Finished Photos of 1/48 Scale B-17G Diorama "The Final Landing"

[the Baron]

Yes, well done on recreating that diorama, I remember it well. I still have an old Fine Scale Modeler book by Shep Paine...

I recommend that book highly, especially for new modelers.
There are newer books, of course. But Shep's goal was to make things less mysterious and show that a modeler of basic experience and skill could gain experience and stretch that skill, with a little imagination.
I recommend his book on painting figures, too. He had the same goal with that one, too-to show that you could do it.

 

[BarleyBop]

I am still very afraid of figure painting

Beautiful build!
If you are afraid, I might as well give up!

 

[Steve Ski]

Beautiful build!
If you are afraid, I might as well give up!

That's not exactly the best response, Barley, sheesh! Tongue in cheek I know, of course, but a little encouragement goes a long way, right?

Excellent rendition on this dio, Phillip. Contrary to popular belief, anybody can learn to paint figures, if they put in the time. Some catch on right away, and others, like me, are a bit slower on the uptake and tend to take longer. Either way, you can do it "if" you want to. I'm a sloppy painter when it comes to clean things like cars and some aircraft, but I know this and have to take longer and pay closer attention to the process because I don't do it all the time. But figures are my forte', been so since the very beginning in the mid-70's, so there's a little more time under my belt. That does not matter, really, because of the excellent tutorials and books on the subject out there today. One perfect example is Night shift, YT guy. He's relatively new at figure painting comparatively, but he's learned what works for him and ran with it, and he's pretty dang good, too, btw.

Don't be shy with it Phillip, go for it, and post em when ya got em. I think once you get the hang of it, you'll really enjoy the journey.

Cheers, Ski.

 

[Littlemarten]

kevin/the Baron-Thanks for the compliments!

the Baron-I am still very afraid of figure painting!

Phillip1

I hear you, but: The camera does not see like the human eye-brain does. The camera sees everything within it's field of focus. The human eye-brain does not, partially because it doesn't have a single focus, and the brain constantly switches depth of field. There are LOTS of other reasons.

Bottom line, your figure painting is fine, in fact very good for this scale.

 

[BarleyBop]

Bottom line, your figure painting is fine, in fact very good for this scale.

Couldn't agree more. After all, this is theatre! Have you ever seen a stage actor up close before they've removed the stage makeup?

 

[BarleyBop]

... my point being that I think what we are aiming for is not hyper-realism, but to render details and colours in such a way as they look great at a normal viewing distance... not the static, unnatural, gaze of the camera ( as per @Littlemarten )

 

[Phillip1]

BarleyBop/Steve Ski/Littlemarten-Thanks for the compliments and good conversation!

Steve Ski-You make some good observations and good encouragement. While I am not literally afraid of figure painting, I avoid it because it does not come naturally to me and I can be my own worst critic. Also, I feel when figures are included with a diorama they always become the main focus and the entire diorama is judged based on how good the figures look. You are right that practice makes perfect with figures and like most humans I do not like to practice. Ha! Ha! However, for the figures I have painted I did a good bit of research and study, mostly from Shep Paine's books and YouTube videos. And I agree 100% Night Shift is an excellent figure painter and makes excellent tutorial videos.

BarleyBop-I agree that getting figures to look natural and their colors/shading well blended is more important than achieving hyper-realism when viewed from any distance.

Phillip1