My blog

Atmospheric Painting

Tue, 8 Mar 2011 21:41:47 -0800

Andrea Miniatures posts some beautiful step-by-steps on their website free for downloading. Some of those tutorials are by Julio Cabos. If you know the his name, I’ve said enough. If you don’t know his name, then you need to visit Andrea Miniatures to familiarize yourself with his beautiful work. It is worth your time.

The figure image above introduces one of the articles Julio Cabos has written about “atmospheric painting.” Just click here, or on the picture above or go to http://www.andrea-miniatures.com/mm/201103/TheLooter-USA.pdf

La Grande Serie

Mon, 7 Mar 2011 21:57:08 -0800

I made reference to a set of DVD tutorials in an earlier blog being advertised at www.figurine-tv.com. The first DVD to come out is on painting. The second in the series includes two DVDs on sculpting.

I pre ordered the set when I found out they were dubbing it in English, and received them in the mail a week ago. I have watched all three DVDs and am not disappointed. Some of the finest painters and sculptors I know of in France are featured. I think they are well worth the price they are asking. Imagine what it would be worth for you to sit down with only one of these talented men to watch them paint and/or sculpt. With this offer, you can watch all of them do both. I, for one, am glad to own a set and to be able to watch any part of them any time I want.

You can watch clips from both at www.figurine-tv.com and you can order one or both at Les réalisations Live Prod à la vente

Toy Soldier Show This Weekend

Fri, 4 Mar 2011 14:30:18 -0800

Craig McClain is the owner of The Old Toy Soldier Home, a shop in Vista, California. (Click on the name of the shop for the link.)His shop is hosting the 22nd Annual Westcoaster Toy Soldier Show Sunday, March 6th 2011, 9am-3pm. For more information click here. There are plenty of photos from last year’s show.

Jaques Cavalcanti’s Handiwork

Tue, 1 Mar 2011 16:41:04 -0800

Jaques Cavalcanti lives in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Jaques posted some figures at Benno’s Forum that he converted using the bodies of Pegasus Hobbies’ WWI Infantrymen and heads from another manufacturer to produce French Foreign Legion 1920 figures. I was very impressed with the photos of his work, and asked him if I could post them here. He graciously consented.

If I understood him correctly, he is 46 years old and began working with figures when he was six years old, receiving some of his first figures from his father when he passed away. When he turned 20 years old, he discovered 1/72 scale, but at the time there only existed a few figures to choose from. So out of necessity, if he wanted something else, he would have to make it himself. He converts and paints 20 to 30 figures a week. I don’t know how some of you can do it all so fast.

Below you can see a few photos that display Jaques handiwork and a historic photo or two that he used for accuracy. Thanks Jaques, great job!

New Figures from Andrea

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 18:16:30 -0800

www.andreadepotusa.com

Out of Town

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 20:05:39 -0800

I am out of town this weekend and will not return home until Saturday, but I have some great material coming up. Someone took the Pegasus Hobbies French Infantry figures and put different heads on them converting them to the French Legion. I think they are very effective. I have several photos to share on this one.

And I am still working on an interview with the Masterclass sculptor and painter, Doug Cohen. The interview primarily focuses on painting flesh. This one will be worth the wait.

I want to thank everyone for visiting the site. I am very encouraged by the numbers. I would like to encourage you to leave comments if there is anything you can add to the blog entries that would help advance our hobby.

Best wishes,
Steve

Mike Apodaca's Cargo Truck

Sat, 19 Feb 2011 18:52:35 -0800

I visited the local International Plastic Model Society (IPMS) a couple of years ago. I wasn’t sure whether I belonged or not because most of the modelers were primarily interested in armor. I am a figure man.

I was warmly welcomed by Mike Apodaca, one of IPMS’s regulars. Since then, I meet with Mike several times a month with Jim Mendoza for lunch and we talk about our hobby.

Mike brought a 1/48th scale 2 1/2 ton cargo truck (pictured above) to one of our lunches. The photo above is very good, but it does not represent fairly how well this truck looks. He worked on weathering it with watered down paints, and that’s exactly what it looked like—a truck that had been in use for a while. He said he would “spill the beans” on how he did it. When we have had a chance to talk, I’ll provide the write up on this blog.

Thank, Mike, and great job!