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

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, 17 March 2007

One for the SAF

Labels: SAF Figure Commissions Posted by CALVIN TAN at 16:03

Hi Guys,
after weeks of radio silence, I can finally unveil the second project that I was working along side the Manga figure master. Commissioned by the General Staff of the Singapore Armed Forces, it's a 1/15 scale miniature portrait of the out-going Chief of Army, Major General Desmond Kuek posed on a "fictional" variant of our army's newly acquired Leopard 2 A4 tank. Quite a challenging project considering it's my first miniature portraiture and completed in a record time (for me at least) of three weeks, from sculpting to painting. Plenty of photo references of the subject was provided by the General Staff which made the sculpting proceed much smoother than expected. Due to the tight deadline imposed, I was fortunate to be able to drag an old modeller friend of mine, Juilan Yap from impending retirement from this hobby to assist in the modification and construction of the 1/15 scale Leopard tank. The base kit as most might know is the 1/15 Tamiya Leopard 2A6 remote control tank which Julian has deftly back dated it to what remotely resembles an A4 version. Call it a "Hollywood" version of the A4 if you must, the only justification for such a measure is due to security issues within the military as information pertaining to the design of the actual tank is still kept under key and lock.

The completed model was placed on a gloss lacquered teak wood base and presented to Major General Kuek last night by the head of General Staff during special ceremony cum happy hour. Wah piang eh! Everyone there all had "crabs" on their shoulders. It was like a nite out at Jumbo Seafood man! I saw quite a number of familiar faces too like my ex-CO and RSMs from my stint as an enlistee at 46 SAR. I also never knew you could indent Laksa, Poh Piah, roast beef, scallops and prawns in marinara sauce from SFI! Plus it was the first time I tasted SAF wine too! This 3rd Generation SAF really know how to enjoy man!

And in case some of you might be wondering.....NO...I'm not exempted from reservist and IPPT. No such luck....yet!

Calvin

Wednesday, 28 February 2007

February Update

Labels: VMC Figure Mascot Posted by CALVIN TAN at 09:03

Phew!!! It has been a busy month with two figure projects at hand; one is the Manga figure master as shown and another which I'm not privy to post at the moment.

Wednesday, 7 February 2007

Manga-esq Female Head

Labels: VMC Figure Mascot Posted by CALVIN TAN at 21:50

I've just taken on a new urgent assignment to create a figure master for a company mascot just to diversify my current portfolio of WW2 German Soldiers. The figure will measure approximately 6 inches tall which places it between the scale of 1/15 to 1/12 . Here's a preview of the head that I was dabbling on and off with the week before Taesung's assignment. (Oh By the way do check out his newly revamped website, looks really fantastic!) Modelled in Super Sculpey Firm. Man...Mike Good was right about this material! It rocks!

Also, I've found a little spare time today to organize a small selection of my favorite works from some of Spain's finest figure modellers and painters at AMT 2006. ( yes, I admit it's very late but still better then never) You may check them out HERE.

Cheers,

Calvin

Monday, 5 February 2007

Finally done....

Labels: Alpine Miniatures 12.SS Pz.Div HJ Normandy 1944 Posted by CALVIN TAN at 23:04

Phew!!!! It has been a busy week mostly occupied with completing Alpine Miniature's forthcoming release. And I proud to say that it looks decent enough to be finally photographed for the box art. Thank heavens that the pics on the Alpine box art too are also true to 1/35 to conceal whatever embarrassing painting boo-boos that macro photography mercilessly reveals.
I was quite eager to get back to the Fallscrhimjager Panzerschreck vignette when an old job assignment that did not get back to many months ago surprisingly popped up again requesting my urgent attention. Sigh....

But for now here's a preview of the completed Alpine Miniature's box art.

cheers,

Calvin

Thursday, 1 February 2007

First Figure Out!

Labels: Alpine Miniatures 12.SS Pz.Div HJ Normandy 1944 Posted by CALVIN TAN at 18:54

Got the rendering of the first figure completed as well as the wounded head of the second. Not exactly my personal best effort but that will do for the Alpine Miniatures box art.

And now some dinner!!!!

Chicken rice from Margaret Drive......POWER SIAH!!!!

Calvin

New Assignment from Alpine Miniatures

Labels: Alpine Miniatures 12.SS Pz.Div HJ Normandy 1944, Fallschirmjager Panzershcreck Team - Normandy 1944 Posted by CALVIN TAN at 02:21

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Okie, this week started off fast and furious with an urgent assignment from Taesung to complete the box art for his new 1/35 release; two Waffen-SS tankers in leather suits. I strongly believe that this pair will go very well with any AFV modeller who desires to model the "ultimate" Pz. IV or Panther from the 12.-SS-Pz. Div. "HJ" in Normandy.

Plus if you can see from the preview pictures, the sculpting is really top notch and definitely Taesung's best sculpt to date. The anatomy and pose are spot on and the rendering of the drapery and details of the leather suit is second to none other 1/35 scale commercial figures. I can only deduct that Taesung has invested a great deal of effort and energy in this spectacular set of figures.

The following are a few sequences of the painting in progress. Initially, I had a real difficult time attaining a deeper intensity of black with the Vallejo Black that I had had to resort to using some Ivory Black oil paints from W&N for the shadows. The desaturated appearance of the Vallejo Black mixed with Tamiya Flat Base were hence used for the highlights. Additional colours used for the highlights and mid-tones included US Oliver Drab (to add warmth) and Basis Skin Tone ( to lighten).

Looks like it's almost 80% done with just the black primer!

Well, here's also an update on the Fallscrhimjager Panzerschreck vignette with the added vegetation.

As you can notice, I spent the weekend replacing the Alpine's Panzerschreck with an updated one from Dragon Gen2 Tank Hunter Set, scratched built the ammo box and hollowed out the tail fins of the rockets. The painting will now have to wait till I settle the job above.

Calvin