Like this fellow here;

Or this guy here;

Look at MiniArt. They have a few different sets, and I think they have really good poses.They are comparable to Tamiya  and a bit better, in quality. The plastic is soft enough to carve more detail into and move hands and limbs a bit without snapping them.

They may have something that interests you.

Darn nice models. The dude with the gloves looks like my high school wood shop teacher Mr. Hilborn.

I know I'm an amateur speaking to an expert, but here goes.

I paint icons as another form of craft/ art. "Write" them as the Orthodox would say.

Ever notice how they always seem to be looking slightly over your shoulder?

Painting the whites in an eye has a dramatic effect if you do one side only, or do one side white and one side light gray.

Try a little test and put your arrow cursor over his eyeball, on the part between his pupil and the bridge of his nose so that it hides that white part.

See a difference?

Just a tip from a friend.

They're from MiniArt. They are not the best figures out there, but I was also after poses and not a stereotypical "pointing" TC. Obviously they paint up nicely. lol

That's lighting lol. Here is another angle.

He has white in his eyes, but thank you for not missing that. Good lookin' out my friend lol. If I miss something, and noone mentions it, I feel dumb later when I catch it lol.

Edit; I just have him side-gazing at the camera. The whites do look too understated in these pics though. Now that you have me thinking about it I may drop a touch more white in there. Perhaps they are a bit too muted.  :/

Mike, thanks a lot, had never heard of MiniArt (or if I have then I've clearly forgotten), but those are the kind of laid back guys I was looking for, especially the second- all hunched over.

The way you painted the two of them up I'm already forming a story where the lower enlisted guy is trying to crack jokes at his officer and the officer is not ammused. No idea what you were actually going for, but I love the fact that it just provokes ideas of real people in real situations, not so much the "WAR! ENEMY FRONT!" ideas of the pointing shouting crews.

Thanks for the tip. Regardless of the quality, you've already painted these two guys beyond my skills, so they clearly dress up well enough for my needs. No need in me dropping $30 on an Alpine or Hornet figure or two- especially when MiniArt not only has some relaxed poses, but some roof for modification which I always enjoy.

Appreciate it!

I'm a big fan of the MiniArt and MasterBox figure lines. Their molding is light-years ahead of the classic Tamiya figures and the poses are generally good enough to use right out of the box without modifying them. Ok, so they're not as good as a resin figure but you get a whole box of five or six figures for the price of one resin one.  

I'm really liking the MiniArt figs a lot. Otherwise I wouldn't recommend them lol.

Thanks for catching the eye issue. I did go any brighten them up just a little more and it made a difference. :D

And those two figs are in different places lol. The enlisted man is going to be elsewhere for my figure GB I'm running over at Genessis. He's part of a surprise I'm leaving til the end with the full reveal lol. I'm not officially able to compete for the prizes because I'm more of an instructor, but I'm going to show the guys what I can really do lol. Lead by example, right?

Thank you for the compliments, but I'm not an expert quite yet. I'm still learning.  :)

Get the MiniArt and yes, the Masterbox figs are, from what I've seen, even better than MiniArt figs when painted up real nice.

M. Brindos

And those two figs are in different places lol. The enlisted man is going to be elsewhere

I thought as much as one was still on the bench and one looked like it was a display piece but regardless I thought it was cool how easier it seemed to "tell a story" with some of the poses achieved as opposed to some of the stoic or exaggerated war time looks of other companies.

I wound up ordering this kit.

EDIT which upon closer inspection actually looks like it includes the two figures you had shown as an example 

These Tri Star figures are great from their DAK set and will work for Italy and Sicily as well as North Africa... if you are looking for something a bit different

Thanks stik, will keep Tristar in mind if I'm in need of some tropical figure. Nice work on the painting btw

Yeah, really nice work there Mike and SP on the figures. I think my figures look ok, but not that good close up!

Chris: Hope you put the guy with the accordion in there somewhere!  

If you really want an unusual panzer commander figure, have a look at Aurora Model, from Japan:

http://aurora-model.jp/e-military.html

She has a series of "Panzer '47" figures, among other excellent subjects in her catalog.

Yeah that is the set I used lol.

Nice figs Stik! Your skin tones are beautiful and you have very nice shading. They have good depth. I really like those.  :)

Those Aurora figs are gorgeous. I'd love to get my hands on one of those.

Thanks for the kind words guys!!! I don't know if I could pull that job off again. All I remember is that I used Gunze Flesh airbrushed on for a base coat, the washes and dry brushed highlights... They were candidates for a Tiger crew as part of a AMPS chapter group build that really had me pushing myself to keep up with the other guys at AMPS. Tough crowd ;) Now they sit on my old Italeri Mk.IVF2 and make it look a LOT better... Lol!

Of course you could do it again Stik. If you did it once, you can do it again. I know it sounds dumb, but it really is all in your head. I hated figure painting, dreaded it! So I changed my mind. Now it's my favorite part of every build besides the pure joy of painting lol. Yes, I know that sounds "easier said, than done." But choices are a part of life and that's all there is to it.

You can do it, and I'd love to see it.  :)

It will be a happy accident shall we say. I enjoy painting figures. I just do not have a set method for it as I am continuously trying different methods, colors, and paint types.

I have a few tricks I regularly use, but I try different styles and techniques, and try for different results every time. I just keep pushing myself.

I'd love to see you have a happy accident lol.

I am hoping for another one soon... I am working on some 1/48 ground crew figures off and on and am content with my results so far... Of course they still have a ways to go, but... Keep your eyes open here for when they are done.

You bet I will keep an eye out for them.

Gamera

Chris: Hope you put the guy with the accordion in there somewhere!  

Will do! I think that's probably what drew me to the kit haha

Baron- Those are pretty cool. The what-if figures are neat but I think it's even cooler to see the legitimate, historically accurate women in there too. Very easy to forget that even with this "new" issue the military is facing with females wanting to get into decisively "combatant" roles, woman have seen combat for quite some time... I've heard females make much better snipers too.

Stik, looking forward to those 1/48 ground figures, are you going to post them here in Figures or in the Aircraft section?

I'll probably post them in the aircraft section... They are coming along slow but sure... 1/48 is a bit more challenging in its own way...

Yeah lol. Good luck painting eyes lol J/K. I understand exactly what you mean.  :)

Eyes?!?! ;)

They are all gonna be like Clint Eastwood... squinting