Inspiration - Things that Rust, Age and Inspire the Modeler

So you say that you aren't sure how to duplicate that rusted vehicle or the burned out dilapidated building in your next project? Well thanks to my buddies at Massive Voodoo and their never ending desire to find cool stuff for just a few bananas we have this amazing site to inspire us all:

http://www.artificialowl.net/

I know I will be using this site a lot. I have a few other sites that I follow that show old signs and buildings. "Ghost Signs" is another that offers a lot of really cool reference material both for structures, signs and obviously aging. Use these cool sites wisely!

http://www.ghostsigns.co.uk

Michael Miniatures Austrian Uhlan Complete

Well at last this bust is complete. I thought I was further along last post than I actually was. Those observant people out there will have noticed that my last post had a picture deleted shortly after being posted. I had misinterpreted the instructions and had painted the pouch completely in Moroccan Red leather when actually the pouch face has a silver plate. So now it has been repainted. Again, I love this bust and if this subject matter is your cup of tea I hope everyone out there will invest in a kit for themselves.

Michael Miniatures Austrian Uhlan Officer Update #2

Almost Finished! I know Mike will be happy to hear that for sure. I have been slower with this piece as the heat in my painting studio is intense and my daughter is visiting this month from Florida (I think she brought the heat with her). Off to Crystal Beach in Canada this afternoon and maybe I will be able to finish the bust tonight. It is a beauty and the closer I get to finishing the piece, the happier I am with how it looks. After looking at the color combinations available on the Michael Miniatures web-site I think it might be fun to tackle a second version a bit later on. I still have the black ticking in the waist sash to paint and a few more tiny details and highlights before I can say it's done.

Michael Miniatures Austrian Uhlan Officer Update #1

So here in update number one we have the bust as it stands after yesterday's painting session. Nothing you see here is complete at this point, with everything being either the first two layer's of color or a bit further along. There is enough blocked out that you can visualize how the bust will appear once completed.

A few notes about color choices are probably in order. The jacket started as a mixture of Daniel Smith "Sevres Blue" and a bit of Prussian Blue from W&N. Shadows were layered in with pure Prussian Blue and first highlights were added with Titanium White. All of this was done while the paint was still wet, blending as I went. After it dried I further shadowed the blue with a glaze of Prussian Blue and outlined the belts with this blue and a hint of Mars Black. Now that other colors have been added I will add further highlights to sharpen the details. The piping and color are initially a coat of Cadmium Red Deep with a touch of black. Again highlights and shadows will be added in the next steps. A base coat of Medium Cadmium Yellow was applied over a Vallejo flesh basecoat on the waist sash with Dioxazine Purple added to the shadows. The leather is in it's infant stages with an initial coat of Burnt Umber mixed with a tiny dab of Mars Black. I will now start to build the highlights using Mars Brown glazes on all the highlights. As always an initial coat of Gold printers ink is mixed with Burnt Umber to lay in all of the metallic lace and decorations. From this point on it's all in the details and the addition of the loose parts (Horsehair crest, pouch and chin-scales). My next update should be around the end of the week or this weekend.

Michael Miniatures Austrian Uhlan Officer 1910

It's been a long time since my last post and to get things moving again I thought I would post a couple of status photos a week old from my latest project for Michael Miniatures. This is the newest bust, an Austrian Uhlan Officer, 1910 that can be completed to represent any one of the k.u.k. regiments 1-8 and 11-13 by use of the appropriate number badges included in the kit. This is another of the fine sculpts by Aaron Brown available in this great line of kits. These units were quite colorful and I am painting mine as requested in the colors of the 5th regiment represented in Mike's museum collection and shown in photos on the Michael Miniatures website. Stay tuned for more updates.

I started off slowly as I was having trouble getting just the right color blue for the jacket and was forced to paint it twice to get it right. The photo's look a bit brighter than real life but I feel certain that once I photograph the bust with a bit more paint on it later today that it will appear correct in pics.

Joseph II Emperor of Austria - Completed

Things have been real slow since going to the MFCA show a few weeks ago (Thanks to everyone that I spent time with - it was a blast). Work in the yard and long hours at the job have kept me away from the bench for the most part but I wanted to get this piece done for Mike and clear the decks for another new bust that you will see start later this week, so stay tuned. These portrait busts from Michael Miniatures are a lot of fun to paint. The combination of great sculpting, interesting materials to represent as a painter and great subject matter mean real value for the money so don't hesitate to try a few of these kits for yourself.

Soldiers SR-17 Completed

It's always nice to get a figure finished that has seemed to take far longer than planned. This one was so close that once the George I Bust got completed I just rolled into this one as well. Completed as a study in true battle appearance, this figure has been weathered and muddied to show a true battle presentation. I hope I have been successful. These techniques will be applied to a grouping of figures that I plan to tackle soon so the experience will no doubt come in handy.