The Figure GB of 2010-2011

I may sound like an idiot here but what exactly is a group build? What is the purpose of a group build?

I'm still undecided on my figure. I did narrow it down to two, at least.

@101st airborne:

a GB is a thing where people get together online and build the same subject. It helps out so you can learn new tips, tricks, and have fun. Just pick a subject that follows the rules of the GB and start building! Just keep everyone updated and post a ton of pics, everybody will be happy.

@Bexly,

what are they? maybe the other members can help yo decide.

Thx, for the Badge it looks good to me.

Resizing will take 2 seconds for me in Irfanview.

I think I will got with the StarToys 1/6 Uruk-Hai.

I'm confirmed! I'll be joining with 2 Dragon sets. German Grenadiers in East Prussia 1944 and "Fallen Commrade" Aachen 1945. Both in 1/35, containing 4 figures each. Should be a fun build, bring it on.

Thanks Boba for having me listed!  Definitely this will be very interesting and I will let you know what I will come up... either 1/16 figure or 1/35 figures on a diomara set. 

You have my vote on the GB badge... brilliant idea! 

I've got it down to Smart Max's 1/35 Jeremiah Crow:

Or Yedharo's 54mm Virgo:

I would like to partake on this. I have a white metal figure to do. 54mm US Army SF Son Tay Raider, 1970.

@deafpanzer: I'd recommend the 1/16th figure. They're really fun!

@Bexly: I'd feel more comfortable with the jeremiah Crow fig, but it's up to you.

@stikpusher: Great to have you aboard! you are in!

Hello All!

I am currently working on German Soldiers Eastern Front in Winter Uniforms. I am also going to do Dragon's Windtalkers 1/35 scale. Kit comes with US Marines and Japanese infantry...and oddly enough Nicholas Cage (not kidding!). Think I am going to do the Marines in a Tarawa type vignette.

Oh and here are some figures i just finished the other day. It has been a long while since I painted figures. Thinking about switching to artist oils for the faces and hands.

http://www.4shared.com/document/MlJc5c8O/Aces_Paint_presentation.html

try this. a great tut for oils on figs. 4shared is perfectly safe, I've dl'ed hundreds of files from here myself. no virus yet. Plus this if my account. IT's in pdf. format. oils are great for control. I use them all the time. The trick is layering, and then blending. Plus keep them translucent, the undercoat is always the main tone. Oils are merely tints.

That's a pretty awesome file. Thanks Boba Fett!

irish3335 found it though. Credit goes to him. But I hope it helps! I also found that using this Method, I paint the burnt sienna, the yellow (I use yellow ochere) and then white on highlights. Then I overcoat with windsor and newton flesh tint. It blends the colors together easily and efficiently. This would work even better on 54mm's because of the blending difficulty.

I got 15 or so figures I should start soon for my 1/48 B-17 dio if that counts

15 figures?? Sorry, you must have at least 16 Just kidding! But holy crap, I can barely stand doing 8, never mind 15! More power to you sir! And I'd love to see that B-17 dio...

MTMarine and I go waaaaaaaaay back so its good to have you aboard! Love the figures and I applaud your detail in the lapel colors and insignias.

Figures are sort of the bane of my existence. I've not done a figure in over 4 years so this GB will be a good way for me to get back into it. Hopefully.

im gonna try to get the whole darn thing done over my christmas break (im a sophomore in college).  its been going on 3 years now and i started with a whole new plane over the summer and now its just needs paint. 

this long time period has allowed me to gather alot of figures and luckily i was able to obtain the Teknics Bomber Crew this summer that had eluded me for so many years

Sounds like you've got a handful of work going on! I know what its like to try and model through college. I graduated in '07. Didn't slow me down much. Getting married and having two kids did.....But they'll be modeling soon hopefully so can't complain about that right?

hands full? i also gotta fit in my 1/48 P-47 and B-24 for the 8th AF group build and i also wanna get a B-25 and B-26 done before a show in october of '11

Yeah I hear ya. I'm in this GB as well as the Variable Geometry GB and the Anti-tank GB. I just finished up the No Aftermarket one. I seem to have a problem with joining group builds.......Likewise, I'm also trying to finish up an M60 w/ ERA before AMPS East on Sept. 25th. Good luck with your builds, sir!

Given that we have a year, maybe I will attempt to do both figures.

Thanks!

O and here is what I got so far for the figures

B-17 Crew (10)- Pilot (Revell); Co-pilot (Verlinden); Bombardier (Teknics); Navigator (Revell); Top Turret gunner (Teknics); Radio operator (CMK); Ball turret gunner (Teknics); Left and right waist gunners (both Verlinden); Tail gunner (Teknics)

Ground Crew- 3 Revell figures

Extras (base officer or fighter pilot, crew members from another plane)- 1 Verlinden, 1or 2 Teknics, maybe 1 CMK

so I guess its a total of 15-17

Cool! One nice thing about my guy is I wont have to get all bent out of shape over flesh tones... Photos of the Son Tay raiders show faces and hands were camo'd like my Grenada Airborne Ranger I completed last year...

duplicate post... wish they had a working delete feature here...

This is the kit I will be doing for the GB:

As it is a soft-vinyl kit it still needs some trimming and filling for stability, not fully assembled yet.

Due to it's size(1/6) it will take some time to be finished.

looks great! maybe I should do my 1/6th Commander Data... will update the roster soon!

BTW: sorry to say this, but what is it?

No problem.

It is an Uruk-Hai Ork from the  "Lord of the Rings" Movies.

Star-Toys released the Uruak-Hai, Saruman, Gandalf and Frodo.

Hey guys, can I join in on this GB? I got a 120mm S&T panzer grenadier that's been kickin' around in the stash for a few years. I've wanted to paint it up.

Steve

Looks like there will be some pretty neat builds goin' on here. I've started my guys....

Not much to show, but that's where I'm at. Basically, I'm ready to start painting. I left the arms off of the two figures in order to make painting a little simpler, especially under the arms and arm pit and torso region. Otherwise, the bent arms would be an obstruction. Once the bodies are complete, I'll start painting the heads and weapons. I've never done the German splinter camo so this should be interesting.

Carry on!

Mic, you are in. I've made an execuative decision, GB Starts today! I was going to start it on the 6th, but I feel giddy today and I might as well have this commemorate the invasion of Poland. Carry on, gents!

Mic, I have you in.

MAd-Modeler, sorry, not a big LotR junkie. It looked like a weequay from Star Wars or something.

Current badge will be hosted soon. stick around.

Boba Fett

I've made an execuative decision, GB Starts today! I was going to start it on the 6th, but I feel giddy today and I might as well have this commemorate the invasion of Poland. Carry on, gents!

 

Oops, guess I jumped the gun a little! Didn't realize you intended to start it a little later But now that you have officially kicked it off, I'll keep working!

shame! Tar and feather the blasphemer, men!

JK. No prob, I wanted to start today anyway... Data is getting itchy!

Hey count me in, I'm working on a couple of 1/35 scale guys for an upcoming dio. I'll post pics soon.

im going home for labor day weekend so ill try to get the main colors down on my guys

101stAirborne

Hey count me in, I'm working on a couple of 1/35 scale guys for an upcoming dio. I'll post pics soon.

What set and manufacturer?

I'll join

gonna start on this kit now anyhow

Dragon   "last battle Austria 1945"  1/35

What set and manufacturer?

[/quote]

A couple different sets and manufacturers. Desperate defense 1944 from dragon and Russian army assault infantry from Tamiya.

heres some progress on this guy.

Nice job so far Jtracing! Pretty nice kit. It comes with some PE eh? That's a cool addition, and I wish my kit had that. I curious to see how you will paint him with all of the gear attached. Lookin' sharp though!

the wonders of Dragon Gen2 kits. Love the fig, and even more, love your camera! Insane photos, he looks like a 1/16th figgy. Will be making updates on badge and roster soon guys.

thanks,

ya it includes a nice PE sheet, as well as decals for the panzerfaust

I find it easier to attach all the gear on and then paint. no set rules on that though do what works best for you

Sweet looking figure JTRACING. I am almost embarassed to post these next images. The white uniforms for German soldiers is really whooping my butt!! Hopefully by the time I get to my actual kit for this build I'll be a bit more refined.

looking good. What you need to work on is shading. Basically, darken the colors in the folds and lighten the high points of said folds.use thinned paint, and treat the dark parts like a wash. The high points can be better accomplished by dry-brushing. I'd also work on the belts and straps, the color is very monotone. What i'd do is get a pinwash of black paint on those, That will make the colors vary and the straps look used and worn. The eyes are a bit cross-eyed, I'd recommend taking a needle to apply a tiny bit of black paint. Please, I'm not insulting you. My figures a couple years ago were far worse than these. Just offering you a few tips so you can make your next set even better! Again, nothing personal. Keep the pics coming! You're off to a good start.

I'm def not insulted, thats why I am doing this is to get better and get tips from other modelers. I appreciate it. What brands of paints do you use when you paint figures? I think I need an upgrade, I use Tamiya acrylics for my armor projects but it is hard to hand brush with that stuff. For the figs I've been using the cheapo craft paint sold at Michael's. Not working as well as I'd like...

Mtmarine the figures don't look bad but I agree with Boba Fett, definitely need some color modulation. Normally what I do is start with a darker color as the base coat, then build up lighter coats with dry brushing. This way the peaks of the folds will be white, while the valleys (so to speak) remain a darker color.

As far as paints go, I use the Model Master enamels. They paint really well but I've heard Vallejo or Humbrol work nicely too. Next time you and I take a trip to AAA we'll have to look at the Humbrols, or switch to the MM's. Any how, keep it up. I'm struggling with my guys too. The splinter camo is a huge PITA for sure.

Here are some of the figures I have been working on.

 I'm working on this guys face right now and it is far from finished.

 This guy is almost done, I just need to  touch up the face and uniform, and add a dirty look.

 This guy is far from finished.

 This guy is my favorite. I had to fill in some major gaps around the arms. when it is dry I will smooth it  out and finish painting.

small update here.

I got the uniform painted. and I've started on the flesh tones

for that I use tamiya flat flesh as a base. I do a few colors in acrylic and then finish it in oils.

I got a little painting done and was doing the final fitting between the torso and legs of the ball turret gunner when my right thumb and my hobby knife decided they no longer sought a friendship.

Long story short, instead of painting, I am now washing blood off my workbench

redraider56

I got a little painting done and was doing the final fitting between the torso and legs of the ball turret gunner when my right thumb and my hobby knife decided they no longer sought a friendship.

Long story short, instead of painting, I am now washing blood off my workbench

hope its not to bad!!

I've cut my one finger in the same spot about 5 times now lol I'm surprised it hasn't gone numb on me

oh, I hear ya! But I was removing a large sprue-attachment point off a 1/35 Blackhawk fuselage. For some reason, I decided to use an exacto knife instead of simply sawing it off. Didn't want to damage it useing sprue cutters, but the saw would have worked. I was tired and ultimately, stupid. Put a gash nearly an inch long in my left forefinger. went pretty darn deep too, totally cleared the epidermis. so yeah, don't try to use xacto knives when you are tired or in a rush... I'm still jumpy around that thing.

oh, and I forgot about the soldering iron... I was using the xacto cutting tip to slice through a similar sprue attachment. Not thinking, I decided to grip it in a pencil grip. I could hear the flesh sizzling before I felt it... Again, this was the evening. ouch...

anyway, did a lot of work on my bust (since I'm using soft clay sharp knives don;t come into play) and I have the torso shaped and most of the facial features roughed in. I screwed up the shoulders, had to referance a few anatomy books and I'm correcting it now. Will get a few pics up soon.

todays progress, working on the equipment.

added more paint scuffs on  the metal gear and some dirt on the uniform

Hey JTRACING could you explain how you did the shading on your figure step by step? It would really be appreciated.

no prob its pretty easy.

I airbrush the uniform in the base color. then i lighten that color and airbrush again some faded areas, front of legs, top of shoulders etc..

then mix some black with the base color and brush in the shadows. (the paint should be transparent ) and add more coats until you get the shadow you like.

Wow! Some great progress already This looks like a fun group build, I'd like to join in. I don't know what I'd do yet, perhaps one of the Aurora monster kits, or one of the busts I have around. I will let you know.

I have a Bio-Booster Armor Guyver (japanese anime) kit I like to enter If I may. Its a vinyl kit, thats been built, 1/2 painted crappily by hand (my first experience with acryllics), stripped and recently unbuilt again ready for a restart, so if I may I'd like to ender this beast

Andrew

Jtracing, that is impressive looking! You airbrush your figures? That's even more impressive. He looks awesome.

As for me, I took the weekend off for the most part. I'm trying to get back into the swing of things but am having a hard time juggling projects. I'll get some WIP pics up soon I hope. Keep up the good work fellas!

Andrew.

Cool, I love the Guyver kits and build all the Max Factory ones, except for the later pre-painted ones.

If not too late to join, I'd like to sign up.

Will definitly do a new fig I just got ; 120MM Lost Battalion 'Banana Wars' Marine

And a 120mm 'China Marine' (no brand he was sculpted by a seller on ebay few years back) but I am going to try and modify the Florian Geyer Horse from the Dragon/DML kit to be his mount.

Thanks!

Kevin

ok guys, getting to the roster edit button...

JTRACING: THAT IS AWESOME!!!  you've managed to make him dirty an worn, but not sloppy-looking. A hard line to walk, excellent job!

EDIT: ok, anyone, ket me know if your name is missing off the roster. Don't want to leave anyone behind...

my final figure count is 16

Hey thanks for the info JTRACING I usually don't airbrush my figures. Do many modelers airbrush figures? 

JTracing-

Holy cow!!!  I swear I thought you were working on 1/16 figure... then I had to scroll back to confirm but I was dead wrong.  I haven't tried the airbrushing approach yet but it makes sense now... I will give it a shot next time. 

The first fig is actually listed as a 1941 MArine But I am painting him as a Banana War MArine, the Lewis gun and beard fit better for that period.

The 2nd fig needs stripped and reprimed, The horse is from Dragon's Wehrmacht Cavalry kit, the scale is slightly off, but given that the Marines in China used local mounts, smaller than U.S. horses, I thought it was a good fit.

Tonka! looking good. That China marine figure looks like it will be fun. The sculptor seemed to be pretty darn good. Can't wait to see him finished!

I got my Son Tay Raider out and cleaned up all the seams on the primary parts. Here is the basic set up, one figure and two weapons plus a stand.

Boba Fett, I have made the choice... I brought this kit thru eBay few minutes ago.  I am going for...

1/16 'Screaming Eagle' US paratrooper by DML.  Just feeling patriotic so I will do an American figure as my first shot at 1/16 figures.  Its mohawk is scary enough to make those nazi bastards run!   I hope to start as soon as I am done with my Battle of Norway GB hopefully end of this month. 

I really like that figure, but I wish DML had included a steel pot giving you the option of bareheaded or helmeted. The mohawk on Screaming Eagles is just a bit too cliche'.

Stik, I agree... I checked if it comes with a helmet but apparently it doesn't.  I can always order one if I am not happy with its mohawk.  Is there is 1/16 aftermarket piece of US helmet out there just in case I need one?

Wish there was more options for US paratroopers out there but I only found two... this DML kit and one from Apline asking for $50!  Ouch...

you could order a resin head set... not sure if it would have the helmet though. If you feel up to a ton of modding, I have a German Afrika Korps Pith helmet in 1/16th. The other thing with that kit is the bayonet doesn't look right to me. He doesn't have enough action to be charging, and a Thompson is a better weapon for shooting from the hip. Not that anything is but considering it's full auto... Anyway, I'll add this to the list.

next guy in the set

Deafpanzer, give me a day to look around, but I think I have a 1/16 helmet and /or complete head laying around...

Stikpusher that will be  a neat fig to do,,,have not seen that one for awhile.

Wow Jtracing, stunning work. Kinda feel a little hesitant to post my pictures haha!

Well, here's where I'm at.....

Well, let me know how to do it better!

those are looking nice!

heres some progress on this guy

not much to look at, at the moment

I airbrushed all the base colors on, flesh, green and tan .

the pants will be painted in Splittermuster pattern

Tonka- That would be awesome if you find it.  I looked EVERYWHERE on the internet and I couldn't find an AM helmet or resit head at 1/16 scale.  All of them were darn evil Germans... I'd pay for it if it helps.  Thanks buddy... loving your American GI too! 

Oddmanrush- I need to work on your name... I struggle to type it everytime! LOL  Your figures are looking good... it will look even better after weathering as it will tone down a bit.  I have been working on pea dot camo on my panzer crew and it was not that easy!  Still learning... gonna weatherize and tone down my panzer guy as you can see below.  The jacket is done.  Flesh part isn't my favorite so I have been saving it for LAST!

James- You are the KING!  Please tell us the truth... those figures are really 1/35 not 1/16 or maybe 1/6 scale?  We are always looking for more toots so it would be great if you can show us how you paint in steps?  I'd buy you  a Candian beer... YES, I am a big fan of Canadian beer!  My parents have a summer house in Canada and we go there every summer. 

Hey I have some soviet guys from WWII I am working on now, does anyone know a good color for their uniform?

Purple.

well depends on service. tankers had a purple-blue. Infantry had a brownish-tan.

DeafpanzeR!!!! PLEASE tell me how you did the "peas-pattern" camo. I have a jaguar set w/2 SS guys, both need Fall peas pattern camo. I've tried and failed. Stripped the paint 4 times. I love yours! Everybody's off to a great start! my pics will be incoming soon...

I have the pants camofied now lol

I tried to make them look faded and old. just need to add dirt for final weathering later.

deafpanzer

James- You are the KING!  Please tell us the truth... those figures are really 1/35 not 1/16 or maybe 1/6 scale?  We are always looking for more toots so it would be great if you can show us how you paint in steps?  I'd buy you  a Candian beer... YES, I am a big fan of Canadian beer!  My parents have a summer house in Canada and we go there every summer. 

lol there's something I'm good at drinking beer!

Boba, thanks!!!  Like I said it was my first attempt doing pea dot camo and I am still learning... its not done of course.  Maybe we all can learn from the king James and others!  You can check my work at /forums/t/129896.aspx  

You can see that I haven't done an update because I jumped to Battle of Norway GB to work on my little Panzer I Ausf A. LOL  I will get back to it when I am ready... I think I shot myself in the foot because I signed up for four GBs. At least I am having fun with you guys...

lol! I've done that too... far too many times. Anyway, thanks for the link. the colors just don't seem to make logic sense in my brain (or is that SUPPOSED to be how it is?) can't wait to see more!

got some more done before nascar race starts lol

not much but the boots are painted now

double post

Damn, I love your camo job.   As you can see I am working on mine in another thread... mind if you can tell me how you made your camo faded?  Was planning to use highly thinned tan and gray to make it work.  Remember I use enamel... I assume you are using arcylic?

Jtracing, great look figure. I love the camo pants. My figures are suppose to be sporting the same camo...clearly you've done a better job at it, haha! My colors are all wrong, I think I made the base color too gray. Well, its a learning experience for the next figure set I do. Keep up the good work gents!

101stAirborne

Hey I have some soviet guys from WWII I am working on now, does anyone know a good color for their uniform?

The quilted winter uniforms were a  lighter khaki shade. Regular summer combat uniform of blouse and breeches varied from khaki to olive, to an earth drab color. Tankers coveralls varied from dark blue to gray to black.

Boys, guess what came in the mail today?  DML 1/16 Screaming Eagle paratrooper!  The box was unnecessarily huge!

Of course I had to open the box... nice details on the body.

But the face was OK... I expected better.  What do you think of this?

At least the head and the mohawk hair came separately in case I get 1/16 helmet for this so I will not use the mohawk... nice details on the gear but the rifle butt needs some putty to smooth it out. 

Another good thing... the knife and M1 came separately too so I am planning not to attach the knife to the rifle.   I was surprised that decals didn't come with the figure but I think I can manage to paint the flag and patches since details are pretty good.

Can't wait to work on it as soon as I am done with another GB... working on MK links for my Panzer 1... pain in ass but those tracks will be worth it at the end! 

alright, have to show you guys that the fearless leader is not slacking off!

Here is the head for Walon Vau, can anyone guess who he's based off of? and yeah, I know the haircut is terrible and the eyes are blank, he's still in progress.  And I ESPECIALLY know the body is screwed up, the shoulders need to be attached differently. But let me know! He's about 1/6th scale.

I also got a "Brothers in Arms Hell's Highway" limited edition figure from a friend. I plan on cementing the joints, filling weird scratch marks on the surface, and priming him. It's very well sculpted for a vinyl toy, and for a 1/12th (I think) figure, $5 ain't too bad. It'll take a bit of work, but I'll use Deafpanzer's pics for reference. I might post pics of him sometime. Comments please!!!!

havent felt like painting lately, but i stuck the other guy together

deafpanzer

Damn, I love your camo job.   As you can see I am working on mine in another thread... mind if you can tell me how you made your camo faded?  Was planning to use highly thinned tan and gray to make it work.  Remember I use enamel... I assume you are using arcylic?

I used the base tan, make it really thin (transparent) then airbrush a few coats. then i dry brush with white oil paint.

It's amazing what those Gen2 figs look like. That's probably a purchase that will be coming soon. Great work!

Freaking great details especially the MP44!   Thanks for the information how to tone down the camo... will give it a shot.  I am a big fan of Gen2 kits... bought two recently and I hope to get more.  In the past I used Verlinden figures but now i am leaning toward to Dragon Gen2 figures because it is alot cheaper and it comes with PE! 

Here is the figure I talked about. a promo from Brothers in Arms. I'm thinking about this for the pose, but he'd be holding the helmet in his left hand. comments?

also have this Jaguar set I'm painting up. 1/35th scale.

Bit stuck with my Build at the moment.

Still looking for a good material to fill the hollow vinyl of the Kit.

Due to the Vinyl being very soft I don't want to use anything that generates heat(Plaster, Resin, etc) and also worried about expanding foam disforming the kit.

Any ideas or suggestions?

Try Durham's water putty. It's excellent stuff. It DOES generate heat, but not enough to deform the kit, and plus it's usually the consistency of stiff clay when it does begin generating heat. I just did this to my 1/6th Geo-Metric, "Lt. Commander Data" figure, and nothing went wrong. I mixed a liquidy batch for the arms, then a thick paste for the head and body. Worked like a charm, and it feels like a resin kit. Be warned though, it is rather heavy stuff. IT will probably take 1-2 1-lb cans to complete a 1/6th figure. so it'll probably be in the range of 2-3 pounds. Trust me, it'll work!

Thx, for the tip.

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Sorry im late guys!

here are some pics of what i've been up to these are tamiya US army assault inf. I also have Canadian infantry coming up! I know they're kinda cruddy but you should see my canadian troops!

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Still a nice paint job! You're doing great!

Here is my vinyl 1/6th "Data" Sorry for the bad pics, bad lighting and the color of the stuff did not help. I cured a warp in the legs by supergluing his feet to a base. Worked like a charm. The inside is filled with Durham's water putty, so he feels pretty heavy. After finishing the waist area, it's to the paint booth for him!

I am back!  Hope this GB isn't dead... it has been quiet for last three weeks.  I finally started working on my 1/16 American paratrooper while paint was drying on my little Panzer I. 

I have to admit I wish DML did better job with this 1/16 figure... I was usually impressed by its 1/35 kits but with this I was surprised to find bad places where the parts were connected to the sprues especially like this face... right onto the side of neck instead of at its bottom or something like that. 

I spent nearly two hours rescripting all of the lines and pockets using back of excel knife to show its depth.  It made a difference... left pocket was untreated and right pocket was rescripted.  Now my tip of fingers are sore...

Arms and feet glued...

Closer look of the body... most of lines and pockets were rescripted.

I will get back to this as soon as I am done with my Panzer I for Battle of Norway GB... hope to see your work posted soon!

Old threads never die... they just come back to life! Nope, this isn;t dead. Just been uber busy lately.

Lt. Commander data. Finished him up in time for MMSI, I got a bronze medal in advanced fantasy painters, and I was thrilled! He needs a bit more work, primarily shading work. The eyes need some work too. Opinions? The base is a el-cheapo wood base, that I inset with an aluminum plate that I cut out.

I have to tell you that I am loving your Data!  Nice work on his uniform and his face is just like how it is.  He's one of my favorite characters but I don't follow Star Trek very closely... I consider myself Star Wars fan and I figure you are a BIG fan of Star Wars because of your avatar name. 

I added the gears to the American paratrooper last night... will post a picture next time I hit my workspace.

I found my camera and it happened to have a picture on it of my latest progress on my figures, so here it is.  I'm at all different stages with them as you can see.  No shading or shadowing or whatever has been done YET, just the base colors are down.  The ones circled in red are the ones closest to being done....sorry the photo is kinda bad.

looks good! glad people still remember about this... lol!

Because of work time constraints, I believe I will have to switch my figure to a 1/35 instead of 120mm. But I think I'm gonna do this guy

Is this still going? I just noticed my figure on my workdesk frozen in time,...

I was actually going to bump this soon....school's been taking time away from my bench, so I've done nothing lately....

Steve: will change for ya.

Stik: yupper. IT'S ALIIIIIIIIIIVE!!!!!!!

I thought this build had melted away. I'll jump back on my fig and post some pics end of week.

I'm working on a fig... switched to a 1/6th fig of an RAF pilot. Not much done, but working. LEt's get this back to  life people!

I agree.  I am glad it is not completely dead.  I will resume my work on American paratrooper sometimes next week.  I am playing Mr. Mom this week with my two young boys while my wife is somewhere on Bourbon Street in New Orleans for Mardi Gras.  Boy, I hope she comes home with bags full of beads!

Good to see more guys coming back to this. Look forward to the paratrooper. And just think of the scratch building you can do with all those beads!!

Kevin

Add some rhinestones to that paratrooper! You'll have the, "Screaming Rappers" in no time! :P Bling him up, and give him a jeep with hydros, spinners, and a pearlescent paint job to roll in!

Could you imagine the reaction you'd get if you walked into a contest and plopped THAT on the table?

And paratrooper who looks as you describe Boba should just turn in his wings...

Today I applied a primer coat on my Son Tay raider and his weapons.

Now the fun begins.

Oh ya... Instant grounds for court-marshal. Looks good stick, I'll get my own figgy up in a few mins...

OK made some progress on my figures.

This pic is the 1920s Banana Wars Marine with lewis gun, the mold was a little rough. I did some filling at waist as I cut the torso to reflect more of a lean. I also shaved off the molded 'H Harness' straps and replaced with strip styrene.

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This one shows the basic priming..still lots of work to do

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This is the China Marine..I finally got the old paint stripped

This is a wonderfullly detailed fig ,,wish I knew who the sculptor was.

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Today I added the CAR-15 and LAW to my guy. And added some slings from lead foil. Now I just want to add some more primer where I super glued on the weapons and slings before I begin painting.

Priming touch up on Tuesday and painting begun yesterday. Flesh base color in the AM and then today the different olive greens for his jungle fatigues, patrol cap and the canvas uppers on his jungle boots.

And for S&G I started painting up a set of DML SEALS that I built a few months back. Got the base color of their Tiger fatigues and Jungle cammies started.

And I started up on Tamiya's Famous Generals set on Monty, Ike, and Patton.

I finished up MacArthur (except around his eyes need a bit of work) last year but have had him sitting on the painting table...

Nice work Stik! You have been busy, I haven't got much done on my figs yet. I like the SEALs,, they are well molded and would like great in a dio.

Kevin

Tnaks Tonka! The SEALS are ok..compared to Dragon's newer figures the sure show their age but I am sure I can make them look halfway decent.

I am adding another figure to my part of this GB... Warriors calls him a German Grenadier from Stalingrad, but anyone who has seen Cross of Iron will recognize Kruger...

I built him a few days ago and added a spare PPSH I had since all the figure has is a P-38 tucked into his rear belt and the potato masher he is holding.

Keep it up Stik! He will look great. I don't do many 1/35 anymore unless for a dio,, too hard on my old grunt eyes!

I have done a little work while watching the paint dry on a few other builds. Just have to get the camera out now.

I am actually finding figure painting to be a nice change of pace and more relaxing than some of the builds I have been doing lately. I have the old Dragon Cross of Iron set that I built years ago with "Steiner" and a few other figures that beg for a diorama...

Lookin good Stik! I'll get everything updated soon... gotta get a buttload of school done first

Stik, those figures look awesome!  I always liked Germans weilding those PP machine guns.  Seen those pictures of Battle for Stalingrad often.  Looking forward to your next posting.

I am going to post my WIP of German crew of 3 for my Marder II here.  And I can do same for M24 Chaffee crew after my boys spring break which starts tomorrow.  Wish I can take them with me to Florida...

I got Kruger primed today... but that was just a side task. My main goal was to complete another kit that was near the finish line. Mission acomplished there.

Here are some snapshots of the figure I started this week. Have his skin tones nearly finished, and I'm beginning to block in his uniform. Arms off for painting this one, as it would be nearly impossible to do it right if fully assembled:

Hope to have some uniform shading and highlighting done before the end of the weekend.

Stik-Looking good! I like the figure's posture holding his PS.  Looking forward to see it painted.

Steve- Outstanding work! 

I have started working on Marder crew but I have decided to stop because somebody has suggested another figures set that will make a better match to what I have been looking for.

I have ordered this set... hopefully it arrives later this week.  I will replace the heads with resin heads... their uniform is a perfect match.  Wish I found this earlier... I can always save the assembled crew for my future Marder builds.

Here's the Marder II crew I wanted them to look like...

Anyway I have started working on American figures for my M24 Chaffee for Korea War...

I have to admit that I was disappointed with the quality of this especially it was coming from Dragon.  There were excessive seams everywhere that required alot of scraping and sanding.

I scripted all lines and edges to make it look better.  Look at the collars above and below to see the difference.  I probably will do more of this...

Weapons from Dragon set was not too good either that for the first time I stole some from Tamiya set.  Here's the proof...

Guns are not glued... dry fitting only.

I hope to have all figures and Chaffee primed over the weekend. 

Ah, nice improvements there! I am pretty suprised at the lack of  quality... But you seem to be doing a great job with it! I've GOT to get pics of my RAF pilot up...

                          Great work going on here,almost makes me want to try some figs..

                                                         Greg"Detailfreak"Rowley

Andy- great work on the figures. Scribing is definitely improving the details of your dudes. It's the way to go, even with lots of resin figures.

Greg- get in here and build you a figure! It feeds the soul

Progress continued, then halted, with my driver figure. Arms attached, then income taxes took over as priority. Touch up needs to happen (figure, not taxes).

Back soon.

Steve- Thanks for looking!  I had to put those German figures on hold but the right figures kit has arrived and I have started working on them already.  Will post as soon as I am done with American figures for my Chaffee. 

Greg- Join us... don't be a chicken! 

Guys- Sorry it took me a while... working between my Chaffee and figures.  Here they are...

Figures primed with Mr. Surfacer 1200.  LOVE those stuff!

Base coat painted on flash and uniforms...

I swear I never had to use so many different paint before... Vallejo for flesh and LifeColor for uniforms & gears. 

Highlighting everything...  used two lighter tones... tan then sand.

Then applied W&N Raw Umber oil paint heavily thinned with Mona Lisa Odorless Thinner... love the dark washing part because it really brought out the details at the end. 

The oil paint was still wet when the pictures were taken.  They will look better in the morning... allowing it to dry for 24 hours or longer before I can work on the eyes.  Not exactly my favorite so saved it for last...

Thanks for looking... comments and inputs are always welcome. 

Very nice!!!!!!! GReat work~!

Thanks Boba Fett!  Please release Hans Solo...

Guys, another update... American GIs are completed except for their rifles.   

What do you think?  I am not sure if I should apply another dark wash around the eyes... I am always open for feedback.  Will post the tank commander tonight as soon as the paint is dry.

Boy, what a night to remember... Osama bin Laden is dead. 

Update on my figures... the tank commander for my Chaffee is finally completed.  Painting eyes were way more difficult because its plastic face lacked details.  But glad it is finally over...

Now I can go back and finish the M24 Chaffee. Thanks for looking... for our US troops oversea and here.

release han solo? After throwing me in a sarlacc? heck no!

I'll get those pics up on page 1. great work!!!!!

heres one i finished a few months ago

also another wip, though i  haven't worked on a figure in a few months now

jtracing- I wish my figures were as good as your figures!!!  Beautiful work especially the figure with injured hand.

thanks!, this is the other dude that's patching up his wound

Jtracing- Now you have my attention... would love to see how second figure comes out.  Looks like you prefer to paint the gears glued to the figures.  I started to do this method and noticed it was little easier.  That way glue will not harm the paint while I try to attach them together.

Guys- I am calling those American GIs done... will use them for diomara with M24 Chaffee I have been building for Korea War GB. 

And this is my favorite shot...

Comments are always welcome.  It took me little more than two weeks just to paint those three figures.  But I can see the big differences now.  Worth it...

Well done, Andy. Nice work on the straps, love the boots, too. Faces look great, congratulations on your dude's eyes. They look great.

Jtracing, I can not see your images, bandwidth exceeded... this makes me sad, as I am looking forward to your finished work.

Mine should be complete within the week. I had no idea I'd need the full year to complete 1 / 1:35 figure. Guess I still hold the record for world's slowest modeler. This is a drag, as I have started a 12-figure dio.

Steve

Thanks Steve!  You are not alone...  I managed to build three and 'half' kits last year and only painted six figures but they were not as good as my American GIs.  I model at very slow rate!   

I noticed better paintbrushes and better paints made a huge difference.  This time I used LifeColor and I am loving it already!  Safe to say that I will not use MM Acrylic paint again...

Hey guys

Here is my finished Minisoldiers 222 driver. 1/35 scale. Painted with Vallejos:

Minisoldiers are among my favorite resin manufacturers coming out of Russia. The sculpts from these companies are exquisite. Evolution, Stalingrad, Tank, Mantis, Bravo 6. I have many kits from these manufacturers, and hope to, one day, really do them justice.

Beautiful especially its 5 o'clock shadow!  That's something I haven't tried on my figures yet... assume you used heavily thinned light grey paint?  I love the surface texture of helmet... did you do something about it or it came that way? 

Now I want to buy one of those minisoldiers.  Where can I find them? 

Hey Boba, I have been working on a figure before I saw this group build and now I have seen it, I want in.  Is there any chance?  Im doing an old Tsukuda 1/3rd scale Nausicaa full figure from the 80s. We THINK that it is cold cast, but it might be Vinyl

Hey thanks, Andy. I've purchased nearly my entire stash from Soga Miniatures, but I'm starting to see Minisoldiers offered by some US online stores now. Try Colorado Miniatures, Military Miniatures Warehouse.

STV- I don't see any reason for you not to join us because I don't remeber when's the deadline. LOL

Steve- Thanks buddy!  I am going to check it out... hope I can find a perfect tank commander for my current build Pz IV.  Looking forward to more of your work as usual.

Jeez, you guys make my troops look terrible.....

I abandoned my last set of Germans for a new project. Since I just discovered Vallejo paints, I using them on several other figures. Boy do I love that paint and I see now why you figure gents use it over Model Master or the like. I haven't been able to purchase all the required colors so I still had to paint some of these guys using MM or artist oils...

Here they are so far....

Dead guy...the kit calls for him to be a perfectly alive medic, but for my purposes with, what will hopefully be, a diorama, he needed to be dead...so he is.

Here is a wounded guy and a friend, looking for the help of the medic, who will not be coming because of the situation I already mentioned....

and one last guy...

Very nice work everyone! Smeagol, sure, you can join up. I think I'll have to extend this a bit for my own selfish purposes... I'll be updating pg.1 ASAP.

Oddmanrush, your figures look great!  I like the last figure with camo on. 

It takes alot of patience and time to paint the figures.  It took me nearly three weeks just to do three figures earlier.  Maybe time will shorten when I become more experienced hopefully. 

I have two tips I would like to share with you...

1.  For the leather straps, apply heavily thinned lighter tone like sand or wood on the leather to show its wear and tear.  Always worked great!

2. Try heavily (70/30) thinned Burnt Umber or Raw Umber oil paint!  I use it all the times to bring out the details.  Apply it around the edges.  You can go wrong if you have done too little or too much...

Because I have enjoyed this GB, I will post my WIP of two next figures here instead of in the Figures forum.  I have made my choices of the figures to go with the very old Tamiya Panzer IV Ausf J I am currently building for Ostofront GB.  Here's a snap shot of the beast...

I have chosen one of tank crew from Dragon German Tank Crew 1939-1945 set... he will be talking to the infantry officer on ground.

It definitely needs some TLC which I will do next. Not too bad...

\

Here's the infantry officer.  He came from Dragon German Officers 'Kursk 1943' set.  I might throw in one more officer or a soldier standing next to him.

I am not kidding this time... I am really blown away by its excellent details on the officer figure.  I found it as good as a resin figure.  Let's take a look...

Look at the details on the boots and straps...

This figure will not require alot of TLC... thanks for looking! 

FINIALLY! some pics! enjoy, let me know what you think. 1/6th resin stature by NakedArmy.

This is huge!  Nice details on the resin figure.  Looking like you are having a very good start...

oh, it's a JOY to paint. Honestly, it's about as close to a modeling, "paint by the numbers" as you can get. the sculpting is EXQUISITE. The sculpting is obvious enough that shading is easier, but subtle enough that it doesn't look overblown. I'll get pics up when the face is done...

My kit is giving me an exquisite amount of problems.  One I cant tell if its resin (probably not) Vinyl (maybe, but the kit is solid, not hollow) or cold cast (no idea what that is, a friend told me it might be that)

None the less its soft, and thats an issue as everything that touches it almost dings the paint up, giving me alot of trouble since the feet are not the flattest feet around and it likes to fall over.  It is also very large and takes A LOT of paint to cover for just a base coat so that is another whole set of problems, but im working on it, one bit at a time.  Nothing to show right now beisdes a giant blue figure with no arms.

no prob. I believe cold-cast is a resin with a metallic powder mixed in... not 100% sure on that though. Can't wait to see some pics smeag!

Here are my two figures so far...

The Son Tay Rider has all base colors down. Ready for some touch up. washes,  dry brushing, camo face paint,and detail stuff...

And Cpl Kruger.. a little more work on base colors then washes, dry brushing, and detail stuff...

Your figures are looking great so far... good start with the base and details.   Washes is probably my favorite part and of course because it is the easiest part. LOL  You can not go wrong with washes unless you go crazy!

I am really digging this figure's facial expression!!!  Like if he is anxious to kill his enemines...

My entry into this may have been a bit premature, mostly because I need to strip the many, many, many layers of paint off of it right now to continue and have no money for the materials to do so....

i tried the more subtle blended style on this guy, just another dragon head

hey guys, I REALLY apologize for not keeping up with this thread. Besides building my model, I've been working on a summer class, umpiring, college applications, and my freetime has been spent with my World of Tanks clan, as we're trying to make a comeback into clan wars... anyhoo, my figure is done.

he's off to Switzerland as we speak, for the world expo model show there.... I'll be buffing this build end-date out until at least Sept. 1st, and maybe longer.

WOW!  Great job on the figure!   This is definitely my favorite shot... if you can turn it into black & white I bet it will look great...

oh! fantastic idea!

Did the "old photo" option in photobucket

and this kind of makes it looks like a classic movie or something to that effect....

Bingo!  That's what I had in mind... now it makes your work look very realistic.  Again beautiful work!

thanks andy! this thing took SO much time... and I ended up painting him twice. The skin 3 times. I'm not totally happy with it, but I don't think I EVER will.

I see that there has not been any noise in here since last August, but that the GB has not been officially declared closed. In any case, just a progress shot of Cpl Kruger, I have finished up nearly everything except his red star cap device and then I will call him done...most likely tomorrow.

Nice work Stik!  I like his posture... ready to attack.  

Thank you DP.

I painted his cap device a bit ago. I just need to do final touch ups (especially the front lower edge of his cap) tonite and tomorrow and will then call him done.

Better late than never, but I am calling this one done.

Poor him!  You made him crawl thru all of the dirt and mud.  BUT I like it now!  

Thanks. Now I need to do some kind of vignette adding him to my Dragon Steiner and 
company  figures

Well, long after the close date (I know, I know ) of this GB, I finished my original entry for here. Better late than never