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.
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.
Do check out my Podcast interview with Barry Biediger and Jim DeRogatis at Box Dioramas.com
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.
This video presentation documents the process of rendering a highly detailed 1/35 scale after-market resin figure. Watch as I take the viewer through the process of rendering of leather, uniform insignia as well as camouflage patterns using the techniques and materials presented in the beginner's guide to achieve convincing results. It is available in both Japanese and English.
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. .
Compact travelling for this weekend's show.
Cheers,
Calvin
Just thought I would share two thematic line-up of 1/35 scale figures from my personal collection.
Another figure completed for the month of August. All painted using colours from AK Interactive's signature paint set by Adam Wilder.
I have been busy this month with this minor conversion based off the figure from Tamiya;s M-18 Hellcat. The head is taken from Tamiya's Wehrmacht Tank Crew Set (35354). The helmet together with the M3 sub machine gun are from the US Tank Crew Set - ETO (35347). The left arm is left detachable to facilitate the painting of the trousers. The shoelaces are rebuilt with black Milliput in tandem with the painting. Progress has been rather slow due to work but here's hoping I could get this completed this weekend.
A short update on the progress of the US Marine pilot.
Cheers,
Calvin
This is a conversion using the Tamiya tank crew set (ETO) that I have been intermittently working on for the month of February. Some might recognise that the pose is based off a famous photo of Lieutenant Colonel Harold "Indian Joe" Bauer.
The head is an offering from Hornet Models and the arms are donated from Tamiya's Wehrmacht tank crew set. The creases and minor details of the figure are modelled with thinly rolled out epoxy putty - as with the gloves, flying cap and goggles. The groundwork is built up from a base of epoxy putty overlaid with some acrylic texture paste and a sprinkle of fine dust and gravel. The stem of the coconut tree is made from plastic rods and the bark texture is sculpted from Milliput. The bulletin board is made from sheet styrene and the squadron scoreboard was designed in Photoshop and printed out on my Canon Selphy printer.
The photo that sparked the inspiration and reference for this figure.
On the Tonight Show.....
I have finally made the push to complete the painting of this sombre scene depicting the bitter fight by the US Army forces during the Battle of the Hürtgen Forest in Fall of 1944. Inspiration of this vignette came from literally thinking within the box as I set upon myself the challenge to create a narrative using just only the contents of the kit. With the exception of swapping the stock heads for the more expressive offerings from Hornet Models and the remodelling of the hands of the kneeling figure, no other alterations were made to the stock Tamiya figures.
