Point Du Hoc

[Steve Zuleski]

Tank you very much, Andy!

[Steve Zuleski]

A Little More Detail

Adding a few more minute details it appears the number two figure is pretty close. I added the helmet and took care of the leather work and buckles/clips. I also added in the 5 o’clock shadows. Number one will be touched up a little more before his helmet is attached, then off to work Number three.



More to follow soon and thanks for watchin. Cheers, Ski.

P.S. We now have names for these guys; #1 is Walt, #2 is Bruce, and #3 is Luke.

[deafpanzer]

Luke, I am your father! I take that you are a big fan of Star Wars too?

Love the 5 o’clock shadow! What did you use to paint those?

[406 Silverado]

I was gonna ask what happened to the names. I just couldn’t get over the “Figure #1 ……” names as first.

This is unreal how you pull all of this work off Steve. Such realism.

[Steve Zuleski]

Nov 24, 2023 9:45:01 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

Luke, I am your father! I take that you are a big fan of Star Wars too? Love the 5 o’clock shadow! What did you use to paint those?

Tanks, Andy. Lol, not much of a "big" fan, but I do like the first movie. I used Titanium white and Ivory Black oils for the 5 o'clock shadows. Dab em, then feather em in and use a semi-damp brush to remove excess.

Nov 24, 2023 10:11:34 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

I was gonna ask what happened to the names. I just couldn’t get over the “Figure #1 ……” names as first. This is unreal how you pull all of this work off Steve. Such realism.

Thanks, Joe. It's a slow process, but it appears to be working

[moparmadness]

Just curious, how many hours do you think it takes you to paint a head from start to finish. Yours are expert level! I’ve got a backlog of figures but I’m too afraid to begin!

[Steve Zuleski]

Dec 3, 2023 23:06:38 GMT -5 moparmadness said:

Just curious, how many hours do you think it takes you to paint a head from start to finish. Yours are expert level! I’ve got a backlog of figures but I’m too afraid to begin!

Oops, sorry for the delay, my bad. Good question, Chad. Sometimes if I've got a line-up of several heads for a dio time moves quickly and I can have one in acceptable order within a few hours or by the end of the day. But, as you can see, Luke has been a problem child and not wanting to cooperate with my brush, that bugger, sheesh! 1/35th scale can go quicker, but I always take my time on the 120mm-200mm. Every mistake will be visible, so no reason to rush. I've been known to be anal retentive when it comes to facial detail, and I still ain't there yet, but I'm still learning myself.

You really have no need to be intimidated by painting figures, it's only a matter of taking the dive and going for it. I always suggest learning on faces first, then the rest is not so difficult. But remember, I an oiler, not an acrylic addict, HA! I prefer blending vs constant layering. The results are completely different for the most part, but I personally think oils make the figures appear more true-to-life. Personal preference.

Go for it Chad, ya got nothin to lose.

[Steve Zuleski]

Finishing Faces, Working upper Torsos

The faces for this crew are now complete minus a few touch-ups here and there. Luke, the terrified fellow, was not wanting to cooperate with my brush. After I convinced him, that Bruce wasn’t going to let him go, he began to be more manageable.

Sometimes faces just don’t want to work, so I’m finding that working them over several days, feathering, and filtering necessary tones works best. Poor Luke, he’s the cleanest kid on the block with four oven cleaner baths to his credit, HA! I have also added the 2nd Ranger Battalion emblem on the back of the helmets, not seen in these photos. The helmet tones will be adjusted more towards the drab range, btw.




Reference photos show a myriad of tan and olive drab shades for WWII US GI uniforms, so I won’t be too worried about the shade I’ve chosen. The button and rivet counters can now relax, it has been decided. I have matched the oils to an almost exact tone by taking a dab of oil and swiping it onto the photo posted on my easel. It may not appear so close now, but it will later when the oils dry.



www.dday-overlord.com/en/normandy/commemorations/2019/photos/pointe-du-hoc More photos can be found on the net referencing the D-Day Pont Du Hoc 75th Anniversary.

I decided to start with Capt. Walt and get some oils on the canvas, so to speak, while Sgt. Luke was drying for a bit. I really do like how Steve works these wrinkles and folds, very crisp and clean, much easier to paint. I will be working my way down the figure as I usually do.



I will address all three upper torsos before I move onto the next phase while the palette still has a good oil mix. Remixing another batch days from now may not come out within the same tonal range, and that is what I am trying to avoid here, offset tones.

Progress is a bit slow, but steady, so more to follow very soon. Thanks for watchin. Cheers, Ski.

[kyledehart5]

More incredible work. The headless torsos are really looking wonderful, and the faces are looking very convincing as well. Amazing job.

[handiabled]

The way you bring these figures to life is amazing! Outstanding work sir!

[Steve Zuleski]

Thank you kindly, Gents. I can still see a few areas needing attention. Funny how the camera can make a fool out of us all at times, dang! The eyes on Bruce are glaring me in the face right now.

[tcoat]

Dec 9, 2023 12:26:55 GMT -5 Steve Zuleski said:

Thank you kindly, Gents. I can still see a few areas needing attention. Funny how the camera can make a fool out of us all at times, dang! The eyes on Bruce are glaring me in the face right now.

I have a small lightbox right beside me so I can check progress in pictures as I build. Doesn't hurt that my computer and monitor desk is also my building space so I don't even need to get up to take, edit and post. This is why I have so many build pictures posted since I have them anyway. Many times I see something in a picture but then can't even find it with the naked eye and it drives me nuts. It can be a blessing and a curse.

[deafpanzer]

Those faces are unbelievably awesome! Their expressions say so much what’s going on!

[roland66]

Outstanding work

[Steve Zuleski]

Thanks, Tcoat. Sounds like a good idea, but my pc is in the next room. Usually when I do a photo shoot nothing gets taken down till I get the right pics, but that doesn't do any7 good for correcting boofs. Oh well.

Dec 9, 2023 12:49:36 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

Those faces are unbelievably awesome! Their expressions say so much what’s going on!

Thanks, Andy. Yes, I would say Steve Reedee really nailed poor Luke and his fear factor, lol.

Thank you, Roland!

[moparmadness]

Dec 5, 2023 12:17:24 GMT -5 Steve Zuleski said:

Dec 3, 2023 23:06:38 GMT -5 moparmadness said:

Just curious, how many hours do you think it takes you to paint a head from start to finish. Yours are expert level! I’ve got a backlog of figures but I’m too afraid to begin!

Oops, sorry for the delay, my bad. Good question, Chad. Sometimes if I've got a line-up of several heads for a dio time moves quickly and I can have one in acceptable order within a few hours or by the end of the day. But, as you can see, Luke has been a problem child and not wanting to cooperate with my brush, that bugger, sheesh! 1/35th scale can go quicker, but I always take my time on the 120mm-200mm. Every mistake will be visible, so no reason to rush. I've been known to be anal retentive when it comes to facial detail, and I still ain't there yet, but I'm still learning myself.

You really have no need to be intimidated by painting figures, it's only a matter of taking the dive and going for it. I always suggest learning on faces first, then the rest is not so difficult. But remember, I an oiler, not an acrylic addict, HA! I prefer blending vs constant layering. The results are completely different for the most part, but I personally think oils make the figures appear more true-to-life. Personal preference.

Go for it Chad, ya got nothin to lose.

Thank you for the info! I just have one question. I really like your idea about using oil paints instead of acrylics. These are the oil paints I currently have. Are these the right colors to use for painting flesh tones?

[Steve Zuleski]

Yep, you have all the basic colors, you're good to go. You can pretty much adjust from this set. One tube has lasted me for decades, though it may be a bit stiff, but it's still working, lol.

[Steve Zuleski]

Getting Luke Up to Speed

I started to work on Luke’s jacket and decided that since the area was so small, I would continue on and work his vest before moving on to Bruce. What I did not take into consideration was the coupling of two figures together. I had never worked adjoining figures in the past, so this was a learning experience for me. I can clearly see that sculpting adjoining figures is not an easy task but rather a complicated one.

I did perform a test fit to the base with both figures before I started painting and thought everything was good to go. Right about the time I was finishing up Luke’s gear something told me to recheck before I kept going. Sure enough, I boofed! What I finally realized was that I had not aligned Bruce’s arm correctly to accept Luke’s shoulder section. That slight off-line attachment of Bruce’s arm caused a good 3/16th of an inch alignment problem for Luke on the cliff.

You might think, ok, do some work on the cliff to remedy the issue, but that didn’t’ work so well. That caused even more problems. So, I worked in some Epoxy Sculpt to clean up my mess on the cliff and began to rework Bruce’s arm for a much better fit. Long story short, a lot of time was wasted because I neglected to retest the fit when the arms were glued in place.

Well, like this was the first time I’ve messed up, right? Na, it happens all the time, lol. This was a simple oversight that required a lot of unnecessary tweaking. Lesson learned once again. Ruck Onward.



I need to point out now that the details on Luke’s vest are incredible and it’s obvious to me that Steve has taken a lot of time and expended a lot of effort to make this vest accurate with crisp clean details. Kudos, Stevo!

You may also notice that I have a tonal variation issue with Luke’s left arm. That arm section was not attached when I started to paint Luke and once again I boofed, this time on the tones of the jacket arm. Like I said, having never done adjoining figures before, I missed details that otherwise should have been addressed much earlier. The tonal variation has been addressed since taking these pics, and still a bit more needs to be done, but that is a minor issue which is easy to address compared to an arm realignment.



I would also like to add that the precision of the fit for Luke on the cliff is incredible. Steve has sculpted the arm to hand fit, and boot placement, so well that Luke can hang on by himself without any anchor or glue, impressive. Luke is pulling a big fake with that scared look on his face, isn’t he? HA!

I will be working Bruce’s arm and his jacket together to get the same color tones before I go any further. I really don’t fancy having to go back and address another boof, two is enough for now, wouldn’t ya say?

More to follow soon and thanks for watchin. Cheers, Ski.

[deafpanzer]

DAMN!!! You are truly talented figure painter! I am glad you caught the error now or it would have been more hassle to repair if you didn't catch it sooner. Reading your updates always give me the urge to climb a cliff... maybe its not a good thing?

[Steve Zuleski]

Dec 23, 2023 11:13:40 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

Reading your updates always give me the urge to climb a cliff... maybe its not a good thing?

Ya killin me, Andy, ya killin me, HA! Thanks, Buddy, you do pretty dang good yourself.

[adt70hk]

Steve

Sincerest apologies not had as much time on here as I would like and so missed this.

They are coming on beautifully. As always the faces and skin tones are top-notch.

Keep up the great work.

Andrew

[kyledehart5]

Steve, this is truly incredible work. I am always amazed by the depth and the tones. Just the whole process is incredible

[Steve Zuleski]

Thanks, Guys! I need to keep the ball rolling so I don't go through a coloration issue again, lol.

[Green KreationZ]

Is it just me, or is the one on the left Nicholas Cage? 




Im jealous of your painting skills! 

[Steve Zuleski]

Dec 24, 2023 11:45:23 GMT -5 Green KreationZ said:

Is it just me, or is the one on the left Nicholas Cage? 

Lol. Well, he hasn't done many movies lately, so he may be doing some side jobs, HA!

[handiabled]

I couldn't paint my daughter's fingernails well when she was little much less do entire figures. Outstanding!

[Steve Zuleski]

Dec 24, 2023 15:11:29 GMT -5 handiabled said:

I couldn't paint my daughter's fingernails well when she was little much less do entire figures. Outstanding!

Hey, don't feel bad I can't either. I always told my wife she could paint figures "if" she wanted to; the ladies always put on War Paint every morning, right?

[406 Silverado]

This is incredible work going on Steve. Just the work on the faces alone is mind blowing and then you've got the processes down for the uniforms and equipment down pat. Un....frickin'.....believable!

[406 Silverado]

Dec 25, 2023 8:51:38 GMT -5 Steve Zuleski said:

Dec 24, 2023 15:11:29 GMT -5 handiabled said:

I couldn't paint my daughter's fingernails well when she was little much less do entire figures. Outstanding!

Hey, don't feel bad I can't either. I always told my wife she could paint figures "if" she wanted to; the ladies always put on War Paint every morning, right?

[Steve Zuleski]

Thanks, Joe, steady ar she goes. More coming soon.