SS-Scharführer, SS-Panzer-Abteilung 502, Das Reich, 1945

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When I was taking inventory of my exhibits for the World Expo in Girona a few weeks ago, it occurred to me that they were all either private commissions or renderings for box art. Because I hadn't made anything for myself in a long time, I felt compelled to make just one piece for my own personal collection. Given the limited time frame of three weeks, this project was a "out of the box" conversion utilising stock offerings of a Hornet head and an Alpine figure (donated by Taesung Harmms)

I rummaged through my spare parts and accessories, hoping to be inspired by the objects I could find, having no idea how the figure was to be presented from the start. Soon after, I discovered an old stash of Tiger II ammunition crates from Tank Workshop, which provided me with my eureka moment. This was an old idea that I had done with a 120mm figure a long time ago, but I decided to revisit it on a smaller scale. What I like best about using these ammunition crates is that they can be used not only to build levels but also to create a variety of directional lines for visual presentation. To add variety and interest, similar elements such as the expanded tank round cartridges (from AFV Club) were introduced.

After resolving all outstanding compositional issues, I proceeded to render the scene in khakis, dark yellows, orange, and red browns using an analogous colour palette.

Not for a long time, until recently, I decided to use oil paints to render the shadows for black panzer wrap because I couldn't get satisfactory results with the acrylic paints I had on hand. As an acrylic painter, I have to admit to my oil painting colleagues that oil paints produce a much deeper tone of black.

Unfortunately, the lack of time spent rushing this figure out and performing a delicate balancing act of work and family explains the lack of any in progress shots for this project. :(

In case you're wondering, the stencilings on the crates are AFV Club water-slide decals, not hand painted.

Cheers,

Calvin