It ain't over 'til it's over -- AVLH

While I will not be competing or displaying at the Atlanta Show this weekend, I will be delivering two figures that were unveiled at last year's show that the patron was kind enough to let me keep until this year.

The White Ape of Barsoom was--and is!--a fait accompli. It looks even better than it did fresh off the bench last year! My interpretation of Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, on the other hand, left something to be desired. Though a "good" piece of work, I did not feel that it met my standards. Fortunately, I was afforded the opportunity to address the shortcomings, as perceived by me, through the patron's generosity. 

And so I have. I have reworked the nose and the upper lip, and for the first time I can say that I truly do like what I see! Tomorrow, I will repaint the face and try to infuse a bit more life and depth to the subject. . . The face should be dry and the figure ready to be delivered to its owner on Friday.

And for those of you with an axe to grind. . .

One down, two to go. . .

Save for some remaining outlining and the final once-over, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is DONE!

Best call it a night. . .

ALVH-Painting - Wrapping-up: Groundwork, etc.

The "groundwork" is now fully u/c'ed, and is now ready for finishing: to this end, the slats are all but done.

With the main "flooring" essentially done, I decided to transfer the figure to its permanent display base. There will be some touch-ups required on the flooring, but otherwise it has come together nicely.

The axe head is lacquered, and the axe has been permanently mounted. Save for the stovepipe hat--the vampire's, not Abe's, assembly of the vignette has been completed. Movin' right along. . .

FOLLOW-UP. . . Just finished the painting of the hat, and it is now in the oven. If ready-to-attach once it comes out, then this project can be deemed completed. Still loads of things to do, and at least 4-5 hrs. worth of integrating touch-ups and tweaks, but for my purposes the vignette is DONE!

ALVH-Painting - Intermezzo (2): Groundwork.

The "groundwork", as it were, is now done. As I mentioned earlier, all that really needed doing was integrating the kit-provided, modified wooden sidewalk with the display base. This was accomplished by the addition of a 'dirt' (MS) sub-flooring, that serves to anchor the sidewalk.

And. . . Phase 1 of the painting was just completed. P1 involved just the sidewalk and was limited to acrylics. I'm quite pleased to this point. P2 will finish the sub-flooring, etc. , also in acrylics, as an undercoat.

More to follow. . .

Monday. . .

The prep of ALVH's groundwork has been completed. I may have to fine-tune the putty-work a bit once the masking tape is removed and the one-figure vignette is mounted; but, the overall work is done!

Once that was done, I turned my attention to Herr Schmidt. I began paring away at the seemingly endless "minutiae" that must be completed before I can even begin to contemplate the consolidation of the five pieces of this bust.

Today, I tackled the Waffenfarben of the collar patches, painting them a Giftgrün. By the end of this week, I hope to have the collar patches done--or all-but. I also base-coated the EKII ribbon, lightly shading the folds and blocking-in the black outer columns.

I also decided that Divio Juckal will probably not make it to the Show this year. There are less than three weeks to go, and I do not feel that is sufficient time to realize my vision of this piece with but two full weekends between now and the Show. . .

More to follow. . .

ALVH-Painting -- Intermezzo: Base- and Groundwork, and. . .

It's shaping up to be a bit of a slow weekend brush-wise, so I am going to make the best of it and start clipping and tying-off loose threads. . .

First up. . . ALVH's base and groundwork. I am using an Andrea base; PP-05 to be precise. Not a bad base, per se, but definitely not up to "show" standards! So I spent some time with sandpaper, pads, and film, and got it to an acceptable level. I then textured the pedestal with Rust-oleum Black Multi-Colored Textured spray, which helped hide any remaining flaws. While it may not be a show-stopper, it does set off the figure nicely! And that, after all, is the primary job of a base!!

More to follow in the days ahead as the situation warrants. . .

UPDATE - 28.01.2012. . . I began the groundwork today, fairing-in the kit-supplied "boardwalk"--albeit significantly stressed and modi- fied--to the finished base. It's about 60-or so % done: one more session, two at the outside, ought to take care of it.

The collar is now done. All that is really left to paint per se on the figure is the watch chain. The rest is finishing and minor details; and once mounted, the hair.

ALVH-Painting -- Oils (4): The Severed Head.

Not a whole lot of surplus energy today, so I merely took stock of my progress to date, and concluded Phase 1 of the vampire's head. I will undercoat the hair tonight, and decide whether to paint the hair on or off the figure by Wednesday.

UPDATE - 24.01.2012. . . The severed head has been permanently mounted! The hair will be painted in oils in situ. U/cing of the hair is now complete.

ALVH-Painting -- Oils (3): Coat, etc.

I am delighted to report that the first project of/for 2012 has now been effectively concluded. Save for the collar, minor details, and finishing, the figure of Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter is now in the can.

Of course, the lion's share of the work remains: base, groundwork, all accessories. But considering where we were a mere 9 days ago, a monumental step in the right direction. . .

ALVH-Painting -- Oils (2): Pants, boots, etc.

The afternoon was spent with Mr. Lincoln. After tweaking the face (one or two more sessions remaining), and glazing the eyes, I tackled the pants and the boots. The pants will probably be revisited once the coat and waistcoat are done; but for now, an auspicious start.

I am going to try to have the waistcoat done this weekend. . .

UPDATE. . . The waistcoat is now done. . .

Day 2 of painting. . .

A VERY busy day. . . and tiring.

The face/head on AVLH is now all-but-done. There will undoubtedly be some tweaks here and there in the days and weeks to come, but it is essentially done.

The eyes on the Red Skull are now finished--all the remains to be done is the final glazing. Ditto for the teeth. While I was at it, I went ahead and painted the visible shirt collar. Once the latter is dry, and I paint the collar on the trench coat and tunic, the head will be ready to attach permanently.

I completed the u/c'ing on DJ, so he is now ready for the oils.

Which brings us to the White Ape. As this will be a L-O-N-G bench session, it's the only thing on the slate for tomorrow.

And now for something completely different. . .

I know some of you had begun to wonder if painting was at all in the cards this "season". . . I assure you that you would be joined by yours truly!

Nevertheless, the [2011-]2012 Painting Season has finally gotten underway, and on Friday the 13th of all days! It is my hope that from these modest beginnings, it can gather momentum with a minimum of setbacks.

To get the ball rolling, it was "Eye Day" at the bench today, with the first phase of the steely blue-greys of ALVH and the Red Skull wrapped-up. These should be completed by the end of the long weekend.

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!