Lol, I'm just getting started on the second figure, the Hatchet man. Pics are fine, it's another art form, imho

Officer Ready for Duty

There has been quite a bit of progress since my last post mainly because the weather has cooperated and has been wet and unusually cold over the past few weeks. I was able to paint the checker board patterns (dice) on all the hats/bonnets and on this particular Officer figure I painted the highlights of the feathers using a mix of Ultra Marine Blue and Ivory Black oils. After that, I worked the main coat in a red tone and completed all the trimmings. This wasn’t a simple task, there’s a lot of detail to tend to here. After working my way down the figure everything began to fall into place. The oils just do their magic, so to speak.



I will say it now, so there won’t be any further debate, the 42nd Highlander kilt/tartan is not correct, but it stays. I may attempt to correct it with the rest of the crew, but to those of you that know, it will be obvious. This was not intentional, it just happened, and after I finished my 4th attempt, I’d had enough, it stays! Like I said, the Denison smock was easier in the scale I rendered, but in this scale, sheeeesh, I give no excuse.



The figure received a Dull Coat and was dried quickly with a hair dryer. I have thoroughly enjoyed working this figure, especially once the oils were broken out and the brush strokes began. Up next, the Hatchet Man!



Thanks for watching. Cheers, Ski.

Pulled this one off nicely Ski, looks great, fine piece of painting.
Cheers
Steve

Thanks, Stevo! On to the next one

Fantastic work..

These figures are looking awesome, Ski! Excellent work on the plaids in 54mm.

Cheers,
James

Thanks, Warren. I really enjoyed this one.

Thanks, Brother! I'll be playing "tartan" in short order with Hatchet Man.

Thanks, Kevin. Once ya get out of the scrum it ain't so bad, but run like heck, HA!

Looking so nice.

W.

Thanks, Amigo!

How powerful this will look at the end of the entire composition. I'm in anticipation Great painting and approach to work!

Thank you, Peter, greatly appreciated.

Hatchet Man in Progress

Moving on in an attempt to keep up the current momentum I started Hatchet Man in the same fashion as the Officer figure, from top to bottom.

I changed the dice color to a Royal Blue instead of green and continued from there. Starting with an acrylic coat on the straps, bags, and bed roll, I worked all the way down to the tartan base tone. The small details on the head, collar, and epilate were finished in oils before tackling the larger areas. His beard is a bit more toward the blonde tone than intended so I may add a touch of gray giving him that “battle-hardened” look. There’s some clean-up to tend to on that beard not easily visible in the photos, but nothing major.

Working my way down I painted the bed roll before working the coat just to get that portion out of the way. Next, I applied a very light layer of Cadmium red oils on the coat, then feathered in the shadows and highlights. I’ll let this dry a bit before I go back and correct any shadow or highlight issues. So far, it’s rucking along nicely.



I really like how Vladimir sculpted Hatchet Man’s face, he looks more than peeved, HA!




More to follow soon and thanks for watching. Cheers, Ski.

Excellent progress Steve, the officer is outstanding. I must say, that your brush skills are superb, even when zoomed in the minute detail is flawless.
Looking forward to see you tackle the hatchet man's kilt.

Thanks, Henk.

Ya know, this guy gave me all kinds of hassle in the beginning, but now he's my favorite of entire the set. In a way, he sets the stage for the entire dio, incredible. He is the epitome of the entire battle, IMHO. He has that bravado that says, @@ck Yall, you're going down! This sculpt still captures my imagination quite nicely, I love it!

IMHO, when a sculptor can do that, we have a job ahead of us to bring it to life, "paint yur ars off boys, we got a job to do". I am pleased to be privy to such sculpting, just like the other sculptors, whom I know firsthand, personally, it's a pleasure to work with such a fine set of figs! Yall amaze me, btw, your sculptors!

Hats off to those who chose to sculpt, for without them, we'd be lost, as a floundering bit of fools looking for a place to address our talents, canvas be dammed. Sheesh, sounds a bit like Shakespear, but not really, HA!

This is an awesome set and I'm having a "Hootin-Ditty" of a time, so let's just "Ruck Over" and carry the ball to the next try! This is, Rugby, after all, right? Correct me if I'm wrong.

Thanks, Henk!

Definitely heading in the right direction with this diorama Ski, just noticed sculptor added a flesh wound to his left shoulder, nice touch.
Cheers
Steve

Thanks, Stevo, Kevin. I am glad the kilt is a bit less than the rest, although in scale, this figure is slightly larger than the rest.

We still have rain coming, HA! Looks like the bunker is still in operation

Hatchet Man Almost Done

Strangely enough the bunker is still up and running. I don’t ever remember working oils this late into the spring season. The bunker is usually powered down by the end of March and we’re already at the end of May. Well, there aren’t any major construction projects to be done nor any overly intense outside projects either. It’s pretty much maintenance this year and that’s a good thing. What do they say, never look a gift horse in the mouth?

On a side note, sadly many of us have seen quite a few legends in this hobby pass beyond the veil lately. Not only have we lost a lot of incredible talent, some have lost close friends. One thing I have gathered from them all, in general, is that time is short. Life is but a vapor, in the grand scheme of things, so there really isn’t much time to waste. The younger we get the better our eyes and steadier our hands become, right? Not hardly. I’ve learned quite a bit from some of those fine Gentlemen, so I will carry on as best I can whenever I have time to do so, and “get er done”.

Hatchet Man is beginning to take shape rather nicely and the process seems to be flowing well. But I have now come to the two most difficult portions of this figure and those would be the kilt/tartan and socks. Both will require a lot more attention to detail and it will be slow going. Keeping the tartan pattern within the range of acceptability in comparison to the Officer’s pattern will be the challenge. Once I get Hatchet Man figured out, I will have a template to work from for the other nine figures.



Before attaching the arm, I had to make sure all the minor details within those difficult to reach areas were finished. I will need to go back and increase some shadows, but nothing major. And those ornamental items on the cuffs, sheesh! They were pretty intense in detail (super fine lines) and I’m not exactly thrilled with some of them, but for the most part, they will be fine. The canteen may look a bit bright in color, but I like the tone, so I’ll run with it. I still need to add the lettering on that canteen. Also, the right epilate will need more definition, it appears a little “white washed” right now.



The rifle, havre sacks, and leather cape (I have no clue what it’s called) were not too difficult to complete. The hatchet itself will get some more metal work, but it’s almost done. I’ll work up a punch list for Hatchet Man once the kilt/tartan and socks are completed. This figure is almost at the finish line, so if you see anything I may have missed, please sing out and I’ll get it handled. I’m a slow painter, but this project just might get done within a year and that would be impressive, to say the least, HA!


More to follow soon and thanks for watching. Cheers, Ski.