Finally signed up, looks like I should be able to squeeze something in. No clue as to what though.

Kimmo

Face painting - The reveal!

Here is my first few attempts at face painting using Vallejo's Face Painting Set, item VJ70119.

Here are pictures of the Knight:





And here are pictures of the German:






Using the various references I have such as books, DVDs and Youtube, I employed the wet pallete technique. Although the eyebrows leave much to be desired, I am quite happy with the results. To date, these are one of the better ones I have painted. I guess I'll just keep practicing to get even more better.

Joseph...Only one word. ...Awesome! That is incredible work. Not only on the faces but the armour actually looks like metal. Top work Joseph!

Joseph, Nice! Perfect five-oclock shadow on the German Soldier!

So you're blending acrylics only ... no oils?

Excellent work Joseph!

The build of my first figure is coming along nicely, theres a fair bit of a gap though in the great coat, so after reading about that green stuff on here I ordered some and will try for the first time to improve my figure with it later.
heres where im at so far,

Hi Martin, I'm new to 'The Green Stuff' as well and have only done small experiments thus far. One thing I have learned is, don't mix a ratio of 1:1 — didn't like that at all! It was difficult to mix and apply, the result was grainy and it stuck to my tools to the point where it was nearly impossible to clean them! Since then, I've been trying out a mix with a very small portion of the 'Blue' (hardener) which seems very promising.

—mike

I have an opportunity to finish three tank crew for two tanks in other campaigns. 1/48 Tamiya PzGr set is useful for my participation.

Green Stuff - some things I've learned or read about this putty over the past few years:

- adding less blue part lengthens drying time. New to me is that it is less grainy this way, really haven't noticed. Maybe because it is softer and easier to smooth out?

- can dip tools, (and finger tips) into water to cut down the stickiness. Some also use vaseline, or talc powder. These latter two will inhibit it's adhesive property if you are creating a shape to be attached later.

- when fully cured, it still has some rubber like quality, which isn't the best for sanding

- for the above reason, it has been suggested to mix 50/50 (or more) with another sculpting medium, such as Apoxie Sculpt

regards,
Jack

-

Thanks to both Gary and Jack for the 'Green Stuff' information. I'm not the brightest bulb in the Chemistry Lab but with your help, I think I'm beginning to understand now.

—mike

Thanks All!, Been playing with green stuff all afternoon, tricky stuff at first but I worked around it by keeping everything involved with it wet. Will be playing around tomorrow again so will definitely be trying less Blue!!

Thanks again.

Martin the green stuff I use is the Squadron green putty that comes in a tube like filler and is a similar consistency, maybe a little thicker. As it is fast drying it is really easy to use and work onto the figure. I tried Milliput a few years ago but didn't like mixing the two parts and made a right mess of my desk..lol

Joseph - The German head is outstanding.

Almost finished w/ my figure's head.
Lucky no painting but making the gas mask was pain in the butt...



Should look similar to this when done (photo for discussion only). I have to blend the head / hood to body.

Thanks very much Karl, Mike and Martin. And the answer to your question Mike, is yes, I blended using acrylics only. Actually, it was more glazing that blending. I still haven't figured it out that well, but at least my initial attempts looked like the different shades got blended.

Stellar work, everyone.

Joseph – great faces. I've noticed that the Vallejo skin tones require either a lot more or a lot less thinner than other colors from their range... It could just be my set.

I've spent the past week finishing up faces and shirts (and starting a KV-1). In the past I've done what I call a "comic book effect" for black uniforms that involves lots of light drybrushing with shades of blue, red, etc. to make black uniforms look more interesting. I don't want to do that on these figures because I want them to look a little more realistic... Does anyone have any tips on how to make black uniforms look a little more lively?

Most Vallejos seem to need different amounts of thinner, mostly depending on shade and application. Game Colors require more. As to livening up black, mix in touches of browns, blues or purples and apply as a glaze. They'll give you some added depth and variance.

Kimmo

Thanks! I'll post more pictures soon... I've never spent this long on shadows and highlights before. After all, the point of this campaign is to improve, and I think I have.

Tom, Cool gas mask! — can't wait to see the filtration can added!

—mike

Hi guys & gals! Here's another figure installment for my out of control diorama!

The other night, MB’s ’Women of WWII’ figures poured out onto my workbench. After sorting through the sprues, here’s what I came up with: Angry Birds! One lady openly voices her disgust with Soviet occupation, while another woman consoles her two daughters who’ve been upset by the escalating event.

Evergreen "wedgies" inserted to alter original supermodel look. Arms were rotated, heads lowered and turned, etc.

MB back panel box art.

Since Hornet only produces five female heads (none of them very angry), I decided to test the improvement waters by reshaping one of the male heads into a female one. I began by shaving/sanding/buffing the neck, chin, jaw, cheekbone, eyebrow and nose features — went too far, broke the nose and turned her into a sphinx! … Then she (or he?) was really pissed at me! However, I recovered by repairing the nose with a tiny dab of CA and all is good with us … I hope!

I hope this will all make sense in the end. Comments welcome.

—mike

Really inspiring to check this thread!

Mike, love how you with very small changes create new and varied expressions in the stock figgies.

Tiny update from me. As previously mentioned my bench time is severely limited atm and what time I have I've poured into this beast:


Trying to finish for 08-Open. Modelling show here in Stockholm!

Here is one of the two tommies up and about (actually have his buddy almost done too but no pics):


Hopefully next week i get more time to devote to modelling madness

I'm a fan of Adam Savage's "One Day Build" videos on Youtube. He makes very cool stuff which is usually some movie prop or other from Harrison Ford's various weapons in Star Wars and Blade Runner to a full size Terminator. This one is about building and painting a resin figure - http://youtu.be/CBHQ7lQGOf0 He works fast, too fast I think. On the other hand, he does get a lot accomplished and the results range from amazing to good. The video is long, but at the very end you see Norm's rendition of the figure as a statue which is pretty impressive.

I enjoyed it even if I don't plan on going that fast!

Cheers!

Chris

Hello everyone...this my final post for this forum/campaign...pics of my finished figure. I have enjoyed everyone's contributions...some fantastic work going on here.

Updates from my last post is the addition of an oil wash followed with some shading on the face. I did the face in Vallejo acrylics, much like the rest of the figure. I also did some dry-brushing with white acrylic over the top but that is hard to pick up in these photos. The only non-acrylic used was the oil wash to bring out the recessed details. My Panther G now has a commander!

While I like the white winter coat the color really messed with my camera. I am using my smartphone camera and while adequate (and easy!) it is not quite up to the job as my DSLR. I need to stop being lazy and bust it out to use for my model shots!

-Len

Since I don't have a 'technique' of my own I will give credit for copying the author in the latest issue of MMIR.





I started with the head and primed it with Tamiya Primer and once that dried gave it couple of thinned coats of Vallejo Beige Brown with an airbrush. Will let that dry for a couple of days before going to the brushes and palate.





Next I worked on attaching the arms. There will be the need for some putty work for some seams and minor pinholes. The figures is depicted leaping across an obstacle of some sort. Not sure if I'll use the provided base or come up with something a little more elaborate.

Finally settled on a couple of figures. I was going to do the General that was in the Dragon Pz IV E kit, but I can't find the blasted thing. I wanted to try a leather coat to get some practice in for my next project. Oh well. You guys will have to suffer through an airborne trooper and a medic from Dragon's 101st Bastogne and Advance to the Rhine sets. I'll try to use heads from Legend and replace the straps and buckles on both these guys. The heads in the kits aren't bad, and rather surprisingly, some of the Legend heads are just so-so in terms of molding quality. Fortunately I have quite a few sets to choose from. I have an Aber set of buckles and straps that might do the job, if not, wire and stretched sprue will suffice.

Obligatory date stamp shot



And after initial clean up and blu tack.




The poses are good, just enough movement on the trooper and the medic has a nice shifted stance. The fit is pretty good, considering the complexity of the greatcoat in particular. Now I can go in and do undercuts and a proper cleaning of seams and then replacing details.

Kimmo

Finished the two surgically modified dead SS troops. Did quite a bit of messing about with the Pea pattern which I'm reasonably happy with now.







They'll be lying next to knocked out Sdkfz 250/3 in my Arnhem dio. I still need to build a few more though so hopefully by the time I've finished I should have sorted my Pea Pattern technique.