I hadn't intended to get right onto this, but since it arrived so unexpectedly, I could not resist just piling straight in.



This figure had a bit of a mould mis-alignment about the legs....



So the first thing I did was to clean this up....



This sort of thing is basic modeling, and gave me no trouble. I made a point of extending a few of the folds and wrinkles past the mid-point.

I figure the face, eyes particularly, is the place to start, because nothing else matters if these aren't at least somewhat decent.

The pictures below are my third pass at the eyes....





Any advice for improvement, up to 'strip and start again' is welcome.

My intent is to paint flesh-tones a bit closer to narrow the eyes down a bit at top and bottom, and particularly to attend to shape at the inner corner of the right eye (figure's right), as well as to try and get a bit more pupil in the center of the iris.

On the face I intend putting in shadows and highlights, this is just a basic flesh-tone coat. I want to make the hair red, and so am at least trying for a pale complexion.

I am using acrylics, some artist's tube stuff (cadmium red and yellow, titanium white, and ultramarine), and various bottled craft acrylics and modeler's acrylics.

Have been working on this through several sessions.








I think the eyelid and the inner corner of the left eye (figure's left) need more work; the lid is not too distinct, and there is a persistent bit of the dark outlining on the side of the nose there. But I am going to leave it 'rest' for a bit, so I can look at it fresh in a week or so before I try and do anything more.

Again, any advice for improvement is welcome.

One more re-working. I received in a private note a constructive critique from a member here, and have tried my best to follow it. I stripped the head clean and re-applied primer, to get a solid white undercoat. I have made a conscious effort to use much less paint, and that much thinned.

Have gone ahead and assembled the figure itself (sans head and equipment), and started in on the uniform.









The trousers I think I am pretty well finished on, the navy blue portion shirt got a bit more paint after these were taken, and may still get a little more. Of course the tricky bits, the stripes on the neck-cloth (or whatever it is called) in particular, remain ahead....

I did a little more work on the eyes and face (eyes mostly), doing my best to get decent eye-lids in.

A bit more progress on this.

The 'square-rig' neck-cloth and the undershirt are painted.







After some experiment proved to me I was not going to succeed at painting the white stripes, I resorted to 'special' methods, and cut strips of white decal film as skinny as I could manage. The film itself is exceedingly thin, and was put down in a pool of Future, so it does not stand out appreciably from the surface. I am aware of a couple of points that need touching up, and will address that on the next pass. The next tricky bit is getting a red anchor on a patch on the left sleeve....

The cover art on the box shows the undershirt as white, but contemporary illustrations show it as dark blue.

Still plugging away....

Tightened up things on the face a bit; I think I should probably eave it alone now, at least till it's off the block and attached.







Cleaned up a little on the white stripes, got some more color on some f the gear, and took a run at the leading seaman emblem on the left sleeve....







This is the fourth run at the fouled anchor. Scraped the patch clean each time. Wound up drawing in wit pencil, then painting in red, and trimming that down with blue, with a few final dabs put in wit a sharpened toothpick. If after a while I decide I don't like it, I will scrape again, and de-rate the fellow to able seaman.

Most of the color now on the figure itself....









Did some tightening up on the rank emblem. Next will be metal bits, equipment, and touchings up (needed especially at the meeteing of the left (figure's left) leggings and trousers.

I keep fiddling with the head. I think I am improving it....






At any rate, I will be taking it off the block and attaching it to the figure in the next pass at this.