PERSPECTIVES IN MINIATURE: Here we go again......

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. .

Thursday, 13 September 2007

Here we go again......

Labels: SS Deutschland France 1940 Posted by CALVIN TAN at 12:07

...another 1/35 WW2 German figure for a collector friend of mine which I promised from a long while back. As usual, Hornet head (cut slightly above the brows to accommodate the Stahlhelm) upon an epoxy putty armature. The only difference is that I'm using the Super Sculpey Firm for the first time to model in such a scale. The clay has not set as I've yet to bake them which also means that the rough spots could be smoothen out at my own leisure pace. Calvin

8 comments:

james pople said...: WOW Mr.Tan!!!!, this one is going to look great I'm sure.Nice to see you back on 1/35 WW2 figures, I'm looking forward to that Fallschrimjager vignette too. I've started sculpting my self but having trouble with folds, any tips?
sorry for talking for so long.
James =]; 13 September 2007 at 16:36
Unknown said...: Hi Calvin,I am a FAN of your work,I put a link in my blog the same of you,many thanks.
I wait see you in Torrent to eat black rice another time.Regards Jose Luis; 14 September 2007 at 01:34
CALVIN TAN said...: Hi James,

thanks for your ecstatic response. Great to know that you're doing a little sculpting yourself. Let me see if I can put something together next week to answer your question.

cheers,

Calvin; 14 September 2007 at 11:17
CALVIN TAN said...: Hola Jose,

Fue el negro arroz es riquisimo! Tambien, me alego mucho de lo conocido.

Un Abrazzo,

Calvin; 14 September 2007 at 11:23
james pople said...: Thank you Mr.Tan, you're very kind. I've read your book and looked at your sbs's, but i still have trouble, if at all possible could you do a video?? hope that's not too much to ask.
Thanks
James =]; 14 September 2007 at 23:16
Gary Dombrowski said...: Calvin, Great to see another masterpiece in the making. If you should bake your sculpey piece with resin parts attached be very careful. You may want to even try suspending your piece into a pan of very hot or even boiling water. you may have to do this for more sessions than with putting it in the oven but it might also be the safer course. Is this piece going to be cast or one off? If a one off it probably is not going to be as strong as a piece made from putty. This is probably the major downside to Sculpey, especially in such a small scale. The almost unlimited working time sure is nice though huh?~Gary; 18 September 2007 at 08:28
CALVIN TAN said...: Hi Gary,

thanks for the tip. Fortunately, I do not encounter any problems whilst baking the sculpey with a heat gun. It's really a God's sent as it speeds up the curing to mere seconds. You'll also be supprisd to know that the longer you bake the sculpey, the harder it gets, especially when it gets charred to a maroon brown.

And yes the unlimited working time is really great. You have no idea how much time and material I've saved from carving!

Calvin; 24 September 2007 at 22:11
Dani Serrano said...: Mi amigo!! Como estas??

I see you are finally back to 1/35 and I'm very happy. This one looks really great, can't wait to see the progress as you are one of the ones that inspire me!

Un abrazo,

Dani; 25 September 2007 at 00:07