So here we are with the completed figure constructed and photographed. It's a fine looking kit and now sits proudly on a shelf in my office.
I left things last time with the face painting and the next stage was a bit of weathering. If you take a look at the images of the torso after the painting was completed he looked a bit too clean for a First World War figure and the colour contrast needed to be toned down.
I was wary of overdoing any weathering because I did want to keep the essence of the paint job. It's a difficult balance to strike but I see too many figures, whether First World War or otherwise, which are far too clean and lacking in realistic dirt.
With these issues in mind I used heavily thinned XF-57 Buff with the airbrush set to about 15 psi to dust small amounts of paint over the torso. As you can see this resulted in a more toned down effect which is certainly more realistic to the context of the trenches on the Somme than the previous effect.
Next I used the same combination of pigments as I used on the spade and the helmet (Mig Dark Mud, Europe Dust and Dry Mud) to spatter small amounts on the torso, both back and front.
Again I was worried about overdoing this and the final effect is subtle, to the extent that you really have to look in order to see it.
Construction was pretty straightforward, with perfect fit and no problems. I had been concerned that the rifle would be difficult because it simply joins to the sling and gravity can then take a hand in proceedings. I used CA glue and held the piece in place for a couple of minutes, after which the rifle stayed put. I then placed the figure onto a wooden base by Andrea Miniatures and left the whole thing to dry overnight.
Photography was done with a tripod-mounted Canon 70D using a 105mm Sigma Macro lens. The figure was placed on a piece of black card which was curved upward in the background. Apertures were pretty wide in order to give a sense of portrait photography and because I wanted to darken out the background. Indirect natural light was the key light source coming from the right, with a flash mounted within a soft box to the left.
Everything was shot in Manual mode so that I could get the exposure I wanted and after some experimentation I was happy with the outcome.
So that's it with this figure. I'm really very pleased with the finished piece, especially as he genuinely looks like a tired, battered infantryman who has experienced difficult conditions and has seen some hard fighting. The figure has certainly allowed me try new things, notably a different approach to the wood effect on the rifle and getting the worn metal effect on the spade. Ostensibly it's a simple kit with a limited number of pieces but don't let that fool you - it involves a number of different effects and I really don't think it's for the novice.
Happy modelling,
Nick
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