Saturday, July 17, 2010

Fallschirmjäger test figure in Splittermuster(Splinter pattern)



This is my first WWII miniature in 28mm and these Artizan figures are a real joy to paint.The complicated camo scheme is a real challenge,but rewards the painter in the end if carefully done.To this end I hope I succeeded.
I've painted 15mm WWII Germans and I've discovered that different techniques are required then 28mm when painting this period.The 15mm Germans using the 2 to 3 tone layered technique works quite well,but at 28mm the difference is too strong and so a blending of tones is required.Because of this it does take a while to work your way through the colors to get the right mix.The trick is to keep the tones subdued,but at the same time noticeable,but not overly so as the troops are trying to blend in to their environment.
This Fallschirmjäger trooper is wearing a Luftwaffe splintermuster camo smock,Luftwaffe blue cap,breadbag,and standard German field grey trousers and painted helmet.I tried to add a little wear and tear to the helmet.
The next test figure I might add some tropical issue pants from a veteran of Italy yet to receive some replacement clothing and sumpfmuster(marsh/water) patterned smock.I'll see how it comes along.Fingers crossed.
Still working on my photography skills which is a weak point for myself.Individual pictures I'll keep with the white background,but when I do group shots I'll add some terrain to the background.
In addition to painting troops,I think I'll also give some period terrain a go with some ruins in mind and then of course some tanks in the future and,and,and................
The last two pics are duplicates that are a bit larger for those who may want a closer view.
Miniature Company-Artizan Designs



15 comments :

  1. Very nice, I'm pretty sure that they would be happy to jump onto Crete or defend Cassino with such a smart paint job. The miniatures look to be worthy of some praise as well, nice castings.
    I have the same in 15mm which meant I could abstract (not be so literal with) the cammo and found I needed to lighten it with the smaller surface area, these look very faithfull.

    regards
    dave

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  2. Thank you Dave.These Fallschirmjäger I'm doing are operating in Normandy and so Crete is already a few years gone by,but I'm sure some of them will have been veterans of that operation.I did think of doing Crete fallschirmjäger,but opted instead for Normandy as uniform possibilities are more varied and keeps in line with my friends British para's time line.

    Cheers
    Christopher

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  3. Yes - very, very nice. Effective look on the camo. FJs are a mandatory unit for Normandy. Great job! Dean

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  4. Hi Chris, really nice work from what I can see of the FJ. Did you pre-chance manged to sort out some colours?

    Some close ups would be handy too!

    Cheeky I maybe, but it's nice to ask.

    Great work,

    Helen

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  5. Hello Helen,

    I'm happy you like them.:-)I just added two pics at the bottom that are larger to give you a closer view as requested.
    I do have a painting formula for each part of the miniature as I log things down in my painting book so I can always pick up were I left off.Is there anything in particular you wish to know?I'll gladly help you out if you want.
    Please always feel free to ask anything and I'll do my best to help.

    Cheers
    Christopher

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  6. Hi Chris,

    I'm interested to know how you went about the camo.

    The reason is that I did swamp for Jeff of JTFM where I'd firstly used a base colour followed by highlight and then the main colours for the pattern followed by highlight per colour. Finally I placed the vertical lines throughout the uniform.

    Now Jeff was very happy both with the painting and pattern, but I wasn't. I'd to do the splinter camo for two helmet colvers which I thought turned out quite well.

    Just your two cents please as I value your opinion.

    Thanks,

    Helen

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  8. He looks great Christopher.

    I think the camouflage is well-represented, but not too bright/over the top. Always a difficult choice for me between being accurate while still being able to see what one had spent so much time painting.

    Agree on the "3-layer" comment as well. After painting 15s in 3-layers I just can't seem to do the same in 28mm stuff anymore, the contrast just seems too harsh. Your Fieldgrey here looks more subtle and really good.

    CdlT

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  9. @Helen,

    I looked at your blog to include JTFM and didn't see any Germans in splinter camo to offer an opinion,but I have seen your Japanese and I think the camo worked out great for them.If you could send me a link to your splinter efforts I'll happily tell you what I think.:-)
    The process you described is virtually exactly how I did it.Perhaps it's the colors,blends and thickness of the paints when applied that are giving an impression of a different method.
    I could send you the formula for the splinter camo now and later the water when I've worked it out if you wish.

    @CdlT
    Thank you!
    I would really like to see your 28mm efforts as your 15's are the best around!

    Cheers
    Christopher

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  10. Thanks Chris,

    I've some photos I can show you, but I'll send them to your e-mail address if you can provide it.

    I'd be very happy for you to provide the splinter colours at your convenience.

    Thanks,

    Helen

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  11. E-mail address on the way!:-)

    Cheers
    Christopher

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  12. Hey, Christopher... That's a really stunning result there.

    I understand your more-than-3-layers approach, but you can achieve good results with 3 layers in 28mm as well and it would speed up your painting. It just depends how light you wanna go and from how dark you want to start. If you are a fan of extreme highlights then you might have to go for more than 3, but somehow your stuff has always been pretty natural looking. Where I have always needed more than 3 layers has been the flesh of models... Somehow it is never enough.

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  13. Thank you Doc!

    I do use a 3 layer technique in 28mm for example my AWI,HYW,Old West and Vikings are all done using the Foundry colors and 3 step technique.As a matter of fact that is my traditional method for painting in general.However,I just feel that WWII with it's more subtle tones works better using blends IMHO and so opted for that approach.It takes quite a bit longer,but that's acceptable as I don't need to paint a huge force.
    I agree with you on the flesh bit that it often requires more then 3 layers when using that system.

    Cheers
    Christopher

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  14. Impressive looking!! You're going to paint a great army.

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  15. It looks really good! The detailing on the face is especiialy excellent. I am looking forward to seing more FJ figures from you.

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