff, or strive to do just a little better. I sat in on one seminar and it was great- but I don't paint dudes with red uniforms and gold lace---who's army was that anyway? Kreston said they were Canadians or something.....

We had a blast in the hospitality suite- yep, we did send inflammatory emails to Pete Herrera- too bad we couldn’t stay awake long enough to get his equally inflammatory responses- all in fun of course. But next year we will probably do it in person. We ought to have beer on the show floor- that would make it a kick in the ass show- spill proof steins of course... __________________

Here is the latest issue of MMI, I did an article about a panther tank crossing some railroad tracks. The figure on the upper right of the cover is part of that.....

I'm on a roll!

Two projects finished... The Andrea Viking and the Trench Raider. Both great little kits. These were a lot of fun to paint.

Update!

Here is the Andrea WW1 Storm trooper. This is a piece for a friend. He was interested in the gas mask can being carried on the chest. The figure did not come with one, so I scratch built it. The primary material was styrene. The clasps and hinges are lead foil and brass. The lenses on the mask are unpainted right now, ultimately they will be an amber color.
Next is to add dirt and dust- remember they fought in a trench.

Viking Update

More progress on the viking- what a great figure! All painted with acrylics.