Das Boot (Figures and Gun Deck)

[adt70hk]

Steve.....that skin tone on that most recent figure....totally mind-blowing. Great work as always.

Andrew

[Steve Zuleski]

Gentlemen, thanks for the kind words, yall are too kind, and sorry for the delayed reply. More coming up mue pronto.

[Steve Zuleski]

Chief Engineer Fritz

Moving right along to the next figure, Chief engineer Fritz has received his initial facial work using the same process as before. It can be challenging to get a decent paint job done on a face with such exaggerated features, but I think he’s close. There are still quite a few details to feather in as well as glint in the eyes and a few minor adjustments. I’ve set him aside now to dry while I start on the Captain figure.



Not shown here I’ve also placed a base coat on his rain jacket and trousers, etc., just to get the ball rolling for later. More to follow real soon.

Thanks for watchin. Cheers, Ski.

[kyledehart5]

These are so good!! I am totally clueless when it comes to figures so I am soaking all this up.

[deafpanzer]

Amazing work! I bet it wasn't easy painting on the hair and beard when they are all over the face!

[Steve Zuleski]

Sept 10, 2023 15:11:54 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

These are so good!! I am totally clueless when it comes to figures so I am soaking all this up.

Thanks, Kyle, more to come.

Sept 10, 2023 20:12:53 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

Amazing work! I bet it wasn't easy painting on the hair and beard when they are all over the face!

That can get a tricky, Andy, but slow and steady works most of the time.

[406 Silverado]

Keepin' the crew here entertained I see Steve. What's your technique on the eyes again?

[adt70hk]

Simply outstanding !!!

[Steve Zuleski]

Thanks, Gents. The eyes, more hit and miss, and do it again, till it's acceptable, HA! Very tiny tipped brushes and acrylic paint, seems to work the best, Joe.

[Steve Zuleski]

Captain Willen Brock has the Con!

The last figure to work is Captain Brock. He’s still looking rather rough, needing cheek work and more attention to the beard and eye areas, but the base work is set. He does have a slight pale look to him right now, but I will fix that as well.

I went ahead of myself and started working the rain coat just for fun to see how the color tones would work. There’s a lot of surface area to cover, but I like the initial tones. I’ve also worked the cap a little. I always work from top to bottom, so I’ll hold off on the coat for now and get this head completed before moving any further on the rest of the figure.



I had pretty much finished the deck a few weeks back, for the most part, but still needed to close out the sliced portion and also take care of some minor clean-ups here and there. Photos will be much better when this is all completed, but here’s just a rough idea of how the deck looks right now. I added a seat that was missing from the scene and corrected some of the flag issues, mainly the provided flag was way too big and the rigging points were not represented.



I used copper wire for the heavy cable rigging and flag rope which made it much easier to resemble a flag blowing in the wind. I didn’t go overboard, lol, on the upgrades of this deck, but I did want to spruce it up just enough to present a better picture of the scene.

Once I go back and finish off all the faces and cap I will work my way down each figure in sequence. It’s much easier to run a production line when most of the figures have the same uniforms, etc. More to follow soon.

Cheers, Ski.

[deafpanzer]

The captain looks great! He is trying to stay cool and calm so that way his crew can feel that way too.

[Steve Zuleski]

Sept 17, 2023 8:42:45 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

The captain looks great! He is trying to stay cool and calm so that way his crew can feel that way too.

Sounds about right, cool and calm, show no fear. Thanks, Andy!

[Steve Zuleski]

Capt. Brock Is Ready for Duty

Well, after the long “Battle of the Resins,” I can now say I am happy this figure is finished, for the most part. Looking closer at these pics I can see shadows that need definition and a few lines needing more amplification. The punch list is growing, yikes!

When painting this dark color tone with oils it’s sometimes difficult to see the flaws that may have been missed during the primer coat portion. This color tone and the high gloss when painting with oils can really mess with your perception and must be constantly observed from multiple angles to make sure areas are treated as they should be, natural shadow fall, highlights, etc. My personal experience has shown that it can be a bit taxing at times to catch all of it correctly, specifically with these dark tones. However, I do like how these coats and trousers are folded and formed, making them a great canvas for blending the oils. This part is always fun for me, personally.

Using my standard “rattle can” Dull Coat I am now able to more easily see those flaws, and the slag, that I have missed. Correcting some of these issues will not be addressed as the repainting is more trouble than the issues involved. This really has not been my most enjoyable set of figures to work with.



I will be breaking from the expected glossy water effect on all of these figures, including the deck. I know this set is portrayed on the deck at sea with heavy winds and everyone assumes there’s a sea spray at a quick glance, but is there really? Since the upper portion of the deck is all that is visible I can pretty much work this as I see fit, right? After all, glossy figures are a pet peeve of mine and I won’t willingly do it, if I can help it. Oh, did I mention that I hate glossy figures? HA!



So, for now Capt. Brock will be set aside as I bring the rest of the crew up to speed. I have my punch list, so hopefully all the stray boofs will be wrangled into the coral before these figures are mounted onto the deck. I’m off to work the next figure while the momentum is present, minus winter prep outside, as with what usually happens in Sept/Oct time frame.

Thanks for watching, more to follow soon. Cheers, Ski.

[kyledehart5]

Amazing work. We’re always our own worst critics after all. I think the captain here looks fantastic.

[chromdome35]

Stellar work as always Steve, can't wait to see what's next.

[stikpusher]

Captain Jurgen approves.

[mrversatile]

I love it, Steve!! The folds and all the tones look quite realistic. I need to try one of these someday. Until now all I have done are 1/35 figures.

[Steve Zuleski]

Sept 22, 2023 21:25:49 GMT -5 stikpusher said:

Captain Jurgen approves.

Dang, Stik, I messed up the Capitan's name, sheesh. It should read; Capt.-Lt. Henrich Lehmann-Willenbrock, forgot the Henrich, oops.

Sept 22, 2023 19:21:09 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Amazing work. We’re always our own worst critics after all. I think the captain here looks fantastic.

Tanks, Kyle!!

Sept 22, 2023 19:34:44 GMT -5 chromdome35 said:

Stellar work as always Steve, can't wait to see what's next.

Thanks, Brian, working the rest now.

Sept 23, 2023 10:34:17 GMT -5 mrversatile said:

I love it, Steve!! The folds and all the tones look quite realistic. I need to try one of these someday. Until now all I have done are 1/35 figures.

Thanks, Gil. Go for the larger figs and work back down to the 1/35th. The mistakes you make on the larger figs will show quickly, of course, and correction will be faster thereby allowing you to learn faster. Believe it or not, the larger scale figures will help you improve immensely and you'll learn a lot, I personally did and still do.

[buddho]

Incredible work on the Captain, Steve. I am always in awe of your talent and skills in creating these masterpieces in miniature.

[Steve Zuleski]

Tanks, Buddho!

[deafpanzer]

I agree with the guys that the Captain looks fantastic! Brilliant work highlighting the uniform as it can be challenging to paint dark color uniforms. Every time your updates make me want to watch Das Boot for 10th time or so!

[Steve Zuleski]

Tanks, Andy!! Yes, but it's a very long movie and after a while you begin to feel like the crew, yikes, HA!

[Steve Zuleski]

2nd Lieutenant on the Deck

Moving right along with the second figure completed, I do see a few more issues to address, so those will be added to the punch list as well. Once again, I forgot to snap a few photos during the process, oops. Sometimes I get on a roll and just get too far along. Note to self, take pics!



The jacket has a slightly more bluish tone than the Capt.’s coat, but a slight variation is not a bad thing. I really did not like covering up the eyes on this figure, but that couldn’t be helped. One note, these binos do not align with the eyes and there is no real way to correct that issue, so it stays.



Ok, two down, three more to go, and I better keep it rolling along, and take pics, too. Thanks for watchin.

Cheers, Ski.

[adt70hk]

Steve....that is simply outstanding.

When I first got back into the hobby I really didn't 'get' figure painting. They did nothing for me at all. I could appreciate the work someone put in but they didn't 'move' me.

BUT, over the years I started to appreciate them far more thanks to the work of a handful of figure painters. I may be wrong but I think you were the person who started me on the journey to truly appreciate figures.... and even if you weren't the first, you were very early on in that path!

So thank you and keep up the great work!

Andrew

[buddho]

I love the action stances coupled with outstanding painting...these figures together are going to be a masterpiece!

[handiabled]

Your use of color, tone and shadowing is absolutely stunning!

[Steve Zuleski]

Sept 29, 2023 17:58:21 GMT -5 adt70hk said:

Steve....that is simply outstanding.

When I first got back into the hobby I really didn't 'get' figure painting. They did nothing for me at all. I could appreciate the work someone put in but they didn't 'move' me.

BUT, over the years I started to appreciate them far more thanks to the work of a handful of figure painters. I may be wrong but I think you were the person who started me on the journey to truly appreciate figures.... and even if you weren't the first, you were very early on in that path!

So thank you and keep up the great work!

Andrew

Now that's what it's all about, excellent Andrew! Now, if I had anything to do with getting you along with figure painting, I'm honored. We all get inspiration from others and I'm always incredibly impressed with some of these guys who can "make figures walk". And for me, it's addictive, so maybe for you too, and that's the fun part.

Thanks, Andrew!

Sept 29, 2023 21:22:46 GMT -5 buddho said:

I love the action stances coupled with outstanding painting...these figures together are going to be a masterpiece!

Thanks, Buddho. Jeff does some really great poses, this set included.

Sept 30, 2023 1:32:16 GMT -5 handiabled said:

Your use of color, tone and shadowing is absolutely stunning!

Thank you, Sir

[stikpusher]

Fantastic! You can practically feel the wind and sea spray!

[kyledehart5]

Almost missed this update but the 2nd lt is magnificent!! He tells a story all by himself.

[deafpanzer]

Once again your paint job amazes me! I hope he was not looking for those bikinis on the beach close by!