Jack12477

Apparently he uses the USPS facility in Hudson NH cuz that's were the tracking originates.

Almost finished : Still have some touch-up to do. Biggest challenge for me post cataract surgery is finding the right closeup lense to use in the Optivisor. Mine has 4 interchangeable glass lenses, +1.5, +2.0, +2.5, +3.0 diopter. Pre-surgery I would just hold the figure closer, but I could still see the paint pallette, now the figure is in focus, but the pallette isn’t, so finding the little drop of paint requires lifting the visor. 🤷 Next up is detailing the base. Stay tuned 🤫

A small progress report. Some light shading.

I find it does that for me also, but I don't find that it has much effect as I then go over it with a light misting of the white primer which breaks up the sheen.

The technique I am using to paint the figure is this: first airbrush a coat of Vallejo black surface primer over the entire figure, then after drying overnight, I lightly brush a coat of Vallejo white surface prime trying to hit mostly the high spots on the figure, leaving area like deep creases on clothing etc, black. After that dries overnight, I start applying the main coat using a wet palette to thin the paints. I keep applying light coats until I am satisfied with the coverage. Then let it dry overnight. This is the wet pallette I am using, it's available at Michaels stores in their artist paints area. The wet sponge underneath keeps the paper moist. And a tight cover keeps it from drying out . This is Vadim after the first application of the base color

Perhaps it was this series. There are several characters in the series. I only have 3 of them

The next in the series by Master Box in 1:24 scale is Vadim The box art and contents A simple kit to assemble. The challenge is in painting the figure to closely approximate the box art. When the paint dries, I will post some progress photos.

Thanks !

Thanks ! Master Box Ltd is a Ukrainian company based in Dnipro. Don't know how they are able to continue producing such really detailed kits with a war going on in their backyard. They have a really nice line of WWII military & civilian figures in addition to these "fantasy style" subjects. And they recently came out with Ukrainian Army figures. SCALEHobbyist in Hudson NH near you carries their line.

It is now finished ! Stay tuned for the next figure in the series, Vadim, coming to a Blog soon.

I asked because I have that same stand. Mine is 2 in 1. A slightly larger one comes with it.

Question: How do you keep your paint stand so clean and so free of paint overspray?

By this time frame in future it will be an IV pump . 🤣🤪

Probably a portable cutting/welding torch, judging from box art

Painting complete. Now to create a display stand.

Moving along:

As a diversion from wood ship building, I picked up 4 Master Box Ltd figure kits from a post apocalyptic series they introduced some time ago. One series is 1:24 scale and the other is 1:35 scale, I have kits in both scales. The first figure I did in the 1:24 scale is listed in my signature below, Raider Reaper. The other kits I purchased in the series are previewed in my post in Shore Leave - What did your received today The box art and contents:

Very impressive and real looking, Andy. Nice work !

I'm lurking over in the shadows.

Alan, @king derelict I took the liberty of downloading your final photos of the castle so I could cast them to my TV for a better look. All I can say is Double WOW ! As @Egilman said in a earlier post, you not only mastered the landscaping you knocked it out of the park. Great job ! Your photos show a lot more detail on the TV screen than on my Tablet's screen, especially in the shadow areas and even the nighttime views. A couple of suggestions to improve a couple photos: Photo #12 (mounted knights entering castle) has two "hot spots" on either wall, you could probably tone this down by placing 1 or 2 layers of Kleenex tissue or even a white handkerchief over the light source to diffuse the light a bit, similar to the lighting in Photo #5. You could also use a white card or a card covered in aluminum foil to "bounce" a little fill light into some of the shadows (e.g. photo #13); likewise on some of the nighttime photos to throw a little more light onto the lowest castle wall exteriors. But all in all the photos are very well done. After reading your camera's user guide (I hate digital manuals, can never find what you are looking for) it appears the camera is aimed primarily at backpackers/canoeists/kayakers etc. Interesting little camera. I could not find any mention of how to control the aperture (f/stop) (Av or Aperture Priority mode) settings, only the shutter speed settings (Tv or Shutter priority mode [pg 72]) but I did find out how to control the metering (AE metering) for Center-Weighted or Spot metering [pg 93]; this can be used to pinpoint what area you want the meter to focus on. There is a reference to a D range setting on pg 96 which seems to let the camera balance out the contrast levels between high and low, turning this off may fix the problem you were referring to about it overriding your exposure settings. you can also bias the exposure by plus or minus 2 f/stops (or EVs as noted in manual), page 95, this will cause the camera to automatically over or under expose the photo based on the meter reading. It adjusts in 1/3 EV or f/stop increments. Hope this is helpful. Any other questions post here or shoot me a PM.

I have the whole line of Pentax 35mm SLRs dating back to 1962 when it was Asahi, Heiland, Honeywell, then plain Pentax; all H, SP, K, and iST series. T Even have their 110 film format SLR, only one ever produced as I recall. Now I have their K50 DSLR. (Ricoh owns them now.) I also use a Canon point and shoot pocket camera. Need to do a little reading about your model, it should be up to the task. I'll get back to you. Update: Alan, is this your model ? Ricoh WG-4 ? Cool camera !

Me too ! I love building them but storage is at premium.

Very well done Alan! Diorama looks great, as do figures. As to getting a new camera and lights that may not be necessary. All you may need are a few adjustments to the camera, like take it off of Auto mode. What are you presently using? My other hobby is Photography

Nice ! Can we go for a ride ?

Got in one at dealership, didn’t even bother to put key in ignition, got right back out. Too claustrophobic! Good side is if you're in a fatal car accident, you won't need the added expense of a casket. Just load the car on a flatbed, drive to Cemetery, dig a hole and drop you and car in, place a headstone that reads "Here lies Joe and his Smart Car"