Ski's builds

[Steve Zuleski]

Since I see quite a few more site veterans on here now and quite a lot of new faces, I don't think some of my builds ever made it into the gallery, for one reason or another. But to get yall up to speed, for those who don't know me, I mainly work figures. I do armor, wingy thingies, and even a bit of water works, but mainly figures. Sorry, Brother Joe, I'm not really a car guy.

I won't bore yall with a full string of pics, just one or two shots a piece, and only one vignette was completed last year. I'm a rather slow painter, but I'm in no rush. Hope ya like em.

Knock and Talk




Texas Ranger and the Alamo




1/5 Marines, Battle for the Citadel, Hue City, Vietnam 1968



Harley Davison 42-WLA




R75 Driver and Rider



Dio layout


U-Boat Watch Officer



Calm Before the Storm




Das Boot



Deano’s Garage



The Iron Triangle




42nd Highland Infantry Regiment



Advance to Arnhem



US Ranger WW2



Sikorsky H-34, USMC



Last Stand, 120mm Vignette, Normandy France 1944



And of course, the fun one.

Embarrassing Moments in the Early Mornin Dew, Carentan, June 1944

[lyle]

Nice. Must get noisy at night with all those little people running around!

[Tojo72]

Awesome to see them all together

[tcoat]

Jan 23, 2024 13:30:07 GMT -5 lyle said:

Nice. Must get noisy at night with all those little people running around!

No kidding!
A Night At The Museum situation would be outrageous


.

[stikpusher]

I think that I’d seen maybe a third of these at most before you put them all together here now. Wow! Thanks for showing all of the rest! Some most impressive work that you have here Ski.

[41chevy]

Dang man! your figures are so realistic looking! With the right back ground you would be hard pressed to tell that they are not live people!

[Steve Zuleski]

Jan 23, 2024 15:07:13 GMT -5 41chevy said:

Dang man! your figures are so realistic looking! With the right back ground you would be hard pressed to tell that they are not live people!

Thanks, Brother. Therein lies the tricky part, the pics. It seems to be an art form in and of itself, so learning that extra aspect can actually make or break a kit build, as you can see from my earlier work. It's a necessary evil we gotta master as well. BTWE, did I miss any ground work in these? Just hackin on ya Billy, Wez just hackin on ya.

Jan 23, 2024 13:30:07 GMT -5 lyle said:

Nice. Must get noisy at night with all those little people running around!

No, Bro, we have an ankle bitter waiting in the wings, lol.

Jan 23, 2024 13:35:04 GMT -5 Tojo72 said:

Awesome to see them all together

Tony, my steadfast kinda guy, thanks, Buddy! You are always there!

Jan 23, 2024 14:19:24 GMT -5 stikpusher said:

I think that I’d seen maybe a third of these at most before you put them all together here now. Wow! Thanks for showing all of the rest! Some most impressive work that you have here Ski.

Tanks, Carlos, Me Hermano!



Just a side note, Gents; There's been one heck of a learning curve from the Masters, and it's nothing more than making the effort and fighting that friggin brush, but it can be done. If you want to see life in action, making resin live, check out Putty&Paint, and therein lies much of my inspiration. It really is a fun journey "if" ya got the cajones to try it, simple as that.

Don't know who said it first, but I'll say it now, "Nobody was ever born with a brush in their hand, so if they can do it, so can you!" am I'm right?"

Ruck On, Bby! Cheers, Ski.

[Green KreationZ]

Steve… These would 100% be taking home first place at any competition. Your skill at painting and creating a successful diorama is incredible!! Thanks for posting my new go to reference for painting figures.

[Steve Zuleski]

Jan 23, 2024 20:57:28 GMT -5 Green KreationZ said:

Steve… These would 100% be taking home first place at any competition. Your skill at painting and creating a successful diorama is incredible!! Thanks for posting my new go to reference for painting figures.

Hey, Bro, you holler, I help, simple as that. I would more than be honored to assist as best as I can for you or anyone here who asks. Just remember, I'm an oiler, not an acrylic addict, so keep that in mid if you please. Ruck On, Bby!

P.S. Don't be shy either, it don't happen lookn at it.

[kyledehart5]

I’ve repeatedly said this and can’t state it enough but your work is incredible. I still don’t know anything about figures. Have no idea how oils work but you surely create some gorgeous work with them. It’s so good.

[Steve Zuleski]

Thanks, Kyle. I recon it's one of those things where ya just gotta take that dive and miss all the rocks at the bottom of the cliff, right? No, not really, it's been a fun run, just gotta go for it, that's all it takes. Thanks, Bro!

[deafpanzer]

Glad you shared your work because I haven’t seen them all. I admire your work and I have so much to learn here!

[handiabled]

Just amazing work sir! I am really in awe of your skillset

[TJ]

Steve I've seen a few of these but most were new to me. Dude you can paint. These are some of the most realistic vignettes I've ever seen

[armornutii]

  Impressive work Steve, since we live close maybe ine day I'll pester you on figure painting.

[Steve Zuleski]

Jan 24, 2024 11:27:45 GMT -5 armornutii said:

  Impressive work Steve, since we live close maybe ine day I'll pester you on figure painting.

Sounds good, so let's see how this 2024 starts to shake out, maybe do a meet, or if you're in the hood, stop on by and peruse the bunker

Jan 23, 2024 22:41:46 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

Glad you shared your work because I haven’t seen them all. I admire your work and I have so much to learn here!

Thanks, Andy! I've seen your work, Brother, you got talent! I'm still learning myself, so we'll keep at it.

Jan 24, 2024 2:29:48 GMT -5 handiabled said:

Just amazing work sir! I am really in awe of your skillset

Tanks, Man, Tanks!

Jan 24, 2024 4:29:48 GMT -5 TJ said:

Steve I've seen a few of these but most were new to me. Dude you can paint. These are some of the most realistic vignettes I've ever seen

You are too kind, TJ, thanks, Buddy!

[406 Silverado]

I just had a good long look at this thread today and although I've seen a good number of these through the years....I still hadn't seen all of them. What I think I like most about your builds is the quality of course.....but you are always willing to share your techniques and skills with others both in build log and when asked how you did any given part of your builds. You really know your stuff Steve, and you always contribute back to the hobby. Great stuff and I'm definitely glad that you "kept the lights on" and continue to "wow" us with your projects.

[Steve Zuleski]

Thanks, Joe. If this Sport wasn't so much fun I might have had to go back to work, and ya know I'd never willingly do that, HA! "Sniffin paint and gluin them fingers together" is where it's at for me, just like yall, and the talent on these pages is incredible, to say the least.

Ruck Over, Bby!

[cheyenne]

LOL , show-off , ....... said it before and I'll say it again , always brilliant work BroSki !!!

My favs have always been the sub dudes , both builds , ........... but the most exceptional masterpiece , was , still is , and forever will be ....
The 42nd Highlanders , breathtaking !!! .............. you actually , convincingly , painted , by hand , all the tartan !!!!

[dukemaddog]

Steve, what a thrill it is to see all these! I thought I'd seen all your work before but at least half of these are new to me! Everyone of them is stunningly, jaw dropping, drop dead, masterful work!

I bow in the presence of greatness!

[Steve Zuleski]

Jan 25, 2024 12:42:51 GMT -5 cheyenne said:

you actually , convincingly , painted , by hand , all the tartan !!!!

Thanks, Man, now you're giving me flashbacks Tanks, Bro, that was a grueling set, but well sculpted. Yes, I do like the Sub guys a lot, great subject matter.

[Steve Zuleski]

Jan 26, 2024 0:49:46 GMT -5 dukemaddog said:

Steve, what a thrill it is to see all these! I thought I'd seen all your work before but at least half of these are new to me! Everyone of them is stunningly, jaw dropping, drop dead, masterful work!

I bow in the presence of greatness!

Thanks, Duke, but no, no, no bowing, I'm just the janitor, remember that, HA! It's an inside joke from a while ago, lol. You are spot on, a few of them are not very old. Thanks, Amigo.

[fox]

Steve, those are just plain fantastic pieces of work. Other than that I'm just sitting here with my eyes bugging out of my head. I was thinking of putting about 1/2 dozen bowing emogis here but Duke beat me to it and I can't find how to get the figure here yet anyway.

I do have one question. What kit is the 42 Harley WLA? I've been looking for one for a long time. I had 2 1/1 kits I bought back in the'60's from the Army Depot in Phila.. Every piece was separate and packed in cosmolene. A friend helped me build one and we kept the other for parts. Left off all the frills and had a ball riding it for years. Would love to find a kit of one.

Stay safe.
Jim

[406 Silverado]

Jan 23, 2024 13:26:38 GMT -5 Steve Zuleski said:

 But to get yall up to speed, for those who don't know me, I mainly work figures. I do armor, wingy thingies, and even a bit of water works, but mainly figures. Sorry, Brother Joe, I'm not really a car guy.

   After admiring all of those works of yours I just so happened to see the last part of your post. I have an idea that if you ever did decide to build an auto build then it would most certainly be on par with the works that you've shown us here Steve. 

Thought that slid by me did ya?

[Steve Zuleski]

Jan 30, 2024 19:08:00 GMT -5 fox said:

Steve, those are just plain fantastic pieces of work. Other than that I'm just sitting here with my eyes bugging out of my head. I was thinking of putting about 1/2 dozen bowing emogis here but Duke beat me to it and I can't find how to get the figure here yet anyway.

I do have one question. What kit is the 42 Harley WLA? I've been looking for one for a long time. I had 2 1/1 kits I bought back in the'60's from the Army Depot in Phila.. Every piece was separate and packed in cosmolene. A friend helped me build one and we kept the other for parts. Left off all the frills and had a ball riding it for years. Would love to find a kit of one.

Stay safe.
Jim

That's a pretty awesome story, Jim. Could you imagine if more of us had the insight back then to do the same, especially since those Hogs are worth a lot more today? That's pretty wild, thanks for sharing that. The kit is the Italeri: www.amazon.com/Italeri-Harley-Davidson-Military-Motorcycle/dp/B00061HKRE Heads up, it can be considered a delicate kit, at times.

The one you see is the second kit I built for a still to be completed dio, the first one taking a nose dive off the work bench and immediately became a parts bin. I did all the wiring, plumbing, tubing, etc., as best as possible, minus the spokes, I never could get any assistance as to which ones to get or what wire diameter. It will be ffeatured in "Easy Pickins" 200mm dio very soon, now that my cabinet space is being recovered, lol.

Great story, Jim!

Jan 31, 2024 6:25:49 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

After admiring all of those works of yours I just so happened to see the last part of your post. I have an idea that if you ever did decide to build an auto build then it would most certainly be on par with the works that you've shown us here Steve. 

Thought that slid by me did ya?

Oh, no, I knew you'd catch my comments eventually, but my fingers always have glue on them, so no clear glass works will ever survive, HA! Actually, I let you slide not long ago too, when you mentioned working on your Chevy all the time. I was going to tell you that you've actually got a FORD, fix or repair daily, HA! I knew you wuz alright, Joe!

[dodgy]

Wow Ski, I'm just blown away! It's not just the painting, which is right up there with the legends, but your animation is spot on. This is a masterclass in figure modelling. Absolutely love the Highlanders.

[Steve Zuleski]

Jan 31, 2024 17:04:14 GMT -5 dodgy said:

Absolutely love the Highlanders.

Tanks, Brother. Those were a challenge dropping back down to 1/35th, but a joy to paint since the sculpting was incredible. Those tartans,....well let's just say I didn't call it the "Battle of the Tartans" for nothin, HA!