Hans Goerth - Update

A quick update on the progress of this bust from Mike Good and DML.  One of the beauties of the subject is the variation of a German Naval Uniform worn by our subject in the previously posted photo. I have no access to a color photo of the uniform or for that matter any color illustration. I have looked at a number of versions of this bust and one of my favorites painted by Lee Chandler back when the kit first came out was my primary inspiration.

I started with the shirt, by painting a mixture of Raw Umber and Titanium White with some patches of pure Raw Umber in the shadow areas. This was blended wet-on-wet and the highlights worked with more Titanium White. Once dry I started on the jacket. A mixture of Lamp Black, Titanium White and a dab of Van Dyke Brown (for warmth) was painted over the whole jacket with patches of Van Dyke Brown and Mars Black applied in the shadow areas. This was stippled with a soft brush to blend the "panels" of color together. Once done I began to work the highlights with pure Titanium White until I had created all of my mid tones (shadow thru to highlight).

After drying, both shirt and jacket were worked over with thinned glazes of Titanium White to bring out the crisper highlights. These techniques are similar to the controlled work of acrylic painters these days but I dind that if thinned properly, the oils are even more effective for this technique. Lamp Black and Mars Black were used to paint the base tones of the cap bill and bow tie. Burnt Umber and Mars Black were mixed to make a base coat for the cap badge and pilots badge. Final details are next so stay tuned for the finished piece with a very cool little thematic name plate created on my computer.

Hans Goerth, Marine Feld Jasta I - DML 1/12th

In addition to my 54mm Roman project I have started another bust to add to the Imperial German collection. I have had the DML busts sculpted by Mike Good in my collection for years and finally figured I could do his sculpting some justice. The subject of this bust comes from the photo below.

Hans Goerth was a German Naval pilot who achieved his seven victories flying an Albatros D.Va and a Fokker D.VII. Interestingly his portrait standing in front of a Fokker D.VIII or E.V is the impetus of the inclusion in the same DML 1/48th kit of this bust. The kit is great but the bust was my reason for buying the kit in the first place. Hans appears quite dapper in his light grey jacket, black bow-tie and Naval peaked cap.

After assembly, prep and priming I started as always with the face. Using my usual mix of Burnt Sienna, Cadmium Yellow Medium and Cad Red Medium as a base tone for the flesh. Chrome Green and Indigo were used to play with initial shadow tones by applying hints in areas of the cheek hollows and underneath the chin (green) and in the facial hair areas (Indigo). These tonal values should be extremely subtle. Over this, highlights were started with Titanium White and Cadmium Yellow, mixed. This was allowed to dry before going on to final highlights and shadows. The face at this stage is seen in two photos below.

The following four photos show how we stand as of this evening. Yesterday morning I used W&N Brown Madder as a glaze to deepen the shadows of the face. Tonight Titanium White and a hint of Cadmium Yellow Medium were used to brighten the facial highlights, again as a thinned glaze. The eyes are Indigo with white worked in to lighten the blue. Further white and Indigo were applied after drying to bring out the desired steel blue-grey. A dot of black for the pupil and a tiny white catch-light complete the eyes. The lips were "flesh mixture" with a tiny bit of Alizarin Crimson mixed in. The top lip is in shadow so Brown Madder was used over the Crimson/Flesh. Tiny lines of the white were used to highlight the lips. Hair is Yellow Ochre over Burnt Umber with touches of White and Yellow Ochre mixed to pick out the lighter hairs. It was the style of the times to have what we call "whitewall" sides and back, meaning shaved smooth. I wanted the flesh to come through but with a slight hint of hair color so these colors were slight rubbed into the sides and back, just below the hat to change the skin tint and indicate the hair color.

Naval Uniform cloth was a deep Navy Blue, nearing black. I have started the hat by using W&N Indigo with subtle white wet-on-wet highlighting. Once this dries completely I will use Indigo and black to pull out the shadows further. The band and bill will be gloss black. The jacket starts next......

Heavy Roman Infantry - Faces Completed

I have completed the faces of these two individuals and will now be able to turn to the uniforms and armor. An initial wash of black was applied to the mail on the second figure as well as a wash of Burnt Umber on the padded undergarment. I'm going for a dusty, faded desert look overall so lots of washes of browns and blacks will be applied to clothing elements prior to any application of further colors. It's all about the "feel" of the piece in the end.

I'm really happy with the faces on these figures. I have noticed a serious asymmetrical issue in the face of the first figure (eyes). Few if any humans are symmetrical in their faces but this guys eyes are a bit off. I notice it more in the photos than real life however so maybe it won't be as noticeable in the end.

Grand Duke Wilhelm Ernst v. Sachsen-Weimar - Completed

I have finally completed my third bust from Ulrich Puchala's line of Imperial German subjects. These have been quite fun to work on and this one was my favorite of the three. There is a lot going on with the uniform and the colors work well together. Enjoy!

Here are all three busts together in a group photo. I now have Admiral Tirpitz and General Ludendorff as my next two in the line to tackle. Tirpitz is quite a nice little sculpt.