hello, this is my first 1/16 figure (in progress)

i've finished a 54mm Crusader Knight and you can see it in Figures section of Armorama (and in my gallery)

This is my first large figure and i must say its hard since im doing it Enamels only (nothing else available here)





all critics/comments/suggestions are most welcome!
More pics available in my Armorama gallery

cheers
Mirko

Mirko so far so good
is a nice big figure that will help u get skills on painting areas, highlighting and shadin.
build and flesh tones look good so far and face done looks sweet and serious

Waiting for more improbvement on next pose so we can be more helpfull on painting items u might need , though u seem to go very well


Costas

nice work so far
how did you make that map?

The map cam with the fig, although im considering in weathering ti a bit or make a new one...

i'm looking forward to see your weathering or new map. maybe your technic would be useful for 1/35 scale too.

very nice start Mirko.first to say; i liked your brushwork. the flesh tones and pants look as painted with airbrush. I know you paint in enamels due to available conditions but a brown wash can make many details more visible in face and hands. I paint the DML 1/16 figure hats and helmets seperate and then glue them. I glue the hat on a toothpick,paint it and then glue.it gives me more availability to check it closer and holding a small part at hand is easier than holding the whole figure.
I weather the maps with chalk pastels,how do you do it?
congrats on the nice start

And you are apsolutely right Engin, but i learned it the harder way, next time i will paint small parts separately for sure!

i thought of soaking up the map in a water/dishwashsoap/pastels mix and let it dry, and than make some damage to the map ends. My thinking is that this will give the map that "lots of time used" look, i didnt test it yet, but i surely will before i end this figure.

Im also working on a weapon strap (MP44 which is not on theese pics) which i will try to make of thin transparent soft plastic which is used here for documents (persoanal ID's), i saw a friend making 1/35 straps out of it and it looked just nice! he cuts a thin strap and then "strech" it up a litle so it bends more (sorry for poor english), than paints it and glues it on the weapon....

this is much stronger than a strap made of alu foil or wine foil and wont brake so easily, he doesnt even glue the strap on some figures so he can move the weapon if needed

i will keep you posted on this figs progress

P.S. Oil brown wash i have, but im afraid it will ruin the enamels base?

cheers
Mirko

Looks good... some pointers about painting faces though:

Try blending the enamels... after base coating with flesh color and letting it dry completely, mix a bit darker color and paint shadows... after around 20 minutes (when the colors are partially set) dip the brush in thinner, wipe the excess thinner in a paper towel and with almost dry brush gently stroke the border between two colors. You'll notice the paint starting to lift and blend into the base color. Don't overdo it or you'll blend the entire face... concentrate the brush strokes on the border of two colors. After the paint has set and dried, mix a bit lighter flesh color and paint highlights... repeat the blending procedure. That way you'll get a face that is not monochromate, but has shades and highlights neccesary for 120mm figures. There are some very nice articles by Mark Bannerman on Missing Lynx that can help you out... although Mark paints with oils, you can use his technique with enamels as well; just bear in mind enamels take shorter time to dry than oils.

Enamels are a good choice for flesh painting in my oppinion. I use them and find them somewhere in between oils (that are usually considered the best medium for flesh painting) and acrylics. Anyway, just look at work of Mongo Mel (oils), Anders Heintz (acrylics) or Mike Blank (enamels) and you'll see that every medium has its own advantages... try painting with enamels some more, I'm sure you'll learn to blend them in very short time... I don't like Revell enamels as much as Humbrols though.

Hope this helps,
Mario M.

Hi Mirko
dont worry i could understand your english very well indeed!
the plastic sounds ace!
i'm interested to see that ,
the paint work looks very smooth indeed very nice technique!
you are obviously well practised?
the thing i wil suggest you might want to try is an undercoat ,i dont know if you did this already in the parts previously painted?
but it will help the paint you apply not only to stick to the model but can make it stronger for handling the igure so it doesnt rub off easy (not too problematic with enamels really)
can i ask what is the pink stuff? is it putty ?
looking great Mirko keep up the great work! K

No im am not practised, armor maybe but figures im still learning

Pink stuff is thin layer of enamel paint over the places where the join-ups needed some filler (the figure is putty eater, but i didnt use the putty, instead i used liquid glue which i poured into the holes). i always add this thin layer to see if the job is well done and it want notice under real paint....

It looks excellent anyhow mate!
shame about the filler being paint not putty it looks like the stuff i use to sculpt with. but mine is green i thought i found some pink stuff? oh well nicely done Mirko keep us updated!
K