Hi guys,

Here are the first few shots of my latest bust from El Greco Miniatures.

I've chosen to paint him from the Third New York Regiment 1776. The jacket will be grey and the facings green. Thanks to Don and Matt for their help with my research.

So far I've only painted the flesh base coat and the eyes, and added one layer of mid highlights and the mid shadows using Vallejo acrylics. There's still much to do, but I like the way its going so far.

As always, I welcome any comments or criticism.

Following with interest Tony

Mark

Tony, you're off to a great start!

I really hope you have fun with this figure. Now that you have your color scheme, the bust is in the spotlight - this is where the hands/tools of the sculptor, and the brush/eye of the painter intersect.

Not to add any pressure, but I suspect there are lots of us lurking, anxious to see how you do with this piece. Hopefully, your efforts will inspire others to put pigment to their copies of this bust.

With the myriad of uniform possibilities available for this figure, no two should look the same!

Best regards, and good luck!

Don

Tony he's already starting to look great. Waiting for your progress.

That are very nice painted eyes.
Going follow this with interest.

Marc

Looking very good already Tony!

Cheers,
Adrian

I'll shall watch this one Tony . Where did you find all the reference details from ? I would be interested in the source
chippy

Tony,
I agree with Marc, very nicely done eyes.
Cheers
John

Nice work so far Tony,look forward to seeing your progress.


Cheers David

Thanks Mark, hopefully I'll some more pics to show you this weekend.

Hi Don, thanks once again for your help with researching this bust and in particular comvincing me to have a go at doing the 3rd NY Regt. I hope I do a good job and ispire a few others to do this bust.

Hi Dimitrios, thanks for your comment mate.

Hi Marc, thanks mate. The eyes have turned out quite well I think. I spent the best part of four hours painting them.

Hi Adrian thanks for the encouragement mate.

Hi Gordon, I was lucky to get some very timely and helpful assistance from Don Johnson and Matt Grech (who sculpted the bust) and also from Google Images.

Hi John, its looks like the eyes have it (sorry). I'm glad you like my progress so far.

Hi David, thanks for your interest and your encouragement. I'll post some more pics soon.

Very well started indeed Tony !!

Hi Tony,
Very good start to expect the rest to be commensurate with your expectations.



Alexandros

As i have a version of this bust in the showcase,will look forward to seeing your take on this great bust like what you have done so far,ray

Thanks Rob, I've made a bit more progress tonight and will post some new pics tomorrow.

Hi Alexandros, thanks for your comment. I hope Ican do a good job on this bust.

Hi Ray, thanks for your comment mate. I hope you'll have a go at this bust too.

Hi Carl, thanks for your comment. I've been doing some very fine brush work with the eyes to add some redness. I'm also laying in the base coat colours for the unform. I'll take some more pics soon.

Base coat complete

As promised, here's where I've got to tonight.

What I've done so far is apply three of four dilute base coats of Vallejo acrylics to cover the primer and lay out the basic colours. No shading or highlighting on the uniform yet and no oils, pastels or washes on the face.

The powder horn will be painted separately and attached as the final step. I will attenpt schrimshaw or the first time, which should be quite a challenge. I must go easy on the coffee before I try that!

Tony, I think you've nailed the grey and green!! Well done.

Remember, the buttons would have been cast from pewter, which is much less shiny that, say, silver. Some shine, but not a lot.

Hair in the back looks excellent, and I like the blue ribbon.

I think you've captured the youth of this soldier in your early face work.

Great progress, and best of luck as you continue.

Don

Tony, great painting so far and a nice choice of uniform colour, it will look different to the usual blues most commonly associated with this period. Will follow.

Cheers Ken

Hi Don,

Thanks for the tip on the buttons. I'll make sure they're pewter-looking. The next step will be to add the mid-highlights and then begin shading. Thanks once again for your encouragement.

Hi Ken,

Thanks mate. I really wanted to do something different with the uniform colours, and although grey may not be the most exciting colour, its does have an infinite variety of shades to use. I'm looking forward to getting the oils out for this one.

Too Cool! The grey and green uniform combination is terrific!

All the best,
Dan