Hi Guys,

I've always loved this large scale bust of a Roman Centurion by Andrea Miniatures. The bust appears to be very closely modelled on a Centurion re-enactor from the Ermine Street Guard. The good news for me is there are plenty of good quality, hi-res images available on the internet to ensure good references.

The cloak is cast in resin, and my one had loads of bubble holes in it which has taken several nights of filling and sanding. I've decided to coat the cloak with a single sheet of tissue paper to enhance the woollen texture of the cloak, which should be interesting when it comes time to start painting.

Here are the first pics of the face. I love the big nose on this guy. Painted only in Josonja acrylics at this stage, I will progressively sharpen up the finer details, improve the blending and add eyebrows and a 5 o'clock shadow in acrylics, before adding a series of oil washes to bring out the depth in the skin tones.

As always, I welcome any comments, criticisms or helpful suggestions.

Looking nice so far Tony. You are doing a good job so far not making him look like Sid James, always a risk with this great kit.

Colin

Hi Tony,

I have the same bust made about 10 years back. The stem for the comb broke and I'll look at what you do and learn from it.

Rgds Victor

Nap,

The base colour mix is Flesh Tone, Burnt Sienna, Naples Yellow and a touch of Crimson Alizarin.

For shadows I add a touch of French Blue and Burnt Umber.

Highlights is the base colour with more Naples yellow and a touch of Titanium White

Looking good, Tony. Heaps of character in that face

Brilliant work so far....Kevin

I also did this piece quite a few years ago and really liked it. Your work on the face looks great.
Based on photos of that re-enactor, I replaced the kit feathers with a home made comb to match him.
Looking forward to seeing you progress.
Craig

Nice start on this .

Marc

I totally agree with the others. You are well on your way with this one !

Joe

Hi Colin, thanks mate. I thought the inspiration for this bust was Sid James playing Marc Antony in "Carry On Cleo". It wasn't until I saw the Ermine Street Guard that I realised my mistake. See below

Hi Victor, thanks for your comments. I'll replace them helmet stem with a brass rod and will also consider replacing the feathers with hair comb as suggested by Craig.

Hi Nick, love the character face, and especially one that is both historical and contemporary. Best of both worlds really.

Cheers Kevin, more progress to come in the next day or two.

Hi Craig, good to see you active on pF again mate. I'd love to get your thoughts on how to replace the feathers with a hair comb. Would you be willing to PM me and share your thoughts on this?

Hi Marc, thanks again mate. Your comments are always appreciated.

Hi Joe, its a great bust to paint and deceptively large and heavy. Plenty of scope for micro-detailing too.

Hi tony and thanks
Never really went away. Just felt I ran out of intelligent things to say
I'll be happy to send you a description of how I went about replacing the comb (I'm assuming that's the right term).
I have a couple of in progress pictures that I can pass along as well if you like.
Cheers,
Craig

Hi Craig
Yes please mate, any progress pics would be greatly appreciated.

Update pic.

Looking good
I wrote up what I did. What's the best way to send it to you?
I don't think I can put it in the conversation window.
Maybe give me an email address there and then delete it after I get it.

Craig,

PM sent

Reply sent.
Hope it helps

Excellent Tony,

Hello Tony............Not familiar with this bust,but like it and what you have done so far.......Keep er goin........Wayne

Hi guys,

Latest progress pic of the Centurion's face.

I've started oil washing the face to deepen the skin tones and pick out some of the highlights. The overall look is starting to become more focused and better defined.

Next step is to paint and fix the helmet and cheek guards.