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Completed 101ST AIRBORNE AT CARENTAN, JUNE 1944

Discussion in 'vBench (Works in Progress)' started by Steve Ski, Nov 20, 2022.

  1. Steve Ski PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-States
    Thanks, Stevo, glad they are done and over with, HA!

    Hey Dolf, try using thin copper wire and some really thin clear plastic from your stash. It might get frustrating, but eventually you'll get the hang of it. I used a heavy knife sharpening block to hold down the wire while I worked to shape the glasses, my third hand, and tweezers.
  2. Dolf Well-Known Member

    Country:
    Portugal
    Thanks for the tips, Steve!

    Anyway, I have this package sent by Nap, with glasses, so will give those a try first! :joyful:

    Cheers!

    Dolf
  3. Steve Ski PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-States
    Roger that, sounds great.
  4. Steve Ski PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-States
    Bart and Billy

    The last two heads are in the final stages of completion, but still need some touch-up. Some may be wondering why name these guys. Well, as suggested by someone who paints a heck of a lot better than I, Mike-the-Kiwi said, “For me this association to real individuals helps create a creative connection deeper than just painting a resin figure.” I have to agree, and so far, I have been able to get past the “hump” on these faces. This is no different than full emersion when building a dio or a given scenario in the past, but I had never considered this concept when painting figures. Works great for me, I’m likin it! Thanks, Mike!

    So, for now, these two faces will set up for a few more days, then the final touches will be worked in. Teeth need to be defined, rosy cheeks need a tad more work, and the lips also. I will feather in any weak areas before I call these done.

    You may have noticed; Billy's face is from Steve Reedee's 120mm collection. Great work, Stevo!

    [IMG] [IMG] [IMG]

    The AB figures and Bart have their initial acrylic base coats. Time to research all of the gear and weapons for the correct color tones, etc. The splinter pattern for Bart will be a challenge given his poncho is not just hanging down like most, it’s got a lot of exposed areas to paint. Well, I recon it ain’t as bad as a Dennison smock, HA!

    [IMG]

    Thanks for watching, more to follow soon. Cheers, Ski.

    P.S. The official names for these characters are; Hank, Freddie, Billy, and Bart.
    Woods457, Nap, KenBoyle and 7 others like this.
  5. Viking Bob PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    I have just caught up on this Steve, excellent all round love the flesh tones and the addition of the glasses.
    regarding toe "outhouse" we called it the thunderbox or just the Bog.
    Following this one, its a winner.
    Steve Ski likes this.
  6. NigelR A Fixture

    Good progress. I shall be interested to see how you handle painting such big figures!
  7. 1969 A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Good to see this progress, credit goes to Mike Good for that head along with many of the others I have available.
    Looking forward to watching the uniforms develop.
    Cheers
    Steve
    Mike - The Kiwi likes this.
  8. Steve Ski PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-States
    Thanks, Bob, Nigel, and Steve.

    The head worked much better than the one in the kit, that's for sure.
  9. engeee Active Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Awesome work!
    Does anybody else think "Bart" looks like he could be Bob Hope's brother?
    lol...

    Steve
    sd0324 likes this.
  10. Steve Ski PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-States
    Lol, that's a good point. Funny, many are saying Hank looks like Chesty Puller, Patton, or others. Bart kinda does look like he's in the "Hope" family.:ROFLMAO:
    engeee likes this.
  11. Steve Ski PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-States
    Freddie’s Upper Torso

    With the heads set aside to dry thoroughly it’s time to start on the figures themselves. I started with Freddie and will work through the rest of the team and finish off with “Bob”, the German figure. Yes, he’s now “Bob”, because he’s such a close resemblance to Bob Hope I couldn’t pass it up, HA! You’ll see that more closely later on.

    [IMG]

    The palette is primed and ready to go. I started on the front pockets, shoulders, and lastly the gear. Always working from top to bottom and inside to outside I am finishing everything that can be done on the first pass. This avoids any unnecessary handling of any portion that would have already been painted. If I had to go back to the buttons and zippers after painting the legs the chances of “rubbing off” paint from the legs is a high probability. This is not much of an issue with 1/35th scale or 54mm, but in 1/16th or 120mm and larger, it is, or at least for me it always had been. So, top to bottom, inside to outside, works every time.

    The upper half of the torso section has the basic tones in place, so now it’s time to work the gear, buckles, straps, etc.

    [IMG] [IMG] [IMG]

    After the lower portion of the blouse has had its initial tone applied, I worked the rest of the gear. Also, I painted the rubbed brass on the buttons, zipper, added worn metal effect on the clips and buckles, and gave all these points a slight Ivory Black oil pin wash. This tones down the brass color and blends in the effect more realistically so the colors won’t appear overly exaggerated.

    Now it’s time to work outward on the upper half of the torso and finish off each arm. I will wait to paint the hands until the end. I’m finding once again that I’m having to mix the color tones almost every third day and getting those tones exact from the prior session can be challenging. A slight variation can and will be noticeable, at least I can see it, and its rather time consuming to remix oils, so the point is to get all the similar tonal portions painted in sequence and save the flesh work for later.

    [IMG] [IMG]

    Funny how some things can be elusive when you’re painting only to slap you in the face when you scrutinize the photos, like the Colt .45 ammo pouch which has a blaring gap between the back side and the blouse pocket. That will be handled shortly.

    Ok, time to work the legs before I have to make another color mix, lol. Thanks for watching.

    Cheers, Ski.
    arj, MCPWilk, Nap and 9 others like this.
  12. sd0324 PlanetFigure Supporter

    That looks really good. I like this paintwork.

    Steve
  13. NigelR A Fixture

    Wow, looking really good, especially in such a large scale.
  14. 1969 A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Nice use of the oil colours Ski, this is looking good.
    Steve
  15. Steve Ski PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-States
    Thanks, Buddy!

    Thanks, Nigel. Actually, the larger the better for me, much easier for blending, etc. I just might actually use a full tube of oils someday if I keep it up, HA!:eek:

    Thanks, Stevo, steady progress.
    1969 likes this.
  16. Jeff T A Fixture

    Country:
    Australia
    Beautiful work on that Uniform Steve!

    Very nice...

    Cheer's,
    Jeff.
  17. Steve Ski PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-States
    Thank you, Jeff!
    Jeff T likes this.
  18. callmehobbes Active Member

    Country:
    England
    Looking really good.
  19. Steve Ski PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-States
    Thank you, Sir!
  20. Steve Ski PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-States
    Leg Workout

    Now that the work area is larger, and less complicated without so many folds in the pants, this portion moves along much faster. Pre-shading can be seen on the front, back, and sides.

    [IMG] [IMG] [IMG] [IMG]

    The end results with the boots, leg straps, and hands painted. Freddie’s head is ready to take possession of his body.:eek::wtf: The patches are printed on standard printer paper and glued on using Elmer's Carpenter glue.

    [IMG] [IMG]

    With the flag mounted and Freddie completed he will be placed in the curio cabinet awaiting the finish of the rest of the crew.

    [IMG] [IMG] [IMG]

    [IMG] [IMG] [IMG]

    Hank is on the plate, “Batter Up!” I would ponder to guess this historical photo was the inspiration for Hank. Hank has been sculpted pretty close to this original, IMHO.

    [IMG]

    Pre-shading has been worked into the entire upper torso and blending of the tones begins.

    [IMG] [IMG]


    More to follow soon and thanks for watching. Cheers, Ski.
    arj, KenBoyle, MCPWilk and 8 others like this.

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