101st AIRBORNE AT CARENTAN, JUNE 1944

[SteveSki]

John Wayne and Harold Ramis having a smoke.
Outstanding work!

Ramis, in his younger years?? Thanks, bro.

[Stikpusher]

John Wayne and Harold Ramis having a smoke.
Outstanding work!

To my eye they look more like Aldo Ray and the guy in Battleground who went on to be the dad in the old Dennis the Menace TV series

[SteveSki]

Sometimes these guys get pretty dang close with their sculpts, whether they know it or not. I wish I could scratch some putty worth a hoot, but I know my limitations.

[SteveSki]

Bart and Billy

The last two heads are in the final stages of completion, but still need some touch-up. Some may be wondering why name these guys. Well, as suggested by someone who paints a heck of a lot better than I, Mike-the-Kiwi said, “For me this association to real individuals helps create a creative connection deeper than just painting a resin figure.” I have to agree, and so far, I have been able to get past the “hump” on these faces. This is no different than full emersion when building a dio or a given scenario in the past, but I had never considered this concept when painting figures. Works great for me, I’m likin it! Thanks, Mike!

So, for now, these two faces will set up for a few more days, then the final touches will be worked in. Teeth need to be defined, rosy cheeks need a tad more work, and the lips also. I will feather in any weak areas before I call these done.

You may have noticed; Billy's face is from Steve Reedee's 120mm collection. Great work, Stevo!







The AB figures and Bart have their initial acrylic base coats. Time to research all of the gear and weapons for the correct color tones, etc. The splinter pattern for Bart will be a challenge given his poncho is not just hanging down like most, it’s got a lot of exposed areas to paint. Well, I recon it ain’t as bad as a Dennison smock, HA!



Thanks for watching, more to follow soon. Cheers, Ski.

P.S. The official names for these characters are; Hank, Freddie, Billy, and Bart.

[jeaton01]

Awesome, especially the eyes.

[SteveSki]

Thanks, Jeaton!

[SteveSki]

Freddie’s Upper Torso

With the heads set aside to dry thoroughly it’s time to start on the figures themselves. I started with Freddie and will work through the rest of the team and finish off with “Bob”, the German figure. Yes, he’s now “Bob”, because he’s such a close resemblance to Bob Hope I couldn’t pass it up, HA! You’ll see that more closely later on.



The palette is primed and ready to go. I started on the front pockets, shoulders, and lastly the gear. Always working from top to bottom and inside to outside I am finishing everything that can be done on the first pass. This avoids any unnecessary handling of any portion that would have already been painted. If I had to go back to the buttons and zippers after painting the legs the chances of “rubbing off” paint from the legs is a high probability. This is not much of an issue with 1/35th scale or 54mm, but in 1/16th or 120mm and larger, it is, or at least for me it always had been. So, top to bottom, inside to outside, works every time.

The upper half of the torso section has the basic tones in place, so now it’s time to work the gear, buckles, straps, etc.



After the lower portion of the blouse has had its initial tone applied, I worked the rest of the gear. Also, I painted the rubbed brass on the buttons, zipper, added worn metal effect on the clips and buckles, and gave all these points a slight Ivory Black oil pin wash. This tones down the brass color and blends in the effect more realistically so the colors won’t appear overly exaggerated.

Now it’s time to work outward on the upper half of the torso and finish off each arm. I will wait to paint the hands until the end. I’m finding once again that I’m having to mix the color tones almost every third day and getting those tones exact from the prior session can be challenging. A slight variation can and will be noticeable, at least I can see it, and its rather time consuming to remix oils, so the point is to get all the similar tonal portions painted in sequence and save the flesh work for later.



Funny how some things can be elusive when you’re painting only to slap you in the face when you scrutinize the photos, like the Colt .45 ammo pouch which has a blaring gap between the back side and the blouse pocket. That will be handled shortly.

Ok, time to work the legs before I have to make another color mix, lol. Thanks for watching.

Cheers, Ski.

[Stikpusher]

Ski, its all coming together superbly! The look of the worn blackened metal hardware such as the end caps and press stud fasteners is dead on.

[LyleW]

Wow, that is sharp.

[keavdog]

Very nice!