Hi fellow figure fanatics,

It amazes me just how much talent there is out there in our resin filled world , wether it is in sculpting , painting or sharing wonderful projects in all mediums , one way we have seen is of course the internet but for me I still like the feel of paper between my fingers and what better way than to have a book from Mr Black in your hands.

That is what I am looking at this time , a release from the house of Mr Black , I can hardly believe that this is the 18th in the series , I spend many an hour reading all my issues and always getting new ideas and inspiration from the books each time.

The book was announced on PF by the editor Stelios here:

http://www.planetfigure.com/threads...rom-mr-black-publications.75280/watch-confirm

Its subjects are all from WW2 which is an very popular period for the modelling fraternity whatever is on the bench.

Shipping was very quick with the books were very well packed, the PO managed to badly damage my copy ...a quick e mail resolved this and another was soon received ...that is what I call good customer service.

As always the product shouts QUALITY in all areas as in the previous releases the format is the same , high quality colour reproduction and the very best in articles .

This issues has a total of 15 articles , spread over a book with 86 pages ( 80 of these are all the articles , remaining being covers and details of sponsors)

As before the book is in an A4 format with a nice matt card covers .

This time Stelios has gathered together another herd of talent these include:

Kaz Tomori
Carl Startin “Carlos Figureart”
Juanma Vergara
Man Jin Kim
Toshihiro Sano
Ioannis Triktsiris
Juanma Vergara
Mr Black
Mr Black Studio
Stelios Neofytidis

We have a new contributor as well namely the talented Toshihiro Sano , so a big welcome to him and thanks to all of the writers for taking the time to share their work in this format.

Lets look at the articles now :

Opening the book reveals a delight in the form of….

No 1:

Deutsches Afrika Korps - North Africa 1942 - 50mm - Kaz Tomori

We all know the author so its good to see and a subject that really is the basis of modelling , scratch building and converting ,covering figures and AFV's as well as a rather nice swaying palm tree , we are given the full details of the paints including washes , the way he plans things , converting a tank , figure conversions , scratch building the tree , setting out the scene and finally to the painting of the whole diorama .
As always packed with picture over a 12 page spread, all very well reproduced ....Kaz says he likes to use "old school" techniques ...well they certainly work....a great start to the book..

No 2:

Rasputitsa! - 50mm - Carl Startin “Carlos Figureart”

Carl is without doubt a guy of many talents , and this is well shown in the skill of the modelling here , the composition is great , well thought out , small yet effective model , in the article he uses PE as well as super detailing up a rather nice car …what really stands out on that is the amount of work he has done and the great weathering in the finished article with the figure telling the story , talking of the figure Carl has a skill in painting which I do envy , his painting style is bright and striking . Again full colour pictures adorn the article over 8 action packed and easily read pages

No 3:

LAH Kharkov 1943- 50mm - Juanma Vergara

Next we have single figure article over 4 pages using a Alpine figure written by Juanma , I immediately went for the flesh tones , like the way these have been done , the article has face painting over a 6 picture group with all the mixes that was used to paint the complete figure , I also made a note of the rather useful uniform mix . The author made a simple change by using a different head to that supplied ( also from Alpine) ..just shows how the simplest bit of thought makes for an interesting piece.

No 4:

SS Unterscharführer - 75mm - Man Jin Kim

Written by a previous contributor and a good friend to me and all the figure painters worldwide it is of course MJ , using Jo Sonja paints over a 6 page set up , what is really interesting is to see how he achieved the camo details and this is what the article concentrates on and as such will be of much interest .Needless to say the picture quality is top class , hard to believe this is a 75mm figure…nice one MJ .

No 5:

WWII US BAR Gunner - 50mm - Toshihiro Sano

This is the first of 3 articles by a new author to the series and boy is he a talent , painting a US uniform using enamels , there are great mixes to be found , all of which are in my ever expanding notebook , nice flesh work information as well as effective groundwork, the pictures are again spread throughout the 6 page article.

No6:

Japanese Officer in a Tropical Hell - 75mm - Ioannis Triktsiris

Next up we have a rather fierce Japanese subject by Ioannis , an officer wielding a sword , the thing that really stands out in this article is the groundwork , its simply amazing and is well explained how this was achieved , the figure which is also rather well painted looks so right in situ . Its good to see this subject as well , needless to say full colour over 6 pages , great mixes again …all went to my notes !

No7:

Oberleutnant Georg Briel - DAK- 120mm -Juanma Vergara

This is my sort of modelling …a bust ...LOL....and what a cracking bit of painting , over just 2 pages we are treated to a DAK subject ,I have used the flesh tones in the article …highly recommended to all . The colour is a grouping of 4 views of the bust on one page and I particularly like the effect that has been done on the helmet the worn off paint is something I shall try …it’s a shame this was only produced for the Alabarda club..lucky lot!!!

No8:

On the Edge of No Man´s Land- 180mm - Kaz Tomori


Turning the pages I am again happy to see another bust by that fellow Kaz , spread over 10 pages of which 3 are full page shots of the completed bust . The author has given a very detailed breakdown over 4 pages of the face painting in particular, this is Russian kissing a crucifix before battle and a well known piece from Life Miniatures …it’s a very moving subject and extremely well presented by Kaz .
I like the fact that he has mentioned the base ( from TWD ) , which when you see just makes the finish item even better.

No9:

Tripoli, 1941 - The DAK is here - 50mm - Mr Black Studio

This time we have an Axis couple of figures one DAK , the other Italian , over a 3 page article using Alpine , a simple scene but again telling the story well, a simple desert base which works well , again lots of mixes are there for the taking …so the Italian uiform and leather coat made its way to my notebook!

No10:

Stalingrad, 1942 - 50mm - Stelios Neofytidis

In this article over 4 pages we are in the hell of Stalingrad , pure conversion using Masterbox figures and Hornet heads . Stelios has the knack of getting some nice poses and interaction between figures , good colour pictures, the author uses both Acrylics and Oils and a very nice end result …what went to my notebook …the mixes for the equipment…very useful.

No 11:

German DAK Infantry North Africa WWII - 180mm - Toshihiro Sano

This is the 2nd of 3 by Toshihiro and it’s a bust ( nice choice) , the DAK painted by using enamels , and what a fine bit of work from the author , love uniform colour and the way he has painted the goggles and the grime and dirt on the helmet. ( to the notebook!!), also really liked the effect of the weave on the webbing as well , the article covers 3 pages one of which is a full page of the finished model , the remaining having the mixes and a group of 4 pictures…..another very good article from the “new boy”!!.

No12:

Tips For Beginners - Mr Black

This is a one page piece which is aimed at the beginner in the hobby but will be a useful read to all , the subject being the prep of Injection moulded figures , it is as the author say a quick guide but never the less a good addition to the book…be good to have further articles like this…perhaps at the beginning of the books.

No13:

Blitzkrieg - Vorwärts - 50mm - Mr Black Studio

This covers 8 pages from the studio of Mr Black and is an action packed diorama , using commercial and by scratch building kits they have shown us what it must have been like in combat . The design of the piece is covered with all information there , all the figures are covered ( a total of 5) all with a full breakdown of the mixes used , lots for my note books for sure ….at the end we have the painting details for the wall .
Colour is throughout with excellent views from all angles which only adds to the enjoyment of the article.

No14:

Royal Armoured Corps AFV Crew - 50mm - Toshihiro Sano

The 3rd and final article from Toshihro and a single figure British subject again using his chosen enamels , just 2 pages long one with the colour pictures the other the mixes , the uniform ones being very useful to me . The author is very skilled IMO in his chosen painting medium

No15:

Battle of Moscow, 1941-1942 - 50mm - Stelios Neofytidis

A great finish to the book from Stelios covering just under 3 pages we are meeting the Russian troops at the battle for Moscow , Alpine figures are again the choice using Acrylics and Oils , the notebook came out and in went the coat mixes for me , they are depicted on a bridge with some really nice snow effects .

Final Thoughts

The book is without doubt packed full of details and very inspirational articles from very talented authors , a special on WW2 was a good idea , I do hope we see other periods like the Napoleonic or Victorian Wars .
Presentation is excellent with a very high quality set up and great colour pictures everywhere …recommended to all


Don’t forget as well there are other diorama specials published and there are some rather nice bases on the website as well.

For more details and for great offers on this series of books visit the website at :
www.mrblackpublications.com

Email: mrblackpublications@yahoo.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/MrBlackPubications

Or you could always pm Stelios through this forum

Thanks to you all for looking in and of course to Stelios and his team

Big thanks to all the companies supporting the series

View attachment 230359

and to Ken Jones for his help

Nap

Hi Guys ,

In addition to the others ( details on the website ) there are 2 new sale points for this and the others in the range from Stelios and his team

In UK

El Greco Miniatures

http://www.elgrecominiatures.co.uk/contents/en-uk/d341_Mr_Black_Publications.html



And in USA

Last Cavalry:

http://shop.lastcavalry.com/mr-black-publications-scale-model-handbook-wwii-special/

Happy purchasing whichever side of the pond you are!!!

Nap