The Figure GB of 2010-2011

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.