PERSPECTIVES IN MINIATURE: AMT 2007 Diary

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. .

Saturday, 14 April 2007

AMT 2007 Diary - Day 3

Labels: Model Shows - AMT 2007 Torrent Spain Posted by CALVIN TAN at 07:25

Hola Todos,

I finally had the typical tourists´breakfast of Chocolate y Porras ( similar to Churrillos but smaller but more oilly) .The weather started out really fine in the morning but turned into a down pour when we had lunch with Jordi Escares from Maquetas 113. There is was introduced to another typical Spanish delicacy call "Supertoastas" or rather a huge toast with condiments such as meat, vegetables and fish. Again, a very pleasant gastronomical experience apart from the usual tapas. Jordi informs me that he will be part of an ww2 Heers reenactment group that will host some activities and demonstrations on the grounds of the AMT show. Sounds really exciting hearing the way he described the program.

After lunch, Samuel headed back to his office. I wandered around the city centre of Madrid before meeting Rodrigo again to view a protrait exhibiton at the Thessyen gallery. Again another insightful experience with Rodrigo and I exchanging our observations and opinions about the works of contemporary masters.

As Rodrigo had a prior engagement, we had to end the evening early and bidding farewell, I made my way back to Samuel´s office where I´m helping him take the photos for the box art of Alpine Miniatures next release. It was a new record for him to complete the two figures with four heads in under one week. Below is Samuel putting on the final touches to the groundwork of a joint entry with Felipe Morreno at 3am in the morning! Notice one of the figures lying on the table.

I also managed to download some pictures from my camera. As promised, here´s a glimse of the figure painted in Samuel´s modelling studio in two days over approximately 10 hours in three sessions with paints sponsored by Samuel.

Below is a picture taken on the first day of arrival into Madrid with my figure displays for Torrent on Samuel´s table. Notice the Russian soldier in black primer in the centre of the picture.