(Completed) Alpine German Fallschirmjager "Unternehmen Merkur"

Wrapping up another fun project. 

The only challenge I felt that needs to be highlighted was to get the rifle sling bent to a realistic shape. Apart from that, It was a great project to take on and experiment with various colours to complement the predominantly green figure.

I was also pleasantly surprised when my request to buy some decals for the helmet was answered by 2 outstanding gents from PlanetFigure. Frankcy and Mike (faust18) both sent me decals from France and UK at no cost to me. (Francky sent via registered the mail at 8 euros!)

I was totally blown away by their generosity and hope to pay it forward in the future.

Thank You Francky & Mike :)

Here are the photos of the completed Fallschirmjager :)

(WIP 4) Alpine German Fallschirmjager "Unternehmen Merkur"

"Planting" the grass for basework :)

 

(WIP 3) Alpine German Fallschirmjager "Unternehmen Merkur"

More WIP shots :)

Progressed to the trousers. Do note the 1941 model of the Fallschirmjager jump trousers has more green in the fabric compared to the slightly darker 1943 model which has more grey in it.

The base color of grey-green was also applied to the helmet.Will be picking out the details on the helmet and boots next. It's also time to plan out the basework :)

 

 

(WIP 2) Alpine German Fallschirmjager "Unternehmen Merkur"

Here's the completed jump smock for now. I may fiddle with it towards the end when reviewing the paintjob.

I was asked on Planefigure what colors was used for the jumpsmock. As I "eyeball" the colors and don't have a fixed formula, here are the Jo Sonja colors used.

Base: Olive Green, Yellow Orche
Shadows: Burnt Sienna, Prussian Blue
Highlights: Yellow Naples Hue

Since the terrain in Crete during the campaign was dry and arid, I wanted the jump smock to have a slight yellow bias while maintaining a strong green tone. Hope I am making sense :)

 

(WIP 1) Alpine German Fallschirmjager "Unternehmen Merkur"

Back on this project after a long hiatus.

This is a 1/16 scale figure of  a German Fallschirmjager during the Crete Campaign. Spotting an oliver green "bonesack" jump smock, this figure will be a nice change painting camouflage :)

(Completed) German Fallschirmjäger, Monte Cassino, 1944, Young Miniatures

This is my last bust for 2013. With this bust completed, my final production output for 2013 stands at a final tally of 9 busts/figures :)

After experiencing Scale Model World 2013, I felt it was imperative that the "lessons" gleaned from attending the competition should be put to use. This bust started to take form exactly a month ago on 28 Nov after I returned from UK.

For this project, I experimented with a slightly different approach. As with all experimentation, one must be prepared for setbacks. But fortunately, not everything was a disaster

Things that worked

• Bold strokes to mark out highlights This helped to clearly define the facial features of the face early on. With the highlights defined, painting of the shadow areas quickly falls into place. 

• Bold strokes need not be neat Corrections can be made subsequently by blending.

• Graphite gives a nice gun metal sheen Finding the appropriate shade of the graphite pencil is important. Note to self: Get a range of the graphite pencils and make a swatch for reference.

Things that can be improved

• Hairspray technique Excessive chipping on the helmet may be overwhelming and be a source of "irritation" or eye sore. There's a fine line between enough chipping and going overboard. If you noticed from the previous pictures, I repainted the helmet and did the chipping without using hairspray the second time round. A sponge was used instead. While a sponge is easier to control, it still takes practice. 

Closing

On the whole I am satisfied with the progress made with this bust and will continue to build on the lessons learnt from chipping using the hairspray technique.

  

  

(WIP 2) German Fallschirmjäger, Monte Cassino, 1944, Young Miniatures

Be gentle when handling the chin straps and the ammunition belts should you decide to take on this figure. They are rather thin and fragile.

Attaching the chin straps
The chin straps come in 3 pieces which were glued into the recess of the helmet. The chin straps were left till the end as I did not want them to obstruct the face during painting. While it seemed like a good decision as first, fitting the chin straps in place is not an easy task. More so when you risk smearing CA glue over the completed face ! Patience and care are required. As well as a hairdryer to bend the lower chin strap to shape.

Pinning the ammunition belts
The ammunition belts came in 3 separate pieces which had to be linked up. After bending them to fit the contours of the bust, holes were made with a 0.5mm drill and soft wire used to string the belts up. It was no surprise when I accidentally snapped one of the belts during drilling. Thankfully the break was between the bullets and could be fixed by pinning them together.

Painting of the belts
The belts were painted or rather "polished" in the same manner as the MG34. Graphite from a 6B pencil was rubbed onto a cotton swab (Q-tip for some) which was used to "polish" the belts. (The belts were given a black basecoat prior) In essence its like dry brushing. The end result is a rather pleasant gun metal sheen to the belt links. 

All that remains is the right arm holding onto the MG34. Hopefully it will be done soon and more photos will follow.

(WIP 1) German Fallschirmjäger, Monte Cassino, 1944, Young Miniatures

Rounding up 2013 with the bust of a Fallschirmjäger. The bust is 80% complete and with the Christmas holiday approaching, completion is near :)