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.

Tuesday, 12 July 2022

1/16 scale Japanese NCO, Malaya 1942

Labels: Miniature Alliance Posted by Calvin Tan at 10:58

A blast from the past. In 1999, I made my first ever commercial sculpt for Singaporean model company Miniature Alliance and later in the same year it won a silver medal at Euro Militaire. It was the most exhilarating time of my life as I have dreamt of competing at Euro Militaire for many years before. It was by first big break into the international scene and since then I had lots of opportunities to meet a lot of my heroes whose names I only knew from magazines.

The figure was painted with Testors and Humbrol acrylics. The neck flaps were made from paper and the lanyard from a string of sewing thread. The vegetation consists of a mixture of dried plants purchased from a local florist. Despite its age and though today I could nit pick on some minor flaws, this figure remains one of my favourite and memorable pieces to date.

Cheers,

Calvin

Saturday, 9 July 2022

Podcast Interview on Small Subjects

Labels: Podcast Posted by Calvin Tan at 18:13

I have been an avid listener of the podcast Small Subjects hosted by Barry Biediger and Jim DeRogatis for quite some time now and it is indeed a great privilege and honour to be featured. Though I feel strange hearing my voice over the air, I still hope you guys will like the interview and don't forget to also check out the rest of their podcasts and their web page Box Dioramas.

Cheers,

Calvin

Sunday, 26 June 2022

Tamiya's New US Infantry Scout Set

Labels: Tamiya Posted by Calvin Tan at 01:50

Cheers,

Calvin

Friday, 24 June 2022

Tamiya German Soldiers At Rest

Labels: Tamiya, Tamiya - German Soldiers at Rest Posted by Calvin Tan at 00:10

Conversions based on Tamiya's German Soldiers at Rest paired together.

Cheers,

Calvin

Wednesday, 22 June 2022

Star Wars Legion - Minis Painting and Tabletop Gaming Event

Posted by Calvin Tan at 23:57

Yesterday afternoon I attended a father and son minis painting and tabletop gaming event arranged by my son's school. To my son's disappointment it turned out to be more painting than tabletop gaming (I will spare my son the embarrassment of publishing his uninspired effort here).

Myself on the other hand had no intention of wasting good money spent for this event and got busy painting a Star War Mini for the first time. I must admit that painting with no accountability is quite a fun experience; so much so that I brought it home and continued working on it for the reminder of the evening.

This event was conducted by XPIDEMIX, a local shop specialising in tabletop wargaming. Having some experience doing this for quite sometime, the presenter Jeremy was quite knowledgeable - I would even go as far as to say that he is almost "Dinesh level" knowledgeable. With the exception of my son, I do see that most of the participants had a lot of fun and for that brief moment in time, no one was tethered to their devices.

Cheers,

Calvin

Sunday, 19 June 2022

Ukrainian Tan Crew At Rest

Labels: Miniart Posted by Calvin Tan at 01:55

Here is a sneak peak of my contribution to the publication Models for Ukraine Vol.2.It is from the Ukrainian Tank Crew at Rest from MiniArt Models and I must admit it does paint up quite nicely. It is mainly an OOTB build and I did try to craft out a scene using the accessories provided. The selection of cold cuts and bread are scratch built using epoxy putty and painted with AK Gen 3 Acrylics. And now the hard part of the project, writing the article. Sigh.......