Global Scale Modeller

Okay guys, it's time to make a contribution to ISM and post up my first model.

This is a very old figure, 1970's era, and it doesn't have the same level of detail that you see on modern mouldings but I think he turned out okay for his age and my novice attempt. The figure seems to be 1/35 scale.

I used to slap paint on toy soldiers when I was a child but this is my first attempt at painting a figure since my interest in model making was recently renewed. I am no Hamilkar Barkas (kudos Hamilkar!) when it comes to figure painting but you have to start somewhere and this was a fun little project to do and I learnt a few things along the way. Which is what this is all about.

I found a box of old Airfix soldiers that I had as a child in my parents loft and this little guy was mixed in with an assortment of British and German Infantry figures. I remember playing with this knight as a child so for sentimental reasons I thought he deserved to be brought back into the daylight and given a lick of paint, a nice base and a place on my shelf.

I think I got this figure from a school friend in the 1970's so I never had a full set of these figures. I have no idea who made this figure or from what year it dates. However, it would be sometime in the 1970's. If anyone recognises this figure then please let me know as I would be interested to know its origins.

I used Vallejo Model Colors followed with a coat of Klear and then a spray of Testors Dullcote. The base was made by cutting a plastic disc from sheet styrene using my compass cutter. I then layered this with Milliput to make the raised ground. Then I coated it with PVA and dipped it in sand and then painted it with Humbrol Dark Earth followed by drybrushing with Vallejo Model Color Iraqi Sand. The rocks are a few small stones from my garden painted with Tamiya XF-54 and further layers of XF-54 lightened with white. I then finished it off by adding some summer grass flock.

Considering I have had this figure for almost 40 years and it dates from my childhood it is a nice thing to have and it has inspired me to try more figure painting.

Thanks for looking and please feel free to offer constructive criticism as I want to improve.

Hey Sniff,
As for your first piece it's great, maybe a light raw umber oil wash, but I think it turned out pretty dam good.
Too bad I don't look that good after 40+ years.
More more!

Great looking figure

In my opinion you painted the figure very well! I like the metal look and the eyes are good for a start.
It all depends on the material you begin with and of course the figure itself is very toyish. You can not expect a perfect result which can compete with any other figure. It is lacking detail and well, you know what i mean. In 1:72 scale the figure itself would look but upscaled to 1:35 its not that great.
If you want to get a bit more into figure painting i suggest that you buy a proper one (plastic, resin or white metal figure) and give it a try there. These figures have more details and i think the more details a figure has the easier it is to paint it (for some weird reason!). The result you achieved with this crusader was a great start and i´m sure if you transfer your experience on a better detailed figure it will be even more rewarding in the end!

Looks great, but it's not about the quality of the painting or figure I guess, this is from your childhood and because of that it is wonderful to have.