Nice to see this one progressing Nigel. Love the couple of figures done so far (Don't sweat the repaint I've found myself doing it on a couple of figures where you keep chasing and pushing to get the look you're after and it just ends up looking overworked. Much better to strip and start again as you are doing)

Catch up Sunday
Paul

Superb work, Nigel. You acrylic guys amaze with your results, cause I just can't get my fat head around the constant layering.

Ruck On!

Thanks for the encouragement Mario, Tom, Paul and Steve. I spent the afternoon making some more pancakes and got to a place I am happy with on the second French figure. The sculpt has a few issues which created some challenges, and the pupils are a little blurry but I think it's as good as I will get with this one so I will move on.

Nice start on the latest figure, flesh tones are great.
I predict another masterpiece in the making.

Malc

He looks pretty good to say you've got him as good as he'll get. I need loads of practice cos I'd be over the moon with such a smooth finish on a face.

Cheers Simon

Thanks Malc and Simon. There's a lot to do, and a lot could go t*ts up before this is finished. But fingers crossed.

I hear you Steve. It's been a big learning curve and I was tempted to go back to oils at one point, especially after seeing some of David Lane's figures in the flesh (he uses oils). But I like the immediacy of acrylics.

Thanks Simon, the key for me has been glazes. It's taken me a while to get the hang of them, but they really help build subtle tones and smooth out transitions. I also find Winsor & Newton blending fluid useful when shading uniforms and larger items (something that both Kev and Mike Butler recommended).

Cheers Nigel, looks like I have a steep curve ahead of me, I managed just fine with acrylics in 28mm, the reason I swapped from oils. That was so long ago now I'd probably have to relearn oils all.over again, oh well it's fun and can only get better. Cheers Simon

Flesh tones look real good on the rifleman. I sometimes get too obsessed with the flesh tones in the beginning and I need to remind myself that I need to push on. Once I get more done, I always go back and tweak as needed. Looking forward to your take on the French uniforms.

tom

Just catching up here Nigel - fantastic work indeed!
Cheers,
Gary

I think my problem can often be tinkering too.much and what started out OK soon get spoilt. I am making the French trousers a darker red than I did on my Legionnaire, they are supposed to be crimson rather than red and I'm building up the blue for the coat where I'm going to find that watching all those videos on you tube didn't make me any better. I suppose practice makes perfect though.

Cheers Simon

Thanks Tom and Gary. Tom, I'll be using the AK WWI French uniforms set, their take on horizon blue is pretty good as a starting point IMO.

I'm still learning that. I tend to over highlight things rather than taking account of areas of shade (and therefore fewer highlights) on the figure. Practice, and developing your own style, are key.....

That’s great to hear because I have the same AK set and I haven’t used it yet.

tom

Nigel I think your acrylic style is progressing by leaps.Impressive progress and a solid promise on what lies ahead when you will present the finished vignette.

Oda.

Thanks very much Oda. I have picked up so much useful advice from people on here that it's really helping me move forward. Mike Butler's book was a great help also, especially in how to approach faces.

what a face can do with a figure hé ,very nice to see
Mario

A minor update. I have completed the casualty figure and done some initial weathering. The rest of the weathering will be done when I do the groundwork so I can tie the casualty into the groundwork (especially as he will be half underwater.....).



I am away for the rest of the week and then busy preparing for Scale ModelWorld here in the UK, so there probably won't be any updates on this for a while.....

Great work Nigel, nice and mucky without going over the top. Enjoy SMW.

Cheers Simon

Very well done sir,

tom

With acrylics that is not a bad thing, it is more natural to glaze down to shadow than up to a highlight