Thanks Jay. Cato is waiting patiently for a snack.......lol

I have been able to work around the back and leg problems and get some more progress made on the 2nd Samurai. The painting of the armor took about 2 weeks and is finally finished.

Above you see the armor pads epoxyed to old paint brush handles. I found that doing this gives me the best control over the item I am painting as well as brush control.

I used my Dremel Vise for holding the armor pad and holder and slide it down so the pad rests on the rubber jaws of the vise. I can use my left hand to rotate the armor as I paint it and the handle is never tightened in the vise.

Above is the finished pads drying in the work tray awaiting to be removed from the paint brush handles.

The armor pads have dried and snapped loose from the handle and the epoxy residue cleaned off the back. I then place the parts into a clean work tray to be installed later.

The pants have been given a light freehand design and then washed with Tamya Smoke to tone down the design so it was not so stark and bright.

I remove the rubber jaws of the vise and position the bottom portion of the figure so after applying the epoxy I can tilt the vise so I do not have to press on the armor.

[ continued in next post ]

Above you see the socks and feet as well as the leg armor completed.

When the armor pads are finally attached they have to be thought out and tested as far as which ones to install first. The right and left leg pads are attached first.

The third armor pad installed was the front center one that hangs down in front of the groin. I then went around to the right side and toward the back installing one armor pad at a time.

The left side was done last and the entire assembly was put aside for the epoxy to cure.

All questions and comments welcomed.

excellent stuff guy. well done. dave.

Great work Guy,
Thinking and trying will do the trick. It seems not an easy figure to assemble...
But you did awesome work.
I'll be waiting to see it finished.

marc

Man this figure is alot of work! I think it will pay off in the end!

Jay H.
OKC

Dave ~ Marc ~ Jay
Thanks for the feedback guys. It is indeed a complex figure that requires some degree of planning before and as you progress with the figure.

Yeah,I agree with Jay,this is heading for a great result,Guy.

Thanks for the vote of confidence mark. I started on the upper torso today painting all the gold designs,

Good work Guy, your making good progress.

Cheers
Roc

Hi Guy .......... Compliments Great Post - Job ....and also Your equipment
Good Continue ... MAB

Good work so far,very organized my friend.Looking forwrd to see this project finished!!!
christos

Roc ~ Maurizio ~ Chris

Thanks for the feedback guys. Much appreciated.

Guy,
Love your attention to detail.
I have looked everywhere for that D-Vise only to find it no longer produced.
Oops, just found two on E-Bay.

Thanks Rocky,

The Dremel D-Vise is the handiest tool I have and is always right next to my desk. For holding a part (as I've shown) to holding part of a kit while you use a jewelers saw.....just handy to have.

Really good to see how someone else works ,you look to be very well organised. Looking forward to seeing this project finished thanks Guy.

David

Guy,
Thanks for all the tips and advice. It is a lot of help to see how others do figures and especially complex figures. It is looking good so far.
Thanks
John

Thanks David and John for the kind words.

David ~ I can't stand "Not to find anything" and I guess is why I try to keep things organized.

Upper Body Torso

I feel like half the Samurai is done now with the lower legs and waist armor completed. I have put this aside in the showcase and now start the upper body torso, arms and weapons.

The first part os the 2 color sash which has been blended and shaded and followed by Humbrol chocolate undercoat where ever brass will be painted. The Humbrol chocolate is given 2 coats and then the brass is painted. I do the brass first so that any "Over-painting" can be covered easily with the next step of black.

The black is painted on last and for painting around the brass emblem on the chest I apply an excess of paint and then tilt the chest ever so slightly and let the black run into all the detailed wings and feet of the emblem. When the black has reached the depths of the emblem I tilt it back and brush the excess black to areas that also need black.

The black gets a second coat as this (Floquil) is really thin and the primer shows through (at least to me it does. After the second coat of black is applied the whole chest will get a coat of Humbrol Satin Coat.

All questions / comments welcomed.

Guy,
This is a giant leap in painting the Samurai.
I really enjoying this SBS. Keep painting.

Marc