PERSPECTIVES IN MINIATURE: April 2022

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, 30 April 2022

Alpine Miniatures - CSA, 5th Texas Infantry Regiment, 1863

Labels: Alpine Miniatures Posted by Calvin Tan at 23:50

Though I have never been keen on the subject of the American Civil War, I do admire the art of Don Troiani and Keith Rocco. Thus when the opportunity was presented by Taesung Harmms to paint this Mike Good sculpt for the box art, I could not resist - especially the challenge to render a ornamental carpet bed roll. It might surprise some you folks out there that the uniform was rendered with colors taken from my WW2 German Uniform set from AK Interactive. Watch this space as I will publish the colour recipes for the Confederate uniform.

As you can see below, the figure in in bare resin.

Cheers,

Calvin

Wednesday, 27 April 2022

MG Schütze - LSSAH, Kharkov 1943

Posted by Calvin Tan at 23:23

I am putting this out there in case anyone is curious about the colours used.

Cheers,

Calvin

Tuesday, 26 April 2022

MG Schütze - LSSAH, Kharkov 1943

Labels: Life Miniatures Posted by Calvin Tan at 23:04

All done....

Cheers,

Calvin

Sunday, 24 April 2022

MG Schütze - LSSAH, Kharkov 1943

Labels: Life Miniatures Posted by Calvin Tan at 23:28

A little more progress on the ground work and the equipment this weekend. Back to the office again tomorrow morning . Hopefully I can ride the momentum and get this done before the end of next week.

Cheers,

Calvin

Saturday, 23 April 2022

MG Schütze - LSSAH, Kharkov 1943

Labels: Life Miniatures Posted by Calvin Tan at 02:13

Just a little something to indulge myself with this evening. 1/35 scale Waffen SS MG Gunner from Life Miniatures. Fully painted with AK Gen 3 and Abteilung 502 acrylics.

Cheers,

Calvin

Thursday, 21 April 2022

Alpine Miniatures - 5 RTR, North Africa 1942

Labels: Alpine Miniatures, Alpine Miniatures - 5th Royal Tank Regiment North Africa 1942 Posted by Calvin Tan at 13:08

This a preview of a figure that I have painted as a sample for my upcoming workshop at the 2022 World Model Expo in Eindhoven on July 3. This 4-hour long workshop is principally tailored for beginners - in which I will explain the foundational concepts and demonstrate my technique of painting with acrylic paints in the simplest way possible. Unfortunately as of this time of writing, the tickets are completely sold out. For those who are lucky to secure a place, this teaser should set a benchmark of what you can set to achieve.