wing-nut> (cue B-pic movie monster music).  Wow!  That brings back memories of watching these B/W films on a B/W TV!  That is quite well done, and a very unusual approach to a classic figure.

Tim> Conan is looking good!  I would think both figures would be rather "tanned" with so much flesh showing and being out on the open water so much.  Looking forward to seeing the finished figures!

Gary

GAF

Tim> Conan is looking good!  I would think both figures would be rather "tanned" with so much flesh showing and being out on the open water so much.  Looking forward to seeing the finished figures!

You would think that, but the description of Belit definitely has her with "ivory" skin. Naturally occurring SPF 2000. In fact, when you consider the Hyborian Age geography, Conan comes from a proto-Celtic people: pale skin, dark hair. As GMorrison pointed out in an earlier post, Belit should probably look Semetic. But ... it's fantasy.

I went back and added a little extra to her skin yesterday just to add a little more pink (as John guessed I might). I also put the fig under some pretty grueling lighting yesterday just to see what was going on. My eyes aren't deceiving me. The fig's colors are OK. For the process shots I'm shooting, I'm all right with uncorrected iPad pics. For the finals, I'll make sure to crack out a real DSLR and shoot under good lighting.

BUMP!!!!

Page two WILL NOT DO!

A couple of in-process shots ...

This was on Friday.

This was yesterday.

And now for the finished Conan and Belit!

Again, these were taken with the iPad, so the color's a bit off. I'll get some decent photos with the DSLR tomorrow and make sure they're color corrected. I've got to spend some time with the family, so I'll catch you guys up on the nitty gritty tomorrow!

One more day for the build and we can put it to bed!

Marc-love the Creature-especially the B&W treatment-looks great.

Tim-Your Conan looks great-very nice job.

The Green Goblin isn't going to make the finish line-will attempt to finish it in the coming days, but no promises.

Tim & Aaron-again, thank you both for running a very creative & fun GB-it's been a blast just admiring everyone's work.

Tim: Fantastic work there! Looking forward to seeing the rest of your photos.

Dang I should have checked the deadline! I finished the scratchbuilt disruptor for the Romulan figure but she has a few things here and there to finish. I ended up distracted by other stuff and keep putting her off.

Pretty darn nice Tim.  Darn nice indeed.

Tim- the big guy looks great!!!

The contrast in skin tones, the careful painting of the furs, the hair- all really well done.

I can't believe it, but I finished on time. I'll take pictures tomorrow when the sun comes up, but in response to your earlier comment- here's the underwater rifle which I built this afternoon and evening. And the POC that came with the model.

See you all tomorrow! This has been a lot of fun and a completely new experience for me.

Last day!

Thanks for the compliments. Conan turned out to be a much more complicated build than I had anticipated. As I was fussing around with parts, there came a point when I had to decide good enough was good enough and start moving toward the finish.

For me, happy chance plays as much a role in finishing a fig and coming up with the right color as planning. I'm not a visual artist as such -- I don't have any formal training, nor natural talent. I can't draw to save my life, and my understanding of color ends with yellow + blue = green. So, everything I'm able to do comes from years of doing it and just working with what I have until it looks right. 

Figure painting is the type of modeling I enjoy most, but it is also the one that leaves me equally gratified and disappointed. I always believe I could have done better, but, at the same time, I know I've finished a model to the best I could at the time. 

Of course, this time around, I decided to do the bulk of my work with an airbrush -- the first fig I've painted this way. I think I'm sold. However, there's much that I can't do with the airbrush and had to revert back to the brushes. I finished Conan entirely with acrylics and eschewed oils -- mostly because of time constraints and because I set myself the challenge of using the airbrush.

For what it's worth, here are the notes I kept while formulating paint colors. You can see my doodle for Conan's teeth after our discussion on the Forum. I used the same tooth technique on Belit.

I borrowed Jack's idea for the sword's frog and stole a length of chain from Aaron. It's not the first color I'd have chosen, but after seeing it on the fig, it works. As a nod to FSM and our next group build, the sword's pommel is a 1/72 road wheel from a Panzer III.

I weathered the chest with burnt umber and light rust pastels from PanPastel.

So, here are the color-corrected photos!

Aaron and I are going to do a closing vlog this week before he heads off to AMPS. Good luck to you guys who are still working at it. We'll see you at the finish line!

And thanks to everyone who participated. You've made the second FSM group build a memorable one. Also, we're happy that we were joined by a number of modelers who hadn't built and finished large-scale figures before. We hope you'll continue to enjoy figure modeling.

Thanks!

Tim

Guys,

First, let me echo Tim's thoughts about how great this experience has been. Having so many talented builders along for the ride has been inspiring. Dredd marks the fourth big-scale fig I've finished in the last five years and I'm pretty happy with him (although there are a few things I'd like to fix as time allows!). I picked this kit up at a comic shop in London 20 years ago and have pulled him form the stash more than once with the thought of finishing him. I'm glad I waited until now; this GB was the perfect excuse.

Masking the lightning bolts for the visor may have been the most challenging part of the build!

I had big plans for the base and really felt under the gun as the deadline neared. Then at about midnight Saturday, I hit on the idea of painting it black, then dry-brushing it with gold.

I think we've discovered the reason for Dredd's ill-temper. His uniform seems a little tight, especially around his posterior.

Anyway, thanks for coming along on the ride and I look forward to seeing the rest of the work here as well as in the next FSM GB. Keep track and stay tuned for links to that!

Cheers, Aaron

Hey great job guys!!!

Tim: My hats off to you for tackling two figures with that much bare skin!

Aaron: Great job on all the uniform shading. And awesome that you pulled something out of stash that's been sitting there that long and finishing it!

Gamera

Aaron: Great job on all the uniform shading. And awesome that you pulled something out of stash that's been sitting there that long and finishing it!

Gamera

Tim: My hats off to you for tackling two figures with that much bare skin!

Thanks, Gamera. I am pretty happy with how the model turned out. I'm still cleaning up my office. Finding bits of plastic, resin, and wood all over the place. This time will be known as post-Hurricane Conan.

I hope what we've all done here is convince others who might have hesitated to do figure models to give them a try. By the way, don't forget to add the GB ribbon to your sig line. "Make it so."

GMorrison

Tim- the big guy looks great!!!

The contrast in skin tones, the careful painting of the furs, the hair- all really well done.

I can't believe it, but I finished on time. I'll take pictures tomorrow when the sun comes up, but in response to your earlier comment- here's the underwater rifle which I built this afternoon and evening. And the POC that came with the model.

Nemo is finished!

Cruddy cell phone photos- I'll get better ones up soon. But I wanted to get across the finish line in time.

This ended up being a huge project. The base, basic figure with helmet and arms and hands were OK, all the other gear was scratchbuilt.

I don't know what to do with the underwater rifle. He's not able to hold it, and like a true 19th Century gentleman, it was carried by a gun bearer. In the movie when the shark attacks, the guy hands it to Nemo who then shoots the shark.

Thanks for a great GB Tim and Aaron... looking forward to the next one.

PS his helmet light works. More on that later.

Maybe this last one can go on the wall...

Nice work, GMorrison! Welcome to the finish line. Looking forward to seeing the working light, etc.

Cheers, Aaron

I just wanted to say now its the end of another great group build how amazing some of the work here has been. Its been a real learning curve for me and I've taken away a lot of tips which I'm sure will help my other builds.

Phil

Guys, all I can think is WOW. Talk about a big finish.

Tim, I really do take my hat off. That is just awesome. I know I said it before, but all that skin would give me night mares. Awesome job.

Aaron, sweet. And good choice with the base. As for the tight fitting suit, OUCH. Wouldn't want to bend over.

GM, been a pleasure watching this as well. Stunning work, I love it. Be nice to do something with the gun though. Anyway you can fit a sling, the gun bearer must have the odd day off surely.

P mitch

I just wanted to say now its the end of another great group build how amazing some of the work here has been. Its been a real learning curve for me and I've taken away a lot of tips which I'm sure will help my other builds.

Phil

several times over. I am one of those who used this as an excuse to do something different (again) and its been a real pleasure and such a learning experience.

Awesome guys.

Yeah, he looks fantastic GM, looking forward to better photos.

I wonder like Bish if maybe you could go with a sling? Even if he had a porter in the movie you can always claim artistic license.

Tim - impressive results there, it really is stunning.  I think what I admire the most is the exquisite work you have done on Belit's face, lovely stuff there.

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Aaron - was wondering how the Judge was doing, and here he is all done - what bold colours! Really striking, and very successful.  A great decision on the base, straight forward approach, but very effective.

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GMorrison - some cracking work here, even though the pictures are low quality, I can see you have put great effort in this one.  That rifle rocks, they need to contact you and use it as their master.

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.... and I noticed the further hint to the  upcoming GB - 1/72 panzers?

regards,

Jack

TIM- nice job on there. I love the contrast between the differant skin tones. Good job on the base.

Aaron- I can see how that outfit might cause some anger issues with wearer. The shoulders turned out great with the extra work you did.

Gmorrison- Nemo looks like he is ready for to kill some giant squid. Well done on the work to his speargun.

Well I finished the webbing on spiderman and all that is left is to paint him. Unfortunately I now have to get ready for work and won't be able to finish by the dead line. Will get him all painted up tomorrow and pictures posted.

here is how he looks at the moment with his base.

Thank you Aaron and Tim for running another great group build and introducing me to another subject for model building. Great work to everyone and jobs well done.

Looks pretty complete to me Shiv!

Great work, everyone!

Shiv - Thank you. All I can say is wow. Spidey is going to be killer when he's finished. Just as with Jeaton in the WWI Aeroplane GB, Spidey will have a place in the Hall of Fame as soon as he's finished.

Jack, Pmitch, Bish, and Gamera - Thanks for the compliments and kind words. Of course, Jack already models figs, but I hope the rest of you keep going. You've all done great jobs on your models, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as building armor or planes.

Thumbs way up on this GB, guys. Because of all of you, it's been a blast!

Sorry for the long absence.  Too many things (computers going down, family, health, etc) happening to go into detail, but I'm alive and well!

EVERYONE!  What awesome builds!  This was a stretch for me being a genre I NEVER dove into.  Tim Aaron........Thank you!  Not only was this an awesome GB, but you got me to do something different and challenging!  I enjoyed it so much, I am actively pursuing the other Star Trek kits (Capt, Spock, and McCoy).  Mr. Scott was no where near as detailed as everyone else,  but I had a blast doing it and learned a lot from it.  Thanks guys!  And I REALLY look forward to seeing what the next GB  you guys hold will be!  

Eagle90

Aaron , wow that really tunred out sweet.  I agree with the skin tight suit.  I would forever be pulling that out of.. well...  just a lot of pulling

GM Nemo looks great.  Nice look on the helmet etc.

Shiv, oh boy that's gonna look Sierra Hotel when that's all painted up.

Tim, Aaron... once again another fun GB. Thansk lads.  So... what's next?  Hmmm?    

Wow!  Great work everyone!

Tim and Aaron> You guys pulled through on Conan and Judge Dredd.  I was wondering if Aaron would finish on time but he came through with flying colors.

GMorrison>  What an impressive Nemo!  Too bad you can't work the rifle into the dio somehow.  It looks too good to leave out.

Shivinigh>  You know, Spidey looks so good even in it's unfinished form I'd place him in the Hall of Fame anyway.  What some intricate work on that webbing.  Well done!

Look forward to the next FSM GB "Girls und Panzer", Tim. 

Gary

Great pics there GM, but ye, it would be a shame to leave out the rifle after all that work.

GAF

Look forward to the next FSM GB "Girls und Panzer", Tim.

Hah! You know, I REALLY wanted to do a "Girls und Panzer" GB, or one that made room for those kits. (Hippo Team's red Stug III is my fave.) But, as does happen, while Aaron and I discussed the next GB, it evolved and the GuP angle disappeared. But that's OK.

Since everyone is champing at the bit, we'll end the suspense.

The next group build is called the FineScale Modeler Orphaned Armor Group Build. The gist is this: You can build whatever AFV you want, in any scale, so long as it's in markings other than that of the country of origin. What we'd really like to see is armor captured and put to use by the opposing side (Tigers in Soviet hands, for instance). However, Lend-Lease and similar vehicles are permissible. We aren't limiting the era to WWII; those are just examples. We are, however, limiting the GB to actual vehicles -- no what-ifs or sci-fi (and that's how GuP got burned). I'm considering a Matilda in German markings captured in Libya, 1942. I think Aaron is doing some Italian landship in Aussie attire. We'll set up a new page with all the  rules and enter it into the GB calendar in the next couple of days.