Miniature Figurines

  This figurine was a pleasure to assemble and paint and when completing the job I decided to give her a "wound"....she has scratched her shin, as can be seen in the photo above. Nothing serious and she'll get around to applying a band-aid from the first-aid kit strapped to her right leg. ra The detailing on Hayzel is very fine......I discovered that the first-aid pouches even include zippers! Another miniature has been ordered and this time it's another 1/12 scale item (same size as Felicia - featured in an earlier post) and is a representation of Eowyn, from Lord of the Rings . Her assembly and painting will be featured here.

The title of this post is taken from a pop song from the 1960s, but the spelling was "Hazel", not the Korean-English shown here. "Hayzel" is from the "Girls in Action" series, by ZKPLA (formerly Tori Factory) and is in 1/20th scale. The kit comes with an alternative head - the box-art above shows Hayzel wearing a helmet and visor closed. I chose to go with the full-face with hair version. In addition to the figure's components (torso, head+hair, arms and legs) there is also a rucksack, a fry-pan, a first-aid kit, a pair of sneaker-clad feet and a superb M4 automatic rifle. There were sprue joins to be removed and support pieces in the crook of the elbows and also behind the knees. The sneakers were beautifully moulded, with very high detail for the size. These little items of footwear are only 13mm in length yet have all the features of a pair of full-size sneakers! I used Gunze "Mr. Surfacer 500" to blend the joins where the legs attached to

Nuts Planet "Advance Guard Heavy Gunner" Certainly a change from what I've done up to this point, this threatening figure is in 1/24th scale and, once again, the casting work is very finely detailed. I have a feeling that these figurines are actually 3D-printed because the same figure can appear in other scales. This one is also available is 1/35th scale and that would be impossible if done using a conventional mould & casting method. The kit comes with most of it in one casting and then there are several separate items to be added, including the impressive multi-barrel chain gun and ammunition feed. There was negligible flash and casting seams to be cleaned up and after a trial assembly I primed the pieces with grey automotive lacquer, let them dry and harden for a day and then undercoated with a wash of Vallejo "Air" black. This gave a good metallic appearance and provided a base on which I then started to detail with washes of dark m

Vesty completed. The (1/20th scale) young lady member of the militia has been completed and stands on a hand-made clay base. The painting is all acrylic.....no oils in this project.....and I am very pleased with the way the Vallejo "Air" acrylics work when brushed on. I am also delighted with the casting from this manufacturer (ZLPA) because the detail is so fine and crisp, right down to the smallest item. You cannot see the watch face because my camera does not focus down to that macro distance, but the two hands are included in the casting. Incredible in something this size! A pleasure to assemble and paint. I have another from the "Girls In Action" series in 1/20th scale and will feature her here in due course.

"Vesty" - from the Girls In Action series. Here is a 1/20th figure - a nice size to work with and a good compromise between the 1/35th and 1/16th figures from the same studio. In fact, they only have one 1/16th and that is "Cassie" , a figure I've already done and featured here. This one depicts a female para-military and she is shown stretching and yawning and, once again, the detail is very fine. So fine, in fact, that it wasn't after until I had cleaned, primed and undercoated her (as shown here) that I noticed her upper teeth and her tongue had been modelled! That is amazing on a casting of this size. (Photo above taken with a DJI Osmo Pocket camera) . I am so used to the days of white-metal castings from the 1980s that I am still being gobsmacked by what is being achieved today in resins, both 3D-prints and castings. (Photo above taken with Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ40) Vesty is currently undergoing preparation for finishing in Vallejo "

Two 35mm characters The first of these two has already been displayed here and when I made the base out of modelling clay I did so with the intention of mounting them side-by-side. Made by the same company (Nuts Planet), the second figure is called "Overwatcher" and came with alternative weaponry - one (as displayed) with an automatic pistol in her hand and the other where she is holding a rifle. Preparation followed the same format as the previous figures in this scale, with the cleaned-up casting primed in grey auto lacquer and after a couple of days to ensure that it was dry and hardened I laid down a wash of acrylics in the basic colours. Once they had dried it was onto the detailing and in this case I elected to do the trousers as a camo-combat effect, based roughly on that of the US Army in the 1960s. Her sleeveless top was finished in all-over dull green and her hair finished in black. She has been injured on the right arm and hand and is bandaged in

Felicia has been finished. Back in late April I started a figure called "Felicia" and worked on it through May, adding the finishing touches yesterday.....well, the girl has been finished but I have yet to add final details to the base. Having now reached the end of this project I thought I'd provide some additional details on the methods I used. I mentioned undercoating using Vallejo "Air" acrylics and finishing in artists oils, but it was actually more involved than that. In fact, in some locations the final painting was a mix of both. One of the most difficult things to do successfully in any figure painting is the eyes. It is so hard to get a true representation of reality and the larger the figure, the more care has to be taken. On Felicia, her right eye is quite distinctive, whilst her left is partially obscured by her hair. I tried many things to get that eye correct and I think I managed to get it pretty okay and what I did was quite s

A couple of miniature miniatures! Whilst Felicia is still to be completed - detail work remains to be done and the oil paint has to dry properly before that can be attempted - I have been working on a couple of smaller figures, in 1/35th. scale. They are tiny! 😀 Produced by Korean companies - Tori Factory and Nuts Planet . The moulding is exquisite....so fine, yet these are resin castings, not 3-D printed. I've completed one figure (Isadora, by Tori Factory) and have mounted it on a 20c piece. She was done in Vallejo "Model Air" acrylic paints - brushed on, not airbrushed. The second figure, called "Scouter", is by Nuts Planet. and is in the final stages of detailing. She is posed on a larger base because there will be another figure accompanying her, to be started after "Scouter" is finished. That's "Scouter" in the foreground, temporarily assembled and ready to be washed and then primed. These two photos show the figure mo

Felicia "Under Construction"! The last post included a couple of pix of "Felicia" (steampunk gunslinger) in grey primer and the mention that I would post an update during the painting process. Well, the prime base colours were done using Vallejo's acrylics, the "Air" versions, designed primarily for air-brushing. However, they work beautifully when brushed on in thin layers. Once they had dried for several days I cleaned the figure with kitchen detergent and then proceeded to apply the finishing coats in artists oils - a mix of Winsor & Newton and Reeves, which I've had for years. So today I can present the following photos, taken last night, and also posed in the same positions as the grey undercoat shots so that you can compare the changes. If you click on them they will open with a much larger image. Once I've finished Felicia I'll post another update. In the meantime there is much fine detail to be completed....ver

For more than 40 years I have been involved in my "other" interest......assembling and painting model figurines. At one stage - around 1982/83 - I did several commissions, the most difficult and tedious being the painting of a 30-piece highland pipe band in 54mm (~2") scale. Those kilts and hose were killers! There was a shop in Sydney which specialised in militaria and war games and I received many requests through them for my work, mostly Napoleonic and in 75mm to 150mm size. I prime with a grey automotive primer, undercoat in flat acrylics and then the finishing painting is done in artist's oils. Above and below are just two examples of what I did. Both Napoleonics, with the French Hussar (unfinished at the moment) in 90mm scale and the Zieten Hussar in 75mm. I took a break for a couple of years after moving from Sydney to Canberra (1984) and spending more leisure time with two growing kids and their various sports and activities, but returned to the ho