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Archive "old" work: Fallschirmjager at Cassino '44

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tankgirlfuzzy

tankgirlfuzzy
I thought I'd celebrate the return to functionality with the PB pics debacle by going waaay back and posting my first major customized figure that I did over 10 years ago. I reposted this a few years ago on OSW but here I'm reaching back to the original post I made on 6th D. [pics are actually updated and new]:



I've wanted to do this figure since I first laid eyes on the photo at least six years ago. [note: that actually means 2002, since I first posted this in 2008!]
modern - Archive "old" work: Fallschirmjager at Cassino '44 Fally%201

I started to do the figure but could never really finish it off; as my skills improved I kept wanting to go back and improve it, especially with the weathering. Plus I wanted to add a vignette base, which I finally did recently. Here's how it finally turned out:
modern - Archive "old" work: Fallschirmjager at Cassino '44 Fally%20aged%202

And here are some color and detail shots:
modern - Archive "old" work: Fallschirmjager at Cassino '44 P1060131b
modern - Archive "old" work: Fallschirmjager at Cassino '44 P1060133bmodern - Archive "old" work: Fallschirmjager at Cassino '44 P1060136b
modern - Archive "old" work: Fallschirmjager at Cassino '44 P1060134b
modern - Archive "old" work: Fallschirmjager at Cassino '44 P1060137b
modern - Archive "old" work: Fallschirmjager at Cassino '44 P1060138b
modern - Archive "old" work: Fallschirmjager at Cassino '44 P1060132b

Getting the pose just right was not easy, as I wanted it to be as exact as possible. I think I came pretty close, but it's still a little off, I think. Doing a figure from a single photo is interesting because what's unseen on the hidden side is up to your imagination, but I deduced he had to be carrying those ammo boxes slung over his MP40 (you can see a corner of one peaking out over the shoulder). Headsculpt is Egon; smock is the original DML GJ type; gear is all DML except for the NLM holster and custom breadbag strap; breadbag and MP40 pouch repainted field blue; canteen customised from DML parts; scarf is 21c; cap was acquired from a board member years ago (I've forgotten who; and where the cap originally came from), repainted and insignia replaced.

The weathering and vignette base were fun to do. The mud and dirt on the clothes and gear was FastMache celluclay mixed in with Tamiya acrylics (flat earth, red brown, black, water in various ratios to get the varying shades). As you can tell from the guy's pants in the original photo, this guy got pretty dirty! I can just imagine how muddy those soldiers got during the winter/spring of 43-44 in those Italian mountains, and the trick was to build up layers of dirt, grime, and mud. The "wet" look was just super glue brushed over it when it was dry, which helps to set it and protect it. The base is from Michaels, and the ground cover is FastMache, painted with the aforementioned colors. The grass, while not perfectly to scale, is decent as an overall effect--it's from a model railroad company called Silflor (I used a product called buffalo grass and XL tufted grass). If you look closely you might be able to see some glistening "dewdrops" on the wet grass, which was just copious amounts of Tamiya acrylic clear. Rocks was just driveway gravel.



The text above was copied verbatim from the original 6thD post, making this a true "archive" post; however, the pics are from about 3 years ago and I just recently edited them for brightness and color (wasn't happy with the original pics from 2008). Those who know my work know I have kind of an obsession on getting poses to match old photographs or film stills as exactly as possible. Also, the diorama base was so much effort I never did another one again!

Hope you enjoy this trip down [my] memory lane!

#WWII #German #fallschirmjager #MTO #Cassino #ww2 #modern #military


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Tank Girl

scalawag

scalawag
That is great TGF, and it does follow the photograph very well indeed.

I love it when a model maker uses original source material (like period photographs) to make a figure or model from. So many people use their imagination or other models as inspirations for these sort of builds and it can lead to the figures not looking quite right or missing details.

This one is spot on though, I love it.


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I can't see the trees for the Forest
modern - Archive "old" work: Fallschirmjager at Cassino '44 Yv5cCVM

Stryker2011

Stryker2011
Founding Father
That is really well done. Thanks for the detailed breakdown on materials used. I never would have thought of half of that (super glue to help simulate wet mud!!). Wow. Thanks for sharing. It’s nice to see “old threads”, because to my eyes, this is a “new thread”.


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Mark

He who dies with the most toys wins!

modern - Archive "old" work: Fallschirmjager at Cassino '44 C8485110

GubernatorFan

GubernatorFan
Founding Father
Beautiful work, Tank Girl! Makes me all the more glad we have overcome our Photobucket issues. I love all the detail you have put into every aspect of this figure -- from matching the appearance of a real photograph to the natural look of the base, which is a work of art in and of itself. And I am glad you shared your rationale and tips on how you achieved this great result. Thank you for sharing.


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I'll be back!
https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com

peter the painter


Very nicely done and very well weathered, he looks just like the pic.


Cheers,

Peter.

Kukolka

Kukolka
Oh wow, great work on the replica! Thank you for sharing the pics and your process.


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blog | flickr | tumblr

modern - Archive "old" work: Fallschirmjager at Cassino '44 Kukr7s10
https://kukolkacreates.wordpress.com/blog/

tankgirlfuzzy

tankgirlfuzzy
scalawag wrote:That is great TGF, and it does follow the photograph very well indeed.  

I love it when a model maker uses original source material (like period photographs) to make a figure or model from.  So many people use their imagination or other models as inspirations for these sort of builds and it can lead to the figures not looking quite right or missing details.

This one is spot on though, I love it.
Thanks scalawag! I actually believe the research one does in modeling is probably the most important aspect of any project, but then, I do tend to be a geek about it. I have literally hundreds of books on WWII, as well as a handful of other era conflicts, containing thousands of photographs. And yet I still can't claim to be any expert, there's just too much to know. Researching the units, events, gear and uniforms is at least half the fun for me.
Stryker2011 wrote:That is really well done. Thanks for the detailed breakdown on materials used. I never would have thought of half of that (super glue to help simulate wet mud!!). Wow. Thanks for sharing. It’s nice to see “old threads”, because to my eyes, this is a “new thread”.
Thanks Stryker2011! A lot of my techniques have been arrived at with a lot of experimenting. Of course, some of it is also just using time-tested methods passed on by other modelers through books, magazines and the internet. Super glue is awesome! Perhaps one of the most essential tools in the bag!
GubernatorFan wrote:Beautiful work, Tank Girl! Makes me all the more glad we have overcome our Photobucket issues. I love all the detail you have put into every aspect of this figure -- from matching the appearance of a real photograph to the natural look of the base, which is a work of art in and of itself. And I am glad you shared your rationale and tips on how you achieved this great result. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks GubernatorFan! Appreciate the compliment!
peter the painter wrote:Very nicely done and very well weathered, he looks just like the pic.


Cheers,

Peter.
Thanks Peter! Glad you like it!
Kukolka wrote:Oh wow, great work on the replica! Thank you for sharing the pics and your process.
Thanks Kukolka, I appreciate the kind comment!


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Tank Girl

Joe Friday

Joe Friday
Wonderful. I've been trying to get some good weathering ideas as I'm in the beginning stages of some military figures myself. I was going to try to use some Citadel textured paints for mud on the boots followed by a layer of Testor's glosscote top coat but am unsure if it will give me a similar wet muddy look as what's on this above figure. I absolutely love these types of figures. Maybe I missed it somewhere in the post. How is he standing? What methods are used to get these figures to stand in these poses without falling over?


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Just the facts, ma'am.

Ovy

Ovy
Yes, really great weathering. I like the mix of shiny wet mud and dried crusts.
Maybe some day there will be an 'expression head' that comes close to the photograph.

Any idea who that man was and what happened to him?

Stryker2011

Stryker2011
Founding Father
Ahh, TankGirl. Sadly she is off doing other things (non 1/6 related) and hasn’t been on here in a long time. Hopefully at some point she’ll find her way back to us when the 1/6 bug strikes again.


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Mark

He who dies with the most toys wins!

modern - Archive "old" work: Fallschirmjager at Cassino '44 C8485110

Joe Friday

Joe Friday
Ovy wrote:Yes, really great weathering. I like the mix of shiny wet mud and dried crusts.
Maybe some day there will be an 'expression head' that comes close to the photograph.

Any idea who that man was and what happened to him?

Maybe facepool will eventually make a head that would work. I have always been interested in these wars but unfortunately I don't know enough about the individual battles. Apparently this soldier and his comrades did pretty well. They were finally driven from their posts but the Allies have over twice as many casualties as the Germans did. I of course had to look this information up.


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Just the facts, ma'am.

tankgirlfuzzy

tankgirlfuzzy
Luckily I get notifications so when the very infrequent reply to one of my old (ancient) threads pops up, I get that email!

Joe Friday, the method is no more sophisticated than a section of coat hanger wire (or use any brass wire strong enough to hold) cut to fit and literally duct-taped to the figure's leg. A hole was drilled in the base and pushed through the celluclay before it dried. There's also a small hole at the bottom of the boot heel where the wire exits. As far as how to achieve the weathering effects, there is nothing better than experimentation and lots of practice! That's how I figured it out. I believe I describe my method above, which you can try, or you can try your own. There are a lot of new products simulating earth/dirt/mud which weren't available when I did this, so have a go and try some! However, caution: Testors glosscote is a lacquer enamel, which if you're not careful will melt the vinyl boots! That's why I used super glue instead, and you can also try future floor polish or any other acrylic clear product. I wouldn't use any lacquer/solvent based product on the soft vinyl plastic like they use for those boots, even if they are overpainted.

Stryker2011, I'll come back again someday to be active. Just not enough time in the day to do everything! Too many hobbies...


_________________
Tank Girl

Joe Friday

Joe Friday
tankgirlfuzzy wrote:Luckily I get notifications so when the very infrequent reply to one of my old (ancient) threads pops up, I get that email!

Joe Friday, the method is no more sophisticated than a section of coat hanger wire (or use any brass wire strong enough to hold) cut to fit and literally duct-taped to the figure's leg. A hole was drilled in the base and pushed through the celluclay before it dried. There's also a small hole at the bottom of the boot heel where the wire exits. As far as how to achieve the weathering effects, there is nothing better than experimentation and lots of practice! That's how I figured it out. I believe I describe my method above, which you can try, or you can try your own. There are a lot of new products simulating earth/dirt/mud which weren't available when I did this, so have a go and try some! However, caution: Testors glosscote is a lacquer enamel, which if you're not careful will melt the vinyl boots! That's why I used super glue instead, and you can also try future floor polish or any other acrylic clear product. I wouldn't use any lacquer/solvent based product on the soft vinyl plastic like they use for those boots, even if they are overpainted.

Stryker2011, I'll come back again someday to be active. Just not enough time in the day to do everything! Too many hobbies...

Oh wow. Thanks for the tips and heads up. I was also going to try said glosscote on a headsculpt for sweat. I guess that won't work either. So the wire runs along side the leg and enters the boot with the foot? Then the wire keeps going through the bottom of the boot and into the clay?


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Just the facts, ma'am.

tankgirlfuzzy

tankgirlfuzzy
That's right, but also through the wooden base, 'cause the clay isn't strong enough to hold it even after it dries.


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Tank Girl

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