I tried making a slightly larger military figure than I usually make. It was finished in August 2015.
Tamiya’s world figure series is well-suited to the exercise of figure painting. I have been making 1/35 small military figures, so I tried this 1/16 German soldier for a change. The price is reasonable.
It’s my first time making such a big figure. My usual standard is 1/35, and it’s a very different impression. Anyway, it seems interesting.
The backside likes hollowed out.
Now it’s assembling; I cut out each part from a runner. There seems to be no problem with put together.
I wonder when is the best time for painting during assembly. Oh, the earpick is nothing to do with the modeling. I want to make up as much as possible.
(06-July-2015)
Roughly I completed this figure. I need to erase the part’s joint line here and there later.
The most challenging work is a submachine gun and both hands holding. I adjusted the submachine gun to be put straight along the eye direction. This is like the opening of the movie 007.
It’s approximately four times larger in size paint area than 1/35 scale; the 3D volume is approximately eight times.
I cut out the brass board for the strap of a submachine gun. After the surface is cleaned more, I’ll start painting.
(24-July-2005)
This figure’s surface does not dry, even though I have been waiting for a few days. Long waiting is usual in oil painting; I forgot to mix siccative while painting the uniform and helmet. I was painting while listening to the radio, slowly leisurely moving the brush, and forgot the siccative.
Skin color was painted in oil on where the base with lacquer paint(Mr.color). Skin color was mixed of titanium white, yellow ocher, and burnt sienna, searching for a suitable ratio for trial and error. I used siccative for flesh color and a small part, so I think dryness is faster. It glares overall. The next step is camouflage painting; I’m feeling dizzy…
(03-August-2015)
I used Tamiya Enamel Color for drawing camouflage dots. The first color is black-green. The oil and Tamiya Enamel quickly wiped off the paint in case of a mistake. The Enamel is drying earlier.
I drew the second color dot after adding the other two color dots and painting the details. I still have not drawn eyes at the last moment, and now is the time to challenge myself. Maybe it’s blue eyes.
(11-August-2015)
I’m watching a German war drama, “GENERATION WAR,” “UNSERE MÜTTER, UNSERE VÄTER” in Germany. It has passed for a while since it was released. I felt the story was excellent, even though I’m in the middle now. Almost all episodes are sad; probably, the happy scenes are only the first 15 minutes. It’s a colorful and clean image. All the performers are handsome and beautiful women. Because Germany made it, I think it is correct about the historical investigation of the military uniform.
Not to mention a story, the reality of the weathering of the German military helmet remained in the impression very much. Interestingly, the reaction against the war of an older brother and younger brother changes extremely in the middle. Though I have yet to watch only two-thirds, I think this is a masterpiece.
Outstanding weathering is given on a 1/1 scale, and the soldiers appearing in the “Generation War” are splendid. A helmet soiled with rubble and mud raises the sense that he had fought it. It wasn’t possible to make my model close to this reality, but I painted some colors for mild change gradation on the single-color accessories, such as a helmet and, a gas mask case, shoes.
He is holding an MP40 submachine gun. The fitting of both hands was difficult. The belt buckle has a small mold; after the drybrush, it’s excellent.
The face is more significant than the 1/35 scale; it is easy to paint. Because it is easy to show the details even if I look at the distance, same as 1/35, the painting is complex. I should study it a little more. I described his pupil and the borrowed light in his eyes but could not describe it very well, even on a 1/16 big scale. It’s also tricky using a double loupe. Maybe I should better buy a higher magnification tool. A brush never moves without sight.
I did the accessories, such as a helmet, weather with the pastel. Because I hated coming off later, I sprayed a matte clear coat to fix the pastel.
I wonder about the gradation over the combat boots and the leggings made of canvas well.
Because the face was the most critical part of the figure, it was given priority to easy painting than assembling and should have thought about a production process. After assembling, it’s harder to paint the face than I had expected.
The camouflage uniform contains a dot with many colors. I drew the light and shadow on the base color, flat earth.
I took a lot of time to finish this figure. The big figure seems to have a lot of details that we must care about. I think the atmosphere of the general camouflage is nice. It became a chance to make a large-scale figure.
Next time, I would like to express more vitality and completeness, which is likely beginning to move.
(15-August-2015)
I corrected his right eye because it’s a little large…
Because it was hard to see the whole face behind a machine gun, I had a shot from the bottom.
I painted the helmet weathering tone a little darker.
(07-September-2015)
