Thought I'd share the little project I'm working on now. It's Jaguar's Poncho Stretcher Bearers vignette, kit came complete with the base. It was a pretty expensive kit so I've done my best to make it worth my money hahaha.

Anyways, the box art:


"Run away!" as the great Monty Python gentlemen would say..that's all I can think of when I'm building this. Feel free to throw in any Python references and puns in the comments

The base!



It's very dark, but the photo makes it look even darker. What I'm going to do is use a lot of earth and scenery products over that, so the dark base will be more or less invisible, but should help the overall look once it's finished.

And now for something, completely different:

primed









Face painting...

base:


shadows


There's more steps than that, but this is the short version hahaha. Aaand the smock:



shading


Oak leaf and plane tree camo...


I invested in more Vallejo paints for these guys, and the results have been great.


And the rest of the guys:









(The messy face on him is due to a play date with the cat. I left all 4 of them on the table to dry, went out for a while, and came back to one guy missing. Wouldn't have done damage, but I sculpted the top of his head, and it got disfigured... The culprit? The cat.)









So right now, that's it, except for a few minor touch ups I've done since seeing the pictures. You can see where the paint has chipped in a few spots, mostly because I hadn't thinned them properly, and because I held them there while painting. The lighting isn't great either, so some colors look off a bit. I'm really happy with the new Vallejo paints I used, especially the field grey, which was a mix of a bunch. Used James Cann's build log as a reference for them. The faces still need work around the eyes, in case you noticed how strange they look hahaha.

In regards to most of the painting I owe a lot of thanks to Mr. Rutman and Mr. Roof who are always an invaluable help and reference. I took a lot of what I've seen you guys do or suggest and tried it here, and it's worked fantastically.

"Run like hell" is the working title for it (That's 2 Pink Floyd songs I've used), and they'll end up being Totenkopf infantry in fall 1943.

I'd love to hear any tips, suggestions, or errors I haven't noticed, so don't be shy

Thanks for looking!

-Conor

Hi Connor,
Great posting there with step to step pics and all! Thanks for spoiling us!!

Considering your paintjob, I must say you have chosen wisely regarding examples and "mentors" no doubt!

If you allow me one suggestion: I personally would put pure black into the deepest creases, especially around the casualtie's body (and right arm f.ex.) and maybe lighten the upper parts with a little pigment dust o.s. If you don't like highlighting camo (which I could understand).

And now for something completely different...

The sculpting on these figures reminds me of the style commonly seen decades ago! It was quite nice to see it back "on telly" here!!!

Good luck..and keep your dynosaur away from these poor chaps!

Cheers

Romain

Thanks Romain I always pay a lot of attention to your comments on other threads too haha. I see what you mean about using black in the deep parts...I actually haven't got a plain black color hahaha. Weird. I'll figure it out though. I used field grey with some flesh tone highlights for the field grey bits. I've got some AK pigments I'm planning on using. Got to be careful though, I've used them over acrylics before and it eroded the paint job

Thinking I should have posted this in the figure thread...would be better suited there hahaha.

-Conor

Thanks m8!

Yes, pigments on acrylics can be troublesome. I wouldn't know from figure painting, but Leo airbrushes the vehicles in acrylics....and leaves me the task to weather them..hallelujah!
I normally use oil paint heavily diluted for those deep(est) shadows, but then again I'm using enamels for a base....must try one on acrylics too!
Flesh tones to bring highlights is just perfect, unless you really want the object to appear "pale", in which case you can use white.

Please post more pics..!

Cheers

Romain

Wow! Lookin good buddy. Romain has already steered you in the right direction for some touch up tips. I would agree with the black accents on the low areas,specially for the guy in the poncho,if he had a wash of dark grey around the outline of his body he would"pop" a lot more. Later you can pull some dark color in lines away from his body to give a bit of weighty feel.
I have to say your colors and style have improved exponentially over the past months. Go back and look at your first posts here and you will see what I mean.
J

You're right Jerry! A quick check confirmed the huge difference!
Well done Conor!!

I agree totally with Jerry and Romain. Your technique has improved greatly with each new project.

Übung macht den Meister!

Keep it up. As you develop more refined brush control working on the details, that will show in your ability to lay in those shadows and highlights, too.

Consider drilling a deep hole in the heel(s) of your next figures and insert pieces of wire (paper clip wire, hard piano wire, etc) to give you something to hold with clamps or to pin to a block of wood. That way you can get a "handle" to hold instead of the actual figures to preserve your hard work. (That will also give you a better way to secure the figures to your base.)

Well done!

Really liking this Conor. In fact, I liked it so much I Googled Jaguar 63094 with a view to purchasing the kit myself. However I suddenly lost interest when I saw the price - $34.95 (plus postage to U.K.). Exeter models in Germany also carried the set but at E35!

For a 4 resin figure set ... I think its well below the average. You wont get many other resin figures for this price.

Got to agree with the rest of the guys here Conor, your painting has come on enormously in the last few months. Well done mate! Keep it up
Could I just give you a little tip though? regarding the primer. It looks from the photo of the first guy, that you've got a bit of fluff on the side of the head? always pays to double check before you spray, believe me, I know Remember the 6 "P's"!
I'm not sure what sort of primer you used but, it looks a bit grainy. I've just started using the Tamiya extra fine stuff and the finish really is superb! Lovely and smooth. Another tip is to let the can sit in a jug of warm water for about 10 minutes before you spray. It aids atomisation of the paint. Don't worry about the can bursting. Aerosols are tested for 3 minutes in a 55 degrees Centigrade water bath in the factory. It tests the structural integrity of the can and valve seal. Remember, warm, not hot! It really does help!
Really looking forward to seeing this one progress, it's giving me ideas already!
All the best, Mate
Gary

Thanks guys, the comments mean a lot.

@Jerry I'll try the grey and black colors around the casualty. I think that combined with the field grey against autumn oak leaf should provide good contract. He'll "pop" as you say, but won't look out of place at all.

@Mike I know what you mean about drilling holes into the feet. That would have probably kept me from accidentally chipping away the paints. I've got clamps I used to prime them, but haven't used them while painting. What do you use to drill the holes? I've got to invest in one before I can do that.

@Frank and Steve Yeah, this was the most I've ever spent on a single figure kit. Clearly worth it though, but this was a special buy. I'd been checking it out for more than a year, then made an impulse buy while half-asleep. Ebay at midnight...gotta be careful. Glad I bought it though. Jaguar figures are amazing in terms of poses and detail, and this is a perfect example. The even better aspect is that they're more affordable. $35 is a lot for figures, but in this case it gets you a lot more than in a kit from the other figure companies. http://www.jaguarmodels.com/135sm.htm

@Gary Thank you sir! A lot of your vignettes are what get me motivated to get back to my builds. I think the fluff you're talking about is his hair. I didn't want to give him a helmet so I sculpted his head from his eyebrows and up. The cat snagged him off the table while I was out one night, so now he's Headwound Harry. I use Mr. Surfacer for primer. Had good results before, but I should try sticking it in warm water. It just sits in the cellar, so it's effectiveness has probably worn off due to that.

I'll have another update at some point this week

-Conor

I use a pin-vise and common twist drills similar to these:

http://www.micromark.com/swivel-head-pin-vise,6730.html

http://www.micromark.com/the-rogers-drill-bit-set-61-80-set-of-20,8027.html

These are very easy to find hobby tools, though, and your local hobby shop probably carries them or something very similar. A lot of hobby shops sell the drill bit individually, too, so it's easy to replace them when they break or get dull and wear out.

HTH,

Thanks Mike, I gotta look into getting those. Wearing off paint on the high points is starting to annoy me

As far as today goes, I've got base coats down on the gear, and tried taking the zombie look away from the eyes, with mixed success.

Quick photos=lower quality, so apologies for that.



Like I said, mixed success. Not sure how I'll go about touching that up. Eyes on these guys have been a real pain.

Gear:




He hasn't chipped around the eyes, that's just the camera.





And so it goes. I always notice tiny spots that never got any paint when I look over the pictures on here, but that's a simple fix with shading and highlights.

And finally, "pop"



"It's only a flesh wound!" I do notice him pop out a bit more, but I haven't got any black paints for the deepest areas (well, I do, but it's crap) so I used black brown on the outside, and German dark green in between his legs and at the bottom of the tunic.

The eyes are still what bug me most of all. I can't seem to get them right. The rest of it is fine, just need to work on my painting is all. I started using my dads reading glasses when I paint these guys too haha. I'm not going blind, I'm 19, so that doesn't happen for 30 more years. It's just all the tiny details, and the friggin' German camo. It's almost as if they didn't consider us modelers 70 years later. Quite a nerve they had...

So that's all I've got for now. Thoughts?

-Conor

Conor m8, they are coming around nicely!!!
You are doing a great job so far!

Remember what Shep Paine said about the eyes...."soldiers are squinting a lot outside" (o.s.) and take a look at photos showing faces about the "size" of 1/35 heads. You will notice that most times you just see a dark slit. I don't want to talk you out or into something, just say don't despair or worry too much!

The casualty really pops out a lot more already. Don't rush things though! Get some good black paint, even if the dk green is producing good effects.

I'm telling you this because I can remember my impatience at your age!!! I'm afraid "reasonable" was not necessarily in my vocab back then!

Consider "adapting" the camo to the folds and creases of the uniforms, meaning to "locate" lighter spots on top of the folds. Does not always work out that easily, but it might be helpful!?!

Keep going m8!!

Cheers

Romain

I've done the deed and attached them to the base!





I've just got to work on some touch ups and maybe some dry brushing, but besides that, I've just got a bit more groundwork to do.

Thanks for looking!

-Conor

Hi Conor,

that looks really great!! Well done m8!!

Are you sure you want that many colours on the ground (given that the jackets are already in camo). The multi-colour litter on the base may well distract the eye from the actual "important" bit, i.e. the figs!

I find it a little odd that none of the guys is carrying a weapon!!?!

Anyway, biig congratulations and thanks for sharing this interesting topic with us!

Cheers

Romain

Yep, I like this one...A lot!
You're now producing recognisable camo patterns and, all the guys are right, your painting has come on enormously in the past few months
I have to agree with Romain,though. The ground litter is too similar to the camo on the guys. Remember, camouflage is by it's nature...camouflaging Sometimes, less is more and you want to keep the focus on the subject.
By the way...


Just so happens, I'm 49! Cheers Mate
Good result though, Conor. I may just be coming back to this one....
All the best,
Gary

Well done, Conor!

This was a pretty complicated vignette to paint and assemble, and you've done quite a nice job of it.

In particular, I think you've done a very good job of controlling how thick the paint was and not having visible brush marks. Also, your brush control and detail painting is much improved over some of your earlier efforts. This will only get better and better as you paint more. Truly, the more you paint, the better your painting will become.

I would suggest that on your next figures you spend a bit more time cleaning up casting flaws and smoothing out your seam filling work. This is one area where any improvements you make will return dividends by showing off your painting skills to their best advantage.

Thanks for sharing and keep up the good work!

Wow dude!! I just read over all the comments since your latest post and can't really add anything to what the guys said. Good advice from all. Believe me,you just had some of the best painters I've ever seen weigh in on the issue.
Big improvement by adding the darker bits. It's really great to see a younger guy actually take advice and put it to good use(great use,actually)and it makes it a joy to watch here.
That is a pretty dramatic vignette and I am surprised I haven't seen one of those sets built up before. Very complicated and as Mikey said,you took it on very well.
I have something like that I started on by MB.Four guys carrying another in a poncho early in the war. It's on hold now,with many other things.....sigh,
Outstanding Conor! These guys aren't blowing smoke,for anyone looking in here,go back and look at Conors first few figs and compare them to what he can do now!
J

Thanks for all the comments guys, couldn't have asked for a better audience Mike, I know what you mean about the clean-up aspect, I can see bits that could have benefited from it. I still got the chipping paint issue, but I'm betting that it's only due to not having paints thinned to the right level. You can see in the photos where the problem is, right at the very high points. I've touched up some spots since these photos were taken, which was a few weeks ago. Haven't had much free time recently between work and school... Anyways, for now, I'm calling this one done.







RIGHT HERE! What a mess, his eye fell apart and he's chipped pretty badly. Oh well, I've still got a few good years left in me, I'll find time to fix it.



I love the look of this guy, even though he chipped a little bit, and the paint around his right hand is a tad blotchy.



Do please pardon the dust, they'd sat around for a bit when I took the pictures. So, Jerry, Gary, Romain, Mike, thank you all for the tips and help I'll be back at it again soon, so keep an eye out

-Conor

Once again,I can't say enough times how much you've improved. You are much better now at getting the various colors correct. Now I think you should work on finding a way to get some color seperation. A subtle wash with dark grey works sometimes or outlining faintly in dark grey fading to black in deep areas like the armpits,stuff like that? I really like this set. I am surprised I never saw more built up.
J