PERSPECTIVES IN MINIATURE

ARTIST STATEMENT

In the words of Wilbur Smith "War is the game played by old men with the lives of the young". The pawn in this game is the combat soldier, represented by the miniature toy soldier; an insignificant being on the battlefield. Combat is the most intense moment of war, where life and death balances on a knife's edge. The results are terrifying and reveal the worst part of our human nature. Conversely, there are moments when it exudes the best of our human spirit. Most of the miniatures you see here are diligently researched from historical sources and handcrafted between scales of 1/35 to 1/16 (approx 50mm to 120mm). The intricate rendition of human expression and fine details not only demonstrates the level of craftsmanship but also serves as a reminder of the fragile nature of human life. I represent no political bias though my miniature creations. My aim is to portray humanity through the chronicles of military history and thus it is my pleasure that I present to you my weblog Perspectives in Miniature.

Calvin Tan

WWII GERMAN UNIFORMS - PERSONAL MIXES BY CALVIN TAN

In conjunction with AK Interactive, this exclusive Gen 3 acrylic paint set is specially composed with the essential colours that I use to render WWII German Uniforms. It contains 18 colours and a small pamphlet with my personal colour mixes. If you are keen to acquire all the colours on my palette to paint a field grey tunic, a splinter pattern zeltbahn, an oak-leaf pattern smock or the Kharkov anorak, look no further, this is the set for you to get started.

CALVIN TAN'S BASIC GUIDE TO FIGURE PAINTING

This instructional DVD published by Model Art magazine was primarily developed for the beginner armour and diorama modeller in mind. The video presentation will feature a variety of easy to master techniques used to render a 1/35 scale plastic injected moulded figure.Topics include proper paint application techniques, choice of brushes as well as some little tricks for painting fine detail. It is fundamentally a showcase of some of my methods and techniques for painting military figures and I am certain it will prove beneficial for any modeller who wishes to improve on figure painting. It is currently available in both Japanese and English.

CALVIN TAN'S GUIDE TO CONVERTING AND PAINTING FIGURES

In this third instalment, I will share my techniques and materials to customize and detail an inexpensive stock plastic figure. Watch as I take you through the steps on how I modify a pose, model details such as hands, belts and webbing and insignias. Learn about working effectively with epoxy putty as well as plastic styrene and paper. As a continuation from my first two DVDs, I will demonstrate how to model and paint a simple groundwork as well as an alternate approach using a monochromatic underpainting to render both a field grey tunic and the World War 2 German Splinter Camouflage pattern on a helmet cover. If you have enjoyed and benefitted from those previous titles, this edition will be a welcome addition to your journey in scale figure modelling – regardless of your current skill level. It is my sincere hope that this could inspire you to embark on your own creative adventure in this fantastic hobby. .

Monday, 9 June 2025

Hand Painting a Helmet Decal

Labels: AK Interactive, Young Miniatures Posted by Calvin Tan at 22:40

This sequence of photos demonstrates my method of handpainting the helmet decal on an M40 German helmet using AK Gen 3 acrylics.

Cheers,

Calvin

Sunday, 8 June 2025

Young Miniatures - The Liberator, Western Ukraine, 1941

Labels: AK Interactive, Young Miniatures Posted by Calvin Tan at 16:34

I have just started this bust over the past week. Let's hope I can get it completed before this weekend's show in Penang.

Cheers,

Calvin

Saturday, 7 June 2025

Lieutenant, US 45th Infantry Division, Bavaria, 1945

Labels: AK Interactive, Alpine Miniatures, Miniart Posted by Calvin Tan at 21:48

All done for this piece.

Cheers,

Calvin

Monday, 19 May 2025

Lieutenant, US 45th Infantry Division, Bavaria, 1945

Labels: AK Interactive, Alpine Miniatures, Miniart Posted by Calvin Tan at 00:37

This weekend I managed to get most of the painting done for the figure, with the exception of the boots and the grease gun. Some parts of the groundwork remain quite raw and will need some attention once I complete the painting of the figure.

Cheers,

Calvin

Saturday, 17 May 2025

Lieutenant, US 45th Infantry Division, Bavaria, 1945

Labels: AK Interactive, Alpine Miniatures, Miniart Posted by Calvin Tan at 09:46

A little more progress on the groundwork before I resume work on the figure.

Cheers,

Calvin

Thursday, 15 May 2025

Lieutenant, US 45th Infantry Division, Bavaria, 1945

Labels: AK Interactive, Alpine Miniatures, Miniart Posted by Calvin Tan at 00:07

A little more progress on this compositional exercise. The main takeaway for such a project is to engage as much play as possible with the available material and improvise the layout and composition according to one's intuition and design knowledge. The scene is rather busy at this stage, and I will probably need to figure out how to harmonise all the elements to sustain the viewing interest of the audience.

Cheers,

Calvin

Tuesday, 13 May 2025

Lieutenant, US 45th Infantry Division, Bavaria, 1945

Labels: AK Interactive, Alpine Miniatures Posted by Calvin Tan at 14:59

As they say, inspiration can come from many places. I got the idea to create a street barricade from a clutter of trash and debris while I was assessing my expanding collection of MiniArt accessories. Let's see how this stacks up.