Das Boot

[Steve Ski]

2nd Lieutenant

I enjoyed my break from the bunker, but now it’s time to get moving on these last three figures. Back at the bench I was able to start work on the 2nd Lieutenant and get the face in order, but not completed. The first photo is a light shadow setting to start the process. After working the flesh tones in the same manner as the prior faces I applied the base tones for the uniform. Things are starting to move along much faster now.

Deck photos will be posted soon. I have pretty much completed everything that needs to be done on it, so I am happy with that. Feel free to comment, more to follow soon.

Cheers, Ski.

 

[moon puppy]

Cool!

 

[Heavens Eagle]

 

[Steve Ski]

Tanks, Gents! The ponies were eating up a lot of time, but back to business.

 

[moon puppy]

Yeah but someone's gonna love those ponies!

 

[centaur567]

I'm always amazed at how well you who do figures make them look so real. Very nice. Gary S.

 

[Steve Ski]

Yeah but someone's gonna love those ponies!

I know the girls will take care of it, but my grandson, he's a Tank, HA!

Thanks, Gary, I appreciate the kind words

 

[Steve Ski]

Chief Engineer Fritz

Moving right along to the next figure, Chief engineer Fritz has received his initial facial work using the same process as before. It can be challenging to get a decent paint job done on a face with such exaggerated features, but I think he’s close. There are still quite a few details to feather in as well as glint in the eyes and a few minor adjustments. I’ve set him aside now to dry while I start on the Captain figure.

Not shown here I’ve also placed a base coat on his rain jacket and trousers, etc., just to get the ball rolling for later. More to follow real soon.

Thanks for watchin. Cheers, Ski.

 

[jknaus]

Very nicely done.
James

 

[Steve Ski]

Captain Willen Brock has the Con!

The last figure to work is Captain Brock. He’s still looking rather rough, needing cheek work and more attention to the beard and eye areas, but the base work is set. He does have a slight pale look to him right now, but I will fix that as well.

I went ahead of myself and started working the rain coat just for fun to see how the color tones would work. There’s a lot of surface area to cover, but I like the initial tones. I’ve also worked the cap a little. I always work from top to bottom, so I’ll hold off on the coat for now and get this head completed before moving any further on the rest of the figure.

I had pretty much finished the deck a few weeks back, for the most part, but still needed to close out the sliced portion and also take care of some minor clean-ups here and there. Photos will be much better when this is all completed, but here’s just a rough idea of how the deck looks right now. I added a seat that was missing from the scene and corrected some of the flag issues, mainly the provided flag was way too big and the rigging points were not represented.

I used copper wire for the heavy cable rigging and flag rope which made it much easier to resemble a flag blowing in the wind. I didn’t go overboard, lol, on the upgrades of this deck, but I did want to spruce it up just enough to present a better picture of the scene.

Once I go back and finish off all the faces and cap I will work my way down each figure in sequence. It’s much easier to run a production line when most of the figures have the same uniforms, etc. More to follow soon.

Cheers, Ski.

 

[moon puppy]

 

[Steve Ski]

Tanks, MP. Winter prep will be eating some of the bunker time right now, bummer,...............

 

[Steve Ski]

Capt. Brock Is Ready for Duty

Well, after the long “Battle of the Resins,” I can now say I am happy this figure is finished, for the most part. Looking closer at these pics I can see shadows that need definition and a few lines needing more amplification. The punch list is growing, yikes!

When painting this dark color tone with oils it’s sometimes difficult to see the flaws that may have been missed during the primer coat portion. This color tone and the high gloss when painting with oils can really mess with your perception and must be constantly observed from multiple angles to make sure areas are treated as they should be, natural shadow fall, highlights, etc. My personal experience has shown that it can be a bit taxing at times to catch all of it correctly, specifically with these dark tones. However, I do like how these coats and trousers are folded and formed, making them a great canvas for blending the oils. This part is always fun for me, personally.

Using my standard “rattle can” Dull Coat I am now able to more easily see those flaws, and the slag, that I have missed. Correcting some of these issues will not be addressed as the repainting is more trouble than the issues involved. This really has not been my most enjoyable set of figures to work with.

I will be breaking from the expected glossy water effect on all of these figures, including the deck. I know this set is portrayed on the deck at sea with heavy winds and everyone assumes there’s a sea spray at a quick glance, but is there really? Since the upper portion of the deck is all that is visible I can pretty much work this as I see fit, right? After all, glossy figures are a pet peeve of mine and I won’t willingly do it, if I can help it. Oh, did I mention that I hate glossy figures? HA!

So, for now Capt. Brock will be set aside as I bring the rest of the crew up to speed. I have my punch list, so hopefully all the stray boofs will be wrangled into the coral before these figures are mounted onto the deck. I’m off to work the next figure while the momentum is present, minus winter prep outside, as with what usually happens in Sept/Oct time frame.

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

 

[moon puppy]

Really nice Steve, it will be interesting to see how you wet him down. Could some gloss streaks with some silver/white mixed in look like water streaming down?

 

[Steve Ski]

Could some gloss streaks with some silver/white mixed in look like water streaming down?

Thanks, MP! I've been discussing with others that the deck should appear wet, even the boots and maybe even a slight splash on the lower trousers, but anything past a slight wet look on the lower bottom portions would detract from the details as a whole. We'll get something in there, but it won't be much at all.

 

[Steve Ski]

2nd Lieutenant on the Deck

Moving right along with the second figure completed, I do see a few more issues to address, so those will be added to the punch list as well. Once again, I forgot to snap a few photos during the process, oops. Sometimes I get on a roll and just get too far along. Note to self, take pics!

The jacket has a slightly more bluish tone than the Capt.’s coat, but a slight variation is not a bad thing. I really did not like covering up the eyes on this figure, but that couldn’t be helped. One note, these binos do not align with the eyes and there is no real way to correct that issue, so it stays.

Ok, two down, three more to go, and I better keep it rolling along, and take pics, too. Thanks for watching.

Cheers, Ski.

 

[centaur567]

Most excellent!! Gary S.

 

[Steve Ski]

Thanks, Gary!

 

[Steve Ski]

1st Lieutenant is now on Deck

The third figure to this set is now on the shelf until the final punch list. I see more work needed on the back of the coat, but for the most part, the 1st Lt. is looking ok.

Since winter prep is taking a lot of time right now, I grabbed an old CD case cover and placed that on top of the figure to keep the dust off, but also to slow down the drying process just a little. I have also placed the figures into the refer, it works the same. My oils go in the freezer after each session, so cold is good for oils.

Well, I did snap a few in-progress pics, but not from the beginning, oops. At any rate, the process hasn’t changed. Things are looking very glary right now making it sometimes hard to catch all the weak spots.

The final pics for now with Dull Coat and the hair dryer to finish him off until later. I added the bino strap and eliminated the flaps that would normally have been flopping around his neck. I really didn’t see them as necessary and who would miss them anyway?

Ok, off to work Lt. Werner. Thanks for watching and more to follow soon.

Cheers, Ski.

 

[helios]

Stunning work.