Hey All

Finally finished this piece off tonight. It's a 54mm offering from Benieto in white metal. It's a very dynamic piece. He's posed in the act of passing through a breach in a wall. the figure came with a piece of sculpted wall as ground work. I incorporated this piece of wall and extended the groundwork down the face of angle cut piece of locus to represent the brick/rubble fall on the inside of the fortress wall, broken down by artillery bombardment. Included in the groundwork is the arm and pistol of an unfortunate French infantryman caught and buried in the cave in. The weathering was done by mixing groundwork colours into the garment colours, especially the lower pantlegs and gaiters. Then very thin washes of the mid ground colour on the cuffs, knees, elbows and hands. Finally, light drybrushing with the highest ground work colour over the whole fig, concentrating on the pants, sleeves, shoulders, equipment and shako.

I chose to represent the infantryman here as a member of the 88th Regiment of Foot... The Devil's Own as he storms the breach during the siege of Badajoz during the Peninsular Campaign.

Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome as always. I'd like to know if I need to do more weathering or if maybe I've done too much... Dirtying up a finished fig always scares the hell out of me

Cheers

Colin

Excellent Colin. I like how you have weathered the figure, it ties him to the scene very well.

Colin,
This looks great, looks as if the soldier is trying hard to keep his footing. Nice one.
Bob

Excellent idea to extend the sloping debris. I think it looks very convincing!
Weathering looks right to me.
Painting is sharp as well Colin.
Is there some gloss in the red, or is it the pictures? Do you use matt medium in the acrylics?

Cheers,
Adrian

Nice one Colin and thanks for telling us how you did the weathering.
I think it looks about right too I'd possibly have subdued the colours in the buried arm slightly, but that's just me.
Cheers
Paul

First class.

Mike

Very nicelynicely painted Colin,the groundwork really sets the figure off

Superb work Colin. You've managed to blend in the figure to the groundwork. My only suggestion would be more dust on front of jacket, cross belts and shako - the top half seems a little too clean in my humble opinion. Then again I can't paint to your standard!

Regards

Huw

Like this one a lot Colin.Smashing paint job and groundwork.
Brian

Excellent result and drama! I can feel your doubts about weathering this piece. The pictures might not show all the efforts you made to full effect so thanks for the description how you tackled the project.
I had some good experiences with the different shades of pastels and Tamiya weathering sticks - if overdone they can be removed or toned down within a certain time frame. Usually dirt and grime settle more or less intense on different spots of the same piece of clothing so the spots seem darker or lighter (even more "greenish" or "brownish") although the same dirt color was consumed by the clothing.

All the best!
Martin

Hi Colin,
Excellent finish, very dynamic, great setting and angle. It looks great as it is, I would not alter anything.
cheers
Richie

Great work Colin!! The debris is great, very rich and real.

Regards
Pedro

Congrats my friend!
A very nice, dynamic and dramatic display. The composition is simple but very, very effective and is very nice balanced.
Love the groundwork! Very realistic done! You are getting better and better!
Can't wait to see this piece during our next meeting.
Cheers my friend!
Zeno

Congrats on finishing another cool piece Colin. You can feel his care in moving down uncertain ground into enemy territory. The defender's arm is a brill touch. I think I would agree on the additional weathering and dust given that a large explosion has just occurred, pulvarising masonry. I too have had succes with pastels....very cheap and easy to apply.

Colin

Great work.I love the look of apprehension/anticipation on his face.
Jon

Hi Colin.

Looks great......he is a true member of the Forlon Hope. You have done a great job. Love the startled,apprehension on his face.

Peter.

Face is great.
In fact all composition is superb.
You can imagine how he jump across fort wall lookong for Frechmans.

Looks great mate love the ground work and very nice paint job well done.

Ian

www.elliesminiatures.com

Thanx for all the kind words and advice.
I did go easy on the weathering above the waist... I figured it's easier to add more than take it away. Weathering always makes me nervous, I don't want to ruin a mediocre paintjob. Colin perhaps we can discuss the materials you mentioned at the next meeting.
The red is still a tiny bit satin in finish even though I dosed it heavily with matt medium. Next time, even thinner layers... that should help.
It was a fun little project to work on. The face was a little flat, sculpt wise, and I was never really convinced I managed to bring out a decent expression... I'm still not.

Oh well, paint and learn, right?

Thanx again for the support guys

Colin