Just out of interest here`s a Lancs Fus. Officers bearskin.

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30098688

Nice work Tony...excellent piece,well done.

Great work all round mate and the weathering is spot on mate

You've got his expression spot on for the look you were trying to achieve mate.
Love the weathering, dirt and streaking on his face.

Very nice indeed it's got a real feel for the time and place. the dirt on the face is very well done indeed. a great job all round.

Ian

Most excellent Tony. I think you have achieved your aim with his expression. The weathering is just right. An impressive job.

Cheers
Snowy

Superb finish Tony , especially nice work on the dirty and sweaty face.

Cheers Ken

Wayne, Ben, Roger, Mark, Brian, Nick, Ian, Snowy and Ken - thanks for all your wonderful comments and support fellas.

In particular, thanks to Roger for his encouragement and detailed knowledge of the unit markings for 1 Lancs Fusiliers.

Tony, the face was very nice before the weathering. Now, it is outstanding. I'm sure I'm not alone in wondering about how these effects were accomplished. As always, thanks for sharing your art with us!

Hi Don,

thanks for your comment. Allow me to share the process for creating the face stains.

First I use pastel chalk as the primary material. I also use a small amount of artist oils and white spirits.

The first step is to create a paste, combining pastel chalk, oil paint (mainly browns and black) and white spirits. I mix them together to the consistency of damp mud. The white spirits will carry the paste onto the paint surface and help it adhere to the surface, and then make it dry flat.

I then use a no.2 size brush and start to very lightly stipple the paste onto the face, beginning with the areas around the eyes, mouth, ears and nose.

I then change my brush strokes from stipples to flicks, where I lightly flick the brush across the face to create smears.

I then use a clean dry brush to wipe off any excess pastel chalk and feather the edges of the smears to make them look like they have been partially wiped or washed away by sweat.

The final step is to load my brush up with the remaining paste and white spirits and flick the brush with my finger to create a splatter effect.

It's not a precise process, and there is always the potential to go too far, so I tend to take it in small incremental stages and build up the weathering in layers.

The good thing with pastels and white spirits is that you can wipe away your mistakes without damaging the paint work underneath.

Hope that helps.

That certainly helps me Tony. Many thanks for that explanation.

Cheers
Snowy

You've done a superb painting job on this , and I can't see how it could be better.
But I am going to say something really irritating, for which I hope you will forgivc me : Brodie helmets in the summer of 1916 were not dark green , but apple green.



The first issues , which were the rimless type, were apple green , and if you look at the amazing piece of film already posted you can see that they are much lighter in tone than dark green would be, and because of the film usedat the time the primrose hackle shows as dark .
By later in 1916 the rimmed type of helmet was being issued , and they were normally khaki ( Vallejo US Field Drab is close ) and many had a sort of sand-cum-plaster mix over them as well, giving a very rough finish almost like concrete . This colour was typical for the rest of the war , though of course covers were much used and some units amused themselves painting camo patterns on their helmets as well.
At the outset of WW2 the usual finish was still khaki , though a little greener in tone . If you look at pics of the BEF in 1940 the light tone is very apparent.
Dark green was not used until about 1942, and became standard on Mark.II helmets made from then on , and on the new Mk.III turtle helmet .

Hi Tony,

Not irritating at all mate.

I greatly appreciate your advice and I will change the helmet colour to reflect more apple green colour as you rightly point out.

Nothing that is done, cannot be undone. I'd rather know now and make a few remedial changes, than leave it as it is knowing its wrong.

For the above two posts.

Roger

You know I'm somewhat hesitant to respond to the above posts; although accurate......how many of your peers or viewers are going to notice that variation of color on the helmet?
With all respects to the above info.......You've done an outstanding job and I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole...................Wayne

True Wayne, my thumbs up was for the way it was delivered and received.

Roger

Hi Wayne

I paint solely for myself and my own satisfaction. If it pleases an audience I'm happy, but that's not why I will re paint the helmet. I will do it to honour the memory of the fallen and do my best to present them as they were. I know it probably doesn't make much difference to some modellers, but for me it's important to get it right. If I do my research properly and seek input and advice from other Planeteers, I feel obligated to follow that advice.

You've done them proud mate!
It is a super effect & really does tell the story of these young men like few others.

Wonderful to see & may explore some of your techniques myself.

Stay safe

Mike

Tony,
I commend you for your talent and adherence to accuracy...........Regards,......Wayne

Hi guys,

One last breath on this thread. I've finally finished the helmet, now in Apple Green.

Spent a few hours on Saturday doing some final touches on this lovely little bust, as I plan to enter him into our annual WASMEx competition this weekend.

I'm happy with the way this bust turned out and pleased that I decided to go the extra mile to ensure he was accurate.

Thanks to everyone who has posted comments on this thread.