54mm Italian Knight by Andrea Miniatures

My next large scale figure project is a 54mm Italian Knight by Andrea Miniatures.  It's a lovely sculpt and all metal.

I primed the figure black and then did a white over spray.

The above photos show the water colors I washed over the figure to create shadows and high lights as the under painting of the model.

The above photos show the shadows I've started to place on the figure. Once these are dried I will start to layer on the colors onto the figures as glazes.

The Castilla and Bajeles units report for the Battle of Almanza

Two more units are done for the Battle of Almanza project.  The Spanish battalions Castilla and Bajeles are finished.  Only 4 more Spanish infantry units to paint and the French and Spanish infantry units are done. Then its onto the cavalry and then British, Dutch and Portuguese.  I may have this all done by 2019. Maybe. 

Miniart 1/16 Musketeer Part V: Death of the Musketeer

 Some disappointing news about this project. It's coming apart at the seams. Literally!  So I was getting ready to put the next layer of paint onto the Musketeer when I noticed that his sword arm had started to separate.  As I looked around the model some more I noticed most of the seams that were filled with putty had separated and the putty was gone.  I primed the figure and thought it would have sealed it and protected the joints.  The only conclusion I can come up with is that solvent I was using to thin the oil paints ate away at the putty.

Oh well! Onto the next project!

Back to the WSS. Two more Spanish Battalions arrive

So after a little hiatus from working on my WSS project I finished 2 more Spanish battalions this week.  Please give a nice early 18th Century round of applause for the Madrid and Sevilla battalions.  As with all of the Spanish troops the flags are speculative and are painted by me.

Here they are!

Miniart 1/16 Musketeer Part IV: The first layer of pigments.

After a bit of a hiatus from painting due to spring break here in Oregon and we took off to Sunriver, OR to relax with our friends I am back to painting.  I did manage to prime up more WSS figures, some renaissance figures and more 1/16 scale heads before we left for vacation.  

This week I choose to work on my Musketeer.  In my last post about him, I had done the water color underpainting. This week I decided to start putting the first layers of colors on.  I follow and have befriended a gentleman in England named Vermillion Hugh.  He has a wonderful Youtube channel, Vermillion Hugh, where he paints 1/35 scale and larger figures using a neoclassical painting style.  I chose to try out his palette to paint this figure.  Also I should mention he is the one who gave me the idea of doing the water color underpainting. Stop by his channel and watch his stuff. His concepts on color theory and the old masters is amazing. 

So below is my first layers of color on the figure. I hope you like it.

The palette of colors I'll be using: Ivory Black, Alizarin Crimson, Scarlet Lake, Red Ochre, Brown Ochre, Yellow Ochre and Flake White.  I started by mixing Black and Brown Ochre to tone the black. The white was mixed with Brown Ochre. Both of these colors were then mixed together to create my Grey tone. The flesh color started out with Scarlet Lake mixed with the Grey tone.

A few views of the figure with the water color underpainting.

The palette after I painted the figure.

The first layers of flesh have been added along with browns, reds, yellows and white for the clothing.

His hat.

A few more pictures of first layers.

I am still trying to decide on the tunic color, which is why I haven't painted it yet.  I will give this layer a few days to dry and then I will start adding more layers.

I was asked to take some zoomed in shots so here they are.