Hi guys,

In the interests of "keeping it real" and striving to make my bust a faithful and accurate rendition of Damian Lewis from Band of Brothers, I've added face camo to the bust.

There is always a risk that it may ruin the face, but for me this is just the first step in a lengthy process to make the bust look really dirty and authentic to the D Day episode (The Day of Days) that the bust represents.

The face camo is made of black pastel chalk mixed with white spirits and applied with a brush in a stippling motion. Once it dries, I then use a clean brush with white spirits to smear and streak the face to reflect sweat.

This is by no means finished, but as you can see, I'm getting to the good stuff now. Still a few items of webbing and a side arm to add and then the pastels will really come out to play.

Hi Tony
The figure bust looks fantastic I'm truly jealous you have captured the look and feel so so well
I know these are now to late to assist you for which I'm sorry but work and Christmas decorations of the house out bide you. Today I finally dug out the box containing some of Band of Brothers uniforms and equipment, I know it's not Winters uniform but this one was an early breakdown one and would have been purchased for the series in the same batch. I have noticed that the colour does have a red tint which is possibly due to the sun shine so I may retake them in a few weeks when I finish work and when the sun isn't shining so harsh.
Alan

As a small foot note the webbing worn by Damian was a mixture of reproduction and the odd original item that I was able to replicate for multiple outfits ( he would have had up to 30 ? separate costumes for various scenes and historic years , 1942 jump suit unreinforced, 1943 training unreinforced, 1944 reinforced uniform, late 1944 M43 uniform and so on. The M36 Musette bag he wore I know was a USA reproduction a slightly lighter shade than the one in the pictures. The one in the pictures was from a batch I had commissioned by the guy that made all the uniforms and as a touch of authenticity I had my surname printed on the all to match originals so if they were opened on camera they looked correct, that was the depths the Producers asked us to go to, to make it look real.

Alan Hausmann

Many thanks for the pics Alan. The photos are very clear and detailed and provide an excellent source of reference for future US paratrooper busts and figures.

I have a couple of busts of US paras on order, so these will definitely come in handy.

Hi guys,

To be honest buys, I've run out of steam on this bust.
Time to call it a day and move on.
I might come back to it later on and fix and few little things, but for now, its done.

Thanks everyone for your comments and encouragement.

Looks done to me, Tony. And VERY well done at that. This one is definitely a pleasure to see.

Tom

One of the best examples of painting a blacked out camo face I've ever seen. Great work.



Steve

A stunning finish Tony congratulations.

Cheers Ken

Terrific work Tony!

Cheers,
Adrian

As others have said, this is stunning work. Great job.
Phil

Hi Tony,

Superb painting. Your work is inspirational.

Cheers
Chris

Hi Tom, thanks for your comments mate.

Hi Steve, to be honest painting the blacked out face was a real challenge as I really didn't want to ruin such a good face by over-doing it. I'm pleased you think I managed to pull it off.

Hi Ken, thanks mate. I really appreciate your comment.

Hi Adrian, thanks for your comments. Glad you like it.

Hi Phil, thanks very much for your comments.

Hi Chris, very nice of you to say so mate. I appreciate your comments and all the encouragement along the way.

Nice one Tony, I really do like that.
The blackened face is very convincing and you've done a great job in recreating the tones as they were filmed in the series which you set out to do, excellent!

Masterful piece of work Tony.......Also thanks to your friend Alan for the reference pics...

Wayne

Hi Roger, thank for your comments mate. Glad you like the blackened face. It was a risk, but it seems to have paid off.

Hi Wayne, thanks again. Glad you liked it. Alan's photo's came a bit late to help me on this project but I have several other US paratrooper busts and figures in my GA and those photos will come in handy.

Superbly done in every respect.

Thanks Blunderbus. I appreciate your comments.

Thanks for your comments Nap, but this thread is winding down now. I've finished this bust. I felt my mojo slipping away in the last days of painting it, and i wanted to stop before I ruined it. I may come back to it later and finish it properly.

I've already moved on to my next project, a rusted burned out M3 Stuart Honey tank, captured by the Japanese and left to rot in the Philippines jungle for 50 years.

I need a break from figures and busts for a little while and I've been keen to try the hairspray technique for paint chipping.

As you can see from the photos below, I've still got a lot to learn about armour modelling.

Beautiful paint job on this bust/half figure Tony.
Mine has been sitting, partially assembled for a fair while.
Your superb photos and excellent tips will hopefully get me moving again.
Many thanks for an excellent read.

Cheers,
Andrew