PERSPECTIVES IN MINIATURE: July 2012

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. .

Monday, 30 July 2012

Young Miniatures - Royal Tank Regiment, North-West Europe, 1944-45

Labels: Young Miniatures - Royal Tank Regiment North-West Europe 1944-45 Posted by Calvin Tan at 13:55

Here's a glimpse of what I've been mucking around for the past week. It is a rendition of Young Miniatures's most recent offering from his range of military bust depicting a personnel from the Royal Tank Regiment.

The preliminary round of shading was established by airbrushing Naples Yellow over a dark blue base. When set for an hour, a light wash of Yellow Ocher was applied to lend warmth to the overall appearance.

This follows the rendering of the face and blocking in the colors for the sweater, beret and the blanket-lined collar. What remains is pretty much shading, toning and highlighting from this point on.

Cheers,

Calvin

Monday, 23 July 2012

Young Miniatures - Obersturmführer, SS Cavalry Division, Florian Geyer, 1944

Labels: Young Miniatures - Obersturmführer SS Cavalry Division Florian Geyer 1944 Posted by Calvin Tan at 10:24

Glad to say that the final push was made this weekend to complete the partisan hunter. Painting this caricatured portrait of a repugnant character was quite a refreshing experience as there was a sense of liberty to boldly experiment with colors and contrast - as compared on a "pretty" face where one might be compelled to be more cautious.

As previously mentioned, I employed a blue-green color bias for the shadows to enhance the aura of evil especially on the face. The colors for Erbsenmuster tunic was loosely referenced from a previous box-art assignment HERE and everything was pretty much straightforward.

Cheers,

Calvin

Wednesday, 18 July 2012

Young Miniatures - Obersturmführer, SS Cavalry Division, Florian Geyer, 1944

Labels: Young Miniatures - Obersturmführer SS Cavalry Division Florian Geyer 1944 Posted by Calvin Tan at 18:17

Here's a snappy progress update on the painting of the partisan hunter. I've attached the flare pistol to the webbing and applied some refinements to bino and details to the crusher cap. I'm contemplating to glaze on some dark blue to the shadow areas of metal insignia to lend some color dimension. We'll see how that goes this weekend.

In the meantime, here's a close-up of the face with the hints of green in the shadows to convey that sinister look.

Cheers,

Calvin

Sunday, 1 July 2012

Young Miniatures - Obersturmführer, SS Cavalry Division, Florian Geyer, 1944

Labels: Young Miniatures - Obersturmführer SS Cavalry Division Florian Geyer 1944 Posted by Calvin Tan at 23:53

Just thought I would kick start this month by sharing a "spotty" piece of work on the SS-Erbsenmuster I'm currently busy with. My personal take on Young's characterization - brutish features and the penetrating gaze - makes him out to be a villainous partisan hunter that feeds into the Waffen-SS stereotype.

I'm quite liking on how this leisure project is coming together; the caricatured look of the defined features allows more permutations of colors to be introduced into the color space. Phthalo Green was used as a shadow color around the eyes to convey an aura of evil to the gaze.