Model Citizen

I managed to get one of these 25th Anniversary Alien DVD Sets in HMV during there sale for £50.
When it arrived, though impressive (and heavy), I did'nt like the overall matt black look to it. Due to it's size, which I believe is 1/2, I thought i'd try my hand at some oil painting, as I did'nt want my usual acrylics drying out before I'd got round this huge figure.


by Model_Citizen


by Model_Citizen


by Model_Citizen


I have'nt worked with oils since college, and though not my favourite medium, it seemed the only one I could think of to achieve this.
So, after some masking and undercoating, I started work. I bought some very cheap oils (yes, you can criticise me now) from the pound store, and mixed with a little white spitit I started.


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All went well, until I tried doing some washes. The result was horrendous.


by Model_Citizen

So, I started to think of a way to recover the work I'd done. I came up with an idea for mixing inks with Johnsons klear, that would add layers of translucent colour and start to give the Alien a shine.
This seemed to go OK, so I finished off with some brown then red ink washes. Finally I highlighted some of the pipeing with umber and reds. A thought kept coming to me as I was doing this, all the pipes meks it feel rather robotic, and at one point I considered following this thought and making it a robot!
Anyway, I did'nt and stayed with what I had.


by Model_Citizen


by Model_Citizen


by Model_Citizen


by Model_Citizen


by Model_Citizen

Gallery of the day at E2046:

Since my time as a member of The Clubhouse I've come across some of the mose talented scale modellers on the planet. Some build and paint models, some sculpt models and some do both, these are the most intimidating LOL

I've bought a few busts from Jeff Camp of Camper Creative Works , both of which have been of excellent quality. Namely the Steve McQueen tribute to The Great Escape "The Cooler King"


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and the excellent new bust of Indiana Jones form Raiders of the Lost Ark "Indy with Idol"


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Anyway, I've come to have a lot of respect for Jeff's work as a sculptor and a painter, just look at his gallery to see how these busts are painted properly LOL. Well, last week I saw something that just blew me off my feet. Just when you think you've seen everything something like this comes along. Now you tell me, is this a model or a painting:



You were wrong! It's a model. I've never seen anything like this! Again, go over to jeff's site and view his gallery for more images of this incredible bit of work as well as a host of iother superb pieces and there's also a couple of kits you can buy too.

Visit Here

My last Futurama one was so complicated I could'nt be bothered to make a whole lot of new buttons etc when I got new kit.
This one is as simple as it gets, very easily customisable.





You can download the file from Remote Central

There's a brand new site about to hit the net! It's so new only the forum is available at present, but people are signing up as I write. It covers all aspects of the scale modelling hobby from Military to Dinosaurs.

If you have any interest in this hobby then this may be a good site to make your home.



To register click HERE and follow the instructions at the top.

Model Citizens EZ Skin

I thought I'd do a quick tutorial on painting skin....the easy way.
It involves a bit of skill, but nothing like that which is required if you want to airbrush.
I've used this method lots of times, so without further ado, here we go.



After priming the model, I paint over the skin with white primer (from MP Paints, as are all the paints I use), now if there's going to be a tricky part this is coming. After it's dry I paint the skin with Pale Flesh. When this is dry I get both Pale Flesh and Tanned Flesh out, tops open and start adding Pale Flesh again to the model, but instead of letting it dry I add a bit of Tanned Flesh on as well and basically start blending it all together on the model. You can be as clever as you like at this stage by adding slightly more Pale Flesh to the lighter areas or a bit more Tanned Flesh to the darker areas, but the thing is you have to move pretty quickly, as these acrylic paints dry very quickly. Try and avoid using water and use them neat. If you muck up, just let it dry and give it another go, I've been known to have 3 go's on it to get it right, but it's quick, and once you get the nack, it's pretty easy. There, that's the hardest part over.



Next I add a bit of Chestnut Brown Ink. Now this I do water down. Basically there's no reason to add this neat as it will look bad, but you can opt to go to light, and if you need it darker, then add another wash after. The trick to this is to add the ink all over the skin otherwise it will leave a water mark on the edge, though again you can use this for a dirty sweaty look if required. It's best to let it dry naturally, though near the end a hairdryer can be used if you dont make the ink run.



Next step is more ink, this time some Chocolate Brown. I just did the exact same thing I did before. I also took a pic of the brush, that is the only one I've used so far on this kit. Also, dont worry about the eyes, you can sort all that out after.



Last stage, told you it was EZ!
This next bit is where I add the highlights. I'm just going to add a bit of drybrushed white, or cream, to the face. Again, err on the side of caution, and go lighter rather than darker....what i mean is use less paint rather than more, if it's not light enough you can always add another pass.

There. Finished. All I did next was paint the eyes, add some Tanned Flesh to the lips, with a bit of light red and ink washed and drybrushed the clothes in the same way I did the skin.

Finished item below.



I was very pleased to see that Indy made Gallery Of The Day at E2046

I was very pleased to see that quite an old model of mine, the Alien Vs Power Loader, which I recently reshot got Gallery Of The Day at E2046



If you'd like to take a look at the full size images, they can be found Here