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Completed All Quiet Western Front WW1

Discussion in 'vBench (Works in Progress)' started by smudger1960, Jan 13, 2011.

  1. smudger1960 PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    I would like to start by saying happy new year to all my fellow planteers and i hope you all had a good xmas.
    I was very happy to recieve a figure this christmas from the wife and its one i have wanted to paint for a very long time but just never got round to buying it,anyway enough said,my latest completion is the 90mm Andrea Prussian Infantryman WW1,this is a lovely little piece and before painting it i decided i wanted to add him into a trench scene instead of a stand alone piece,i felt it needed a scene setting as its such a great figure that this was the only way i could do him justice.

    The trench scene was made up of polystyrene walls which were then textured with a thin application of tile adhiseve,once this was dry i applied loose dirt and grit which i found in the gutter outside my house and then when dry i airbrushed different tones of browns and earth colours from tamiya to reach the effect i was looking for.
    The wet ground areas were also completed with tile adhiseive mixed with games workshops snakebite leather and small amounts of liquin,once this was applied i finished by adding some small amounts of solid water from deluxe materials which i purchased at last years euro.
    All signs were from the verlinden range from my spares box as was the cables which i added to depict a telephone cables representing perhaps a battalion headquaters.
    The planking on the trench floor was made using strips of balsa,which when painted was covered with the mud and water mixture.
    The sand bags were made with milliput then textured and painted with gamesworkshops bleached bone and weathered to the desired finish,the barrel and bucket were also from my spares box and were also painted and finished using gamesworkshop acylic paints.
    The figure itself comes with alot of personel equipment which this infantry man carried and these wer all painted seperately before assembly onto the figure.
    I did have some trouble with the fitting of the right arm so so filing and cutting was required to get the correct fit of the arm.
    The figure was undercoated using gamesworkshop acylic chaos black and then finished in oils.
    I was concerned with the fact i needed the figure to blend in with the setting so i used the same dirt and mud applications on the lower half of the figure,the boots when finished i added the same mud mixture but with the liquin added to give it a wet look.
    I am very happy with the way its turned out and i hope my fellow miniatuists will like it too,all coments and critisism are most welcome.
    Happy Painting,Brian

    Attached Files:

    Centaur, jimmy1969, Dr Force and 20 others like this.
  2. captnenglish Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    My only criticism, is the stalhelm in the background, which would not be period appropriate IMVHO. Otherwise I think you have done a fantastic job.
  3. housecarl Moderator

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    I like this very much Brian. Where did you get the respirator instruction poster?
    Carl.
  4. kansas kid Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Hello Brian:

    Very nice work. I'll admit somewhat sheepishly, i read thru your text quickly
    to find what scale this presentation is. . . And I did not see it. But I am
    guessing it is 54mm. Is that right? You know, Brian, we do need to know the
    scale so we can better understand what we are looking at. We are not there
    where we would see it on your table.

    That aside, I think you are a marvelous figure modeler. I appreciate so much
    you sense of colour harmony. Along with Steven Pepper, I think you are one
    of the best figure modelers using the principle of "colour harmony", that I
    have seen on PF.

    Congratuations on a beautiful presentation, lovely photographs, and I
    definitely appreciate the number of them so I can really get a good idea of
    your talent.

    Whoa, Nellie, very very nice,

    The Miami Jayhawk
  5. Dan Morton A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States
    Rick - The Andrea figure is 90mm.

    Brian - Absolutely outstanding! I would also like to know where you got the posters and signs. Did you make those yourself?

    All the best,
    Dan
  6. Meehan34 A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States
    wow! what a great scene you have built here. You can see that this took a lot of time to make and paint. You should be proud of this piece.
  7. tonydawe A Fixture

    Country:
    Australia
    Simply stunning Brian. You've managed to capture the look and feel of the trenches. Well done.
  8. JasonB Moderator

    Country:
    United-States
    Nicely done, I like the fact that you weren't shy with using the mud. WWI trench figures/scenes are some of my favorites. Its also less common to see an early war German depicted in a trench setting. Too many times I see figures posed in trenches that look like they were issued fresh uniforms everyday. Just a couple of nit picks just as an FYI. As mentioned, the Stahlhelm is out of character for this time period, not being widely issued until 1916. By that time, remaining Pickelhaubes would have the spike removed, per orders of Sept. 1915. If you care at all about this, the easiest and most realistic step would be to get rid of the Stahlhelm. Well done.
  9. captnenglish Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    There is a 54mm version, it was one of Andrea's first.
  10. gordy Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Excellent work Brian (y) the posters are a great touch -
  11. rheath Active Member

    Country:
    South-Africa
    I think this is EXCELLENT nice atmosphere and setting, well done mate.
  12. sarouman A Fixture

    Country:
    Greece
    Hello Brian
    I love the scene that really reminds me of how the war epochis.I figures are fairly well painted, and weathering quite good.
    We are not talking of course for the detail that has been put in the whole scene is really incredible and it makes a difference
    Fantastic job my friend!!!


    Alexandros
    http://alexminiatures.blogspot.com/
  13. megroot A Fixture

    Country:
    Netherlands
    Great work Brian.
    You must remove the Stahlhelm. It was introduced in 1916 and there where no pickelhaubes in that time. The spike was also removed then.
    The Gummishutzmaske (gasmask in the metal container) that he is wearing was in use from 1915 till 1917. So i think the spike can removed from his helmet. Further i can only tip my hat for the great paintwork.
    The posters are great, all in Fraktur writing. That was forbidden by Adolf Hitler from 1940 because he said that it was Jewish writing.
    So great details in this vignette.

    marc
  14. kagemusha A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Hi Brian, an amazing piece of creativity. Really impressive attention to detail mate.
    Nice one. Cheers, Ron.
  15. billyturnip A Fixture

    Country:
    England
    Great work Brian and I'm going to stick my neck out here and say when I return home from sea in about three weeks and get to my books I'll be able to show a photo of German soldiers wearing the picklehaube after the stahlhelm was introduced in 1916. There is no way every unit in the German army, or any army, were issued a piece of equipment at the same time. I won't go has far as saying they have spikes or not though :D

    Roger
  16. megroot A Fixture

    Country:
    Netherlands
    About the pickelhaube and the Stahlhelm.

    During the early months of world war I , it was soon discovered that the Pickelhaube did not measure up to the demanding conditions of trench warfare. The leather helmets offered virtually no protection against shell fragments and shrapnel and the conspicuous spike made its wearer a target, specially for sharpshooters. These shortcomings, combined with material shortages, led to the introduction of the simplified model 1915 helmet described above, with a detachable spike. In September 1915 it was ordered that the new helmets were to be worn without spikes, when in the front line.
    Beginning in 1916, the Pickelhaube was slowly replaced by a new German steel helmet the Stahlhelm intended to offer greater head protection from shell fragments. The German steel helmet decreased German head shot fatailties by 70%. After the adoption of the Stahlhelm the Pickelhaube was reduced to limited ceremonial wear by senior officers away from the war zones. The Pickelhaube was banned from October 1916.
  17. billyturnip A Fixture

    Country:
    England
    Hello Marc, absolutely correct I do not disagree, the key words are;

    There will have been a transition period where the two types of helmet will have been worn at the same time. In Brian's initial post he said his figure was perhaps at Battalion HQ which would also mean he may still have the spike attached as these were only supposed to be removed in the front line. Anyway who ever heard of soldiers always obeying orders :D

    I'm not looking for an arguement, you know me better than that I think :) just justifications for Brian's figure to be left as it is.

    Roger.
  18. megroot A Fixture

    Country:
    Netherlands
    Hello Roger,
    He must leave it as it is, specially the Pickelhaube. And to avoid further discussion of the Stahlhelm is well or not in his place. He can always change the name of his vignette in All Quiet At the Western Front ( june????) 1916.
    Then i can believe the Sthalhelm and Pickelhaube are on the front at the same time.
    The "older" soldiers hasn't got the Stahlhelm, and the new cannonfood brought the Stalhelm to the front.
    marc
  19. billyturnip A Fixture

    Country:
    England
    A great piece of work and a good topic for a discussion :)

    Roger.
  20. megroot A Fixture

    Country:
    Netherlands
    Thats for sure. And it is always good to look into the oldbooks again to find the reference. At the moment i'm digging again Passchendaele written by Peter Barton.
    He has a great knowledge about the Western Front.
    I'm addicted to his books, and to Lynn McDonald.

    marc

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