Hi guys,

Here are the first pics of my latest project, the magnificently sculpted and cast bust of legendary 12th century Samurai General Minamoto Yoshitune, sculpted by Ebrion for Alexandros Miniatures.

I started on this bust about 2 weeks ago but have got rather caught up on historical research, especially into the clothing and armour, so i haven't actually done much painting yet.

The face was painted in Jo Sonja acrylics and I started applying a series of oil washes on the skin to deeper the tones and enhance the contrast last night. The helmet has been base coat painted very much in line with the box art colours, and given a wash of raw umber oils. The next step will be to painstakingly apply the highlights and pick out the thread and weave of the cords that hold together the individual plates that make up the helmet and neck guard.

The silk shirt (hitatore) was painted using a luminous pearlecent titanium white colour added to the red and blue base colours to hopefully create a silky sheen. I'm not sure if it has worked, but there's still a long way to go. I plan to paint on a detailed geometric pattern on the shirt and also add the Minamoto Clan emblem (pictured below) into the shirt pattern too.

So far nothing is completely finished, although of all the pieces, the face is probably the most advanced. Most of the smaller bits and pieces that make up this kit and still waiting to be primed.

As always I welcome your comments, feedback, criticism and advice.

Looks really nice Tony. I will keep my eye on this one. Face is already very engaging. Great base coat on the detailing too.

Colin

Hi Tony,
Looks like a great start.
I feel another Master Class coming on. Waiting impatiently.
Good work Mate.
Cheers,
Keith

Lovely work, Tony. That face is brilliant already.
Can't wait to see you go to town on the patterned clothing too. This ones gonna be a bewdy!
Cheers

That face looks great, Tony! Especially the eyes.

Jason

Excellent work on the face.

Marc

Cheers Colin. This is the easy part of the painting, the hard work has yet to begin. Thanks for your encouragement mate.

Hi Keith, you're too kind. I have a feeling this bust is going to take quite a while to paint, given the level of intricate detail involved. I only hope I can do justice to the sculptor and not make a balls up of the patterns. I'll try to keep you updated with progress pics along the way.

Thanks Nick, I'll bring him along to our next club meeting and hopefully you'll see him finished by WASMEx. No promises mind you. This could take some time to complete.

Hi Nap, thanks again for your encouragement mate.

I used the standard Flesh Tone + vermillion + Naples yellow mix to form the base flesh colour and then added Raw Umber to create the mid shadow colour. Highlights were created added Titanium White Pearlescent colour to the base flesh mix. The base coat was diluted with 1 drop water to each drop of paint. For mid shadows and highlights the water to paint ratio was 5:1. For the deepest shadows and highest highlights the ratio is 10:1.

The oil wash I used over the acrylic flesh base coat was a little bit of W & N Vermillion mixed with Burnt Seinna and Naples Yellow heavily diluted in white sprirts (dilution ratio of 1 part paint to 10 parts white spirits).

Hi Jason, thanks mate. A night well spent working on those eyes. They look pretty mean don't they? I appreciate your encouragement.

Hi Marc, thanks again for your continued support and encouragement mate.

I agree, I like the gaze, it´s very well directed.

Military miniatures painted by Eduardo Garcia

Great work on the facial painting and indeed the expression, Tony.
This will be another great piece I'm sure. I'd just have a closer look at where the two different patterned sleeves come together.
I'm no expert on Samurai reg grundies so if you don't mind Tony, I'd like to invite some input from people who are knowledgeable in this field about whether one should paint the different patterned sleeve material all the way up to the collar or not?...because I've seen both versions in various era pieces.

I really like what I see! Will be keeping a close eye on this one.
Keep us posted!

Face looks great Tony, now for the giant step into the samurai costumes "brave "

Ron

Great start on the face, as said above. Entering in Samurai/Geisha's world must be an ambitious project for a painter, where I admit haven't ever been courageous enough
Following this.

Gerard

Lovely start Tony, love the face. Have fun with the patterns I know I did when I painted mine! Interestingly I was just considering covering the face on mine with oils as I painted it like you in Jo Sonja but left it there. I've Just done a Poste Militaire Pawnee bust in Jo Sonja overpainted in oils and much prefer the effect on the flesh.
Looking forward to see how yours progresses.

Alex.

Very nicely done so far. Good luck with the rest of the bust. I can't wait to see the finished result.

Xenofon

Hi Eduardo, thank you for your comments.

Hi Mark, thanks as always for your support and encouragement mate. Your pics were most helpful.

Hi Carpo, thanks very much I hope you like the latest WIP pics I have attached.

Hi Nap, In answer to your question - yes and no. I would most likely apply and oil wash over acrylics and then only use oils on top of acrylics if I felt they were needed, such as on leath or wood surfaces where its useful to have a slight sheen. In most other cases I'd leave it as a wash only.

Hi Ron, thanks mate. Still haven't taken that brave step yet. I spent the weekend working on the helmet and base coating some of the other pieces of armour that make up the kit. I know I'm stalling on the silk patterns but I will have to get to it this week. By the way, that's one of your bust plinths under all that masking tape.

Hi Gerrard, yes its an ambitious step for me and one that I'm still not confident about. Having tackled the Maori ta moko on my previous bust I felt bullet proof and ready to take on the world, however now I'm starting to feel as if I've over-reached and my talent as a painter can't keep up with my ambition.

Hi Alex, I find the oils over acrylics technique provides the best combination of both paint mediums and works well for me. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I think it creates a much smoother style of blending and tonal variations than just acrylics of oils on there own. Thanks for your comments.

Hi Xenofon, thanks for your comments and encouragement. Hopefully you'll like the attached WIP pics.


The design on the front of the armour is the Minamoto clam emblem. It is painted by hand, as are the flower motifs on the helmet.

I've been advised by a trusted friend and expert on Samurai that the clan emblem on the Tsurubashirigawa (chest plate) is not historically accurate. The clan emblem would almost certainly have been displayed on a flag not on the armour itself, so unfortunately I will have to paint over it and go back to the traditional flower patterns as painted on the box art.

It's a pity, but I can't very well ask for advice from experts and then ignore it because it isn't convenient. Serves me right for trying to get creative on a historic figure.

So, a step backwards to go forwards I suppose.

Hi Nap,

Yep, back to the drawing board on this one. Couldn't face going into the hobby room last night so I had an early night. Will get stuck in tonight and get cracking on repainting the breast plate.