Does anybody have any thoughts on the book? Is it a must have ?

It is a must have. Easily the best book on painting miniatures IMO. Almost every aspect of painting is covered.

I have the book and it helped me a lot! I wouldn't say it is a must have but It's on my top three figure books.

YUP, it's a great book and I have not painted for years. The problem with most "HOW TO" books is that they don't really show "HOW" something was done. They more or less show WHAT was done. This one is a "HOW TO". ~Gary

Doug,
Well worth the money for the colour photo"s, Inspiration and knowledge. I love mine and I have two copies, (one for each eye) A spare copy so I can dog ear the other copy.
Cheers
John

Doug,
everyone will pull something different from the book at different times.

I saw how to do effective thread work, like the type seen on rank badges and on the uniforms of Napoleonic era soldiers, as well as Admirals in all their finery.

He also shows how he does faces, (shading and lighting), some leather effects, and horses too.

That's what I remember. Its the kind of book to drool over for a while, then refer to when trying to either improve your basics, or see how a particular effect is achieved.

Is it a must have?, no not really.The choice is yours after all.

Adding this book to your library, reading and then applying in practice what he shows will go a long way in obtaining results that are very pleasing to the artist.

Highly recommended,

Cheers

Two words: buy it!

Jason

Very good book. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a great "how-to".

More of the same - Buy It, it's superb.

Steve
www.skminiatures.co.uk

It's one of the best books i ever bought about painting figures.
Just can only echo the others: A MUST HAVE

Marc

Cartacci is one of the very best painters in the hobby. I have not seen his book, but if I was in the market for one, his would be my choice - if for no other reason than to look at photos of his masterful work. That was how I learned to paint: look at the work of the masters you admire most. A picture is worth a thousand words. And, if he knows how to explain his technique, all the better.

Just my two cents.

Mike

It is a great book and very well illustrated. So when it does fall down slightly in the translation it is very easy to see what he is saying. I highly recommend the book I have quite a few of these books. Some quite old. So far I have not seen a better book.

Any one who does a book like this is trying to teach us and this book builds on the books that have come before it. After years in the hobby I still find myself buying these books. This one showed me things I had never seen described before, at least not in a way that I could understand. This book took my basic understanding of some techniques to a whole new level. Buy it