Hi!

Have started the last 120mm Verlinden I intend to build & paint.

This one:



It comes with this assembling & painting instructions:




Anyway, it just needed a bit of Milliput on the arms-torso junctions, and a bit on the torso-legs junction.





Which after dry was sanded, and he now got his Mr Surfacer 1000 primer:






Shouldn't pose a problem painting, after all German WWII Army uniforms were for most cases in Field Grey. And with so many variations of that Field Grey, one can never be wrong with the color choices I guess.

On that assembling & painting instructions for instance, Verlinden listed the color of his trousers as "new grey". But as far as I know there was no such thing as "new grey", only different manufacturers, and different qualities of the fabric for the uniforms, hence so many slight different greys. But the official name (as far as I know, please correct me if I'm wrong) remained the same from the start to the end of the war, Field Grey. Even thought in most color pictures from that time period, it looks, to me anyway, more Green than Grey.
The color on the trousers on the box art looks to me more like a Field Blue, which was used on the Luftwaffe.


Thanks for looking.

Cheers!

Dolf

Jacket freshly painted with a Humbrol enamel German Field Grey (#111) . On its way to the drying box... Will do the same on the trousers, but will use Humbrol enamel Field Blue (HM 5, on the old Humbrol Authentic Colors chart), so in the end should have two different tones of German Field Grey. Will see.






There are not really missing paint areas, as it may look in a couple of areas on the pics (I double checked after seeing the pics ), it's probably just light reflection on some wet paint (I had just finished applying it when I took the pics) .



Cheers!

Dolf

Nice work so far,
keep us updated

Smithy

Good piece waiting for progress

Ark

I am a big fan of Verlinden and although some of the 120mm figures had very static poses the casting was so smooth and flawless, it makes you wonder how that level of quality was achieved way back in the day and why we don't see similar or better from castings all these years later, I don't ever remember getting an instruction sheet with a Verlinden so that's nice to see in you SBS.
Good sharp pictures showing your progress and as always it great to see people working on older figures, following with interest.
TERRY

Hi Terry, Ark, Smitthy,


Thanks for the interest and commenting


"I don't ever remember getting an instruction sheet with a Verlinden so that's nice to see in you SBS."

I would have to check the other boxes (now empty, but which I kept) of the other 120mm Verlinden figures I did many years ago, but I think that from those I got there's at least another one with some kind of instructions sheet. Will check later.


Cheers!

Dolf

Hi Dolf.

Nice start and many of these Verlinden 120's still stand the test of time but this particular piece suffers (as did some others in the range) from having a bunch of bananas attached to the wrist masquerading as 'fingers' - just look at the box art!

I did this particular figure many years ago and the hands were a real distraction to the piece which is a shame as the rest of it was quite good. This is no reflection on what you have done so far of course and if you an find some replacement 120 or 1/16 hands, then it will vastly improve the overall appearance.

I am looking froward to seeing how you tackle a senior officer's Field Grey uniform colour and the end result.

Gary

Hi Gary,


"Nice start and many of these Verlinden 120's still stand the test of time but this particular piece suffers (as did some others in the range) from having a bunch of bananas attached to the wrist masquerading as 'fingers' - just look at the box art!"

Thank you!

Lol... Yes, you're absolutely right, those hands (especially the ones of this figure box art) look indeed huge compared to the size of the rest of the figure.
I've just started separating the smaller parts (head, binoculars and hands) from the rest of the resin this afternoon, and confirm that indeed his hands are far too disproportionate comparing to the scale of the body and harms...


"if you find some replacement 120 or 1/16 hands, then it will vastly improve the overall appearance."

I've been wishing for our fellow member here from Italy ("ivopedra" on the Forum), running "Figurinitaly" I believe, to produce some hands on this 1/16, or 120mm scale (to start with for my other recently finished 120mm Verlinden, this one here: https://www.planetfigure.com/threads/verlinden-120mm-usa-navy-pilot-wwii-pacific.143280/ that sadly lost/broke part of his left hand fingers, which I temporarily "fixed" with some Milliput, but have to replace at least that left hand), and that would be very much welcome for this figure as well, but so far he is on the smaller scales and no set for this scale unfortunately...
Don't know of any other manufacturer producing hands sets on this scale...

But then, even if a set is available, there must be hands that either mimic the positions of the original ones, or it's some more scratchbuilding on the work bench...

As this fellow has a pack of cigarettes in one hand, and a cigarette on the other, I'd like to keep it that way.

Same for the USA Navy pilot, whose left hand is in a particular position that can't/shouldn't be changed.



"I am looking froward to seeing how you tackle a senior officer's Field Grey uniform colour and the end result."


Thanks for looking!

Some progress was done earlier today, pics on the next post.


Cheers!

Dolf

Hi!

The Field Grey on the jacket, after it dried for the night:






Then a base coat of Humbrol enamel HM 5 Field Blue on the trousers:







Now drying on the "heating box".

Next, a base coat of Humbrol enamel Night Black (HB 10 on the old Authentic Colors chart; it's the same as #33 Matt Black, which has apparently been out of stock here for quite some time now...) on the boots.

And maybe a base coat of Humbrol enamel Leather (#62, Matt) on the belt.

The "meldetasche" and the gun holder are kind of finished (painted with oils many years ago) .

And then the oils...


Cheers!

Dolf

Little update. Not that much has been done, except for the Black on the boots, and the Leather on the belt + other leather parts:






Also applied some small bits of either Field Gray (on the jacket) or Field Blue (on the trousers) on some spots where the paint was missing (funny that it created a kind of shiny spots where I applied it ; guess I know why, anyway no big deal as the whole thing will be painted with oils over these enamel base coats) .








And that's it for now for this fellow.


Cheers!

Dolf

Verlinden did a set of 120mm hands, you could have a look at them to see if they'll suit. Good luck.
Scotty.

Thank you Scotty

Did some research but couldn't find no Verlinden set of 120mm hands anywhere.

I do have a couple of Verlinden sets, but stuff like decals, road signs, etc, no hands nor heads, and all I have is on 1/35 scale anyway.

If I get it right (reading other modelers comments on this), the hands on his 120mm figures were apparently his Achilles' heel, often apparently too big for the figures sizes. As I never saw the set you mention I don't know if that was fixed for the set, or if even those are too large for the scale

I'll keep looking anyway. And I'll keep my fingers crossed for some new set of hands to be available on the market. That would be great if our PF fellow member "ivopedra" would produce such a set. Maybe not necessarily for this particular figure, but at least for my other recently finished Verlinden figure who broke his fingers and has now temporarily a "transplant" (this guy here: https://www.planetfigure.com/threads/verlinden-120mm-usa-navy-pilot-wwii-pacific.143280/ ) .


Cheers!

Dolf

Hi Dolf,
https://www.scalemates.com/kits/verlinden-productions-549-assorted-hands--189024
I have this set, they're ok but obviously it's hard to compare them to a kit I don't have. They're certainly better than those massive bunch of bananas. Good Luck.
Scotty.

Hi Dolf, I'm following your progress with interest as I'm also working on an old 120mm Verlinden figure (Mayan Warrior) and I'm also having to correct some of the anatomical inaccuracies in the sculpting. I believe the Verlinden hands sets are specifically designed to fit and match in scale with the Verlinden 120mm series, so if you can get a set I think you'll be happy.

Good work so far on the painting - nice and smooth.

Hi Scotty,


Thanks a lot for the link

Doing some more research I was able to find one of these sets on eBay. The asking price is rather high (some $60 USD), and the dealer ships from the US, which, adding the costs of the set + the shipping costs + the customs duties here... sadly makes this one a no-go... Maybe other sets, at a more reasonable cost will show up in the future, I'll be keeping an eye on it.


Cheers!

Dolf

Hi Tony,

Thanks a lot for the comment

Yes, I assume the hands, and the heads, and other Verlinden sets, have been produced specifically for the Verlinden series (1/35, 1/16, etc) . The only set of hands I found so far, as I say on the post above, is far too expensive for me, but I'll keep looking, hopefully eventually finding one for a more reasonable price.
Or, one of these days our PF fellow member "ivopedra" will end up producing a nice set for an affordable price

I suppose the Mayan Warrior you have is this one, right?




A very nice figure overall, and even better, a Native American
Looking forward to see it painted. Especially interested in how you'll paint the skin/flesh, as I'm having some difficulty finding the right colors/tones, for my Apache Lipan bust I've been (slowly) working on (this one: https://www.planetfigure.com/threads/la-meridiana-200mm-apache-lipan.142445/ ) .
What do you use, acrylics, or oils?

Also have that Maya Priest bust from Pegaso (only recently, re-watching the film Apocalypto have I realized this figure is based on one of the characters from the film; this one here: https://www.planetfigure.com/threads/pegaso-maya-priest-bust.122668/ ) on my stash, but for a number of reasons I'm not starting it right away... Will have to gain much more experience before I dare starting it


I see you're from "down-under"... Visited your country back in 1993, did travel a bit, but mainly on the Eastern Coast (NSW, and a bit on Queensland), also spent a week or so in Sydney, but most of the 3 months stay (HQ in Byron Bay) I traveled along your Eastern Coast.
To this day (and on my youth/young adult days I visited a lot of countries on 5 Continents... Never been to Antarctica tho), Australia remains the most beautiful country I ever visited!


Cheers!

Dolf

G’day Dolf, yes the Mayan Warrior is the same in the picture, although I am working on improving the muscle definition.

Glad you enjoyed your time in Oz. Western Australia is the same size as Europe, with a population of 3 million. Lots of open space and everything is a very long way from everything else.

Hi Tony,


"yes the Mayan Warrior is the same in the picture, although I am working on improving the muscle definition."

I see. Looking forward to see the final result.


"Glad you enjoyed your time in Oz. Western Australia is the same size as Europe, with a population of 3 million. Lots of open space and everything is a very long way from everything else."

Yes, I really had a great time in Oz

After all Australia is a country and it is also a Continent! Everything is huge indeed! I haven't been to Western Australia, but I know it's much less inhabited than Eastern Australia. Should have taken the opportunity to visit Uluru/Ayers Rock, but it was simply too far away to drive there by myself from my HQ in Byron Bay (and it would have been quite expensive to rent a car anyway, not to mention the somewhat funny wheel on the right and the totally opposed driving system, for a European... ) .
Anyway, all those huge flocks of various psittacidae birds flying overhead all the time, all those dolphins swimming not far from the shores on the beach... Wow! That was on itself like Paradise to me (I do love both these types of fauna, among my favorites)


Cheers!

Dolf

Not much done on this figure lately (nor any other of my ongoing WIP actually; guess I'm in a kind of pause regarding my paintings, everything on stand-by...) .

So just a couple of pics of how it looks after some color changes on the jacket and the "schirmmütze":








Unable to take a decent, in focus pic of the front, so that's my best shot for now:





I've been using a mix of Humbrol enamel HB 8 Dark Slate Grey and HB 10 Night Black, only changing the percentage of each one of these in order to get both a lighter, or a darker tonality.

As a matter fact I'm wondering if I'm gonna use oils over the enamels, or if I just use the enamels... Maybe oils for the face and hands, over the enamel base coat, and not necessarily for the rest of the figure. I'll see how it goes as I'll do some progress on this one.



Cheers!

Dolf

Slowly, very slowly, some more work done on this one.

The leather parts (belt and the straps for the binoculars) have been worked with some oils mixes (mainly Burnt Sienna, Raw Umber, for the belt, and for the binoculars straps a mix of Norma's Vandyke Brown + bits of Golden Ochre + Red Earth) over the enamel base coat.

For the reds I'm using Humbrol #153 Insignia Red. And for the gold (jacket's buttons mainly as I still don't know what's exactly on the insignia, and just painted the buttons on the epaulets/shoulder patches and tested a bit of the gold color on those to see the effect) I'm using Humbrol Gold #16.

No full oils on the uniform of this one, I'll keep it simple with the enamels, and may use some oils at the end, just for the shadings & highlights.

Still a lot to do, slowly taking some shape...








Cheers!

Dolf