Greif8 Posted February 2, 2023 Posted February 2, 2023 13 hours ago, mozart said: Thank you Ernest, will definitely do that. I had the honour in 2008 to meet and talk to Rolf Ebhardt and Peter Spoden, both true and generous gentlemen. I still mourn the tragic untimely and frankly bizarre death of Heinz Wolfgang Schnaufer in the 1950s in France. It was 99% he who shot down the Lancaster in which my namesake was killed on 3 March 1945. Very sad that Brooker was KIA only a few weeks before the end of the war in Europe. He certainly had an exciting career and was obviously a very brave man to continue on active operations after having been shot down or force landed more than once. I thnik your build will be a nice tribute to his memory. I come by my interest in the Nachtjagd through family connection as well. My youngest great-uncle was a radar/radio operator on German nightfighters from early November 1942 until the end of the war. I had many fascinating conversations with him about what it was like to fly nighttime interception missions, some of them were quite technical. Through him I was able to meet and talk to a few of the Nachtjagd aircrew veterans; like you, I have also had the priviledge of meeting Peter Spoden, a true gentlemen if there ever was one. The conversations with my great-uncle and the other veterans sparked my desire to study the topic deeper leading to my master's thesis and now, my doctorial dessertation. Ernest HB252, MikeC, mozart and 1 other 4
mozart Posted February 6, 2023 Author Posted February 6, 2023 As a bit of light relief from the rigours of biplane building, I’m going to do a little figure painting, inspired by Ernest’s recent tutorials. This is an erk who will be standing by a trolley acc. The figure is by Robert Lane, Elan Miniatures though I have substituted a different head: It’s all quite well defined so should be fun to do, I’m doing the body in water-based acrylics (MRP) using the glazing technique though the face will be oils. First step is a black undercoat. Troy Molitor, MikeMaben, Greif8 and 6 others 9
dennismcc Posted February 7, 2023 Posted February 7, 2023 This is definately going to be one to watch closely, I love to see nicely done figures alongside models, it really completes them. Cheers Dennis
Greif8 Posted February 7, 2023 Posted February 7, 2023 The figure is a very good casting Max. The uniform is perfect for the glazing technique and the face is full of like and should be fun to paint. If I can be of any help please feel free to drop me a PM anytime. Ernest
mozart Posted February 16, 2023 Author Posted February 16, 2023 (edited) Some progress with figure, but not Hurricane work. The chap manning the trolley acc is coming on in his dirty overalls: I've done a "basic flesh" tone but not started with any hi- or lo-lights yet My plan is to have F/O Brooker climbing into his Hurricane so I ordered a suitable figure: The sculpting is pretty sharp but annoyingly the figure is wearing a full leather flying jacket over his tunic: which in the Battle of Britain was clearly not the case: Hmmm. Could be a job for a sharp knife and a needle file to re-sculpt the arms and neck area. Edited February 16, 2023 by mozart dennismcc, HB252, R Palimaka and 6 others 9
dennismcc Posted February 16, 2023 Posted February 16, 2023 The start of the magic, the figure looks good as is so will be fascinated to see him develope. Cheers Dennis Rick Griewski 1
Greif8 Posted February 17, 2023 Posted February 17, 2023 Superb work on the figure Max! The highlights and shadows on the clothing is very well done and looks convincing. The well sculpted face already faintly shows the areas that you will add highlights and shadows to, and that will greatly aid in doing so. You did a great job painting the base layer of the flesh areas which is a must for the following steps. Well Done Sir!!! Ernest MikeC and mozart 1 1
MikeC Posted February 17, 2023 Posted February 17, 2023 (edited) 21 hours ago, mozart said: The sculpting is pretty sharp but annoyingly the figure is wearing a full leather flying jacket over his tunic: ... which in the Battle of Britain was clearly not the case: Not necessarily: I think flying kit was usually a matter of individual pilot preference - within the limits of available kit and necessary safety equipment, obviously. Given that Brooker was shot down in the summer, it would of course be highly unlikely he'd be wearing his heavy jacket. But unless that still from the film is the good Fg Off Brooker, I think you would at least have a case for leaving the jacket on your figure. Edited February 17, 2023 by MikeC mozart 1
MikeMaben Posted February 17, 2023 Posted February 17, 2023 Quite the variety ... Different goggles but the headgear/phones look pretty standard. Lookin' good Max. Greif8, scvrobeson, Martinnfb and 6 others 8 1
dennismcc Posted February 17, 2023 Posted February 17, 2023 40 minutes ago, MikeMaben said: Quite the variety ... Different goggles but the headgear/phones look pretty standard. Lookin' good Max. Those are some great photos, the variety is very interesting Cheers Dennis MikeMaben and mozart 1 1
mozart Posted February 17, 2023 Author Posted February 17, 2023 (edited) Very useful photos Mike, thank you. Apart from the variety of flying gear the one common factor is that they are all wearing shoes, NOT flying boots, though the “scramble” was probably pre-BoB looking at the Hurricanes in the background, all seemingly having the Watts two-blade prop, so most likely the Battle of France, early 1940. Edited February 17, 2023 by mozart MikeC 1
scvrobeson Posted February 17, 2023 Posted February 17, 2023 Great start on this one! Really like the two figures. I've found Black Dog figures to be a bit hit and miss, but the one you have looks sharp Matt mozart and Greif8 2
mozart Posted February 17, 2023 Author Posted February 17, 2023 1 hour ago, scvrobeson said: Great start on this one! Really like the two figures. I've found Black Dog figures to be a bit hit and miss, but the one you have looks sharp Matt I was surprised how expensive the Black Dog figure was Matt, around £20.00 from memory, so I'm glad it's a reasonable figure, but I've seen better! Googling "WW2 fighter pilot scramble" revealed, amongst others, these: Which just reinforces the individual choice of pilots and gives me carte blanche methinks! geedubelyer, scvrobeson, R Palimaka and 3 others 6
Greif8 Posted February 18, 2023 Posted February 18, 2023 Hi Max, I agree that Black Dog figures can be a mixed bag and are on the expensive side for the quality you get. I used one of their figures on the Hurricane build I did for the BoB GB a couple of years ago. It was also sculpted in pretty heavy kit, but I like the weary look on the face and the pose was what I wanted. I try to purchase my figures from Model Cellar, Killerkind, Ultracast or one of the other producers know for their quality, but have used Black Dog figures several times. They do look nice when finished if you get a well sculpted and cast one. I look forward to seeing your figures come to further life as you continue paint them. mozart 1
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now