1. Copying kits is a crime that hurts original artists & producers. Help support your favorite artists by buying their original works. PlanetFigure will not tolerate any activities related to recasting, and will report recasters to authorities. Thank you for your support!

WIP "Easy Pickins"

Discussion in 'vBench (Works in Progress)' started by Steve Ski, Mar 30, 2013.

  1. storm_zh Well-Known Member

    Country:
    China
    This is a great WIP post. Steve, I like the way you painted the Splinter camo; the next step following that (drawing the thin raindrop stripes) will not be an easy task, wish you good luck on that. Also, the motorcycles in your initial post look very cool and are really well done. Look forward to seeing your finishing the figures and mounting them on the motorcycles :) I am following your thread to see further progress.

    Thanks,
    Jason
    anstontyke likes this.
  2. Steve Ski PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-States
    Thx Jason, glad ya like er so far.

    Painting shadows and highlights on camo patterns, yes very daunting at first site, but I was able to pull it off with the modern camo pattern used in Afghanistan by the 1oth Mountain Div., the "Knock and Talk" dio, (link below). Granted the colors are more closely matched on a modern camo set, but I'm planning on using the same concept of shadows and highlights, feathering in and out of dark spot to light. I'll be saving the two splinter camo'd figures for last, more concentration time and no feeling of being rushed.

    I heard an ol friend say one time, "Sometimes, when yur arsholes and elbows in alligators you begin to wonder why you came to drain the swamp." It's a big project, but I sure am havin a heck of a lot of fun.

    http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/knock-and-talk-10th-mountain-afghanistan.43033/#post-440263


    Thx for watching and the moral support Jason. Cheers, Ski.
    anstontyke and storm_zh like this.
  3. Sturm Grenadier Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    razFG_1.jpg Hello Steve, I think the helmet color looks fine, are you planning to weather your figures??? If your going for a dusty appearance, maybe a darker color would work best. But the color of the helmet on your figure, closely resembles the helmet hanging from the handle bar in the center of this photo, so, either way would look good. Looking great so far Steve, best of luck the rest of the way. Regards, SG
    Borek and anstontyke like this.
  4. Steve Ski PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-States
    Thx for the pic SG, looks like many variations were out there from what I'm gathering.

    I will be dusting up the figures and getting them a little dirty, more of a dried mud splatter is what I was thinking, but still deciding. Those bikes got pretty dang dirty and from what I'm seeing they stayed that way most often. I'm thinking your thoughts are right on, may have to darken to a more traditional Field Grey color to start things off correctly.

    Thx for the info and pic SG, greatly appreciated. Cheers, Ski.
    anstontyke likes this.
  5. Steve Ski PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-States
    Been away for a bit, but it's good to be back at it.

    Here's a few pics of the progress on the Ranger to date. Still plenty to do, but we are pluggin along and making er happen, plus I just got 8 new WWII flicks for the bunker. This weekend will be paint sniff a Bonanza, HA!

    [IMG]

    [IMG]

    [IMG]

    [IMG]

    Still plenty to do, but we are making good headway now. Sorry for the grainy pics, the cam is testing my patience, lol.

    Thx for watchin. Cheers, Ski.
    anstontyke likes this.
  6. Jazz A Fixture

    Country:
    England
    Those heads are looking spot on Ski. And the camouflage looks great. I look forward to seeing how this piece turns out.
    anstontyke likes this.
  7. Steve Ski PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-States
    THz Jazz, appreciate it. I'm going to monkey with my camera today, see if I can iron out the fuzz. trying new settings changes the whole ball game.

    Thx for watchin. Cheers, Ski.
    anstontyke likes this.
  8. Steve Ski PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-States
    Did a bit more work on the Ranger, stripe and "Ranger" tag.

    [IMG]

    Peli Rojo, Red Head. I also worked on the 5 O'clock shadow, kept it subtle, and worked the helmet strap and liner strap. Should be able to move on to the hands and get the Thompson painted this week. I added a rear sight and redid the front sight and barrel tip. They were way too Bozo lookin for my taste.

    [IMG]

    [IMG]

    [IMG]
    I added the number 2 to the helmet using a fine point marker.

    [IMG]

    So far so good and rollin along nicely as far as I can tell. All comments welcome and thx for watchin.
    Cheers, Ski.
    Borek and anstontyke like this.
  9. tonydawe A Fixture

    Country:
    Australia
    Hey Ski,

    Coming along nicely mate. The small details are what makes this figure really stand out and you've nailed them.
    anstontyke likes this.
  10. Steve Ski PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-States
    Thx Tony, I'm trying to cover all the bases.

    Cheers, Ski.
    anstontyke likes this.
  11. Steve Ski PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-States
    Just a quick update so yall don't think I was slacking. I did get done a few more little items like 5 O'clock shadows, and dark circles under the riders eyes. Not too visible here, but my camera is jackin me on the focal plane, wa!

    [IMG]

    [IMG]

    More to follow and still in progress. Thx for watchin. Cheers, Ski.
    anstontyke likes this.
  12. JasonB Moderator

    Country:
    United-States
    Hi Steve
    One thing that you may want to consider...or not... is that the Ranger has BAR pouches but you switched out his BAR for a Thompson.
    Glad to see one actually getting worked on, my resides in the "but its worth so much untouched on e-bay" pile. Figure collecting has replaced figure painting in my case. Looking good
    Cheers
    Jason
    anstontyke and Wings5797 like this.
  13. Steve Ski PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-States
    Thx Jason.

    I did run this issue long ago in the planning phase of the dio and figured that with the lengthy conversion of cutting and sculpting a havre sack for the Thompson mags would work best. Trying to get that belt just right and cleaning up the mess was not my fancy, yuck! So, I formed a havre sack on out of milliput and made the straps from pewter.

    It was a coin toss decision, but I'm glad it landed heads up. Plus I recon it adds to the irregularity of the figure and adds a bit of interest.

    Thx for watchin Jason. Cheers, Ski.
    anstontyke likes this.
  14. Helm A Fixture

    Country:
    England
    Looks well Steve liking the extra touches
    Steve
    anstontyke likes this.
  15. Steve Ski PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-States
    Thx Steve, great appreciated buddy!

    Cheers, Ski.
    anstontyke likes this.
  16. Jeff T A Fixture

    Country:
    Australia
    Looking good Steve!

    Great painting on the patches especially.


    Cheer's,
    Jeff.
    anstontyke likes this.
  17. Steve Ski PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-States
    Thx Jeff, greatly appreciate the compliment. The Ranger patch is a print from a photo, I cheated, lol.

    Cheers, Ski.
    anstontyke likes this.
  18. Steve Ski PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-States
    Another quick look at a few items like the Tommy gun and dark circles under the eyes.

    [IMG]

    I took a slightly different approach on painting the grain than from what I've read, but I may have missed an article somewhere. I used Tamiya's Dark Yellow XF-59 as a base coat and Red Brown XF-64 as the grains pattern. Looking over several pics from the net I came up with a tight grain pattern and tried to lighten/thin certain areas and darken/thicken others with the paint consistency. I then hit it with the hair dryer for a quick dry and used Burnt Umber for the stain color and let it dry.

    The Tommy gun was painted before attaching it to the figure and inside the hands. That right hand was a doozy to work, a royal pain in the hind quarter. I’m glad I got the gun done beforehand.

    After the hands were painted I tried to use graphite from the pencil directly but found the pattern was too jacked up. So, I ran the lead over some sand paper and applied the graphite powder on with a thinner dampened brush. That seemed to work out best and then I used a mix of silver and gun metal for the shiny bolt part.

    [IMG]

    Thx for watchin. Cheers, Ski.

    P.S. Looks like Steve's next figure will be a great addition to this dio once again, yehaaaaaaa! Ruck On Stevo!
    https://sites.google.com/site/reedeesminiatures/
    Borek and anstontyke like this.
  19. 1969 A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Looking good Ski, those extra touches to the bike riders face give it a exhausted look now, nice one mate.
    All the best
    Steve
    anstontyke likes this.
  20. Steve Ski PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-States
    Thx Steve, forging onward.

    Cheers, Ski.

Share This Page

planetFigure Links

Reviews & Open Box
Buy. Sell & trade
Articles
Link Directory
Events
Advertising

Popular Sections

Figure & Minis News
vBench - Works in Progress
Painting Talk
Sculpting Talk
Digital Sculpting Talk
The Lounge
Report Piracy

Who we are

planetFigure is a community built around miniature painters, sculptors and collectors, We are here to exchange support, Information & Resources.

© planetFigure 2003 - 2022.