introduction

Besides starting a new series of Diorama Modelling books, MrBlack Publications keeps to publish Figure Modelling series books. Lately, they released the 14th issue of Scale Model Handbooks. Since the beginning, they maintain their high standard with the printing quality and content. It is in the same format as the former books - A4 size, matt laminated cover and 52 pages. Besides covering the standard subjects like assemblying, painting in oils and acrylics, this issue has articles on sculpting, how to make figure bases and diorama scenes. Step-by-step presentation in numeric sequence and added texts make them easier to follow and more helpful. Articles are mostly for award winning models or original boxart paintings. Another good part of this book, one of the articles is belong to Stelios Demiras, the editor of MrBlack Publications, and shows us he is also talented figure painter.

inside the book

The book includes seven chapters with models from different scales and time periods. The chapters are ;

Creating an Impressive Vignette from Scratch : Sergey Popovichenko shares how he created his fantastic 3-figure vignette with Indian figures named Ambush, inspired by a painting of Robert Griffing. He explains how he created the base with 41 photos in numeric sequence and a useful text. 9 photos for painting of Indians and color recipes. 7 photos for final scene. Very useful article in 12 pages to make an excellent scene.

Painting a 200 mm Machine Gunner Figure with Acrylics and Oils : Juanma Vergara paints Jeff Shiu’s large scale German Machine Gunner – Maschinengewehrschütze MG34. He starts the article on how to paint the helmet and making chipping effects in 11 photos, then painting face and soldier’s gear giving color codes for each one and finally how to paint the great coat. 25 step-by-step photos and 5 photos for the finished figure.

Painting a Colorful 54 mm Napoleonic Period Figure : Isaac Jaramillo Sama paints MasterClass 5426 The Coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte. Nice article with color codes and 3 photos of the finished figure. He also explains how to recover the figure base after cleaning mold lines.

Painting an Ancient Theme Bust using Oils : Louis D’Orio paints Young Miniatures 180 mm Greek Hoplite bust. 4 photos of painted bust and color codes are given. Useful article for painting metal parts like helmet and shield.

Painting Different Kinds of Fabrics and Materials on a Bust : Editor of this book Stelios Demiras paints Stormtroopers 150 mm bust Private, 93rd Highlanders, Criema 1854. This one is really a very nice article on how to paint a large scale bust. 36 photos in numerical sequence on painting the face and bonnet with a text detailed in numbers giving all color codes for every step. Second part of the article explains painting the British Army Red with authors color mixes. 6 photos for the painted bust. I really liked to see an article from Stelios here proving he is not only the editor of the book but also a very talented figure painter.

How to Paint A Large Scale Fantasy Model Using Fascinating Panting Techniques : Another interesting article of Galapagos Miniatures 90 mm bust – The Siege Giant prepared by two masters who sculpted and painted the boxart. Ju-Won Jung briefly tells how he sculpted this piece in 7photos and painted the Giant. He gives his Vallejo Model Color color codes and his mixes for all parts. Sang-Eon Lee shares his paintwork for painting the Goblin sitting on the Giant’s neck. He also gives color codes for Goblin Green and metal parts. 9 photos for the finished work.

Painting A Colourful Medieval Knight with Oils : Daniel Milosevich brings a well detailed step by step article for his painting of Pegaso Models 75 mm Hospitaller figure. Daniels first explains how to prepare the figure and base for painting. Then he paints the figure in 34 step by step photos supported with an explanatory text and color codes. Finally 6 photos for the finished model.

conclusion

Quality and profitability of this series proved itself both for new and experienced modelers. The book is again a great reference for all and price is reasonable like a monthly magazine.

Highly Recommended

As mentioned in all reviews, MrBlack Publications really cares about the feedback and add new articles due to readers demand. So please send your opinions to Stelios Demiras by e-mail to [email protected] or visit at MrBlack Publications –Facebook

availability

Book can be directly ordered from MrBlack Publications and also available on the following online stores ;
Historex Agents - UK
Bookworld Wholesale Ltd – UK
El Greco Miniatures – UK
Tuttostoria - Italy
Pegaso Models –Italy
Berliner Zinnfiguren – Germany
Colorado miniatures – USA