Alpine Miniatures - Panzerschütze LSSAH Kursk 1943

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Placing aside the Landser bust for the moment, my evenings from the past two weeks have been preoccupied with a new painting assignment from Alpine Miniatures. It's almost an irresistible urge for me not to inaugurate the new year with this upcoming offering sculpted by a new Korean sculptor Lee Sang Min. All components of the figure came together perfectly during the dry fitting. For ease of painting, I opted to leave the right arm and hands detached.

This project also marks a landmark attempt to render intricate camouflage patterns using Jo Sonja acrylics; which I must say handles just as well as Vallejo. The paramount focus is to control the fluidity and opacity of the paint so that a homogeneous spread of paint can be achieve for a smooth finish. That is where the acrylic retarder comes in handy in improving the paint flow and extending the working time of the paint.

The oak leaf camouflage pattern was painted with a brown color base before indicating the key regions with medium green. Dark green was then carefully applied to define the contours of the pattern, giving it its trademark appearance. The bass cartridge of the projectile round was simulated by airbrushing clear orange followed by clear blue over a silver base.

That is all of the work that's been done so far on the first figure with only the P-38 holster left to be attached at the waist. Hopefully I could furnish some updates on the second figure when circumstances permit.

Cheers,

Calvin

Hello 2012!!!

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Here's wishing everyone a happy 2012 and here's an update to the progress of Landser bust from Young Miniatures to kick start the new year.

For curious minds, here's a pictorial description on how the helmet decal was painted by hand.

The boundary of the shield was indicated with dots before filling in the solid color.

A modicum of paint retarder was mixed to improve paint flow. The eagle motif was painted with light grey onto the wet surface of the black. This allows a certain degree of "mucking" around until the desired tones and shapes are achieved. I've found that this method also helps to reduce the build-up of paint, creating a smoother finish.

The final result.

On another note, Fernando Ruiz has posted a short write-up (in Spanish) on my trip to Girona last November over at his blog HERE.

I must say that it was a wonderful weekend to spend with some of the figure modelers from El Baluard and especially for Fernando Ruiz to host my visit in Barcelona and Girona. Muchas Gracis for sus hospitalidad.

Cheers,

Calvin