(WIP 1) Young Miniatures Roman General , Maximus Decimus Meridius

Still much to do and tweak :)

(Completed) Athenian Hoplite

Managed to complete this kit over the weekend.

This will be my 2nd freehand attempt. The motif on the shield took the better half of the afternoon. After 3 attempts of doodling on the shield with a soft pencil, i managed to sketch out the design I found on the Internet.

There on it was just filling in the colors. 

The groundwork was quick as the figure came with a nicely done up resin base with rocks and a fallen log. All i needed to do was to add in the shrubs and ground litter. A reddish shrub was thrown in to give the groundwork some height and "bridge" the colors between the figure and the groundwork.

This would be my first completed 75mm kit. Enjoyed the process thoroughly as the size allowed me to quickly move onto another part of the figure. Also the genre was refreshing and different from the modern military figures i paint.

I have a few 75mm kits lying in wait, and intend to work on this scale more often :)

(WIP 1) Athenian Hoplite

Decided to explore a smaller scale to challenge myself. Started of with a 75mm resin kit from Historia Miniatures (Greece). The subject is a Athenian Hoplite from ancient Greece.

[Extract from Wikipedia] Hoplites were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Their main tactic was the phalanx formation. The hoplites were primarily free citizens—propertied farmers and artisans—who were able to afford the bronze armor suit and weapons. Hoplites generally received basic military training.

(WIP 3) RAF Fighter Pilot "The Few" Battle of Britain 1940

Vest about done. Starting on the puppy :)

(WIP 2) RAF Fighter Pilot "The Few" Battle of Britain 1940

I found blue to be a difficult color to work with. Had to rework it a couple of times and finally settled on this. Reds, Purples, Greens and Orange were added to give the uniform some variation :)

(WIP 1) RAF Fighter Pilot "The Few" Battle of Britain 1940

Took the plunge and went on the render the face of this youthful RAF pilot from Life Miniatures.

Instead of using the Jo Sonja colors I am familiar with, i took the opportunity to try some colors from the Vallejo Panzer Aces range. I observed that Vallejo colors tend to have a slight sheen when dry as opposed to Jo Sonja colors drying very matt.

I felt it was a nice effect to bring the face to life. Will experiment more :)

M Con III 2015

I recently took part in M Con III organised by M Workshop and is the only local scale modelling competition here in Singapore.

This year I submitted 4 entries The standard was much higher this year as well as the larger number of entries in the figure category. While not expecting any placing, I was pleased that my entries were conferred the following classification.

Bronze with Merit
1. RAF Bomber Command, WW2 (More pics)

Highly Commended
2. Italian Horseman, Compagnia San Giorgio, 14th Century
3. Red Army Infantry, Prayer, Kursk 1943 (More pics)
4. German 6th Army, Stalingrad 1942 (More pics)

(WIP 1) Gaul Chieftain, 1st Century BC

Keeping to the medieval theme, I am going further back into history with the 75 mm Gaul Chieftain , 1st Century BC by Pegaso Models.

Departing from the resin kits I tend to work with, white metal models possess their own charm. Albeit requiring more effort to prepare the model for painting. Having pinned some of the parts in place, I proceeded to prime with Grey primer. Only to find an almost exhausted can of primer...hence the photo had unprimed parts.

The weekend was spent rendering the main torso of the figure along with the groundwork. The beauty of smaller scales allow a much faster turnaround. Taking reference from the box art, I adopted a similar earthly color scheme to render the tunic and pants.

(Completed] Viking Berserker

A great bust to work on. 

Good opportunity to work on some freehand. Though i have much to improve on :)

(WIP 2) Viking Berserker

Starting on the shield soon and the tattoos on the arms :)

(WIP 1) Viking Berserker

Grabbed this bust the moment I laid eyes on it. Great sculpt and casting of an interesting subject.

Went with a cold palette to render the skintones typical of the Scandinavian region.

Base: Plum Pink + Yellow Orche + Naples Yellow Hue
Highlights: Base + Naples Yellow Hue, Skin Base Tone, White
Shadows: Base + French Blue, Glaze of Permanent Alizarine

Boxart went with red hair, I decided blonde was more suitable.

Base: Burnt Sienna
Highlights: Raw Sienna, Raw Sienna + Naples Yellow Hue
Glaze: Yellow Orche

(Completed) Life No man's land, Battle of Kursk 1943

Taking advantage of the long weekend over the Lunar New Year, I completed this bust on the 2nd day :)

Another sterling production by Life Miniatures. Great emotion in the subject. Highly recommended if the Red Army is an area of interest.

 

(WIP 2) Life No man's land, Battle of Kursk 1943

Working on the largest area, tunic. Experimenting with the colours to bring some contrasts to the subject.

 

(WIP 1) Life No man's land, Battle of Kursk 1943

This bust portrays a battle weary Russian infantryman prior to the Battle of Kursk.

I am trying to render the subject the 1000 yard stare where he's staring blankly while holding his cross in prayer (arm not attached)

A glaze of sap green + raw sienna was used to tone down the underlying reds to suggest a sickly solider pushed to the brink of exhaustion.

(Completed) Italian Horseman, 14th Century

Completed !

This is my first medieval bust, 14th century Italian Horseman.

Great sculpt and casting by MJ Miniatures & Dae-Hyeong, Kim(DG-Artwork). Strongly recommended if you are interested in the period :)

(WIP 2) Italian Horseman, 14th Century

Rendering of the main areas of the bust is completed. Sans some tweaking at the final stage.

I was not able to find some decent references for the tunic worn under the leather /chain armour. Decided on a green (which is the complementary of red) tone. Worked out pretty well. Mixture of Olive Green & Sap Green. Glazed Hooker's Green into the recesses.

Will be working on the mace and helmet next. There's a shield which the knight has slung over the shoulder. That will require some research to find a suitable (ie not too challenging to paint) motif :)

(WIP 1) Italian Horseman, 14th Century

Happy New Year !

Starting the year with a subject from a different period. 

This project is for a 14th Century Italian Horseman. Outfitted in chainmail and decorated cuir-bouilli (hardened leather), mace and helmet in hand, this is a veteran from the famed Compagnia di San Giorgio (Company of Saint George, name of mercenary company in 14th century)

For this face, I went with a slightly reddish tone to bring out the ferocity of this battle hardened horseman.

Update: Included a recent WIP photo of the chainmail and cuir-bouilli. Trying to achieve a gold like effect on the branch like motif with non metallic colors.