Warfaces all!
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42nd Highland Infantry Regiment "Black Watch" at the Battle of Quatre Bras, June, 1815
- Thread starter Steve Ski
- Start date
Steve Ski
Well-known member
Hatchet Man, French Cuirassier, and Baby Face Drummer Boy
The last three faces are almost done, baby face Drummer Boy being the slacker in this final set. I was fighting the good fight yesterday only to scrub his face with an oven cleaner bath. He too was not cooperating. No worries, I’ll get him done in short order.
The French Cuirassier was a fun one to paint. He doesn’t have any overly exaggerated features, so it was smooth sailing with this guy. I went ahead and painted much of the surrounding armor and fluff just to get it out of the way and to get a perspective of what it would look like further in the process.
Hatchet Man was a bit more of a challenge due to his sharp features around the nose and mustache; it was tight quarters around the mouth, etc. I had started with this figure in the very beginning, but had to scrub him as well. This time around it was a much easier run. He’s now good to go and like the French Cuirassier he too has been set aside to dry completely. The pics may be a bit fuzzy.
I’ll work Baby Face this week and get him completed. His super light skin tone threw me off for a bit, but I can see where I was drifting from the main objective, so he’ll be dialed in shortly.
More to follow and thanks for watching. Cheers, Ski.
The last three faces are almost done, baby face Drummer Boy being the slacker in this final set. I was fighting the good fight yesterday only to scrub his face with an oven cleaner bath. He too was not cooperating. No worries, I’ll get him done in short order.
The French Cuirassier was a fun one to paint. He doesn’t have any overly exaggerated features, so it was smooth sailing with this guy. I went ahead and painted much of the surrounding armor and fluff just to get it out of the way and to get a perspective of what it would look like further in the process.
Hatchet Man was a bit more of a challenge due to his sharp features around the nose and mustache; it was tight quarters around the mouth, etc. I had started with this figure in the very beginning, but had to scrub him as well. This time around it was a much easier run. He’s now good to go and like the French Cuirassier he too has been set aside to dry completely. The pics may be a bit fuzzy.
I’ll work Baby Face this week and get him completed. His super light skin tone threw me off for a bit, but I can see where I was drifting from the main objective, so he’ll be dialed in shortly.
More to follow and thanks for watching. Cheers, Ski.
Last edited:
Heavens Eagle
Well-known member
So far so good Steve! Looking really good!
Brokeneagle
Master at Arms
Wow, what a project!
I must have missed this........
The flag is really impressive and your figures are looking just as good. This will be epic when finished.
I must have missed this........
The flag is really impressive and your figures are looking just as good. This will be epic when finished.
Steve Ski
Well-known member
Thanks, Amigo!
Thank you, more coming real soon.Wow, what a project!
I must have missed this........
The flag is really impressive and your figures are looking just as good. This will be epic when finished.
JamesOLeary
Master at Arms
The faces are outstanding, Bro!
Steve Ski
Well-known member
Class Photos
Here we have the entire crew, all eleven faces done minus a few touch-ups. It took a bit longer than expected, but now it’s time to review each face in detail. For the most part, I think they came out acceptable enough to continue on to the next stage.
Baby Face Drummer Boy is done for now. His left eye looks like someone socked him a good one, but that will be feathered out. These photos really bring out the errors in blaring color, lol. After a few attempts with dismal results, I decided to just let er rip and paint his face like all the rest. Without prominent features like the others, I improvised to give the face just a little more character. I tried not to overdo it, but I think he’ll do just fine.
Looking closer at the eyes I see there needs to be more definition at the lower eye lid areas, they’re too washed out and not defined worth a hoot. When the oils are completely dry, I’ll go back with a very thin line and correct that and maybe whiten them a bit as well.
After this face dries for a few days, I’ll go back and check each face for needed corrections. Feathering, or filtering, with oils is not too difficult and helps correct most areas of concern. Just make sure you don’t get carried away with too much thinner. The layer you are trying to adjust may become too thin and actually rub off. It’s a delicate operation and I have had issues in the past.
The hat checkered section is up next. Now that is gonna to be a hoot. This will really test my “straight line” abilities. We’ll see soon enough. Thanks for watching.
Cheers, Ski.
Here we have the entire crew, all eleven faces done minus a few touch-ups. It took a bit longer than expected, but now it’s time to review each face in detail. For the most part, I think they came out acceptable enough to continue on to the next stage.
Baby Face Drummer Boy is done for now. His left eye looks like someone socked him a good one, but that will be feathered out. These photos really bring out the errors in blaring color, lol. After a few attempts with dismal results, I decided to just let er rip and paint his face like all the rest. Without prominent features like the others, I improvised to give the face just a little more character. I tried not to overdo it, but I think he’ll do just fine.
Looking closer at the eyes I see there needs to be more definition at the lower eye lid areas, they’re too washed out and not defined worth a hoot. When the oils are completely dry, I’ll go back with a very thin line and correct that and maybe whiten them a bit as well.
After this face dries for a few days, I’ll go back and check each face for needed corrections. Feathering, or filtering, with oils is not too difficult and helps correct most areas of concern. Just make sure you don’t get carried away with too much thinner. The layer you are trying to adjust may become too thin and actually rub off. It’s a delicate operation and I have had issues in the past.
The hat checkered section is up next. Now that is gonna to be a hoot. This will really test my “straight line” abilities. We’ll see soon enough. Thanks for watching.
Cheers, Ski.
Steve Ski
Well-known member
Battle of the Tartans
After working the tartan pattern for a few days, yes, a few days, I have finally arrived at a pattern and color scheme that will work. Like you all know, I am “NOT” an acrylic fan other than undercoating, so this was more than just a real hoot. Several attempts at filters came to abysmal failure, so back to the drawing board. This is the fourth attempt, so it stays! Of course, I will work in the lines that crisscross the pattern, but they won’t be accurate, the 0000 brushes and thinned acrylic are not cooperating enough to take on that fight. Whatever I do here has to be repeated for all the tartans/kilts that are in this bunch.
The portion of the tartan that is posted on the right is much closer to the actual pattern required, but I prefer the pattern painted on the Officer.
More to follow and thanks for watching. Cheers, Ski.
After working the tartan pattern for a few days, yes, a few days, I have finally arrived at a pattern and color scheme that will work. Like you all know, I am “NOT” an acrylic fan other than undercoating, so this was more than just a real hoot. Several attempts at filters came to abysmal failure, so back to the drawing board. This is the fourth attempt, so it stays! Of course, I will work in the lines that crisscross the pattern, but they won’t be accurate, the 0000 brushes and thinned acrylic are not cooperating enough to take on that fight. Whatever I do here has to be repeated for all the tartans/kilts that are in this bunch.
The portion of the tartan that is posted on the right is much closer to the actual pattern required, but I prefer the pattern painted on the Officer.
More to follow and thanks for watching. Cheers, Ski.
Man that's crazy, excellent job! 
Heavens Eagle
Well-known member
You might try some kind of a drying retarder with the paint you are using Steve! I have a lot of trouble with paint drying too fast as well and a retarder slows the drying time and increases the working time.
Steve Ski
Well-known member
Tell about it, it sheer lunacy, if ya ask me, HA! Thanks, MP.Man that's crazy, excellent job!
Thanks, HE.
I do use a retarder, but the issue is that I have not crossed over to the "dark side" to acrylics and I don't have the experience necessary for using them as filters like I should. I've already run a few washes and filters with oils on this tartan yesterday, worked as expected, perfectly. So, I won't attempt to change horses in the middle of this race again. Live and learn, and learn, and learn,..............
Steve Ski
Well-known member
Officer Ready for Duty
There has been quite a bit of progress since my last post mainly because the weather has cooperated and has been wet and unusually cold over the past few weeks. I was able to paint the checker board patterns (dice) on all the hats/bonnets and on this particular Officer figure I painted the highlights of the feathers using a mix of Ultra Marine Blue and Ivory Black oils. After that, I worked the main coat in a red tone and completed all the trimmings. This wasn’t a simple task, there’s a lot of detail to tend to here. After working my way down the figure everything began to fall into place. The oils just do their magic, so to speak.
I will say it now, so there won’t be any further debate, the 42nd Highlander kilt/tartan is not correct, but it stays. I may attempt to correct it with the rest of the crew, but to those of you that know, it will be obvious. This was not intentional, it just happened, and after I finished my 4th attempt, I’d had enough, it stays! Like I said, the Denison smock was easier in the scale I rendered, but in this scale, sheeeesh, I give no excuse.
The figure received a Dull Coat and was dried quickly with a hair dryer. I have thoroughly enjoyed working this figure, especially once the oils were broken out and the brush strokes began. Up next, the Hatchet Man!
Thanks for watching. Cheers, Ski.
There has been quite a bit of progress since my last post mainly because the weather has cooperated and has been wet and unusually cold over the past few weeks. I was able to paint the checker board patterns (dice) on all the hats/bonnets and on this particular Officer figure I painted the highlights of the feathers using a mix of Ultra Marine Blue and Ivory Black oils. After that, I worked the main coat in a red tone and completed all the trimmings. This wasn’t a simple task, there’s a lot of detail to tend to here. After working my way down the figure everything began to fall into place. The oils just do their magic, so to speak.
I will say it now, so there won’t be any further debate, the 42nd Highlander kilt/tartan is not correct, but it stays. I may attempt to correct it with the rest of the crew, but to those of you that know, it will be obvious. This was not intentional, it just happened, and after I finished my 4th attempt, I’d had enough, it stays! Like I said, the Denison smock was easier in the scale I rendered, but in this scale, sheeeesh, I give no excuse.
The figure received a Dull Coat and was dried quickly with a hair dryer. I have thoroughly enjoyed working this figure, especially once the oils were broken out and the brush strokes began. Up next, the Hatchet Man!
Thanks for watching. Cheers, Ski.
Steve Ski
Well-known member
Hatchet Man in Progress
Moving on in an attempt to keep up the current momentum I started Hatchet Man in the same fashion as the Officer figure, from top to bottom.
I changed the dice color to a Royal Blue instead of green and continued from there. Starting with an acrylic coat on the straps, bags, and bed roll, I worked all the way down to the tartan base tone. The small details on the head, collar, and epilate were finished in oils before tackling the larger areas. His beard is a bit more toward the blonde tone than intended so I may add a touch of gray giving him that “battle-hardened” look. There’s some clean-up to tend to on that beard not easily visible in the photos, but nothing major.
Working my way down I painted the bed roll before working the coat just to get that portion out of the way. Next, I applied a very light layer of Cadmium red oils on the coat, then feathered in the shadows and highlights. I’ll let this dry a bit before I go back and correct any shadow or highlight issues. So far, it’s rucking along nicely.
I really like how Vladimir sculpted Hatchet Man’s face, he looks more than peeved, HA!
More to follow soon and thanks for watching. Cheers, Ski.
Moving on in an attempt to keep up the current momentum I started Hatchet Man in the same fashion as the Officer figure, from top to bottom.
I changed the dice color to a Royal Blue instead of green and continued from there. Starting with an acrylic coat on the straps, bags, and bed roll, I worked all the way down to the tartan base tone. The small details on the head, collar, and epilate were finished in oils before tackling the larger areas. His beard is a bit more toward the blonde tone than intended so I may add a touch of gray giving him that “battle-hardened” look. There’s some clean-up to tend to on that beard not easily visible in the photos, but nothing major.
Working my way down I painted the bed roll before working the coat just to get that portion out of the way. Next, I applied a very light layer of Cadmium red oils on the coat, then feathered in the shadows and highlights. I’ll let this dry a bit before I go back and correct any shadow or highlight issues. So far, it’s rucking along nicely.
I really like how Vladimir sculpted Hatchet Man’s face, he looks more than peeved, HA!
More to follow soon and thanks for watching. Cheers, Ski.
Guys like him is why machine guns were invented!
Steve Ski
Well-known member
Ain't dat da truffe!
The story of making the story the diorama tells too!
Steve Ski
Well-known member
Hatchet Man Almost Done
Strangely enough the bunker is still up and running. I don’t ever remember working oils this late into the spring season. The bunker is usually powered down by the end of March and we’re already at the end of May. Well, there aren’t any major construction projects to be done nor any overly intense outside projects either. It’s pretty much maintenance this year and that’s a good thing. What do they say, never look a gift horse in the mouth?
On a side note, sadly many of us have seen quite a few legends in this hobby pass beyond the veil lately. Not only have we lost a lot of incredible talent, some have lost close friends. One thing I have gathered from them all, in general, is that time is short. Life is but a vapor, in the grand scheme of things, so there really isn’t much time to waste. The younger we get the better our eyes and steadier our hands become, right? Not hardly. I’ve learned quite a bit from some of those fine Gentlemen, so I will carry on as best I can whenever I have time to do so, and “get er done”.
Hatchet Man is beginning to take shape rather nicely and the process seems to be flowing well. But I have now come to the two most difficult portions of this figure and those would be the kilt/tartan and socks. Both will require a lot more attention to detail and it will be slow going. Keeping the tartan pattern within the range of acceptability in comparison to the Officer’s pattern will be the challenge. Once I get Hatchet Man figured out, I will have a template to work from for the other nine figures.
Before attaching the arm, I had to make sure all the minor details within those difficult to reach areas were finished. I will need to go back and increase some shadows, but nothing major. And those ornamental items on the cuffs, sheesh! They were pretty intense in detail (super fine lines) and I’m not exactly thrilled with some of them, but for the most part, they will be fine. The canteen may look a bit bright in color, but I like the tone, so I’ll run with it. I still need to add the lettering on that canteen. Also, the right epilate will need more definition, it appears a little “white washed” right now.
The rifle, havre sacks, and leather cape (I have no clue what it’s called) were not too difficult to complete. The hatchet itself will get some more metal work, but it’s almost done. I’ll work up a punch list for Hatchet Man once the kilt/tartan and socks are completed. This figure is almost at the finish line, so if you see anything I may have missed, please sing out and I’ll get it handled. I’m a slow painter, but this project just might get done within a year and that would be impressive, to say the least, HA!
More to follow soon and thanks for watching. Cheers, Ski.
Strangely enough the bunker is still up and running. I don’t ever remember working oils this late into the spring season. The bunker is usually powered down by the end of March and we’re already at the end of May. Well, there aren’t any major construction projects to be done nor any overly intense outside projects either. It’s pretty much maintenance this year and that’s a good thing. What do they say, never look a gift horse in the mouth?
On a side note, sadly many of us have seen quite a few legends in this hobby pass beyond the veil lately. Not only have we lost a lot of incredible talent, some have lost close friends. One thing I have gathered from them all, in general, is that time is short. Life is but a vapor, in the grand scheme of things, so there really isn’t much time to waste. The younger we get the better our eyes and steadier our hands become, right? Not hardly. I’ve learned quite a bit from some of those fine Gentlemen, so I will carry on as best I can whenever I have time to do so, and “get er done”.
Hatchet Man is beginning to take shape rather nicely and the process seems to be flowing well. But I have now come to the two most difficult portions of this figure and those would be the kilt/tartan and socks. Both will require a lot more attention to detail and it will be slow going. Keeping the tartan pattern within the range of acceptability in comparison to the Officer’s pattern will be the challenge. Once I get Hatchet Man figured out, I will have a template to work from for the other nine figures.
Before attaching the arm, I had to make sure all the minor details within those difficult to reach areas were finished. I will need to go back and increase some shadows, but nothing major. And those ornamental items on the cuffs, sheesh! They were pretty intense in detail (super fine lines) and I’m not exactly thrilled with some of them, but for the most part, they will be fine. The canteen may look a bit bright in color, but I like the tone, so I’ll run with it. I still need to add the lettering on that canteen. Also, the right epilate will need more definition, it appears a little “white washed” right now.
The rifle, havre sacks, and leather cape (I have no clue what it’s called) were not too difficult to complete. The hatchet itself will get some more metal work, but it’s almost done. I’ll work up a punch list for Hatchet Man once the kilt/tartan and socks are completed. This figure is almost at the finish line, so if you see anything I may have missed, please sing out and I’ll get it handled. I’m a slow painter, but this project just might get done within a year and that would be impressive, to say the least, HA!
More to follow soon and thanks for watching. Cheers, Ski.