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. .

Friday, 20 September 2019

USMC, Battle of Fallujah, Iraq 2004 Ver.2

Labels: Young Miniatures, Young Miniatures - US Marine Fallujah Iraq 2004 Posted by Calvin Tan at 22:23

A little more progress over this week with only the action doll stuffed in the back pouch left to complete for this practice exercise.

Cheers,

Calvin

Friday, 13 September 2019

USMC, Battle of Fallujah, Iraq 2004 Ver.2

Labels: Young Miniatures, Young Miniatures - US Marine Fallujah Iraq 2004 Posted by Calvin Tan at 23:30

Some progress over the week with the desert MARPAT camouflage.

Cheers,

Calvin

Friday, 30 August 2019

Painting Demonstration at Volks Akihabara, Tokyo.

Labels: DVD Production for Model Art Magazine, Young Miniatures - US Marine Fallujah Iraq 2004 Posted by Calvin Tan at 19:22

Here are some snapshots from my two-hour long painting demonstration using Vallejo Acrylics at Volks, Akihabara in Tokyo on 19 August. Special thanks to the wonderful fellows at Model-Art magazine for organizing this event.

Akihabara Radio Kaikan

The demonstration booth at Volks.

The modest outcome of a two-hour demonstration...

...and a little more work done back home in Singapore.

Cheers,

Calvin

Wednesday, 14 August 2019

US 2nd Armored Div., (Hell On Wheels) Germany, 1945

Labels: Tamiya - US Tank Crew Set (ETO) Posted by Calvin Tan at 00:30

On the Tonight Show.....

This is a snapshot of the color palette I used to paint the tanker's jacket snd overalls. I created two tones; greenish for the jacket and brownish for the overalls to distinguish them apart. The basic tone is created by mixing Japanese Uniform, Deep Sky Blue and Gunship Green. A brownish tone is created by adding SS Middle Brown to the basic mix. Alternating the ratios of each component paint will yield varying tones and thus I tinkered around until I reached the desired tone. Toying in this fashion helps to generate many subtle variations of tones identical to that of classical oil painting.

Cheers,

Calvin