king derelict

Thank very much Mike. It’s a nicely posed figure alan

Thank you very much Andrew. Andrea have a wide range of interesting figures. The problem now is getting hold of them alan

Here we go again, another Andrea model in 54 mm. A bit more modern this time. All the way to the 14th century. This will be Edward the Black Prince son of Edward III, highly successful commander of the English armies during the Hundred Years’ War with victories at Crecy and Poitiers to his name. He died of illness before his father resulting in his son taking the throne as Richard II. I had thought that he earned the nickname of the Black Prince because he wore black armor into battle but I gather that is probably not correct and the nickname was not current during his lifetime. It was over two hundred years after his death that the first occurrence of the name is found. It is widely believed that he earned the nickname for his ruthless behavior as commander in the field. So I can put the gloss black paint away and plan on polishing the metal instead. I think I will be trying to use the decal paper again for his shield and surcoat. Incidentally, my reading notes that the Black Princes shield, gauntlet, helmet and surcoat are displayed in Canterbury cathedral. The helmet does look black but after six hundred years it may have dulled or been restored in line with the black armor theory. I have prepared the parts for a black primer coat and then I’ll start polishing This last bit intrigues me but after studying the pictures on the Andrea Models website I think I have worked out what it is for. Thanks for looking in. Alan

Thank you very much Phil. A bit different to the usual standing figure alan

That’s great work. You have built a beautiful ship. I especially like the sails which always seem to be a difficult thing to make realistic on a model. The rigging compliments them being so neat. Congratulations. log was great too alan

As usual not much was accomplished during the weekend but I did get Mark placed on the table and his arms were added. It all fitted together very well and looks pretty natural. I added darker skin tones to his face, painted his lips with Burnt Sand instead of my usual Red Leather. It’s a paler color but on this face I like it. I painted the hair and gave it a coat of satin gloss. The sword, rolled maps, and helmet were finished and everything was put in place. I mixed a drop of violet acrylic ink with some gloss medium and with the end of a cocktail stick I dropped some into his wine cup. i think that qualifies him as finished. thanks for looking in, the likes and kind comments Im tempted to try another Andrea figure before returning to the dockyard. alan

Thank you very much OC. I was initially a bit disappointed with the Andrea figures but this one is really quite nice and an interesting display. alan

Started making some progress in various directions. The jackals got a coat of black then a satin clear coat after picking out their gold collars and eyes. The floor tiles were painted to look like marble. I used a thin red wash and then swirled sky grey, red and aramanth red together. I was a bit unsure but after it dried I think it looks good. table top was trimmed with gold and also given a satin coat. The cloak was painted red and the map detailed. i put an initial ivory layer then washes of desert sand, and sky blue and a very small amount of diluted black acrylic ink. And the fourth jackal now peeps out from the cloak. The table top has been glued onto the base. There are little pips that hold it between the jackals ears. The fit needed a bit of work but it did eventually go together. The basic glazes have been applied to Mark. The skin tones need more shading. I’m not sure if his shoulder pads should be leather or metal. I went with leather to allow the gold embellishments to have some contrast. Using the edge of the pill container is working quite well as a holder while I paint but I’m going to have finish off some of the inaccessible spots afterwards. other bits have had the basic shades applied The face has been given the initial colour and shading. Hair next. Thanks for looking in, for the likes and comments. Alan

Thank you very much Jav. I’ve mostly been getting my figures from Art Girona, Andrea Models and Pegaso. Pegaso have some really nice medieval figures but they are only 90 mm so a bit small. Art Gironas biggest figures are only 70 - 75 mm. There is also the problem of getting hold of one with shipping issues into the US. I’ve only got a handful left now. alan

Nice welsh boy

He managed to get a lot of living into his life. I’m reading this latest Harry Sidebottom novel to stay in the mood. 266 years after Mark but quite fun. alan

Thank you very much OC and welcome. This one is going to be interesting with the need to incorporate the figure into the rest of the bits and pieces. Lots of separate bits to paint. alan

Looking forward to seeing this one develop. I love the aircraft of the early jet age. The designs always seem to suggest that there are no limits, higher, faster, further. Great stuff. alan

Ive been struggling with motivation lately and I have opened a few boxes and started something only to put it away again. was the last thing I fiddled with and it might make it to completion. It has a few interesting challenges so we shall see. This is my first Andrea Models figure. It is 54 mm but seems rather a smaller 54mm than the Pergaso and Art Girona figures. So off we go with Mark Anthony plotting his campaign. kit has Mark sat on the edge of the table with maps, his sword and helmet. The details look rather nice, the map has features marked on it that might be possible to paint. It’s going to present some painting challenges with a lot of parts needing to be painted separately. So I think the base and table legs, the table top, Mark, and the detail pieces. Everything has had a shot of black primer. The three jackals that make the table legs are glued in. The fourth leg is under the cloak and glued to the table top. Test fitting suggests this is all going to fit together later. I polished Marks breastplate and back piece. This then got painted with Tamiya clear orange to get the gilded effect. The Blutack on a cocktail stick is not a very stable painting fixture but equally, the usual pill container is not going to work either. The arms and head are going to have to be added towards the end to make sure that he sprawls across the table properly. Plenty to play with here. Thanks for looking in alan

Thank you very much. I’ve read that captains had men over the side painting when things were quiet. Escort vessels could get pretty rough out at sea but were smartened up again on return. I tend to beat up the Flower corvettes almost as a tribute but i try to keep it restrained in general. I just read that the Royal Navy lost over 150 destroyers alone in WW2, plenty of bad luck to go around. alan

I got a bit more focused today and added the rust streaks to the hull which finishes work on HMS Kelly. I may have undershot it a little but it’s easy to overdo the weathering in 1/700. Thanks for looking in, the likes and support throughout this build. Now , what next? alan

Thank you very much Andrew. They are easier on display room but I’m on my limits. The guys who can put the white speck in the pupils amaze me. alan

Thank you very much Phil alan

Thank you very much OC. A nice sculpt to work with. alan

Very nice metal finishes Dan alan

And finished I think. The standard glued onto the spear without a problem and the hand fitted to the arm with only a few bad words. I may have gone overboard with the base but I didn’t like the sloping top and wanted to break it up a bit. All the bits are Woodlands Scenics apart from the rocks which are bits of plaster of Paris. This was a very nice figure to work with and I think I would choose some more Alexandros figures. I would like to try a few more Roman figures if I can find some less belligerent ones. I had been a bit concerned with the Nubian skin tones but I think it came out pretty well. I just noticed that I had forgotten to paint the strap holding the front legs of the pelt together. That’s now been rectified with a touch of leather brown. Thanks for looking in, the likes and kind comments. alan

Thank you very much Ken. There are some fascinating remains of the Romans in Britain and elsewhere. The legions seem to have been constantly busy but I suppose that’s what having an empire is all about. alan

Thank you so much OC. Using the decal paper was harder than I expected but it was worth the learning curve. It’s a possible solution for fancy shields on future figures. alan

The Flyhawk instructions are a bit wired at times although I think they are trying to be helpful but it doesn’t seem to match the way my brain works. As an example from HMS Kelly, the above inset shows certain parts to be added in color and again partly on a second inset. It took me quite a while to make sense of it. Alan

Please excuse my absence. I’ve been learning the art of using inkjet decal paper which wasn’t as easy as I expected along with a sizable detour into printer troubleshooting. I had found a suitable Roman legion standard and embedded several copies of the image in a PowerPoint file and the test print on regular paper looked good so I loaded the decal paper which turned out to be A4 size. No problem, I changed the paper size setting and printed. The print came out black, not even grayscale. I worked through all the primer control settings and couldn’t get color printing back. I spent most of Saturday and Sunday working on printer drivers, alternative software and reading inappropriate solutions. I was about to hit checkout on Amazon for a new printer but thought I would try one more time to delete and restore the printer - and it worked. So now I have the required images sized and printed on decal paper but the inkjet ink is water soluble so needs protection. I have a few clear coats but they are too thick to airbrush. I ended up using AK matte acrylic varnish diluted with water which worked although the ink took on a crackle finish after drying. I need to find something better next time. I painted a base coat of yellow onto the blank standard because the decal paper is clear and the yellow part of the image was lost against the primer on the standard. So here we have the standard of Legio IX Hispana. A little sun faded but somehow the crackle finish has disappeared. I think a legion that was stationed in Hispania might have had Nubian legionaries. Legion IX is the “Lost Legion” disappearing from the Roman records in AD 120, possibly being annihilated in combat in northern Britain. I think I will repaint the side pieces of the standard as leather and add the brass studs rather then show them as gold ropes. As an antidote to the decal / printer craziness I worked on the wolf skin. I added neutral grey to the pelt and while it was still wet I blended light brown down the back and up to the ears. I picked out the nose and eye holes in black. I just need to whiten the teeth. Thanks for looking in, the likes and comments. Alan