Jump to content

Little pilot man.


Recommended Posts

I was chatting recently to model_madness about painting pilots and I offered to e-mail him in-progress pics of my effort. He suggested that I also post here. So, if it's of interest to anyone, here goes:

I've not painted a figure for approximately 5 years and I've never done anything smaller than 1/35 but I've still got all my brushes & paints and a vague memory of how to do it. This pilot is from the Tamiya RAF Mustang (the kit is half made, and completely dreadful) but I'll not put this little fellow into the cockpit. The figure itself isn't too bad considering it's a 'throwaway' part of the kit - quite aceptable for painting, even if it's not especially crisply sculpted (particularly around the eyes, which makes painting them less easy) and has a very goofy expression! I don't know exactly what colours the various bit of him should be and for the purposes of this exercise I don't really care.

The face should ideally be a bit darker than I've painted it - I used a base colour slightly darker than I would for a 54mm figure but not dark enough! Never mind, I'll know better next time - if there's a next time! You'll notice as I progress that I pay less attention to parts of the figure that will not be easily visible once the piot is in a cockpit - and I will not paint bits that will not be seen at all! So far i'm having fun with this little project - not least because of that guy's goofy expression B)

The paints I'm using are Vallejo thinned with bog-standard tap water.

pilot_05.jpgpilot_06.jpg

Link to post
Share on other sites

very nice! The colours in the cap and glasses really stand out nicely. Also almost a powdery effect of the paints, with nice highliting and shading on the suit.

Did you use any washes for that 'used' look?

Oh and i do love his facial expression, even if it is a bit goofy :whistle:

Edited by model_madness
Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm glad it's not just me who thinks he's got a weird face! And I just love the concept of going into battle wearing a shirt & tie - so civilised, so gentlemanly :crying2:

Next step is adding base colour to the jacket. Shading & highlighting to follow. Some blues have a tendency to dry with a sheen - I'll flat coat the little guy when he's all done.

There are no washes in the conventional sense but shading & highlighting with Vallejo is accomplished by applying VERY thin coats. Essentially it's thin washes placed on the right bits, not washed on to it.

pilot_07.jpgpilot_08.jpg

Link to post
Share on other sites

So, according to previous posts this is Pilot Officer Igor who has spent all night with a WAAF and has consequently missed his breakfast?

Hmmm, that gives me an idea.....

A bit more done today. I need to sort out my photography; the flash is washing out a lot of the brushwork and has shifted the colours. And this bloke's right eye is bugging me - I need to alter it.

pilot_11.jpg

pilot_09.jpgpilot_10.jpg

Link to post
Share on other sites
And I just love the concept of going into battle wearing a shirt & tie - so civilised, so gentlemanly <_<

I don't...

Frankly I don't like the idea of doing ANYTHING in a shirt & tie...

But then i have a 20" neck, so closed collars and ties tend to irk me a bit... and NO ONE has ever confused me with civilized or gentlemanly....

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...