Point Du Hoc

[Tojo72]

Wow,another great scene coming along Steve

[406 Silverado]

Dec 28, 2023 12:35:34 GMT -5 Steve Zuleski said:

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

[Steve Zuleski]

Thanks,Tony. Vignette in a box, moving smoothly this time, lol.

[Steve Zuleski]

Well Gents, I'll be posting a few more pics within a day or so, but will need to pause this build. I sprung for material to build my wife a curio cabinet so I can reacquire "my" cabinet. If I don't build it now this vignette will not have a safe location once it is finished.

I got most of the shop gear tuned up yesterday, a few more items today, then off to the races, so to speak. I really don't fancy working in a cold shop, but I've done it before. Those 5k watt ceiling mounted heaters are expensive to run all day long, lol. I plan to be back at the bunker bench shortly.

More to follow soon.

[Steve Zuleski]

Working the Shoulder Fit

Just before I shut down the bunker to build another cabinet, I was working the shoulder fit. Once these two figures are solidly anchored to the cliff, I will do some minor shaving and filing to clean up the rebuilt connection and then paint any areas required. Remember, there never was a fit issue until I neglected to pay attention to the fit when I first glued the arm in place. Steve did a great job making this connection, I just boofed it up, Lol.



Once the new cabinet is finished, I will resume this vignette. It shouldn’t be too long; it’s a simple design and I have the right tools.

Thanks for watchin, more coming soon. Cheers, Ski.

[deafpanzer]

Glad it has been sorted. I hope you are building second cabiinet for me?

[Steve Zuleski]

Jan 7, 2024 20:17:27 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

Glad it has been sorted. I hope you are building second cabiinet for me?

If you pay for the electricity and the material, we might have a deal, but I work for food, HA! Rib-eye and shrimp

[Steve Zuleski]

Quick update, cabinet is almost finished. Sorry for the crummy pics, but yall get the idea.



Glass and mirror coming this week.

[lyle]

good stuff!

[Steve Zuleski]

Thanks, Lyle!

[stikpusher]

That’s a beautiful piece of woodworking there. This just keeps on getting more and more impressive!

[tcoat]

I couldn't build that cabinet even if it came 80% complete!

Out of sticks of wood...

[moparmadness]

That’s a beautiful cabinet!

[cheyenne]

Always shocked and awed when seeing your painting skills !!!!


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[Steve Zuleski]

Lol, thanks, Gents!

Happily, this bugger is now done and drying in the shop. Hopefully on Monday the cabinet will be moved into the house and I can evict my pretty lil' woman's stuff and get back to business, HA!

[Steve Zuleski]

It’s Finally Done!

The glass is in and the final top coat of Tung Oil is drying until Monday morning. Red Oak stained with Minwax Early American and sealed with Tung Oil.



Now it’s time to get back to the bunker and crank up the heat as I prep the oil palette.

Thanks for watchin. Cheers, Ski.

[deafpanzer]

I LOVE IT!!! You can't find those at furniture stores nowadays. Well done buddy!

[Steve Zuleski]

Feb 1, 2024 8:55:31 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

I LOVE IT!!! You can't find those at furniture stores nowadays. Well done buddy!

You'd be lookin long and hard. nobody makes decent sized cabinets, so ya gotta do it yourself. Thanks, Andy!

[Steve Zuleski]

Capt. Walt in Progress

Just three quick shots of Capt. Walt’s progress. I’m working the hands and finishing up anything left on the upper torso before moving on to Bruce and Luke to do the same.



Now that my saw dust session is over, I’m gladly working this set in the warm bunker. More to follow soon and thanks for watchin.

Cheers, Ski.

[lyle]

"When all about you are losing their heads...." Rudyard Kipling, 1895...


(I'll let myself out.)

[Steve Zuleski]

Feb 1, 2024 9:20:17 GMT -5 lyle said:

"When all about you are losing their heads...." Rudyard Kipling, 1895...
(I'll let myself out.)

No, you can stay, just keep the cracks comin, they keep us in stitches. You are repeating yourself, Lyle, HA!

[Steve Zuleski]

Trouser Work

I’m now down to the closing portions of these figures, always working from top to bottom. The trousers will need to be much darker than the shirts while not getting too carried away with the highlights.

I have blended the oils to create a dark Olive Drab tone to work over the acrylic base color. I need to keep in mind that too much highlights will cause the tones to drift into the shirt tones. We know from historical photos and clothing articles from the era that the trousers were much darker than the shirts and jackets.



However, as you can see from the standing figure that glare can play tricks on your eyes if you don’t pay close attention to the shade of tones being put down. The Capt. Figure has the correct tone I’m looking for, whereas the other two are slowly coming in line to that same tone. They are just in the 2nd and 3rd phase of the process.



Still a lot of brush work to do, but in a few days, I’ll be working the legging and boots and handle any touch-ups.

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

[stikpusher]

You've got this Ski! You know the basic uniform colors and how it should all look when finished.

But, just in case, for some reference and inspiration...





some of Rudder's Rangers on the way from England to France in original color

[Steve Zuleski]

Ok, Carlos, now howz come you can find all these great pics and I seem to never be able to find any decent ones when I need em? Sheesh! Great pics, thanks mucho! You are correct, Carlos, the tones are too far towards the green.

I've drifted from the drab/brown side of the olive to the greener side, I recon. The ref pic you see below is what I'm using. Those tones are much deeper in the green than these period color photos, no doubt. As we know, modern renditions of older uniforms never really do get the color correct every time, the shades often miss the mark.



RRRRRRgggggggggggg, now ya got me thinkin, HA! It's not like this would be the first time I had to go back and correct something, right? Good call, Carlos!

[TOWGunner]

Just awesome paint work Steve, a major master work in progress here.

[reserve]

I always thought pants tended to be darker 'cause they took more of a beating and needed to be replaced more often so they did not get to fade out as much. Lesson taken from my own wardrobe which admittedly I've not been running around fighting a war in.

Brown or green tones whatever, they still look spectacular

[Steve Zuleski]

Feb 8, 2024 8:59:15 GMT -5 TOWGunner said:

Just awesome paint work Steve, a major master work in progress here.

Tanks, Matt. Whatchya recon, should I adjust the tone or Ruck On?

Feb 8, 2024 9:42:08 GMT -5 reserve said:

I always thought pants tended to be darker 'cause they took more of a beating and needed to be replaced more often so they did not get to fade out as much. Lesson taken from my own wardrobe which admittedly I've not been running around fighting a war in. Brown or green tones whatever, they still look spectacular

Roger that, Mark. Even the recent pics with old WWII clothing have many variations. I think I shall take this up with my personal painting advisor, my wife, HA! Either way, the tones are a tad in the green zone.

[TOWGunner]

Keep on doin what you're doin Ski, the tones don't look "too green" to me.

[Steve Zuleski]

Feb 8, 2024 10:20:49 GMT -5 TOWGunner said:

Keep on doin what you're doin Ski, the tones don't look "too green" to me.

Tanks for the input, Matt, greatly appreciated. I have no real training in color theory so I'm gonna claim lame and Ruck On. My wife said, do it or don't, they will look ok either way. I might run a test on the last one, see how that might pan out, so I'll keep yall posted.

[stikpusher]

I think one of the reasons that the actual D-Day uniforms look different in color from what re enactors use is that the were "impregnated" with a waxlike substance as a preventive measure in case the Nazis used Mustard Gas against the Normandy Landings. Thats why the gas masks were were carried and the army brassards of chemical detection paper were worn. It was specified in orders that the uniforms worn for landings by assault troops were to be treated, including the shoes.

But also, no matter how good or bad the quality of the original WWII color photos, there was usually some color shift due to the films of that era being used. Just compare the orange ID diamonds on the back of the Ranger helmets to get an idea. Not to mention the basic OD of the helmets themselves.