Being printed instead of cast 1:6th is possible Rob

OK cool, I will take you up on that later. I have decided to put together a small collection based around the retired PiliPili Men at War 1/6th series, this one will make an unusual allied WW2 archetype.

Really starting to come to life, some warm tones you said you'd add would be good. Instead of skin blemishes you could paint in runners of grime carried by sweat, not sure how you'd manage it but it would add the character I think you want. Enjoying the thread and looking forward to more.

Cheers Simon

Hi all. I’m still, slowly, plugging away. I must admit I’m finding this figure a challenge. On most of the figures I’ve painted before it felt obvious where to put highlights etc, I’m not getting that here. I’m quite pleased with the green of the uniform but I want to push the highlights and see about how I can make it look more faded (maybe some buff on seams and creases). The hat needs tinting slightly. The face is ok but needs touching up in places.

As always, any advice or feedback welcome.

He seems " dead tired" Well done.I almost feel sorry for him!

Excellent painting on the face, I really like what you have done there.

Cheers chaps. Just the rifle, sling and badge to go before I switch to ‘tidying up’.

Rifle and cap badge added, next I’m trying to work out how to make him look less clean. I managed some sweat stains on the hat, might try something similar around the arms etc. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Cheers Nap. In fairness the uniform is a little darker in real life, I screwed up the exposure/lighting for the photo (the badge is pretty dull too but caught the light). My issue with the uniform is that JG was reasonably light and gets lighter with age so I’m not sure darker works. I was wondering about texture on the webbing. The sculpt already has a texture on it so I’m wondering how to bring that out a little bit.

I agree with Nap's comments. The skintones are good (although it looks like you missed a blend on his chin) but the uniform and equipment need a lot more definition before you start the weathering.

Going from where you are now to a finished model of a soldier in the heat and damp of a dirty, bug infested, Burmese Jungle is the absolute key to this whole bust. You will need to show the dirt and sweat as IN the uniform fabric not ON it.
There are plenty of colour photos online of troops in Jungle conditions from the Vietnam war which show sweat stains on uniforms. Like this:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51960379067_e240a087ca_o.jpg

Technically this is a very, very difficult bust. I would suggest you go slowly and methodically, start with the hat, or an arm and bring it to completion, noting your colour mixes and ratios as you go so you can repeat it over the whole model. Get one bit right before you try and tackle everything.
Use a chopped bristle oil painters flat brush to gently stipple thick paint (or acrylic texture medium) onto the webbing.

Interesting points. I think picking out the texture of the webbing by hand individually might be my next step. You’re right about defining the details (of course! I somehow missed that bit of your answer nap as I scanned past), I think maybe a thin wash might help with that.

Dirt and grime, now that’s a challenge. I like the sweat ring on the hat, I think a dry brush with a pale oil might help create some irregular fading. I’ve got now idea how to go about that. Maybe oil paint in an appropriate shade or very thin acrylic in a sort of muddy brown shade could work. I think oils might be better and give a more irregular, ‘scrubby’ look.

Well spotted on the chin, that prompted a genuine face palm.

Cheers chaps. As a newbie at this one thing I find challenging is picturing what something ‘should’ look like when it’s done. When there is box art of a finished piece that’s great, even if mine doesn’t end up looking the same it gives me something to work towards and then I can go whichever way I want. In this case I’ve not had that and I s really struggled but I think your comments have helped me build a picture of where I want to go. Thanks!

Edit: interesting aside, looking at pics of Chindits I can’t actually find much evidence of sweat staining on their uniforms. I suspect that is partly because they don’t seem to have worn webbing much so you don’t get the shirt stuck against the back and shoulders soaking it up. I need to look at more pics I think.

I managed a bit more work on my Chindit today, mainly using oils to add some darkening and grime around his webbing. I like the way it’s turned out, I think I’ll go over it tomorrow with a little thinner to tidy it up and create some tide marking. I also tried to add some pale sweat stains to the webbing. It’s an improvement I think, might need a little more in places, maybe a little more green in amongst the stains.

He's really come to life, you've added some nice detail.

Malc

The staining and sweat marking is working really well, between that and the strained look on his face you can really get an idea of his hardship. Very nicely done.

Cheers chaps. Looking at it again I think one of the nice side effects is that the oils have brought out the texture a little. I'd love to claim that was skill rather than accident.

I like that ! Good job
More sweat .... lol

This is looking great. Capturing the beat look has been achived!