Red Skull (Bust)-Painting (1): Priming & U/C'ing

The bust is now primed. Barring any unforeseen reveals, I should have it undercoated by the end of next weekend.

Divio Juckal-Painting (II): U/C'ing Fur

After a grueling 11+ hrs. at work, this evening was spent u/c'ing the fur on our werewolf. Or, at least most of it. While I fully intended to do the flesh in oils before tackling the fur, upon further reflection that would have set me up for some harrowing contretemps down the line.

I now have about an hour or two of u/c'ing left on ol' DJ, and then we can focus on the whole canvas with the oils.

More to follow. . .

White Ape of Barsoom-Painting (1): U/Cing

Last, but certainly not least. . . The rampaging, six-limbed ape is now undercoated!

This was a tricky one, and is certainly a candidate for reworking once I break-out the oils. Burroughs is characteristically sparse in his descriptive passages, so, taking into account that the beasts were glabrous save for the shock of hair, what exactly did he mean by "white"?

After spending some time reviewing images of Snowflake, may he RIP, I decided on a warm parchment undercoat, freely mixing and blending no less than four Reaper and Vallejo colours. The end result is a cool fleshtone, which should take quite readily to the "white" oils to follow.

More to follow. . .

Divio Juckal -- Painting (I): U/C'ing Flesh

I am trying to get at least an hour's worth of bench-time per night--so far, so good. . .

Tonight was spent u/c'ing the hairless areas on our vârcolac. I used Reaper's Yellowed Bone and Vallejo's Beige-Red in a loose, free-mixed application. It was more important to get a feel for the topography/ contours of the sculpture than it was to effect absolute coverage. I also took advantage of the "wetness" of the Reaper base colour to block in some salient highlights, etc. Again, as much an exercise in familiarization as it was a warm-up with the brushes.

A very satisfying outing: not too demanding with great results. The next step on DJ will be the hairless flesh in oils with a transitional grisaille along the edges of the fur. . .

Stay tuned!

ALVH-Painting -- Undercoating

Just completed undercoating the "darks" on Abe--straightforward; no surprises.

Well, no surprises but one. I used Reaper Master Series paints for the first time, and I couldn't be happier! Smooth, high saturation, superbly tolerant of thinning, mix well with Vallejo--and no glossy spotting or random glazed patches. As I understand it, their formulae include a flow enhancer, as well as an agitator in the bottle: it used to be a metal skull, but there was apparently some concern re: the metal v-à-v toxicity, so it got switched to a plastic ball. Either way, great initiative!

I am particularly taken with their Pure Black (#09037). This is a deep, warm black that yields varied tones depending on the number of coats applied.

If--WHEN!--I need to replace my acrylics, Reaper will definitely be on the short list.

Back to the bench!

PS--Face is now undercoated.

UPDATE-20.12.2011... Lincoln is now fully undercoated. NEXT: Oils!

Holiday Greetings '11

I am definitely not feeling "it" this year, and for that I apologize in advance. I only wish that Smart Max had released a SMOG version of Scrooge. . . I'd be all over that!

But here goes . . .

Take some time for yourselves this Holiday Season: plot out a new project; or make some inroads on an ongoing venture; or simply wrap-up that poor soul that has been desperately clamoring for completion!

Above all, enjoy whatever time you have with family and friends. We're a smidge over a fortnight away from wrapping-up the first year of the second decade of the 21st c., and things do not appear to be getting any less scary. . .

And with that, I would like to take this opportunity to wish the readership a joyous, restful, peaceful--and, yes, productive!-- Holiday Season; and a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year.

Thank you for your patronage and support.

MERRY CHRISTMAS
HAPPY HANUKKAH
FELIZ NAVIDAD
BUON NATALE
FRÖLICHE WEINACHTEN
JOYEUX NOËL
CRĂCIUN FERICIT
SUNG TAN CHUK HA
WESOŁYCH ŚWIĄT BOŻEGO NARODZENIA
S'ROZHDESTVOM KRISTOVYM

Augie

Looking ahead to 2012. . .

2011 has been a less than stellar year. It got off to a great start; but by the time I hit the final turn, the race was all but over. That is not to say that I am not pleased with what has been accomplished, especially under the circumstances; but it certainly did not come close to meeting expectations.

Unfortunately, 2012, at this point, looks quite grim. Other than Loki, there is nothing that is "jumping" off the bench at me. This could change in the proverbial "blink of an eye", but for now I am resigning myself to an off-year that might very well see little-to-nothing done.

Enough of the gloom 'n' doom. As most of you by now know, my modelling year is divided into two parts: an all-too-short prologue culminating with the annual Atlanta Show in February; and the rest.

PART 1
1) Abraham Lincoln - Vampire Hunter
2) Great White Ape of Barsoom
3) Red Skull (bust)
These are all soon-to-be in-progress paints: now primed.

PART 2
This is tricky at this point. Loki, as I've mentioned, is the only sure bet. The rest are just simmering ideas that will more than likely not be in the running by this time next year. . .

4) Loki (Knight Models 75mm)
5) Divio Juckal (Smart Max, 1/35th)
6) Jack O'Lantern (bust, KitKong Model Mansion 1/6th scale)
7) Tars Tarkas (bust, Monster Caesar/Andrew Martin, "1/8"th scale)
8) Baba Yaga (Smart Max Nibaba ['Smog 1888'] conversion)

I will update this posting (as warranted) in the weeks leading up to the Atlanta Show; and post a revised version just after the Show.

I look forward to your comments and observations.

Here's to a productive Holiday Season & New Year!

LET THE COUNTDOWN BEGIN!!!!

LESS THAN 10 WEEKS UNTIL ATLANTA!!!!

I have just completed what I hope will be my last fiddling-about with the final line-up. What this means is that time-permitting and barring any unforeseen developments--hobby-related or not--the figures will be primed and moved to the painting bench over the weekend.

Three figures in nine weeks. . . hmmm. . .

Notable Acquisitions November 2011

KITS
Moebius kit of Black Widow (J. Laudati/J. Yagher, 1/8th scale)

Divio Juckal -- Pre-prime prep & Groundwork

It is definitely getting to be "that time" of year, so the last few days have been spent tying-off loose ends and the like.

While the vârcolac was all-but-ready for priming, I had spent virtually no time at all on its presentation: this was begun to be addressed this weekend. First, base selection. Check. Next, groundwork. If I had received the plinth included in the initial release of the kit, I would have gladly stuck with that and case closed; however, I received one of the later generic cobblestone slabs that did nothing for the piece.

Enter MiniArt. I sectioned a piece of this set, cut and trimmed it to size. . . eh voila--instant street corner. Of course, there is still loads of finishing to do, but the worst is over. However. . . since I wanted a more dynamic presentation, I had to reposition the feet on the figure. So my erstwhile "all-but-ready for priming" figure will have to be reworked a bit more before I move it to the spray bench.

Getting there. . .

UPDATE - 06.12.2011. . . The figure has been positioned on the base, and all the "sub-filling" between the groundwork and the base has been completed using Aves AS-White. Save for final finishing--sanding, detailing, polishing--the groundwork has been completed. Back to the figure!

Alejandra -- Assembly (Ia)

As of Step I, the figure had been essentially completely assembled minus arms, hair (won't be used), and gear. Today, I rounded off Step I by completing the filling (MS) of the holes for the coiffure that won't be used, as well as fiddly seam along the neck. This is probably as far as I'll get with Alejandra this year. . .

Back to Abe!

PS--This is a superb figure suitable for any experience level!