Greetings to all! First and foremost, thanks for all the prayers and well wishes. My recovery is moving along quite well, considering I was released from the hospital only one week ago, and yesterday managed to be quite productive at the bench!
As promised, I will begin posting some of the pics on how I detail a figure. Please bear in mind a few things, disclaimer, if you will. I would say only a very small percentage of what I do is actually skill on my part. If I had to break it down, I'd say 10% skill, 10% gleaned from books and internet, 10% knowledge and observation, but 70% trial and error. There are a few basic ideas that I stick to, though, in no particular order. Call it "Dicta Joe"
1) Perception, not perfection. Strive to fool the eye. You are not, for the most part, trying to create an exact duplicate of a human being, but a representation of one. If, for example, you wish to create a 1/32 scale model of Oswald Boelke, then you are already well beyond anything I can possibly offer.
2) Sheperd Paine. His books teach you all about illusion versus actuality. Everything I do in modelling is based on his basic principles. That includes my model railroading, as well.
3) Study the work of others. As long as you remain humble, and always strive to improve, you will be successful. A couple other favorite modellers of mine, besides the above, are Bob Letterman and Lewis Pruneau. They are the masters of the "super diorama".
4) Become a sponge. I've been working on models for years, yet I just learned, on this site, of simulating a leather flight jacket using normal wood stain. Brilliant. Who would've thought?
5) Be critical of your own work, but never discouraged. Think about it, how many of us walked into our current occupations knowing everything we needed to know?
6) Take frequent breaks. I generally work on probably 4-5 things at once. It keeps me from burning myself out on any one thing. Learned that the hard way, I did.
7) Look around. You may not have a Mercedes DIII engine sitting in your shed, but I bet you have a lawn mower. Or a car, or a construction site nearby. Look at lube points, hinges, exposed surfaces, exhaust stacks, etc...
Learn. Everything from how light falls onto an object, to what types of materials were used to make specific things at specific times. Little things, like knowing the difference between types of fuel used in aircraft, can go a long way in replicating the correct exhaust stains. Look at as many period pics as you can find of your subject matter. What type of terrain was there? Color of mud? Etc...
9) With figures, especially, you usually get what you pay for. General rule of thumb, anything tagged as '1/32', is usually of the generic polystyrene model kit design and will be decently detailed and priced. Anything tagged as '54mm', is usually of a higher quality and better detail. 54mm is considered a 'figurine' while 1/32 is considered a 'model'. Thankfully, this mentality is changing and we're starting to see a higher quality all around.
10) Most importantly, HAVE FUN WITH IT! Yes, it gets frustrating. Yes, it gets annoying. Yes, you will consider smashing things into tiny pieces, (hence item 6), but when you get it right, it's an awesome feeling. Of course, then you'll pull your hair out trying to remember exactly what you did!
If you've read this far, I guess the least I can do is post a couple pics.
