artist, me!

Hey hey hey!  Just got another tube of oil paint, looking for that perfect version of brown, to highlight the seams modelled in the plastic 1/35 scale figures representing Soviet infantry riding a tank in 1944.  My latest diorama (in a Soviet phase I'm lately going through), the addition of these 'tank riders' really adds life, interest and scale to the whole scene.  A couple of pics;

I like how these two on the rear deck seem to be in the midst of a chat!

A thing with oil paints I've found is that they remain somewhat workable, even after a day or so, depending on how thick it was applied, even though with the careful use of turpenoid it can still be moved around on the model.

I got the idea from some magazines targeting we plastic model hobbyists; the paint thinned (90% turps to 10% paint) makes a really good wash to highlight the model's moulded detail; faces, hands, hatch openings, cooling vents, stuff like that.  There's quite a bit of artistic consideration to creating a lifelike face on these little figures; priming, basecoat, dark wash, highlighting high points (chin, nose, eyebrows), eyes (on a figure about 2" tall, those are toughies!), and sometimes hair (it's own challenge, believe me).  But when I get it the way I want it, I am certainly giddy and pleased.  I even giggle!

(It's an interesting thing, deciding when I'm done.  I could just go on and on, buffing and tweaking what I'm trying to present, but at some point I need to let it go; that is the trick to some degree because part of the fun is making many of these little vignettes, not obsessing about all the little details of one diorama that could ALWAYS be 'better'.)

There are other types of paint that can be used; various acrylics (these dry rapidly, and quite flat (non-shiny), compared to enamels), enamels (cover well, and work well to represent the sheen that flesh can have, and are super-durable) and then the oils.  Some modellers, who get really into it, even incorporate other types of paints (gouache, for example).

Some of these paints are identical to paints that I used a long time ago, especially the Testors brand, in their little bottles.  I'm so pleased I figured out that diluting them helps improve the quality of the finish; I can't believe some of the things I painted with this stuff at full viscosity!   Ah, gotta love the lifelong learning...  and then there's how I made the groundwork!   This one's taken me a couple of years, though not because I work on it real consistently; just when the hankering takes me.  Believe me, I can sit and sculpt for hours.

Hey! so.  This is a hobby of mine; I am a war artist.  I try not to model propagandist-style scenes (valiant warriors at an epic point in the midst of battle, say), preferring simple moments in time, like riding a tank to the next place, shooting the shit with your buddy.