PERSPECTIVES IN MINIATURE: Takahashi Modelling

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 Takahashi Modelling. Show all posts

Saturday, 30 December 2023

Panzer-Kompanie 315, Normandy 1944

Labels: Takahashi Modelling Posted by Calvin Tan at 03:35

Calling this done before the close of 2023.

Cheers,

Calvin

Wednesday, 27 December 2023

Panzer-Kompanie 315, Normandy 1944

Labels: Takahashi Modelling Posted by Calvin Tan at 22:53

More progress made this evening.

Cheers,

Calvin

Tuesday, 26 December 2023

Panzer-Kompanie 315, Normandy 1944

Labels: Takahashi Modelling Posted by Calvin Tan at 01:38

I am still trying to complete my 2023's resolution of finishing up another shelf queen. This figure is from Takahashi Modelling and bears my old hallmark of the black primer undercoat - a step in which I have stopped using since 2022. I decided to stage him performing field maintenance at a bivouac and thus populated the surroundings with accessories from Tamiya, RFM and Academy. The grey boxes at the back are 3D printed offerings from Lithokraft.

Cheers,

Calvin

Tuesday, 31 October 2023

Unterscharführer, SS Panzer Regiment 1, Operation Barbarossa, 1941

Labels: AK Interactive, Takahashi Modelling Posted by Calvin Tan at 12:48

Over the past weekend, I completed a quick paint job of an old metal figure from Takahashi Modelling. Overall it is a very nice sculpt and still holds up well by today's standards. My only gripe was that the hands are a tad chunky and I went about replacing them with ones from Royal Model. In the interest of time and convenience, I also used the decals from Passion Model for the insignias. Painting is done with AK Gen 3 acrylic paint. For the first time I tried out AK Interactive's new enamel liquid pigment for the groundwork and I am very delighted by the natural results. Finally, a special mention to Sven Finch for initiating this project and Chang Chung Fu for donating the figure.