Soldiers SR-59 Vexillarius -Update #4

A bit more progress, starting the Labarum (standard) and the armor.

The armor starts with a basecoat of Gold Printers Inks and a bit of Burnt Umber oils added. Once dry I will start adding washes of browns and blacks before highlighting with pure printers ink. The Labarum started with Cadmium Red Deep and Extra Deep from Liquitex to set the mid tones. The shaft of the standard has gotten an initial coat of Burnt Sienna.

The helmet was aged with a patina created by applying pure Mars Black and letting it sit for an hour before wiping the oils off with a lint free cloth. Once I start painting the cloak I will attach the neck guard and paint the leather trim.

Soldiers SR-59 Vexillarius - Update #3

I have been busy prepping two busts that I will soon be painting for a friend in Germany but I need to keep the hand in the brushes as well, in order to keep working my techniques. With that in mind I have been working on the tunic and trousers of this little 54mm figure from Soldiers. As the figure will be wearing a cloak that will be reddish in tone I wanted to go for a red tunic that would be totally different in tonal value while still holding the coloration that I would expect in a fabric from the time period. I decided to go dark, with my plans being that the cloak will be lighter (faded). I also wanted off-white, greenish umber tones in the trousers. I'm pretty happy with my progress to this point.

For the tunic I started with a mix of Cadmium Red Deep and Mars Black. This was applied overall and allowed to dry overnight. The next step was to apply Cadmium Red Deep to the mid tone areas and blend outward with a soft brush. This thins out the paint to act as a "filter" for the undercoat and gives the deep red tone that I desired. This dried overnight and a second highlight tone was applied to the brightest points, using Cadmium Red Deep and a touch of Titanium White. An even lighter mixture was used to touch the lighter worn edges of the sleeves and lower hem line.

The back side of the tunic is the darkest and has stronger contrasts because it will be mostly hidden by the hanging cloak. What will be seen should stand out a bit due to the greater contrast.

The trousers were first painted with a mixture of Raw Umber and Titanium White. This was highlighted initially with straight Titanium White blended wet on wet to give mid tone highlights and shadows. Once dry, a thinned coat of Greenish Umber was applied overall and brushed out to tint the cloth a greenish hue. Once dry I began to bring out the highlights with repeated applications of White mixed with a tiny bit of Greenish Umber. Each application had more and more white added to further pop the highlights, never using pure white.

I know how dark everything looks in the photos. This is enhanced by the areas still primed white and will die down as more of the figure is covered in paint. Dark is the goal, but being this dark is simply a trick of the eye/camera from the contrast with the white. Stay tuned.

Konrad of Thuringia - Romeo 54mm Teutonic Grand Master - Completed

Finishing touches have been applied to my last little piece before going to the Long Island Show this weekend. It's nice to clear a small bit of space with this and von Mackensen done. The figure is a Romeo 54mm kit and the arms on the shield represent Konrad von Thuringen in 1239. The tree trunk is one Armand Bayardi's little gems. This was a fun and simple piece to paint until getting to the shield. Very satisfying and now I can get back to my work on the other items in various stages of completion that seem to mock me every time I sit at the bench. Enjoy!

August von Mackensen - Completed

August von Mackensen is complete. I may well see some little things that need a touch up here or there but for the moment I can take my mind off of it and get some space for my mind to clear. I find this always helps to see areas that need fixing. After awhile you get to close to the piece and you miss details that need further attention. I loved painting this piece, I have a connection with the subject matter, the sculptor (Matt Springer) and the manufacturer (SK Miniatures - Steve Kirtley). Thanks to both for their help and interest in my work. Now on to Graf von Zeppelin, Wilhelm Ernst v. Sachsen-Weimar and Karl v. Fasbender for more WWI fun. Enjoy!

Label created using Microsoft Publisher, sticker paper and a little creative fun.

Uniform details.

Von Mackensen - Progress Report #3

Von Mackensen is getting closer to completion, but as always with these things the details take the longest. I have begun to work on the metallic and lace bits with these photos having been taken on Friday and more completed since then. I have an evening of tiny black chevrons on the knotted cording ahead of me this evening as well as the basic brass color on the scales and the fur highlighting. I probably won't post another update until he is completed. My hopes are to have this little gem completed for the Long Island Show this weekend, as well as the Teutonic Knight I have been working on. After that I have a couple more busts in this time frame that I will begin to paint for box-art. Stay Tuned!

Romeo 54-035 Teutonic Knight mid XIII Cent. - Update #3

Although I still have quite a ways to go to complete this miniature it is always a milestone when you can join the figure to it's base. That is the situation here, with most all of the details that would have been obstructed from easy access by a brush being completed. Once the figure was attached to the base I could glue the left hand with weapon and begin applying the first of many layers of browns to the shaft. I have also begun painting the back of the shield which will be glued under his arm once the rest of the figure details are completed. Should be complete by this time next week (fingers crossed).