PERSPECTIVES IN MINIATURE: Alpine Miniatures - SS-Unterscharführer, SSPzAbt 101, 1944

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, 7 March 2009

Alpine Miniatures - SS-Unterscharführer, SSPzAbt 101, 1944

Labels: Alpine Miniatures - SS-Unterscharführer SSPzAbt 101 1944 Posted by CALVIN TAN at 13:22

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Taking a short intermittent break from the painting of Young Bok's US Marine bust, the past few days have been involved in the painting of the box art for an upcoming Alpine Miniatures release.
Sculpted by Mike Good, whose good name is no stranger to the figure/military modelling fraternity (no pun intended) this 1/16 scale figure is a simple study of an SS tank crew clad in the ubiquitous leather suit commonly issued to U-boat crews.

The figure was easily pieced and together with the embellished groundwork was primed with Flat Black. With the face painted,it made the work appear 90% done.

It soon proved however not to be the case as I attempted for a more realistic rendering of leather on a larger scale using both acrylic and oil paints.

Tune in next week for more updates.

Calvin

9 comments:

Andreas said...: Great Paintwork as always,and mike did an very good job too!Is there a possiblility to paint one part of the uniform in another color?
Looking forward to see him finished

regards from Germany

Andreas; 8 March 2009 at 19:40
muncheberg said...: The leather jacket is really realistic,can i ask how to make it?Paint gloss varnish for oil paint?; 9 March 2009 at 00:14
Anonymous said...: Thats a great looking figure!

You know I was looking at all the photos Of the U-boat uniforms used in Normandy and noticed all the trees in the photos have no leaves on them? So I wonder if they were used when it was cold, months before the invasion when the SS were training in France?????

Glenn Bartolotti; 9 March 2009 at 11:06
Anonymous said...: Hi Calvin,

As usual, very nice in progress. The creases and face are beautifully done. Just one question is the head fit nicely or just the photo, look a little big compare to proportion of the body for once...

Allan; 9 March 2009 at 15:10
Rudi Richardson said...: Hi Calvin,

Great work as usual. I must agree with Alan, though, that the head does appear out of proportion. Is it a camera trick? Or really so?

Andreas: the figure wears the black leather jacket and naval leather engine room trousers intended for Maschinenpersonal. With the exception of perhaps the M1943 Einheitsfeldmütze, which might be done as camo although unlikely as tankers normally wore it in black, one is pretty much limited to a black scheme with this figure.

Rudi; 10 March 2009 at 10:17
Anonymous said...: Great paintwork as usual Calvin.

I must agree with Allan and Rudi that the head looks too large. That was the first thing that caught my eye.

Cheers
Basil; 10 March 2009 at 17:33
Anonymous said...: Paint work is outstanding as usual but i agree with the oversized head comments. Apart from that, great figure!; 11 March 2009 at 01:08
CALVIN TAN said...: Hi Chaps,

thank you all for your kind constructive inputs. Taesung and I too share the same exact sentiment about the figure's unusual proportion.
It's now therefore in the midst of a revision as I write.

The leather jacket is rendered with oil paints and acrylic inks.

Calvin; 11 March 2009 at 09:58
Anonymous said...: Great news Calvin.

I'm always reluctant to take a shot at a new figure, but it would have been a shame for this to go to market as it was. The rest of the figure looks great and with the head sorted, I'm sure it'll be a winner.

Cheers,
michael; 11 March 2009 at 18:28