SS-Sturmbannführer, KG-LSSAH, Kamenets–Podolsky Pocket, 1944

As the enthusiasm for the box art assignment for Dynamo Models started to wane, a side quest appeared. The premise was simple: I attached the spare head from Alpine Miniatures 35324 WSS Grenadier & Flare Gun on the body of 35075 Joachim Peiper in the Ardennes and a new idea was conceived. Such is the bane of an overactive imagination.

The Oak Leaf pattern(Spring/Summer) is undercoated with a 4:1:1 mixture of Waffen Red Brown and Light Earth and Deep Orange. Highlighting is done by increasing the proportion of Light Earth. The light green areas are painted with a 3:1 mixture of Light Green and Golden Olive, and outlined with two tones of green. The first is Waffen Green and the second is a 1:2 mixture of Tenebrous Grey and AK Quick Gen Field Grey.  

That's all for now. I will start planning on the groundwork before proceeding further with the painting.

Cheers,

Calvin

Dynamo Models - SS-s Pz.Abt., 101 Normandy, 1944

The first figure from Dynamo Model's #35DM108 WSS-Tiger "222" Crew Normandy 1944 (Big Set) is completed. Moving forward to the other three figures (2 full and one 1/4 for the driver.)

Cheers,

Calvin

Dynamo Models - SS-s Pz.Abt., 101 Normandy, 1944

A little more progress today in refining the camouflage pattern. It involves a lot of back and forths and may appear messy in the beginning, but essentially it is about getting things wrong first to determine what is right later.

Cheers,

Calvin

Dynamo Models - SS-s Pz.Abt., 101 Normandy, 1944

I am starting on a new 1/35 scale box art assignment on Dynamo Model's #35DM108 WSS-Tiger "222" Crew Normandy 1944 (Big Set). 

This set has been around since October 2024 and was previewed in The Modelling News.  I suppose 'box art pending' refers to my involvement.  Let's see if this project can lead to some fruitful collaborations in the future ;-). 

 

The figures in this set are 3D printed. The details are very sharp, fine and extremely delicate. I do warn everyone to pay careful attention to handling them – especially the shoulder boards, which are moulded separately. This figure is undercoated with AK RC-801 Flat Varnish. I added some Tamiya Flat Base to the mix to increase the porosity of the base so that it can improve the absorption of paint.

Below is the result from three evening painting sessions. Unlike in the past, I painted the base colour (AK 11419 Waffen Red Brown + AK 1108 Grimy Grey + AK 11328 RAL 8012 Rottbraun) alongside the patterns. This ensures that the paint remains evenly levelled. Painting over the base colour often results in "bumps"—especially with heavy-body paints like acrylics and enamels. 

Cheers,

Calvin

SS Freiwilligen Legion Niederlande, Narva, 1944

Getting ready for my painting workshop at 模樂堂 Happy Hobby in Hong Kong this weekend. I will be showcasing my updated painting workflow using AK Interactive's Quick Gen and 3Gen acrylics for painting 1/35 scale figures using Alpine Miniatures 35236 WSS Grenadier at Kharkov. Here's looking forward to meeting everyone who has signed up. The workshop will be conducted in Mandarin and Chinglish.

Close-up of the groundwork, which consists mainly of accessories from MiniArt Models. The bucket and corn cobs are from HD Model.

Cheers,

Calvin

Unteroffizier, Großdeutschland 1942 - Painting the Field Grey Tunic - Part 1

In this instalment, I will reveal my process of utilizing my signature set of colours from AK Interactive to render a Field Grey tunic. 

To create a greenish-blue tone of field grey typical in most early war tunics, I will concoct a mixture of Field Grey Base #1, Grey Green and Dark Prussian Blue. Take caution to add only a modicum of Dark Prussian Blue as it is extremely overpowering.

The colours were mixed on a metal surface and the mixture was allowed to dry. Once dried, I added Mr Colour Leveling Thinner 400 to dissolve the paint, rendering it usable for airbrushing.  

A flat brush was used to draw the paint from the metal surface and transferred to the airbrush. The dilution rate is a 1:3 paint to thinner ratio.

The high dilution of paint was necessary for two reasons; firstly to allow a smoother discharge of paint from the airbrush nozzle and second being that I only needed a thin veil of paint to cover the surface so that the effects of the underpainting can peep through. 

Truth be told, with the exception of Tamiya acrylics, I have never attained good results airbrushing  with acrylic paints until most recently using the "Lazarus" method. This opens new possibilities as one could now "resurrect" dried up acrylic paints and reuse them as lacquer-based paint. If you are still sceptical about the results, just look at the following photos and you can see that it boasts a smooth and matt finish.

That is all for now. In the next instalment, I will cover the shading and highlighting of the figure using the brush.

Cheers,

Calvin

Unteroffizier, Großdeutschland 1942 - Underpainting

The timing could not be more perfect as I commence on the painting of this figure using my signature set of colours composed for painting WWII German Uniforms by AK Interactive. 

The figure is primed using Mr Mahogany Surfacer 1000 from Mr Hobby as I wanted to work with a warmer tone as a ground colour. 

The darker areas are airbrushed with black to simulate the cool tone of the shadows.

A light mist of AK 11003 White Grey was applied to simulate the lightfall. This process allows the areas for highlighting to be identified and more importantly improves the luminosity of the base colours.

AK 11003 White Grey was thinned with water to a milk-like consistency and successively applied in thin layers to strengthen the highlights. In traditional painting, this technique is referred to as underpainting and it has been pioneered by Titian during the High Renaissance.  

In my next post, I will briefly cover the painting of the face so stay tuned!

Cheers,

Calvin

Signature Set for WW2 German Uniforms from AK Interactive

 

Through the courtesy of the good folks at AK Interactive, I am so happy to receive my copy of the 18 colour box set of AK Interactive Gen 3 acrylic paints. It is composed of all the essential colours I use to paint World War Two German uniforms and a small pamphlet containing my colour mixes. Stay tune for the upcoming weeks in which I will reveal on how I go about using them. Till then have a good weekend.

Cheers,

Calvin