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 which is represented by the miniature toy soldier; an insignificant entity on the battlefield. Combat is the most intensive moment in war where life and death hangs in a delicate balance. The outcomes are horrific and it manifests the worst part of our human nature. Conversely, there are times which 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 to 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. .

Saturday, 6 August 2022

Commonwealth Bren Gunner, NW Europe, 1944-45.

Labels: HD Models Posted by Calvin Tan at 11:42

Here is a sneak peak of the Commonwealth Bren Gunner from HD Models, available in 1/35 scale.

Cheers,

Calvin

Friday, 5 August 2022

Interview on The Figure Mentors Issue 41 - Historical Edition

Posted by Calvin Tan at 23:32

Here is a quick shout out to my interview with Jay Martin on The Figure Mentors magazine issue 41 - Historical edition. It is available for purchase and download HERE.

Cheers,

Calvin

Thursday, 4 August 2022

1st Infantry Division - The Big Red One, Operation Husky, Sicily 1943

Labels: Tamiya Posted by Calvin Tan at 15:03

There is always room for improvement. Whilst browsing through YounTube videos of the Browning 30.cal being fired, I observed that the spent cartridges were discharged from below. I thus went create a pile of spent cartridges at the spot using stretched sprue. I also could not resist adding a canvas ammunition belt on the ground made from a strip of rolled out Milliput for added interest.

After feeling rather pleased with that, I took another step to spruce up the scene by adding a holster to the figure and a carrying handle for the 30.cal on the cooling sleeve. Now I can say that I am satisfied with this build and time to move on to another project.

Cheers,

Calvin

Wednesday, 3 August 2022

1st Infantry Division - The Big Red One, Operation Husky, Sicily 1943

Labels: Tamiya Posted by Calvin Tan at 09:19

Having fun with the VFX in Photoshop.

Cheers,

Calvin

Sunday, 31 July 2022

1st Infantry Division - The Big Red One, Operation Husky, Sicily 1943

Labels: Tamiya Posted by Calvin Tan at 22:58

I took some time off this afternoon to add in the helmet insignia and shoulder patch of the 1st Infantry Division. I also could not resist sprucing up the the water cooled .30 cal Browning MG with a sheet of thinly rolled out Miliput to increase the girth of the barrel sleeve. I also hollowed out the gun cradle with a chisel and a surgical blade. The bolts are 0.25 solder balls flatten against the back of a scalpel blade and attached with AK matt varnish.

Despite some of the inadequacies compared to some of today's plastic figures in the market, this build was for me another nostalgic indulgence to growing up, watching war movies and building models in the 1980's. Therefore it is of no surprise as to why I eventually choose to represent "The Big Red One" in this piece.

Cheers,

Calvin

Friday, 29 July 2022

A 1970's Throwback

Labels: Tamiya Posted by Calvin Tan at 22:41

A throw back to the 1970's with this classic figure from Tamiya's US Gun and Mortar Team (MM35086). It is built mainly straight out of the box because I wanted it to be a fun build. The head is stock and I must say it does paint up quite nicely despite the age. However this figure has three major shortcomings. First, the shoulders and hands needed to be repositioned to enable the figure to grab onto the pistol grip of the Browning .30 cal. Second, the figure is also seated too low to have direct line of sight from the Browning MG. I propped it higher by making the figure sit on some sandbags made from Milliput. Third and lastly, the shoes needed to be rebuilt as they where sculpted too short and narrow. This was done with some Milliput. The figure is painted with Ak's Gen 3 acrylic paints. .