Now that my recent Puchala pieces are nearing completion I can return to working on these two Romans that have been prepped for a few months now. I thought it would be nice to do a sort of SBS here on the Planet at the same time I post on my blog. I take a lot of enjoyment from the postings here so I figured a bit more input from me would be a nice trade-off.

The figures are Soldiers 54mm, SR-39 and SR-60. The base is a little odd shaped beauty from Ken Thomas (Thomas Art Bases). The groundwork is A+B Putty with mixed groundwork and static grass applied to depict the harsh, sparse desert landscape in what is today Ceylanpinar, Turkey. As can be seen in the attached photos I have primed the groundwork with Floquil dirt spray and the figures were sprayed with white automotive primer. I do mask the areas on white metal figures that will be steel, iron, etc. My next step will be painting flesh.

Jim

Excellent idea to place these two beauties together Jim. They fit really well together.

Now that I see them next to another I realize that Adriano Laruccia based the recent SR60 on the older figure. Note the wrinkles at the knee! No problem with that though. They're both stunning figures!

I look forward to your work on them!

Cheers,
Adrian

Good eye, Adrian.

Yes Adrian, this is often found in the use of equipment on these kits and recently I have seen it in the figures as well. You can also see the copy in the shield arms (pose, hand, mounting point) as well. Once the shields are attached these similarities will be hidden. I often look at these kits with an eye to seeing how many can be put together on the same base. Laruccia tends to group his sculpts by time period in this Roman series and frequently they pair well together.

Some may wonder about the spear shafts. I always replace the kit parts with either brass rod, or in some cases actual wood. Let's face it, no matter how hard you try you can never get those kit shafts to straighten out. Once painted I glue the end pieces on with super glue. They are much stronger when done this way.

Good idea! Seen a vignette on your blog! Under her the impression I got is a such figures!

Great idea.....and above all.....great figures.
Gonna follow this closely.

marc

I started painting the faces and hands on these two guys this evening. Here are some pics of the early stages. I have used my usual mix of Burnt Sienna, Medium Cad. Red, Medium Cad. Yellow and a touch more Yellow Ochre than I normally use. Once applied and the excess removed the first highlights are added and then I started working touches of the base mixture and Prussian Blue into the areas where you would expect some early beard growth. I then started again to work the highlights. This is about where I stop with the wet-on-wet work with the oils. My next steps will be highlights, shadows and details done over this base with glazes, stains and washes. More to follow.

Jim

Faces completed, on to the rest of the figures. One note here, every face in real life suffers a bit of asymetry but the face on the first figure is a bit off in the eyes. It shows more in the photos than real life so it bugs me every time I look at these pics.

Jim

This is the first of two updates that some of you may have seen on my blog but.........

Now that the Hans Goerth bust is completed I have started back again on this pairing (while I clean and prep the next bust). I had recently fiddled with some paintwork on the base for our local IPMS show as I do a little painting demo every year. Once home I was not real thrilled with the colors so started over. My progress to this point can be seen below. I have added arrow shafts using thin brass rod and paper fletches. I have more work to do on the groundwork as well as painting the arrows and broken shield.

Jim

The figures have progressed a bit with my beginning to work on the armor and clothing. The mail is a simple glazing and wash of black directly over the kit's metal surface. The scales are copper alloy and the wires holding them together are typically copper or brass. The scales could also be dipped in a tin alloy which would give a flat silvery color. A mixture is possible as well, giving a slightly patterned appearance. I am doing solid copper alloy on both. They will not be a copper color however as the alloy would give a dark brassy appearance in scale.

I began with a base of gold printers inks mixed with Burnt Umber. Once dry I began applying washes of Burnt Umber straight. Van Dyke Brown and Mars Black will be applied next prior to highlighting with gold and silver inks and picking out the wires with copper (1st figure). I have also begun work on the cloth and leather bits.

Jim

Great stuff, Jim......ready for MFCA???

At the rate I am moving, probably not. I'm still trying to make sure I will get there.

Jim

It's a long weekend here (Victoria Day), so we are heading to Valley Forge for sure.
I'm trying to finish my first piece in over 18 months. However, like you, at the rate I'm going at I'll be two three painting sessions shy of having it completed for the show.

Hope to see you there

I'm pretty sure you will see me there. I'm looking forward to the MFCA Grand Masters 40th Anniversary display and seeing everyone.

Jim

Here is an update as of yesterday morning's photo session. A number of pics were shot in a rotation to show where I am at. I worked over the past few nights starting on the leatherwork, with base colors of Mars Brown and Brown Madder. Both are fairly fast drying colors (24 hours). The beauty of Mars Brown is it's opacity and the reverse is true of the Brown Madder, making the latter a brilliant glazing color straight out of the tube. The madder is on the second figure's pteruges and the Mars Brown was used to get a nice base color for all the armor edging and ties.
Once dry I began working on adding depth to everything with various mixtures of Mars Black and Van Dyke Brown. More brown in the mix for the leather and more black for the armor. These washes dry quickly so in some cases areas were hit two to three times in the session. Everything had dried nice and matte by yesterday morning so I was able to take the progress shots. They are slowly but surely coming along.

Jim

Jim (and Paul), while painting at the display table is occasionally frowned upon, you actually have until Friday evening to work on your figures, as that day's entries aren't judged until the evening. Further, there's nothing to say you can't work thru the night, and enter your piece on the Saturday table, as an alternative!
Painting in the Hospitality Suite, however, is fraught with danger, and is, by most commentators, almost universally discouraged.
(Why are you reading this, and not beavering away on your figure?)

Don:
Hospitality Suite...darn near impossible to hold a brush AND a glass of scotch at the same time.

Jim:
What do use as the carrier for your washes and glazes?

Paul (and anyone else who is curious),

For years I have used the same thing I clean my brushes with. I buy it at Michael's and used to get it at Pearl Paints as well. I find that it doesn't increase gloss and may well contribute to the matte outcome we as oil painters desire. I can't swear it will work for everyone but it works for me. Any time I use printers inks I use Grumbacher Oil Painting Medium #1. This is regardless of whether the inks are pure or mixed with oil colors. I find this imparts a smoother flow of color and may well increase gloss. Again, I may not know what I'm talking about but it works for me. I hope this helps someone out there.

Jim

I personally would rather simply enjoy the Scotch without a brush in my hand. It's hard enough to concentrate on what I say to whom when I'm drinking without trying to stay within the lines with a brush.

Cheers, Jim