International Scale Modeller

This is Leonidas the King of Sparta
He is a resin 3D printed figure from ebay
I am pretty sure he stepped on a Lego in the dark to make this face

So first order of business is sprue removal, test fitting and defect repair.
I also scratch up the hair and such with a knife to make it look more irregular and less flat.

digger303 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 04, 2024 1:15 am

I have been chomping on the bit to get started posting; did a lot of work on the weekend

Things primed up in black Stylenrez…that is one way to begin a figure, with a black primer base
The theory is it gives depth and darkness in the shadows and you can layer lighter on top where light would hit
Honestly I don’t think it matters light or dark, just evenly primed



You will note some have a tanish poorly covering layer on them….that is light flesh oil paint brushed on with attempts at using a blender brush to remove brushstrokes and get more even coverage. FAIL!!!!
An absolute failure of an effort and really forced a huge mental shift for me in painting figures as I researched and watched others





An oil base for a figure, flesh I mean, does not work, is stupid to try and a waste of time. Period.
I actually was looking up how to spray oil paint and then read a blurb about yes you can spray it, but why would you
Oil is for washes and accents and tinting on plastic/ resin models; light flesh oils needs a base acrylic underneath.
So get the freaking acrylic flesh out and spray it as your flesh base like a normal human being ..so I did






Model color flat flesh acrylic, sprayed with the little H/S Ultra. So much easier, so much faster to dry

The oil painted parts had to be fully stripped and then re-primed out in black before a flat flesh was sprayed on them
This was the two heads and the two legs/ feet


I carried on with the torso and other parts, adding a clear layer to seal the flesh and then a rusty wash layer to give some blood look


Added small details in red model colour of scars and blood n bits to the torso and arm parts, then a clear seal again



Now here we have a problem.
Despite documenting what I did to the torso parts, I didn’t do exactly the same process to the legs and head.
Don’t ask me why, just a different day and not really thinking.
Instead of a rust wash after clear, the legs and head got a red model colour wash…dumb dumb dumb.

Suddenly the head and legs were off shade from the torso and arms. It looked like a sun burn…he appears in pain







Not that it didn’t look ok, just did different things on the same figure’s parts and it noticeably mismatched their appearance
I had to do a skin tone brush over to remove the sunburn and then reshade the darker areas with the rust wash

The spear was a part that did not arrive in great shape.
It was two parts, bent and sad looking. So I cut off the ends and used a brass tube to replace the shaft
Made a ‘leather’ wrap later out of tape …see it again later

Twokidsnosleep wrote: ↑Wed Sep 04, 2024 3:14 pm The spear was a part that did not arrive in great shape.
It was two parts, bent and sad looking. So I cut off the ends and used a brass tube to replace the shaft
Made a ‘leather’ wrap later out of tape …see it finished later

Wonky spears just won't do.
Nice fix.

Here is the cape I showed in the other thread but now it is detail shadowed

Red oil paint over tan Ultimate. This is my favourite red, but it takes forever to dry….like a week!!!
Then some Citadel red and Ultimate black to shade and accent the folds
I really love painting capes, was my favourite part of the Mandalorian figure







Sneak peak with the figure dry fit

Here’s the progress on the spear, test fit onto the figure and the cape at an orientation where both will sit together decently



Things are really tight and I have to manipulate the shoulder to let the cape and spear sit correctly
I cannot make it sit like it is in the promo pics of the figure from eBay

digger303 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 05, 2024 2:30 am

Twokidsnosleep wrote: ↑Wed Sep 04, 2024 3:14 pm The spear was a part that did not arrive in great shape.
It was two parts, bent and sad looking. So I cut off the ends and used a brass tube to replace the shaft
Made a ‘leather’ wrap later out of tape …see it finished later

Wonky spears just won't do.
Nice fix.

There are just some things that don’t 3D print well if you are not extremely careful
Why not use a long brass or wood shaft for better realism…just too easy
But I did like the spear head and end details

Looking good so far, the cape shading is

aur0ra145 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 05, 2024 3:08 am Looking good so far, the cape shading is

Thanks…my favourite part
This is Mando’s cape, pretty much identical process employed

Painting the old bronze with AK’s True Metal waxy brush paint
Black primer sprayed and then brushed and burnished the bronze on with a rim of steel






I really like these paints

Torso and arms glued up now and he is on the base
I drilled some holes and put some brass pins as rivets in his gonch area and for the straps of his sword





I watched a few videos on figure skin painting and they do a yellow wash, a red wash a blue wash and then a spritz with brown for freckles with a low psi airbrush or even flicking bristles of a toothbrush
I have had enough with messing up the skin tones so didn’t go too much farther; he’s a bit dirty and a bit bloody.
I will make his feet a bit dirtier with some Ultimate clay washes

THIS IS rather good actually

Stokesy44 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 05, 2024 6:48 am THIS IS rather good actually

Sparta!
Thanks

Skin tones are a bitch, so hard to get them right.
I've got a trick to try on shadows that I picked up which I'm hoping to successfully trial.

digger303 wrote: ↑Fri Sep 06, 2024 1:28 pm Skin tones are a bitch, so hard to get them right.
I've got a trick to try on shadows that I picked up which I'm hoping to successfully trial.

Look forward to hearing and seeing that
This is what the sig is about...sharing techniques

Decided to use the no helmet head
I had to make his braid out of tape as it didn’t survive their 3d print
Almost completely done, just his necklace to add and some feet to weather; then some good lighting photos

My figure is finished and heading to the completed build section

Hello !
So I'm catching up on other builds of the GB since I entered. First off, I think you were quite courageous to try a figure with so much skin showing ! That being said, I think you did a great job. Love the cape. We see why you like them. You did a fantastic job with. And great idea to use AK's True Metal paint ! I have 2 or 3 colors and I love them. But the only thing is they take a while to dry. And not sure yet for what brand of varnish to use on them. Had a few bad reactions.

Great job !!

Garion77 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 28, 2024 11:24 pm Hello !
So I'm catching up on other builds of the GB since I entered. First off, I think you were quite courageous to try a figure with so much skin showing ! That being said, I think you did a great job. Love the cape. We see why you like them. You did a fantastic job with. And great idea to use AK's True Metal paint ! I have 2 or 3 colors and I love them. But the only thing is they take a while to dry. And not sure yet for what brand of varnish to use on them. Had a few bad reactions.

Great job !!

Merci!

Yes TM paints have to be left alone. Usually leave them a couple days
I find the aluminum needs a clear over it
This was a fun figure to do
Lots of time until end of December to build a figure