42nd Highland Infantry Regiment "Black Watch" at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815

[Pantherman]

Rifleman

Saving the easiest one for last,….well almost last, this rifleman was very straight forward in painting. Using all the techniques as mentioned before this paint went smoothly. One change was to use a "liner" brush for the tartan black stripes, as someone had mentioned I do. I hesitated to use it, but decided; heck, there's enough room to screw this up and clean it, why not. With a little more practice I think I'll have this brush type dialed in, but there was certainly a learning curve that came with that brush. I'm now a convert! Stretch the envelope, right?

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I hear the drums a-beating, ratta tat tat, ratta tat tat,………………… Yes, Drummer Boy is next up to bat. He's got a lot of fluff to him as well.

Now comes the sneak-peak. This really looks pretty shabby, IMHO, but when it's all painted and shaded correctly, I don't think much will be noticed. I certainly can't get that "high speed, low drag" intense brush work on this drum as others have done, but I know my limitations, and this is one of them. Who knows, when it's all said and done, I may scrub it and repaint it. It won't be the first time I've done a scrubbing, lol.

View attachment 94136


Thanks for watching, all comments welcome, of course. Cheers, Ski.

Wow, you make my figure painting look like it's been done by a 2 month old blind baboon with a terrible shaking hand problem! Absolutely amazing work.
Pantherman

 

[the Baron]

Yes, well done on the plaids!

 

[Steve Ski]

you make my figure painting look like it's been done by a 2 month old blind baboon with a terrible shaking hand problem!

Lol, I feel the same quite often, lol. Everybody has a bad hair day ever now and again, lol. Thanks, PM!

Thanks, Baron.

 

[Steve Ski]

Drum Works

Fortunately, I didn't see the need to redo this drum emblem pattern. It's not perfect, but it will work out just fine. Now back to the Drummer boy!



All comments welcome. Cheers, Ski.

 

[Steve Ski]

Drummer Boy

This lil feller can rattle away all he wants now, he's done. The task of accurately depicting his sleeve details wasn't as bad as I had expected, simply because they are not accurate, HA! I never got a reply from the Black Watch Museum in Scotland and some photos found online just weren't clear enough for me to be sure exactly what these emblems are. I've had plenty of advisors tell me what they were, but I gotta see it for myself.

I did make several tempts to add fleur di lis' to no avail, total failure. My brush work just wasn't cutting it. The more I tried the worse they got, so I called "time out". As I stated earlier, I hate being inaccurate if I can help it, especially on something so visible, but my brush talents had reached their limit. Ya just gotta know when to move on, so that is what I've done.



All of the techniques and processes for this lil guy are the same as all of the other Highlander figures, except one. I utilized a technique I've been studying lately, "stippling", one used quite successfully by "Mike the Kiwi" in his new book "Modelling and Painting World War I Allied Figures". It's a new release and I just received my copy a few weeks back. I stippled the bonnet/cap on the Drummer Boy with oils. Yes, that's right, oils. It can be done successfully with a bit of trial and error. I know this is such a minor attempt, but it gave me a good idea of just how this will work with oils, my preferred medium.

Next up, the Frenchmen, and what a relief, lol. I can't say I won't ever go back to the Napoleonic era; the colors are just too spectacular to pass up and the learning potential from working bright colors is astounding. I'm just not hip on the "Battle of the Tartans" enough to take on another fight like this one any time soon, HA!


Thanks for watching, all comments welcome. Cheers, Ski.


Mike Butler's book is available here: https://www.crowood.com/products/mo...es-by-mike-butler?_pos=2&_sid=1670b538c&_ss=r

Prime example of how Mike paints using the techniques he explains in his book: https://www.planetfigure.com/attachments/mikemaoriboy-jpg.453840/

Now that is a goal to strive for, to say the least. You'd swear this figure was alive!

 

[Pantherman]

Drummer Boy

This lil feller can rattle away all he wants now, he's done. The task of accurately depicting his sleeve details wasn't as bad as I had expected, simply because they are not accurate, HA! I never got a reply from the Black Watch Museum in Scotland and some photos found online just weren't clear enough for me to be sure exactly what these emblems are. I've had plenty of advisors tell me what they were, but I gotta see it for myself.

I did make several tempts to add fleur di lis' to no avail, total failure. My brush work just wasn't cutting it. The more I tried the worse they got, so I called "time out". As I stated earlier, I hate being inaccurate if I can help it, especially on something so visible, but my brush talents had reached their limit. Ya just gotta know when to move on, so that is what I've done.

View attachment 94415 View attachment 94416 View attachment 94417 View attachment 94418 View attachment 94419

All of the techniques and processes for this lil guy are the same as all of the other Highlander figures, except one. I utilized a technique I've been studying lately, "stippling", one used quite successfully by "Mike the Kiwi" in his new book "Modelling and Painting World War I Allied Figures". It's a new release and I just received my copy a few weeks back. I stippled the bonnet/cap on the Drummer Boy with oils. Yes, that's right, oils. It can be done successfully with a bit of trial and error. I know this is such a minor attempt, but it gave me a good idea of just how this will work with oils, my preferred medium.

Next up, the Frenchmen, and what a relief, lol. I can't say I won't ever go back to the Napoleonic era; the colors are just too spectacular to pass up and the learning potential from working bright colors is astounding. I'm just not hip on the "Battle of the Tartans" enough to take on another fight like this one any time soon, HA!


Thanks for watching, all comments welcome. Cheers, Ski.


Mike Butler's book is available here: https://www.crowood.com/products/mo...es-by-mike-butler?_pos=2&_sid=1670b538c&_ss=r

Prime example of how Mike paints using the techniques he explains in his book: https://www.planetfigure.com/attachments/mikemaoriboy-jpg.453840/

Now that is a goal to strive for, to say the least. You'd swear this figure was alive!

I think you're figure painting is amazing, such fine detail. You are too harsh on yourself with the details. I try hard to get a reasonable result with mine and am happy in the knowledge that I will improve with alot more practice. I may ask your advice as I come across problems, always struggle with the eyes, they always look like panda's!!
Can't wait to see your French project.
Pantherman

 

[Steve Ski]

I think you're figure painting is amazing, such fine detail. You are too harsh on yourself with the details. I try hard to get a reasonable result with mine and am happy in the knowledge that I will improve with alot more practice. I may ask your advice as I come across problems, always struggle with the eyes, they always look like panda's!!
Can't wait to see your French project.
Pantherman

Hey, Buddy, no worries. I'm anal retentive that way, lol.

The eyes, yes, the eyes. If you've got a set of readers, say #4, 5, or 6, that will help immensely. I use a 0000 Windsor and Newton brush and thinned acrylics. Check on the website, www.Planetfigure.com and peruse some of the work. It's all about figures and some of the bust work is astounding, jaw dropping. Keep the oven cleaner handy if you boof and try again. I still fight them myself, but it wasn't until I got some serious readers that I was able to tackle them in a much reasonable fashion.

Hope that helps.

 

[Pantherman]

Hey, Buddy, no worries. I'm anal retentive that way, lol.

The eyes, yes, the eyes. If you've got a set of readers, say #4, 5, or 6, that will help immensely. I use a 0000 Windsor and Newton brush and thinned acrylics. Check on the website, www.Planetfigure.com and peruse some of the work. It's all about figures and some of the bust work is astounding, jaw dropping. Keep the oven cleaner handy if you boof and try again. I still fight them myself, but it wasn't until I got some serious readers that I was able to tackle them in a much reasonable fashion.

Hope that helps.

Very much appreciated, thanks

 

[Steve Ski]

Base Layout

We're so close I had to forego the Frenchmen and get to work on the base. Honestly, it's a bit of work to retool my brain right now, the bloomin tartans are still dancing in me head at night, HA! I really need to step back and study the French fellows a bit more before I move on anyways.

Being within a few miles of a huge lake it's not hard to find drift wood, if you know where to look. I pulled a small chunk from my wife's stash, with her approval of course, and did some trimming. I was actually a lot of fun making saw dust again, a break from the pattern grind, you could say.

These pics are not close up on purpose as they are only reference photos. I started out with a great chunk with the swirls and all, only to find they wouldn't fit within the designated parameters of the layout. So, bandsaw to the rescue, with a little help from the joiner, and a miter saw, in business we are. Then it was all orbital sander from there on out. Some swirls are still visible under the Mahogany stain and they will show much better after about 5 coats of Tung Oil.





There's a bit of blue construction foam under the air clay and all of it is glued massively with carpenter's glue. I don't expect any shifting within my lifetime. The figures will set with the clay drying over night. All the locations have just been marked with a permanent marker so I can at least have an idea where each goes after the sanding. I'll be using Hecky grass for the field work.

So, as you can tell by now, we are definitely seeing light at the end of the tunnel, and no, it ain't no train.


Thanks for watching. Cheers, Ski.

 

[Pantherman]

Base Layout

We're so close I had to forego the Frenchmen and get to work on the base. Honestly, it's a bit of work to retool my brain right now, the bloomin tartans are still dancing in me head at night, HA! I really need to step back and study the French fellows a bit more before I move on anyways.

Being within a few miles of a huge lake it's not hard to find drift wood, if you know where to look. I pulled a small chunk from my wife's stash, with her approval of course, and did some trimming. I was actually a lot of fun making saw dust again, a break from the pattern grind, you could say.

These pics are not close up on purpose as they are only reference photos. I started out with a great chunk with the swirls and all, only to find they wouldn't fit within the designated parameters of the layout. So, bandsaw to the rescue, with a little help from the joiner, and a miter saw, in business we are. Then it was all orbital sander from there on out. Some swirls are still visible under the Mahogany stain and they will show much better after about 5 coats of Tung Oil.

View attachment 94483

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There's a bit of blue construction foam under the air clay and all of it is glued massively with carpenter's glue. I don't expect any shifting within my lifetime. The figures will set with the clay drying over night. All the locations have just been marked with a permanent marker so I can at least have an idea where each goes after the sanding. I'll be using Hecky grass for the field work.

So, as you can tell by now, we are definitely seeing light at the end of the tunnel, and no, it ain't no train.


Thanks for watching. Cheers, Ski.

It's going to be a work of art when complete. Speechless.
Pantherman

 

[Phil57]

Not much more I can say about this. Really, really impressive...

 

[Steve Ski]

Thanks, Gents!

 

[Steve Ski]

Base Redo

Several of the keen eyes reviewing this build log have come to the same conclusion as I have. The base was way too big and the figures really lost meaning when they were placed so far apart. This set is intended to be "up close and personal" and the base really had to go bye-bye. Great test run, though.

Taking another chunk from my wife's drift wood stash pile I cut a section that had the most character. I had originally intended on using this slab, but passed it up, hmmm. I recon I needed some practice first, HA!

Spoiler alert: I'm intentionally not showing the front view. This is a placement test and it would be bad form to jump ahead and expose the intended final result before it's time.



You may notice after close scrutiny that some of those delicate parts, such as a bayonet, a few bayonet scabbards, and one thumb, plus some other minor parts might be missing from the finished figs. Clumsy sausage fingers, what else can I say? This happens every time and the final punch list is standing by as usual.

There is a way to make the ground work mesh with these swirls in the drift wood and preserve its uniqueness. I'll post SBS pics on that portion. Stand-by for the finale, it's not far off now.


Thanks for watching and all comments are welcome. Cheers, Ski.

 

[blakeh1]

Incredible stuff and very cool display

 

[Steve Ski]

Thanks, Blake!

 

[Steve Ski]

Base Work Continued

While working the last two figures I neglected the "base in progress" photos posting, so here they are. Sometimes we can get ahead of ourselves, lol. I also included a pic of the intentional layout soon to be. All the base work is standard practice, nothing new to see here.



Close up of the intended Royal Regiment in action. Note, the Rifleman has had his intended orientation altered to a more correct interpretation of action since this photo was taken. I think I'm revealing too much at this stage, but I'm pretty stoked at how this is playing out so far.



Thanks for watchin. Cheers, Ski.

 

[Steve Ski]

Apologies for my absence, it's been pretty much non-stop work on this dio to close it out.

French Cuirassiers

This pony rider is finally done, minus the weathering. I really enjoyed working this last figure, it was rather painless compared to the first nine figures. The only issue that just wouldn't go away was the tassel on top of the helmet. I couldn't keep from dinkin that thing every time I handle this guy. It is now safely set aside so I don't lose it. I'll be placing this figure directly to the base now because of sword scabbard placement, head dress, and the delicate base work within the immediate area; the less handling, the better.







The breast plate was treated with Uschi Polishing Paste, Blitz Rounds Set A, Item 4014. This is some incredible stuff as are all of Alex's products. I used this set for all the brass and gold work on this entire project. Make sure your work area is well ventilated, the paste fumes are brutal and so is the thinner required for clean-up. The set can be found here: https://www.uschivdr.com/shopping-categories/shop-paints-paste/metallic-polishing-paste/

You may have noticed the French Rifleman has not been featured since his completion. He's already been attached to the base for some of the same reasons as listed above, only with him it was his thumb that kept getting knocked off, lol.

Now that the figures have been completed, I will work each one separately by weathering them to match the base, add dirt work, wound details, and blood splatter, etc. Once that's done it will be off to the photo bench to close out his incredible set of figures.

Thanks for watching. Cheers, Ski.

 

[Steve Ski]

42nd Highland Infantry Regiment "Black Watch" at the Battle of Quatre Bras, June, 1815
54mm Resin, Sculpted by Vladimir Danilov, offered by Castle Miniatures.

These figures were painted with oils over an acrylic base. Only the tartans were painted in acrylics with a minor oil wash. The base is a chunk of drift wood found locally along the river with air clay added as the base for the figures, along with standard ground work to finish the affect.

This is an incredibly well sculpted set, especially in this scale, and was a taunting challenge I just couldn't pass up. This was truly a fun run and well worth stretching my comfort zone. These figures are Classic!
















Cheer, Ski.

 

[urumomo]

All of it's fantastic but that plaid is nutz .
I don't know how you do it .

What's the source on the tall , blond veg at the far left on the base ?

 

[urumomo]