PERSPECTIVES IN MINIATURE

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

I developed this instructional DVD with Model Art magazine to help beginner armor and diorama modelers master the art of the 1/35 scale figure. In this video, I demonstrate easy-to-follow techniques for painting injection-molded plastics—from choosing the right brushes to the 'little tricks' I use for fine details. This is a complete showcase of my personal methods, and I’m confident it will help any modeler take their work to the next level. For your convenience, the DVD is available in both English and Japanese."

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.

Showing posts with label Alpine Miniatures - LSSAH Kampfgruppe Meyer Kharkov 1943. Show all posts

Friday, 21 March 2008

Alpine Miniatures - LSSAH, Kampfgruppe Meyer, Kharkov 1943

Labels: Alpine Miniatures - LSSAH Kampfgruppe Meyer Kharkov 1943 Posted by CALVIN TAN at 10:30

And now the final touches for the Kurt Meyer figure.

Base colour of the fleece coat was lightened with Deck Tan applied from the airbrush. Overshoots could subsequently be corrected by brush later during the application of secondary highlights and shadows.

Shading done with heavily diluted Camo Brown applied with an airbursh. This process also helps to clear up the "chalky" effects from the application of the Deck Tan.

Application of highlights

Outlining and additional details

Rendering of the white fleece lining

Rendering of the other details

Crusher cap

Calvin

Tuesday, 18 March 2008

Alpine Miniatures - LSSAH, Kampfgruppe Meyer, Kharkov 1943

Labels: Alpine Miniatures - LSSAH Kampfgruppe Meyer Kharkov 1943 Posted by CALVIN TAN at 12:42

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More updates from yesterday's session:

Rendering of the trousers

Map case

MP-40 with sling made from paper stiffen with varnish.

Metals parts are undercoated with flat black and burnished with a 2B lead for a metallic look.

Groundwork built up from scrap components of my personal spares and rendered with Vallejo paints.

Application of "Microballons" for the snow effect.

Calvin

Sunday, 16 March 2008

Alpine Miniatures - LSSAH, Kampfgruppe Meyer, Kharkov 1943

Labels: Alpine Miniatures - LSSAH Kampfgruppe Meyer Kharkov 1943 Posted by CALVIN TAN at 00:25

Today's progress...

Changed the colour of the anorak to better compliment the colours on the Kurt Meyer figure.

Preliminary shadows

Highlighting

A view of the back

Outlining

Painting of the fur lining

On to the bino and MP-40 ammo pouch

Details of the back

Impression of scale

Airbrushed the preliminary highlights and shadows of the white colored overalls

Going to sleep now, got a retreat to attend to at church later in the morning..... zzzzzzzzzz

Friday, 14 March 2008

Alpine Miniatures - LSSAH, Kampfgruppe Meyer, Kharkov 1943

Labels: Alpine Miniatures - LSSAH Kampfgruppe Meyer Kharkov 1943 Posted by CALVIN TAN at 12:01

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Here's finally a much anticipated preview of the contents from the parcel from Jersey. I must "POINT" out that these two figures are nothing short of disap"POINTING" and I do encourage all the make an ap"POINT"ment to get them as soon as they hit the shops.

Punts aside, I must say that the casting was predictably good with very minimal flash. The likeness of Kurt Meyer, which though gave Taesung some headaches, was spot on. One could imagine more Kurt Meyer figures in the Italian Camo tunic circa Ardenne Abbey, Normandy 1944 , M36 tunic circa Klissura Pass, Greece 1941 or the more stylist Kradmantel at Mariupol 1941 get my "POINT"? :P

The components came together very nicely with virtually no gaps to fill. The groundwork was built up using some epoxy putty and littered with artifacts found from my box of modelling scraps. Before setting, the figures were impressed into the base for a natural fit.