Horan figure of the Week, Algarve Volunteer, 1809

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54mm Cowboy -Painting WIP-

And the painting has begun! I'm still fumbling around trying to find my 'style' and continue to experiment with various tones and placements etc etc. This time around the face was base coated in a fairly dark mix, darker then what I'd normally use. Had some concerns regarding the ability to bring it up to decent shades of highlights, but it seems like it worked out fairly well, not much different then what the normal mix would behave like. The mix also contains a bit more reds and more greens then what was tried last time with the fifer. Though perhaps a bit too red really. The good thing is that the face is still a work in progress (wip) and that I've got plenty of the base mix left which will stay good for a couple of days at minimum if kept with plenty of water in the well of the palette. The figures left eye needs to be addressed as well as the 'stache needs some squaring off. Anyway, here are some wip pictures. More coming soon!

54mm Cowboy -Andrea Miniatures Conversion-

Here is the latest figure completed and ready for some paint. It is a simple conversion of Andrea Miniatures recent release of Teddy Rosevelt, one amazing sculpt! The anatomy and the proportions of the figure is just perfect so I knew I had to do something using that figure. I knew I didn't want to do the kit as it comes out of the box, but the choice of making a cowboy out of it was a pretty easy one to make, concidering the pose, and the build of the figure. It just lends itself well to become a cowpuncher!

The saddle is a resin copy of one I made for VLS/Streets of Laredo line a few years back. The bare resin saddle was then detailed with leadfoil, copper wire and stretched plastic.

I hope to start painting tonight!

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Reaper Miniatures Power Palette

Thought I would share something rather cool and useful with you all!! Have you ever looked at a picture, drawing, painting or perhaps a figure someone else painted and wondered what colors would produce the same effects and results? I bet we all have done that at one time or other.

Well, now we all have a very cool tool to use to find out the answers to these color questions, for free and it is easy to use!

The folks over at Reaper Miniatures have come up with a program where you can upload any picture and click on an area of that picture and it will give you a color that corresponds to the color on the picture. Of course, the references are for the Reaper paints, but it is a good start if you are using Vallejo or something else. Or you can just get the Reaper paint, it is excellent paint for sure!

Enough talk, go check it out, it is way cool!!

http://www.reapermini.com/PowerPalette

"The Power Palette is a fantastic aid for miniature painting! Upload an image, then click inside it; the Power Palette will give you the Master Series Paint color or colors it thinks are either close matches to the point you chose or colors you can mix together to get a great custom color! While, obviously, pictures of miniatures themselves would be useful, any picture is fair game; find a paint match for your favorite sports team, a skin tone from an alien in your favorite movie, or whatever else you can imagine! After around ten minutes of inactivity the picture will be removed off our server, so if it times out simply re-upload and get back to clicking! Note that all images must be JPEGs, GIFs, or PNGs and under 300KB in size. Further questions may be answered by the handy-dandy FAQ at the bottom of this page."

Horan figure of the Week, Camel Corps, 1885

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54mm Celt -Wip #4-

And this is how far I've gotten with the Latorre 54mm Celt. I probably wont do much more on this piece for a while, though in reality there is not much left to do to finish it. Just wanted to try a few things out, the results were about as expected, though some new techniques were learned. For one thing, the way to use different colored 'glazes' etc and how useful the are to smooth transitions and/or to add effects to an already painted area. Either way, here is the end result for now. If I decide to finish the piece up more pictures of the completed piece will be posted.

Next up is a small conversion of an Andrea figure as well as a new mini two figure vignette. Stay tuned!

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54mm Celt -WIP#3-

And some more progress on the Celt.

54mm Celt -WIP #2-

Some more work done on the celt.  The face is closer to being finished now, but will have to see what it looks like once the mustache is painted. It has been one of the hardest faces I've painted in a long time with no real obvious features. I guess it adds to the challange of painting though and makes for a more interesting excersise. A few scrapes and scars were added ro the body and face as well. Hope to do more tomorrow!

54mm Celt -Latorre Models-

Now for something very different! For the first time in ages I am painting a stock kit. It is a continuation of playing with various tones etc. The figure is obviously way too ripped, but it does look pretty cool in miniature. Here are some pictures of the figure. I am not sure if the figure will ever get finished, but it was a lot of fun to play with some cooler tones mixed with some warmer highlights. The face is not finished yet, and probably not the body either. I like to go back and add things here or there as the process goes along. This is before any 'effects' such as body hair, scars, tats or whatever has been added.
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54mm Rev War Fifer -Finished-

Here is the finished Fifer. The pics didn't come out very well so here are a few until better pics can be taken.

Horan Figure of the Week, General "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne, 1778

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54mm Rev War Fifer -Painting Part II-

Here is some more work on the fifer done. Still playing with some various tones etc, most noticable is the blue violet on the linnen shirt.