82nd Airborne Figure under way
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If you're planning on posting a log of your build please use the relevant build sections.
If you're planning on posting a log of your build please use the relevant build sections.
Re: 82nd Airborne Figure under way
Hey, Tom, does Greg paint the extra heads, and if so, what do you do with them? I'd be willing to buy one or two if you don't have use for them. I know that quite a few figure kits come with two heads so I thought I'd ask. You could probably put just a head in an envelope and mail it for very little (which I'd be happy to cover). I really don't want to have to kidnap Greg, but I have the Ritz crackers standing by, just in case.
When FDR coined the phrase "The Arsenal of Democracy", he was talking about Detroit. Proud to live in the 2nd most violent city in America!!
Re: 82nd Airborne Figure under way
Almost finished!
"Just have to add helmet straps and remove an errant dot of super glue near his left elbow. Then some more shading, highlights and blending on his uniform and equipment."
"Just have to add helmet straps and remove an errant dot of super glue near his left elbow. Then some more shading, highlights and blending on his uniform and equipment."
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SCHWEREPANZER
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Re: 82nd Airborne Figure under way
Beautiful work. Fantastic image. 
Re: 82nd Airborne Figure under way
Finished 
Next in a bit will probably be another Alpine figure.
Next in a bit will probably be another Alpine figure.- Attachments
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Re: 82nd Airborne Figure under way
Looks phenomenal, as Greg's work always does. If you don't mind a question, (or two) are the elbow and knee patches simulating a field applied patch, and do the alpine figures come with color callouts (and if so, for what brand paints)? I'm almost convinced to try one of these. I know I can paint the entire figure extremely well, except for the face. Hey, everybody says that!! 
I seem to recall you said the sling is a resin piece, right? It's very well done. There's a great article series going on in FSM right now on figures and they just covered leather. Some very good tips, too.
I seem to recall you said the sling is a resin piece, right? It's very well done. There's a great article series going on in FSM right now on figures and they just covered leather. Some very good tips, too.
When FDR coined the phrase "The Arsenal of Democracy", he was talking about Detroit. Proud to live in the 2nd most violent city in America!!
Re: 82nd Airborne Figure under way
Thanks Max I will ask these questions.
Re: 82nd Airborne Figure: overview and methods
Max-U52,
Thank you for your kind words. I’m happy to answer any questions keeping in mind that my techniques are a hodge-podge of ideas either garnered from other, far more capable people and from my own trial and error. To paraphrase someone else, I am improving my modelling and painting one mistake (sometimes more!) at a time.
The elbow and knee pads were already molded onto the Alpine figure. These correctly represent the additional reinforcing that most paratroopers added to their M1942 jump jackets and pants. The padding in these areas were sewn on by the units’ riggers and sources of cloth tended to be quite different from the khaki-toned jump uniforms, hence the contrast. Similarly, some units had their own “rigger made” ammunition pouches made which differ from regular GI or Air Corps issue gear in both appearance and color. I used German WWII field gray as the base for these patches since it approximates US herringbone twill.
The Alpine figures lack both assembly and painting instructions, so I had to consult the couple of images from the box top as well as other pictures of the figures from the internet. My choices of colors were based mostly on color drawings from books (mostly Osprey’s ‘Men at Arms’ and ‘Warriors’ series) by artists such as Ron Volstad, Chris Collingwood and Mike Chappell. I also found that the equipment featured in the HBO mini-series “Band of Brothers” closely approximates what look to be right colors. I am not beholden to any set color formulas and work by eye from a plastic pallet using Vallejo Model Color paints thinned with distilled water. For military uniforms, mixes of green, khaki, gray and ochre colors from about 12-15 different bottles can give you a huge array from which to work. The figure’s face is done with various mixes, blending and washes of; oranges, browns, reds, pink, dark flesh and black-gray using about 9 or 10 different colors in all.
I have found that Vallejo Model Air paints are superior for use when brush painting any metallic colors and sometimes for other, non-metallic colors, too! These can be brushed straight out of the bottle with no thinning needed.
NB – Among the many flaws on my figure, I realized after shipping it to Tom that the ‘Airborne’ emblem on the top of the figure’s left shoulder is wrong. The top portion of the emblem should be a separate, blue rectangle with white lettering. I mistakenly have it with red edging. Only the separate 82nd Airborne square beneath the airborne patch should have red.
The rifle sling is very well detailed and matches era photographs. To get the right sag on it, I drilled a hole in the hand (which was molded onto the rifle) and at the end of the corresponding wrist. Then I glued a piece of styrene rod into the hole on the hand to act as a peg. This allowed me to position the hand and rifle on the mostly assembled figure to fit the sling but to still allow it to be removed for detail painting. Next, using CA glue, I fixed to top sling to the sling swivel on the rifle. With the figure tacked onto a sturdy base with a little CA on the feet, I positioned the rifle onto the figure and then used my wife’s hair dryer to gradually warm the sling until it became flexible. At this time, I used a pair of tweezers to gently position the sling until the base of it lined up with the heel swivel on the rifle. Then, allowing it to cool while holding it in place with the tweezers it will maintain the proper sag and can then be glued to the rifle with CA. This was all done before the figure was primed and painted. (The attached picture gives you an idea of some of what was done to facilitate this.)
To paint the sling, I used a base of saddle brown and picked out the metal parts with a mix of Model Air black and steel. I then gave it a wash of German WWII dark brown thinned with water and Vallejo Glaze. Later, an additional pin wash of this same mix helped to darken shadows and recesses. A light dry brush followed using a mix of saddle brown lightened with flat earth. The same approach was used for the Corcoran jump boots and Boyt holster for the M1911A1 pistol, only starting with slightly different shades of reddish brown for the leather. I dry brushed the boot laces a much lighter shade to make them stand out.
I hope that this helps. Happy modelling!
Best regards,
Gregg Bulan
Thank you for your kind words. I’m happy to answer any questions keeping in mind that my techniques are a hodge-podge of ideas either garnered from other, far more capable people and from my own trial and error. To paraphrase someone else, I am improving my modelling and painting one mistake (sometimes more!) at a time.
The elbow and knee pads were already molded onto the Alpine figure. These correctly represent the additional reinforcing that most paratroopers added to their M1942 jump jackets and pants. The padding in these areas were sewn on by the units’ riggers and sources of cloth tended to be quite different from the khaki-toned jump uniforms, hence the contrast. Similarly, some units had their own “rigger made” ammunition pouches made which differ from regular GI or Air Corps issue gear in both appearance and color. I used German WWII field gray as the base for these patches since it approximates US herringbone twill.
The Alpine figures lack both assembly and painting instructions, so I had to consult the couple of images from the box top as well as other pictures of the figures from the internet. My choices of colors were based mostly on color drawings from books (mostly Osprey’s ‘Men at Arms’ and ‘Warriors’ series) by artists such as Ron Volstad, Chris Collingwood and Mike Chappell. I also found that the equipment featured in the HBO mini-series “Band of Brothers” closely approximates what look to be right colors. I am not beholden to any set color formulas and work by eye from a plastic pallet using Vallejo Model Color paints thinned with distilled water. For military uniforms, mixes of green, khaki, gray and ochre colors from about 12-15 different bottles can give you a huge array from which to work. The figure’s face is done with various mixes, blending and washes of; oranges, browns, reds, pink, dark flesh and black-gray using about 9 or 10 different colors in all.
I have found that Vallejo Model Air paints are superior for use when brush painting any metallic colors and sometimes for other, non-metallic colors, too! These can be brushed straight out of the bottle with no thinning needed.
NB – Among the many flaws on my figure, I realized after shipping it to Tom that the ‘Airborne’ emblem on the top of the figure’s left shoulder is wrong. The top portion of the emblem should be a separate, blue rectangle with white lettering. I mistakenly have it with red edging. Only the separate 82nd Airborne square beneath the airborne patch should have red.
The rifle sling is very well detailed and matches era photographs. To get the right sag on it, I drilled a hole in the hand (which was molded onto the rifle) and at the end of the corresponding wrist. Then I glued a piece of styrene rod into the hole on the hand to act as a peg. This allowed me to position the hand and rifle on the mostly assembled figure to fit the sling but to still allow it to be removed for detail painting. Next, using CA glue, I fixed to top sling to the sling swivel on the rifle. With the figure tacked onto a sturdy base with a little CA on the feet, I positioned the rifle onto the figure and then used my wife’s hair dryer to gradually warm the sling until it became flexible. At this time, I used a pair of tweezers to gently position the sling until the base of it lined up with the heel swivel on the rifle. Then, allowing it to cool while holding it in place with the tweezers it will maintain the proper sag and can then be glued to the rifle with CA. This was all done before the figure was primed and painted. (The attached picture gives you an idea of some of what was done to facilitate this.)
To paint the sling, I used a base of saddle brown and picked out the metal parts with a mix of Model Air black and steel. I then gave it a wash of German WWII dark brown thinned with water and Vallejo Glaze. Later, an additional pin wash of this same mix helped to darken shadows and recesses. A light dry brush followed using a mix of saddle brown lightened with flat earth. The same approach was used for the Corcoran jump boots and Boyt holster for the M1911A1 pistol, only starting with slightly different shades of reddish brown for the leather. I dry brushed the boot laces a much lighter shade to make them stand out.
I hope that this helps. Happy modelling!
Best regards,
Gregg Bulan
