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. .
Today's progress...
Changed the colour of the anorak to better compliment the colours on the Kurt Meyer figure.
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Here's finally a much anticipated preview of the contents from the parcel from Jersey. I must "POINT" out that these two figures are nothing short of disap"POINTING" and I do encourage all the make an ap"POINT"ment to get them as soon as they hit the shops.
Punts aside, I must say that the casting was predictably good with very minimal flash. The likeness of Kurt Meyer, which though gave Taesung some headaches, was spot on. One could imagine more Kurt Meyer figures in the Italian Camo tunic circa Ardenne Abbey, Normandy 1944 , M36 tunic circa Klissura Pass, Greece 1941 or the more stylist Kradmantel at Mariupol 1941 get my "POINT"? :P
The components came together very nicely with virtually no gaps to fill. The groundwork was built up using some epoxy putty and littered with artifacts found from my box of modelling scraps. Before setting, the figures were impressed into the base for a natural fit.
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Started on this long delayed commission for a Spanish collector whist waiting for another parcel from Jersey, USA to arrive later this week. Sculpting is done with Kato Polyclay on a epoxy putty armature with the ubiquitous Hornet head and hands. The ammo pouches and map cases are personal spares.
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After a long hiatus, here's a preview of the figure I sculpted for Alexander Miniatures from a while back in 2006. More information about its release will be made available via the Alexander Miniature website.
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Here's an update after being away for three weeks on Army reservist training. First up, some additional hi-res pictures of Alpine Miniatures 12 SS "HJ" Div., PzReg 25/26.
