Crusader Update

Good Day, here are a few update shots on the Romeo 90mm Crusader figure I have been working on over the last few years on and off.

There are some images of his shield and sword.

Here are some wide shots with some extra pre shading on the tunic.

Thanks for looking.

Templar Kit

In an effort to keep the momentum of posts up here are a couple of shots of the weaponry with will adorn the crusader figure.

They were a real joy to paint. To finish it off it could do with a little bit of weathering to give it a a slightly more worn look.  

I suspect it might be easier to do that once the various pieces are mounted on to. As usual they has been painted with acrylics with oil washes. 

  

By Popular Demand

Please allow me to introduce another project, this has been languishing on my work bench for far too long.  Over the last few years I have been working this figure on and off. Nevertheless, I am determent to put the finishing touches to this figure before the winter sets in.  In an effort to inspire on to yet greater exploits with the paint brush I have taken some progress pictures.

The figure is from the Romeo 90mm range and is cast completely lead. He has been painted  with acrylics with exception of the face which was done with oils. With the complexion I have been attempting to represent a northern European face which has been weather beaten a sunburned in the harsh climes of the Holy Land.  The face should convey a mixture of discomfort and zealotry in keeping with a Knight Templar and his environment.  In terms of inspiration for the characterisation of the figure I used Brendan Gleason’s performance of Raynald of Châtillon in the film Kingdom of Heaven. 

The clothing and equipment has all been done in acrylics with a very light oil wash on some of the leather items in an attempt to give them a sight sheen.  The most challenging part getting  the white right.  Naturally when you paint something white you never use white.  Starting with a black primer I slowly built upwash after wash of off-white and ivory for the iconic Tunic.  

               Opting for bright yellow to paint the scarf tied around the figure’s waist, serves a couple of purposes, firstly to break up the monotone mix of whites, browns and reds. It is also representative of a looted item from an enemy. The bright colour is to indicate the comparative cultural superiority of the Muslim society of the time. This concept is also to ties in with the head garb the crusader is wearing, which imitates the local keffiyeh. 

Wavering Modelling Mojo

Of late I have been ignoring my Sherman and the wider project of completing the crew and the tracks.

While I would love to make yet more excesses for my tardiness. I can only blame distractions of work, writing projects and the onset of the Six Nations rugby.  In reality I have simply lost my modelling mojo in this project. I am not concerned and am sure it will return in due course. I simply must not start any further projects until this one is completed.

So here are a couple further progress shots of my North Irish Horse for you to feast your eyes on.

 

A Further Sherman Update

I have been plodding along at a snails pace with my North Irish Horse Sherman project. Although progress is slow I am pleased with the outcome so far.  In the weeks building up to Christmas an added a couple more oil washes. These are to reflect grime and dirt.  This was followed by a heavy acrylic wash with sand represent large deposits of light dirt and dust over the super structure.  Before each of these stages it dappled contact points on the hull and turret with olive drab where the dirt was rubbed off through contact.

Naturally enough I have managed to knock off a number of bit in this process. Nevertheless, the next stage is to bring together all the individual elements.  The turret, hull, stowage and hatches etc and bring it all together with some beach sand pigment and take the opportunity to tidy up areas which need work.

Next up we will tackle the tracks. Yikes !!

Sherman Update

Tardiness would best sum up my attitude to blog writing over the last month or so. Nevertheless, you can read some of my recent blog contributions on pigeons I penned in a professional capacity. So let's take the opportunity to give you a quick update of my North Irish Horse Sherman. It this point it think the filter washes are more or less complete. They offer a nice mix of grim and dirt that has built up over time while in theatre.

Another reason for the long delay in progress was fear.  For the next stage I want to add quite heavy weathering with light shades of sand so -I am concerned about messing it up.

It terms of reference for the next stage I will use Mario Eens article on building and weathering a DAK Panzer I. From Military Modelling Issue 3 Volume 40

 I promise to post some up dates know matter how horrific the result.

“The Bannerman Way” Addendum #1

When I started this blog back in 2009 I envisaged it as a quick reference source for web pages that I may want to refer back to in the future, a kind of online "Delicious" with a touch of context.  In the subsequent time it has developed in to something more.  Nevertheless, when I examine the traffic statistics for the blog the most popular post by a long strech  is the one entitled  “Mark Bannerman”. It was my second post of April 2009 linking to an number of online articles Bannerman wrote on using oil paints to paint 1/35^th scale heads.

His face painting technique is a real god send for me and raised the level of my head painting skills beyond my natural ability. For this I am eternally to him. So in the interest of  responding to the trend of the Blogger statistics  I felt it would be an opportune moment to remark on a thread which is currently active  the Military Modelling website entitled:  “Painting 1/35 Scale Heads Using Oil Paints:” Attempting"The Bannerman Way”. This thread has been going some and has a great selection of heads by some very talented modellers.

In the meantime here are some examples of my heads painted the “Bannerman Way.”

"Legions Form Up!"

Well this weekend in addition to going to Salute and having a blast with my mate Phil. I finished basing up my first batch of legionnaires. So far I have 11 bases. This provides me with enough for two or possibly three legions at a push.

So far I am pleased with the over all finish. In this instance I took a different approach to the wash. I used two washes. First a sienna pin wash which was restricted to the flesh areas to provide low lights on the face and limbs.

The torsos were given a usual wash of raw umber in an effort to give the Lorica Segmenta a touch of definition. The final step was to give them a wipe with a brush dampened with thinners to tidy them up a bit and make the armour ping out nicely.

As I mentioned in an earlier post I added a signifer and commander to give a touch of extra interest to the battle group.               

The shields were hand painted as promised. However I did not bother with the ivory highlight since after doing a couple I could not see and real difference to the finish. Previously I have been guilty of not knowing when to stop painting to disastrous results, so I am pleased with my self discipline on being able to put the paint brush down and not make a total mess of the shields by adding endless amounts of detail that nobody will be able to see!

Mark Bannerman

For many years now the work of Mark Bannerman has been a great inspiration to me. His technique in painting faces was instrumental in me developing my skills as a figure painter, however I still need to learn when to stop. Since I tend to over paint the faces. Here are a list of links to his articles on painting 1/35th faces in oil colours orginally published on the Missing Lynx website.

Painting 1/35th heads in 8 steps
"The Bannerman Way"
"The Bannerman Way Part 2"
Painting figures adding details
Painting Asian faces
Painting Black / African faces

All by Mark Bannerman