Two Figure's and Multiple Head's WIP

Hey Tom & Jim,

Well I found out really quickly it is much more difficult to paint multiple figures than one at a time. Painting like a factory assembly line took the fun out of it so after base coating all the heads with two coats of flat flesh I zeroed in on one Ultra cast Panzer Tank crewman head.

I then added red and a little leather brown for a wash followed by drying with a hair dryer.  I then made up an oil wash of Burnt Umber and applied two washes to simulate shadowing.  I followed that up with highlights with the base flat flesh and light flesh.  I painted the headgear grey black base coat followed by white grey for the highlights with a touch of Violet.  I added shadows with Black.

I then painted up a straight run of .022 solder with Model Master Metalizer non-buffing gunmetal to make the headphone headset.  I used a piece of dowel to shape the solder.

Here is how he turned out:

Out of the light box:

Edmund,

This is some really nice painting.  Thanks for taking the time to post this toot, although I am still going to call you when I turn this page in my skillset.

Really, Edmund, this is some amazing work.  If I get to 45% of your ability, I will put a figure on every build from now on. 

model maniac 96 wrote:

That is with out a doubt some of the best 1/35 scale painting I have ever seen!!

Young man do you need to wear glasses?    Have you seen Manny's and Andy's (Bodge) figures they are awesome I am just trying to figure it out still! 

Here are some pics of my second head I finished tonight.  I like the tonality on this one better. I improved on highlighting IMHO of course.

Citadelgrad87 wrote:

Edmund, This is some really nice painting.  Thanks for taking the time to post this toot, although I am still going to call you when I turn this page in my skillset. Really, Edmund, this is some amazing work.  If I get to 45% of your ability, I will put a figure on every build from now on.

Thanks for the kind words and support Bill.  I was getting lonely over here I am glad you and Jim are here to keep me company.  I want to get through with these figures over the wekend so I can start posting #6 over in Armor because all my AM arrived!

model maniac 96 wrote:

Thanks Schnobs, and I actually do where glasses, and just as a point of fact, I am color blind! It is really looking good, Jim.

LMAO!!  Point made then!!  Thanks for your support Jim!

Here are shots of the third Ultra Cast Tank head.  I adjusted a little more highlights on the face and tried to blend and feather more than the other two.

I have three disembodied heads staring at me as I type.... Creepy......

camo junkie wrote:

yeah, they look good. thanks also for proving my point in a different post about painting multiple figures at once!!! you find you did a much better job painting one at a time right???

Absolutely!  It was a lot easer to get in the zone concentrating on one.  The assembly line approach was much to mechanical and I kept on forgetting ehat step I was on which figure.

I am goignto paint the DAK figure today.

Schnobs wrote:

model maniac 96 wrote: Thanks Schnobs, and I actually do where glasses, and just as a point of fact, I am color blind! It is really looking good, Jim. LMAO!!  Point made then!!  Thanks for your support Jim!

Hi Guys,

Well I had to take myself outside and talk to myself sharply.  I broke my own rule about acrylics only!  Shame on me.  I started thinking about blending the two mediums and how I could do that to my advantage.  Of course I drew on my AFV skills and started Burnt umber oil washes between each stage and it worked out very well.  I painted the base coat on the tunic Deck Tan and the trousers Khaki.  I mixed both for the base coat of the head gear.  I used brown black on the boots and a lighter brown for the leather belt and goggles.  I used a lightened Field Grey for the Handkerchief.

Here is where I am right now.  I was thinking about using future or gloss on the goggles lenses. 

camo junkie wrote:

there's nothing wrong with mixing mediums. i do it all the time. it's actually a sign of a good figure painter becuase you can utilize everything at your disposal to come up with a good/great figure. besides, doing so also helps you grow in painting. so, dont ever limit yourself to just one. i would also add future to the goggles...may need a couple of coats. just let the first dry otherwise you will build it "out" like a bubble rather than just filling in!

Thanks Tom I appreciate you taking the time to comment.  I chose to use MM High Gloss Acryl for the goggles instead of Future.  I was afraid of acrylic floor build up on the googles!  LMAO!

I also finished the threee Ultrac Cast heads and the Tank figure off with two light coats of MM Acryl Flat.  Here is how they finished in my bench light and lightbox.

camo junkie wrote:

yeah, they're looking good...for acrylics. i still think you should've used future instead of gloss but...they're your figs. cant say i dont like the paint job! now put 'em together so we can see them whole!!

Tom I have no figures for them yet.  It was just a painting execercise for those three heads so I could improve my painting skills.  There going on the shelf for a future PZ.IV build I have planned.

The DAK figure will be used on my next build which I just posted over in the Armor section.  I just needed something to occupy my time and improve my skillsets while I was wating for AM parts to arrive.

camo junkie wrote:

oh...ok. well , you should feel pretty good about your results!

Thanks Tom I do feel less intimated by them thats for sure.  I just knew that I didn't get comfortable with figures right away I would never incorporate them into my builds because my "ego" would have prevented me if my AFV skillsets and figure painting skillsets got too out of sync. 

I did look around in some of my kits and i did find a Tamiya TC commander that would be perfect for one of the Ultra Cast Heads.

I started painting the German Wermacht soldier any suggestion on base colors and highlights and shadows?

Schnobs wrote:

I started painting the German Wermacht soldier any suggestion on base colors and highlights and shadows?

unfortunately, no. i am not a ww2 guy. while i know german uniforms are gray and american olive dab...that's the extent of my knowledge!!! now if they were modern...yeah, i could tell ya anything ya wanted to know! hmmmm....maybe i can still help, what colors do you have in mind to paint them? we can work from there...

camo junkie wrote:

Schnobs wrote: I started painting the German Wermacht soldier any suggestion on base colors and highlights and shadows? unfortunately, no. i am not a ww2 guy. while i know german uniforms are gray and american olive dab...that's the extent of my knowledge!!! now if they were modern...yeah, i could tell ya anything ya wanted to know! hmmmm....maybe i can still help, what colors do you have in mind to paint them? we can work from there...

Hey Tom,

If you refer to the first picture that I posted to this post you will see the colors I am going after.

The Tunic will probally be Field Grey with a dark blue be used for the shadows or a dark green and yellow be added tothe base coat for highlights. The pants Uniform Green or some kind of Light Grey.  I painted up the Skeleton Head while I was thinking through the colors in my head.  It was fun and whimsical.  I would like to make a Sherman and mount it on the front fender.  Sorry bad taste....  My mind is a bad neighborhood I try not to go in there alone. 

hey schnobs, these are great!  the hair on your figures is spot on !  My only critique is that the face just seem too light. they need a little more depth to them, of course this might be a preferance thing, and the soldiers I'm working on (roman legions) have been campaigning for two decades, so their faces look like leather, lol.  So take it worth a grain of salt.

I add just a slight line of darker flesh tones into the natural lines of the face (around the mouth, under the lip, nose, under the eyebrow, etc).  Actually, I'll post a pic later this after noon of what I'm talking about.  other than that, these are really fantastic!

TacoBuff wrote:

hey schnobs, these are great!  the hair on your figures is spot on !  My only critique is that the face just seem too light. they need a little more depth to them, of course this might be a preferance thing, and the soldiers I'm working on (roman legions) have been campaigning for two decades, so their faces look like leather, lol.  So take it worth a grain of salt. I add just a slight line of darker flesh tones into the natural lines of the face (around the mouth, under the lip, nose, under the eyebrow, etc).  Actually, I'll post a pic later this after noon of what I'm talking about.  other than that, these are really fantastic!

Hey Sam!  Thanks for the kind words and support.  I tried something new on these and used Raw Umber Oil washes only for the shadowing.  If you look at the DAK figure all the shadowing was done with multiple Burnt Umber Oiil washes performed after highlighting and dry brushing.  Worked out great for uniforms but not so great on the heads.  You are right they are a little washed out but I don't like the huge contrast I have seen on other figures as well.  It is dramatic and not lifelike IMHO.

I think a middle ground is the best approach.  My next heads I will use a red\brown skintone for shadowing.

TacoBuff wrote:

well, as long as you have a system that works!  It's good to know you're trying different things with each set, that's a process I'm still going thru.  Finding what works best is tough, but when you do find something that works, boy does it work!  I'm a big fan of the umber washes on uniforms, it's a great way to tie the figure all together I think.

Absolutely!  The wash did an excellent job of outlining everything for me. It saves a lot of time which is always a win!!

Once I feel comfortable with acrylics I will start using oils that's how I roll!!