Other Models

Figuralia Miniatures -Hellboy"Alter Ego Vol. 1"

My first “comic” character build-up and paint! This is a four piece resin kit assembled to about 1/5th scale. Absolutely no prep work was required on this resin kit. A truly flawless casting – it was assembled and painted right out of the box! Sculpted and produced by Luca of “Figuralia Miniatures”, this is an extremely rare piece as the run was limited to only 25 pieces total and has long since been sold out. It is obviously based on the “Hellboy” character, but sculpted with a heavy Skottie Young style. A slight variance of metallic blues were added into his hair, and eyes are of the typical demon type yellow. Painted in the deep red, typical of Hellboy characters, it stands at roughly 4 ½ inches in height. This is the “Vol 1” version, the “Vol. 2” version was also issued, but featured the full sized, uncut horns of Hellboy, bringing the total height of the assembled piece to 7 ½ inches. The bottom of the base has been signed by both myself and the original sculptor Luca. A very rare, and fabulous piece to be held within any Hellboy or comic character collection.

For more Figuralia Kits, please visit:
www.figuralia.com

Lost Battalion Miniatures –“Sioux Chief”

I picked this kit up on eBay with intentions of rendering it as a display piece for my mother. A long time collector of “old west” memorabilia, this would fit nicely within her collection. Upon arrival of the kit, I was amazed as to the detail contained within the kit. I was a bit overwhelmed in looking at the various pieces of the kit – nearly 30 pieces in this 1/9 scale kit and when assembled, brings the chief on his base to only about 5” in height. Each and every feather painted and placed in position separately, real thread used in the creation of his necklace, and various pieces assembled to create his head dress and chest plate. This was a long and tedious build. Most built with a pair of tweezers, but in the end a fabulous kit which truly renders the feel of the native American. Painted in mostly flats of neutral colors, with just a touch of bright red here and there, maintains the “old west” Indian feel. His facial expression brought out with light area shading and his deep brown eyes brought out with a high gloss “triple thick” coating. In the end, she was most pleased with her very own hand crafted, hand painted, one of a kind piece of “old west” memorabilia.

For more and similar models, please visit:
http://tlbminiatures.com/index.html

Figuralia Miniatures –“The Bat"

I have never been a real fan of Batman, or the character in general, but when I surprisingly received this cast in the mail from Luca of “Figuralia”, I was a bit taken back. This is a one piece solid resin cast entitled, “The Bat”. In general, the piece must be in the ¼ - 1/5 scale range, standing roughly 4 inches tall and about 2 inches wide at the base. As usual, this cast required absolutely no prep work prior to painting, so I got right into it. As I applied the first coat of colors, the character immediately began to come to life. It still amazes me that a talented sculptor, such as Luca, can take a piece of clay and actually create a mood within a piece. By placing a wrinkle in the right spot, or the angle of an eye, or pose of a figures head, the piece seems to tell a story with no words. The paint on this piece was pretty simple, but the sculpt itself very intricate and highly detailed. It reveals to me an angry Batman staring down the villain perched above. Standard skin tones, and a semi-gloss cape highlighted in metallic blue are traditional colors, but the eyes of the piece are it’s backbone. The piercing blue eyes filled with anger, almost which seem to water in front of you. The base has been signed by both the original sculptor Luca, and painter myself.

For more interesting, top quality kits, please visit:
www.figuralia.com

Minicraft “1829 Stephenson Rocket”

I was able to take a few days and get away from the figure kits and try something a little different on this one. This was built for my father, who is an avid model railroader and avid train enthusiast. This was a relatively simple 60 piece, plastic model kit produced by “Minicraft” of the “1829 Stephenson Rocket”. The kit was molded entirely in a bright yellow/orange color, so every piece needed to be painted to reflect original colors. The kit scale is in 1/26th with a completed model length of just over 10”. The original train was designed for a competition to create a locomotive weighing less than six tons and pull 20 tons at 10 mph. The Stephenson Rocket won handily and was put into production for the Liverpool & Manchester Railroad. They were the first passenger trains in the world. The realistic base was created from scratch using mostly HO scale scenery and foliage. The angled pistons and valve gear move realistically and the train included the tender with a water barrel, and a strip of track complete with cross ties. Upon kit completion, I also weathered the model using acrylic enamels to appear “well-used”.

For current plastic model kits, please visit:
http://minicraftemodels.com/index.htm