PERSPECTIVES IN MINIATURE: September 2021

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. .

Thursday, 30 September 2021

Landser - Stalingrad 1942

Labels: Tamiya, Tamiya - German Soldiers at Rest Posted by Calvin Tan at 23:24

The figure is primed and the painting commences with the groundwork. I decided to create a messy backdrop using a hodgepodge of scrap litter to lend more interest to the scene.

Cheers,

Calvin

Saturday, 25 September 2021

Landser - Stalingrad 1942

Labels: Landser - Stalingrad 1942, Tamiya, Tamiya - German Soldiers at Rest Posted by Calvin Tan at 20:27

I added the bread bag strap onto the helmet and remodelled the awkward looking arch at the crotch to the accompaniment of the Sprue Cutter's Union podcast interview with Marijn van Gils. I do highly recommend it, furthermore it is rather enjoyable making models whilst eavesdropping into modellers in the background talk about modelling. (P.S. I was kinda expecting Marijn to talk about the hate mail though :p)

The hands were separated along the edge of the folded sleeves and reconnected using small magnets to ease the painting of the tunic.

Cheers,

Calvin

Thursday, 23 September 2021

Landser - Stalingrad 1942

Labels: Landser - Stalingrad 1942, Tamiya, Tamiya - German Soldiers at Rest Posted by Calvin Tan at 22:50

A little more work today. I decided to break down the wall section and correct the top profile of the steel helmet.

Monday, 20 September 2021

Landser - Stalingrad 1942

Labels: Landser - Stalingrad 1942, Tamiya, Tamiya - German Soldiers at Rest Posted by Calvin Tan at 01:06

A quick build up of the third figure from Tamiya's German's Soldiers at Rest set against an urban backdrop. The brick wall section is from Hero Model, textured with Tamiya putty and the ends nipped of with a pair of nippers to simulate battle damage. The tiled floor is made from rolled out epoxy putty instead of sheet styrene as I wanted an uneven surface with bevelled edges. The Kar98k is resting against the wall is taken from Tamiya 35371 German Infantry Set (Mid-war). T

The gas canister is remodelled by cannibalising two of the shorter gas mask canisters provided by the kit and the bread bag is remodelled with epoxy putty. The straps are also modelled with thinly rolled out epoxy putty that was allowed to cure till it is firm enough to be handled by hand but still flexible to be manipulated. They are attached to the figure with white glue which surprisingly forms a rather strong bond with the plastic surface.

The main body of the field stove is made from curled up paper stiffen with superglue with a plastic rod for the chimney. Other bits of details are fashioned from paper, styrene and epoxy putty. The lid of the mess tin is made by slicing the top off a complete mess tin and then carefully hollowing out the inside with a drill bit and chisel from GodHand.

Cheers,

Calvin

Monday, 13 September 2021

Spearhead, US 3rd Armoured Division, Paderborn, Germany 1945

Labels: Spearhead 3rd Armoured Division Paderborn Germany 1945, Verlinden Productions Posted by Calvin Tan at 19:42

The Battle of Paderborn was hard fought by the US 3rd Armoured Division towards the closing stages of the war in Europe. I wanted to summarise the bitter mood from the aftermath of the fighting by contrasting the tank crew's weary "thousand-yard stare" and his nervous grasp on his cigarette against his foot on the severed gun barrel of his adversary - a symbol of a costly victory.

The figure was painted with a mixture of Vallejo and AK Interactive Gen 3 paints. Colour for Vallejo Acrylics mixes can be found HERE from an earlier project. I used a combination of cool dark grey and warm dark brown tones for the shadows areas to render a sombre mood. Warms tones are employed to direct the viewer's gaze towards the face and hand - the two most expressive features of a human portrait. And with that, we have come to the conclusion of this project. Let's see what is still left on the bench...