Tamiya - US Tank Crew, 4th Armored Division (ETO) 1944-45

Just managed to squeeze out one more creation before I return to Tokyo to attend the Shizuoka Hobby Show this weekend. This 1/35 scale bust was created from the same box set of US tank crew figures from Tamiya. The gun barrel was taken from my scrap box and a canteen cup fashioned from a plastic Tamiya canteen bottle.

No further enhancements were made to the basic figure - just good ol' fashion careful painting to bring out the features. A special shout out for Franco Serra for his skillful hand in crafting the miniature wooden base for this project. Do check out his fine workmanship at IL Basetta.

 A Private Reiben inspired writing on the tankers jacket.

Cheers,

Calvin

Tamiya - Medic US Armored Corps (ETO) 1944-45

Second Tamiya figure but with a slight modification (helmet) made by Masahiro Doi for the DVD. The arm band was carved out with a scalpel from the jacket sleeve and the red cross emblems were painted free hand - this section was not recorded as the content was aimed towards beginners.

Cheers,

Calvin

Tamiya - US Tank Crew Set (ETO)

Here is my take on Tamiya's most recent (at least to my knowledge) figure painted for the instructional DVD produced by Model Art magazine. I would like to emphasize that NO additions have been made to this figure and the final result is all due to good ol' fashion hand painting (and maybe a spray can or two for the primer).

This instructional DVD was developed for the beginner armor and diorama modeller in mind; in which I will demonstrate a variety of easy to master techniques employed to attain this final result. Topics include proper paint application techniques, choice of brushes as well as some little tricks and short cuts I have developed over the years painting figures. Bear in mind that it is not a continuous record of the painting process but a showcase of techniques for any modeller of different skill levels to incorporate into their repertoire of techniques. From what I understand it will be available region free and presented in both English and Japanese.

The video footage is undergoing editing as of this time of writing - so stay tuned for more updates.

Cheers,

Calvin

DVD Production for Model Art Magazine

During the premier Malaysia Miniature Hobby Show in Penang 2016, Masahiro Doi and Manabu Sasaki from Model Art magazine attended my live demonstration on figure painting and approached me to consider producing some instructional videos on figure painting. Months later,  an agreement was worked out between myself and Model Art Magazine of Tokyo and on Sunday, April 23 I traveled from Singapore to Tokyo produce the video.

I was greeted by Norio and Sasaki upon my arrival at Narita airport. With not a moment to lose, we were soon planning out the week's events over my first night's dinner in Tokyo.

 Masahiro Doi, the project coordinator for this DVD filming and Norio Takemura over dinner on the first night. 

I started my day early on Monday. Riding on a kick scooter I brought with me from Singapore, I managed to explore the perimeters of the imperial palace in the Chiyoda district and enjoy some fresh air before the start of the rush hour traffic.

 

Kitanomaru Park

Imperial Palace

After the morning sightseeing and workout it is off to the Model Art magazine office. 

President of Model Art Co., Ltd. Ida-San

The afternoon was spent going around Tokyo acquiring the tools and materials needed for the painting demonstration. It was a great opportunity to visit all the main hobby shops within the Akihabara district - notably Volks, Yellow Submarine and most sentimentally Miniature Park; perhaps the last of its kind military figure specialist shops in Japan.

With my old friend Kauzo Kiuchi in front of his establishment - Miniature Park

 Night view from Tokyo Tower

Norio Takemura

 Yakitori dinner

 My three gracious hosts; Norio, Sasaki and Masahiro Doi.

On Tuesday morning, Sasaski, Norio and I took a short road trip to the Tamiya headquarters in Shizuoka to visit the archive room. This was a trip that proved to be absolutely unforgettable....

 En-route to Shizuoka - magnificent view of Mount Fuji.

In front of scale modelling mecca.

At the Shepard Paine tribute showcase in the archive room.

I was very fortunate to have met the iconic giant of scale modelling Mr Shepard Paine twice in my life; first in Rome 2002 and the second in Girona 2008. This was my first time seeing all of his iconic works done for the Tamiya catalog back in the 1980's and memories of my childhood came gushing back.

More around the archive room...

More iconic exhibits....

Francois Verlinden, Mig Jimenez and Hal Stanford

 

Hal Stanford's iconic masterpiece "Panther Feldwerkstatt"

It is back to Tokyo after lunch. Did some personal shopping around Shibuya and Harajuku district before getting dinner with Tokyo-based fellow Singaporean aircraft and ship modeller Adrian Koh.

A Japanese-Chinese style dinner

 The filming location was situated in the Asakusa district - thus a visit to the famous Asakusa Kannon Temple was inevitable.

Filming of the DVD commenced on Wednesday and all the way through to Friday. Here are some behind the scenes shots...

 The set-up

The director's station

...and a line-up of the people involved.

 Management team from Model Art magazine led by Kohei-Ida, the gentleman on the far right.

Film crew and support.

Masahiro Doi

Thursday night was particularly memorable as Asami Watanabe and Shinji Hasegawa specially came down to the filming site to participate in the reunion from the first Malaysia Miniature Hobby Show held last year in Penang.

Salmon Chazuke - simple comfort food

 Friday lunch - Unagi Don

 Friday night outing to the Tamiya Plamodel Factory in Simbashi

With filming completed, the Saturday morning was free and easy for me. I took the ride scooter down from Kudanshita to Tsukiji Market to do some sight seeing and a very fresh bowl of Chirashi Don for breakfast.

Following a hearty breakfast, I rode the kick scooter up to Ueno. That Saturday morning was a great time to move around Tokyo on a kick scooter. The pavements and sidewalk were quite empty and not as bumpy I imagined them to be.

I rode back to Kudanshita from Ueno, passing by Akihabara to get ready for a workshop demonstration at Kiya Hobby later that afternoon.

A group photograph after the Kiya hobby workshop demonstration organized by Masahiro Doi. It was a great afternoon interacting with some of the local Japanese modellers.

Special thanks to Norio Takemura, Manabu Sasaki and Masahiro Doi for being such gracious hosts during my stay in Tokyo.

Until next week when we meet again in Shizuoka!

Calvin