My current project. Another beauty from Broken Toad. It's another beautiful cast, with only one snag, the back of the tri-corn hat doesn't sit flush with the hair, but nothing that a bit of green stuff can't fix.

This one will be a bit of a challenge, as I'm going to try a sun tanned skin...

Right, new pictures, suitably cropped..

Let me start by saying that this is a wonderful sculpt, and very good cast. The detail is superb, and the undercuts and such around the collar, neck and hair around her face is excellent. Getting in with brushes will be tricky but rewarding. All parts are very cleanly cast, with only the pour plugs to remove and clean. There is however one issue, as you can see, there is a noticeable gap where the hat sits on the hair. A short exercise with green stuff rectified this.

Yes Nap, it is.
Rigging will be added. Well, stays and sheets. I'm giving the halyards a miss..

Paint flinging has begun..

The skin tone will be lightened a bit, but I'm trying to show a heavy suntan, as you'd expect when you spend your life on a ship in the Caribbean. I blocked in the shirt in white, as a reference to gauge the tone of the skin.


Yes, I noticed that the hat needs some cleaning up....

Toned down the skin colour a bit, but needs a bit more work , but happy with the tone. Blocked in the shirt and waistcoat, still not quite decided where I'm going with it. The black leather will have a worn look, but undecided about the shirt... plain white or patterned? Do I dare? Do I have the free hand skill..?

My painting style is quite 'freewheeling', I have a rough idea, but I go where my efforts take me. Having painted military subjects for over 40 years, being able to make my own choice about colours and patterns is both exciting and daunting lol..

Very nice work so far Henk.

Thanks Peter. I'm enjoying this new direction. I've even got a paint wheel and started thinking about how different colours work together... lol

A few shots of todays progress. I will use my real camera tomorrow to take pictures of tomorrow's progress... apologies for the poor photos, you can shoehorn a million MP into a phone, but you can not substitute glas or focal length...

Anyway, finished the jacket, eyelets and laces, bar a little cleanup. Fitted her right arm, and filled the small gap with some Liquid Green. Blocked in the hair in German Camouflage Brown, ready for lighting up to Blond. I've started the eyes, but I'm not happy with them, I'll tidy up the eyelids tomorrow, and see if that improves them.

I've noticed an annoying new reluctance of Vallejo paint to stick to my usual primer, in a very irritating way. It simply chips or rubs of in little random spots. Not all over. Not in the same place. Just everytime I pick my piece up, I find spots where the paint has gone....
It's not done this before, and it's getting on my nerves.

I'm a bit baffled by it Kev, because it's so random, and only small spots. Look at the face, that's the second layer, same paints (Army Painter Barbarian Flesh and Vallejo German CamouflageBrown), just a slightly lighter mix over the first layer. Its chipped on the chin and nose, but I can rub the rest of the face, and the hand, and its solid?? The same is happening with the Vallejo Black on the jacket, tiny spots here and there. I'm sure that a coat of varnish will fix it solid, but it's annoying having to go over bits again..

This weeks progres. I've blocked all the colours in, and pretty much finished the model ship, I just need to finish the rigging. Next week I'll be adding the highlights and shadows, and finish the skin tone.

Oh, all this is just dry fitted... I guess that's a habit from building armour, you dont glue the bits that impede access until you finished things like interiors, wheel wells etc...lol. only her arm has been firmly attached so far.

This one has been sat on the shelf, after I got stuck on it, to much colour, the hair wouldn't do what I want, and I couldn't get the eyes right. I think I've finally got the eyes, and I have persevered with the blond hair, despite a temptation to give in and go dark. The shirt and jacket need a few touch ups, but are finished, as is the hat. The feathers (oh, those feathers...), have Gone through numerous colour attempts, until I finally realised that they are like big fluffy ostrich feathers, and will be white..

Cheers Kev.
The wash over the blond hair has been a problem, I just couldn't get it to work, but I'm happy with it as it is. Ish..
The eyes have indeed a gloss varnish over them, I may try to define the eye lids a bit more, but not much. Don't wanna have to start all over again.
The lips need to be finished, she's blowing into the sails, so her lips are pursed. There is to much white (teeth) showing at the moment.

I think I got a little out of my comfort zone with this one, and short of stripping her back, and starting afresh, I'll finish it, and chalk it up to the learning curve. I'm pleased enough with how it's turning out, it's just that I would (from) now do certain aspects different.

Looking very nice indeed Henk - well worth all of that effort.

Thank Peter, I dont mind admitting that this figure is a steep learning curve. Since starting this one, my brush control has definitely improved, since I used to mainly paint military figures/camouflage, where you can get away with the odd overlap, or cover mistakes in dirt/mud. And choosing a bright colour palette is new to me too.. but I'm enjoying the progress, and that's what it's all about.