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. .
o More updates to the 1/24 scale sculpt. The grey parts(apart from the hands carved from epoxy putty) are Kato Polyclay modelled over an epoxy putty armature. No prizes for guessing what nationally he's going as the subject matter is dead obvious ;P Moving on to the boots as we speak...
After a month or so of inactivity, here's something I've been working on at an irregularly basis for the past couple of weeks. It's a WIP head sculpt of a 1/24 scale commission for a close collector friend of mine.(sorry folks, it's another one-off I'm afraid) I must confess that though I was hesitant about accepting this project as it's a subject that I wasn't familiar, his enthusiasm has infectiously inspired me to consider otherwise which I'm so far enjoying. (I'm mentioning this as I've not progressed on to the details that would eventually make the figure "pop") Anyway, I reckon it might not make it to the WE 2008 in July due to my current hectic teaching assignments at several schools and institutions. This will probably last through till mid August and hence my apologies in advance for not making any responses to any of your criticisms, comments, questions and well wishes.
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After a brief hiatus due to the box art commission from Alpine Miniatures, I've finally made the final push to have this commission completed. Been to the doctor's this morning and will be taking a short break now to nurse a pesky dry cough that's been bugging me for the past two nights.
For many of us, the name Robert Doepp is one that comes as no stranger if you're a frequent visitor to Missing-Lynx or a regular subscriber to TMMi and Steel Art magazines. Robert has dazzled the military modelling world with this dioramas, tanks and figures rendered in his signature style and thus it's with great privilege that I'm able to share some pictures of his latest masterpiece here on my blog.
Demonstrating a very simple methodology of just getting inspired by the figure, Robert has decided to personalize this figure with several additions and changes to the original stock figure;enhancing its visual appeal in the process. The influence from his armor modelling background permeates through in his attention to meticulous details such as the intricate wires and connections on headphones, the scratch-built section top of the Jadgpanther base and the woven insignias on the uniform and the overall rendering of the figure with subdued hues. The rain pattern camouflage is very well represented and I think that a round of applause is due for I too had nightmares painting the "rain drops" on this pattern. I have a strong suspicion that there will be an article sometime in the future elaborating the colour and techniques used for this figure.
But till then, here's a two thumbs up from me mate! And keep 'em comin!
Hot off the press! Here's a sneak preview of Alpine Miniature's forthcoming release.
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.
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More updates from yesterday's session:
