Finally finished my first zulu figure,this is the first time in nearly 15yrs of figure modeling that i have painted an african so i will be interested to hear some of your coments regardin the flesh finish,this 75mm figure is a recently released figure from pegaso which i purchased at this years euro militaire.

I thought i would add a brief historical background to the piece itself,the figure is based on a zulu captain or Izinduna which could be from either engagment at rorkes drift or isandlwana dependent on which regiment you wish to portray,i decided i would base my figure on the uDloko or ibutho regiment which fought heroicly at rorkes drift on the 23rd january 1879,this regiment did not take part in the action at isandlwana but was part of the zulu reserve which marched on to engage the british at rorkes drift.

The figure portrays the officers rank of red and green lourie feathers with the single crane feather which wer typical of the married warriors costume.

The shield is of the large isihlangu type which for the uDloko regiment was a reddish brown spotted with white.
The figure also displays the familiar Assegai or lance which was a familiar weapon for this time period.

I hope you enjoy lookoing at the figure as much as i did painting it,i would appriciate all coments you may have.

Thanks for looking - Happy Modeling

Hi Brian,

Excellent painting mate. The skin tones look spot on, and the leopard skin is amazing. The only thing that doesn't look right to my eyes is the red brown colour on the shield. I'd prefer to see it a bit darker, more Burnt Umber/ leather brown colour. Having said that, don't get me wrong. I love it.

I think your dead on with the skin tones also. Looks really good from my perspective. The only comment I would have is the scar on the chest would actually be very dark if it's a healed scar. Black people tend to keloid their scars which cause them to be raised and dark but thats just the medical side of me!

Very super rendition old friend just a small agreement with Tony the colours are a brown leather and/or Umber with a little dark earth and a beige with a little white as you have a bit too much red/orange in the colour.

Thanks for sharing, RobH.

Very nice Brian.....

Ray

Cool work Brian. Hardy

Stunning work Brian.
The skincolor is amazingly lifelike.

Marc

Thanks for all your feedback guys.

Tony / Rob - i painted the shield and stripped it 3x times,i'm a bit reluctant to play arround with it again,according to the information from ian knights book 'ZULU' the pictures show the shield as very light reddish brown which is what i tried to capture as each zulu regiment at the time had different coloured shields depending on their age and expirience,thanks for your coments and taking the time to look.

Jason - i was'nt very happy with the scar and veins i may adjust the colour a bit,thanks for your coments.

Ray / Carl / Hardy / Marc,thanks for your coments.

Really like the skin tones on this one Brian.

Thanks for your kind coments steve,this was a bit of a challenge for me as i've never painted an african flesh tone before,after lookoing through various magazine articles and books i finally decided on a mixture i found in the late bob knee's book painting historical miniatures,the mixture being Burnt Umber / Burnt Umber with touch of windsor blue for the really dark shadows / Mars orange for some of the mid tones and the highlights made up of Mars orange and Naples Yellow mix and finally for the highs straight Naples yellow.

Thanks for the mixes Brian...while we are on the subject of skin tones...I am painting an Egyptian Nefertiti Bust for a gift for my sister...any tips on mixes regarding Egyptians... perhaps your mix here could work but with a lighter hue into the mix...anyone else feel free to post or PM me...Steve

Good to see one of these painted Brian, I also got this at Euro and it will be my first Zulu. Yours has turned out very nice and thanks for your flesh mix.

Cheers David

Steve,thanks for your comments,i dont have any mixes to hand for egyptian flesh tones,i think you may have to play arround with a few mixes until you find what suits you. good luck with your egyptian.

Dave,thanks for your comments,i'm a long time admirer of your work and the recent minstrel was superb,i look forward to seeing your version of this figure in the future.

Many Thanks

Exellent job on the Zulu Brian, skin tones are very convincing.

Steve

Thanks steve,as it was my first african i had painted i was very interested in what comments i would recieve,happily i've had some good feedback which i'm well pleased with,thanks for your comments.

Happy Modeling