Alpine Miniatures - 5th Royal Tank Regiment, North Africa 1942

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Following a piqued interest in WW2 Allied subjects after the rendition of Young Miniature's bust of the US 101st Airborne at Bastogne, the offer to paint Alpine Miniature's latest offering of Allied/Commonwealth figures was gleefully accepted early last January. Though the painting only commenced just a week ago due to a short stint of Army reservist duties, much of the lost time was made up during the Lunar New Year holiday period.

Looking at the unpainted figures, I don't think there's more need to elaborate about Taesung's top-notch sculpting. I sincerely hope that this will come greatly appreciated by WW2 Allied modellers whose yearnings from Alpine to put forth such a release seemed long neglected. And though the head gear and insignia makes them to be tank crews, I do see the possibility of them being converted to personal of a LRDG Chevrolet 30 cwt Patrol Truck or a SAS jeep. (remember, we are only limited by our own imaginations).

Point to mention is apart from the usual extra pair of heads provided, the seated figure and double-figure set is scheduled to include a very cute Retriever pup (possibly a company mascot) which appears to be craving for a Scooby-snack.

A small section of a North-African well was modelled out from epoxy putty to accommodate the seated figure. The stone texture was created by deliberately first allowing the soft putty to blister under extreme heat in the toaster oven such that when cured and carved with a scalpel, it reveals a pitted surface resembling stone.

I opted to prime the whole set-up with a very dark red mixture of Gunze Sanyo Flat Black and Character Red so as to give a dark yet warm base to work from.

The main areas on the figure receive their respective base colours applied with an airbrush to hasten the process. 

The colour mix used for the battle dress consisted of US Field Drab, English Uniform and SS Camouflage Black Brown. Darker shades were achieved with a darker mix comprising of more SS Camo Black Brown. Lighter tones were comprised of varying mixes of English Uniform and Wood. The Khaki Shorts were rendered with mixes of US Deck Tan, Dark Sand, Pale Sand and Stone Grey. Darker tones were done with a darker mix consisting of more Stone Grey and by the same token lighter tones were done by increasing the amount of Pale Sand.

The seated figure was clothed in a standard issue cardigan which was painted with a mix of Russian Uniform,US Field Drab and US Olive Drab.

The standing figure is almost completed whilst the seated figure still has some prominent areas to render. More of that later next week...

cheers,

Calvin