Hi Jerry - thanks for posting this tutorial. It's interesting to see how the carving so effectively changes the overall character of that guy - it's surprisingly "clean" - that is, he doesn't look "ground down", and instead more like a slightly cleaned up OOB guy - nice

I guess I'll need to get brave one of these days and try that two part putty - I see you using it all the time with great effect - this guy's cuff/sleeve, and the pants for the lady shown above, or, that guy you made a while ago struggling to get through the rain and snow...so, I need to try using that stuff - heck - you turned me on to lead foil! Two part benefit there! 1) open and drink bottle of wine - 2) remember to keep and not smash up lead foil, and there you have instant detail material!!

Cheers
Nick

Oh this helps a great deal, Jerry! Thanks for helping me out!

What is the two part epoxy sculpting material? I am really new to figures and I know there is a two part resin for the water... this will be new territory.

Lessons from the masters! I love this forum!

This really is a stunning piece of work and really enjoying the insights to adding the little details which make such a difference. Along with the handy little tips this has really inspired me to add more detail into my own figure work.

Can't wait to see all the elements come together and really appreciate your efforts in sharing your work

Conor,Nick and Patrick,
First off,thanks guys for taking the time off from everyones' busy days to type something in. Very civilized of you and I appreciate it.
You have all 3 hit on my essentials for figure building. Dremel tool,lead foil and two part putty. LoL But don't forget the box of number 11 exacto blades!! They seem to be getting flimsier all the time and need changing a lot!!
Patrick,epoxy sculpt can be gotten from any number of mail order hobby sites. I used to get mine from an awesome store in NJ that sadly recently closed shop. I also have used plumbers epoxy putty,not much difference.
Thanks fellas again,
J

Thanks for the very generous words Shaun,I appreciate it. I must admit,when ever I post a series of pics like this I wonder "does anybody really give a s--t?" so with that in mind here are two more pics of the same guy in progress. First we have him with the lead foil pocket flaps added along with the PE shoulder straps,belt buckle and Luftwaffe chest eagle. These items come from two different sets of PE from Alliance Model Works great sets. I like the shoulder straps from them because they give you the bit on the outer side to fold under,just like the real ones did. The second pic is a thin coat of Tamiya primer,complete with cat hair resulting from me dropping it in the trash can. Sorry about that. Have a peek,




And,obviously,I have added his hat and hair. The only thing left is to fabricate the pipe stem.
Thanks for looking,
J

Jerry, I'm learning from your examples, that's for sure. Question, have you ever done any Russian figures as that's my main modeling focus and I'd love to see your handy work in that area.

P.S. I just noticed that the cab has a Russki in it...I assume he will be converted into a German of some sort.

Thanks!

Greg,
Thanks for the kind remarks. No,I haven't done Red Army figs. My focus has always been on the Western Front. I was in a lot of Regiments that had history during that war and so was fascinated by the experiences of the "ones that came before". Specially since,when I was first stationed In Germany in 1977 we were still being issued some of the uniform and equipment items used in that war. We also were still shooting ammo made for that war!
Having dais all that,the methods I use are the same I would use to convert Soviet figs,just different uniforms and gear.
If you don't want to mess with all that,Evolution has some of the best resin figs around and they offer all kinds of Red Army subjects as well as civians.
Sorry,too much coffee this morning,
J

No worries, I'm a big fan of the Stalingrad figures, they put out a lot of Russian front figures.

@Greg Tank is also a very good resin figure company. The resin is very hard but detail wise they're right up there. I can only speak for their Kharkov grenadiers but I would assume all of their figures are on the same high level.

-Conor

Conor, I agree with you that TANK have some fine figures, they are just too hard to get in the US. I get my Stalingrad figures from Hobbyeasy. Easy and not too expensive.

At this point I have to say you my biggest compliment for the inspirational work you do. I am following your builds with a huge interest and am simply baffled by the interesting subjects, the natural poses and the overhelming amount of details. I would always be interested in more small how-tos by you on converting and building figures

greetings

Once again Jerry stellar morphing on your figs. beautiful .

What Joisey LHS closed down? ......... Hope not HobbyMasters in Redbank .

Cheyenne,
Thanks for posting bubba!
The store that shuttered its' doors was Avenel Hobbies. An outstanding hobby shop that had a giant inventory of kits plus all the paints and supplies,etc that a model builder actually would use!!! It is sadly missed by myself and a lot of guys from this tri-state area.

Hansen,
Herzliche gruess! I am very gratified to read that my little threads are being useful to you in some small way. Nice to read your post,thank you brother!
This may make things easier for you to follow as the seperate posts concerning my last fig here have become separated by text. Here are the stages in sequence.









If I was computer savvy I could figure out how to put them in one frame but... NOPE!!

Hi Jerry - thanks for posting the images above. It's interesting to see the stock guy, fully detailed, then cut down and re-detailed. You seem to be fearless with your work - too much or wrong anything? Fine, "just grind or cut the detail off and make him into something else"! Piece of cake....hardly!! Nice work

Nick

Its fantastic to see shots of your figure work process Jerry- I find it fascinating to see the way the figure is pretty much turned into a mannequin and then built up from there to what you want it to be. I like the idea of the pipe with this guy too- it suits the casual hand-in-the-pocket stance.

The other figures are coming along nicely too. There is a great contrast in terms of both the figures themselves but also their expressions and what they are getting up to.

Keep up the good work Jerry , outstanding conversions on the figures !

Kurt

Jerry, did you see the new Stalingrad Big Kit that just hit the market (Post on this Website). It's all civilian refugees with a lot of luggage. You can order them individually from Hobbyeasy, if so inclined. You might fine one or two usefully. They are due out the middle of May as I just ordered a few of them.

Greg

Yep,I need those! I already have Alex's full set of Eastern front refugees and want both his sets covering Western front folks.
J

A few more members of the cast. I have them in various stages of completion but I now have all I need for the bed of the truck.



Hope you like the harmonica guy or at least,I hope you could tell he was playing a harmonica. This was one of the most difficult conversions I have done,believe it or not.



Added the pipe to the Luftwaffe guy. This white primer adds some weird shadows.


A wide view of the refugees that are all going in the truck so far.



Hope you enjoyed the show! We're Sgt Peppers' Lonely,Sgt Peppers' Lonely,Sgt....wait,wrong decade.
J

Christ Almighty! That's impressive- and quick I might add, seems like you just posted this thread. I like the harmonica guy, can easily tell that's what he's doing. They all seem great and I'm not sure I see those weird shadows you mentioned. Don't be so critical!

Looks awesome.

-Conor

Gasp!!! ... Those of us who are about to pass out ... we salute you!!!

Yup, that harmonica guy rocks! ... and not just him alone!

With every look at this, I am pleasantly stunned as I pick up on the smaller details. There's just something very natural going on with the interaction between your cast of refugees ... a tip of a head, eye contact, a bend at the waist, foot stances, hand poses, etc. ... very convincing body language overall!

Even unpainted, there's already something very warm about this group. I dunno ... whatever it is, you're capturing it splendidly! ... but please feel free to finish the job!

Cheers!
—mike

Hi Jerry - wow - outstanding! As Mike mentioned, the way you capture such subtle detail - very nice indeed. Regarding Mr Harmonica, what's particularly impressive is his hands and arms - it really looks like he came that way....that is, you've no doubt, cut, filed, and filled to get all the parts together, but the way you did it looks remarkably natural. Even better - the arms have kept their proportion and look quite real - good show

Cheers
Nick

Jerry, really fantastic amount of people there. I also noticed that you have one on top of the cab and one on the fender, I assume watching for Jabos.

Excellent work!

Hi Jerry ,

i wait to pass out until you have finished the paintjob on the figures !

Absolutely mesmerizing ! The guy with the harmonica is an excellent touch to the whole scene .

Kurt

Hello there,

This is (once again) excellent.
There's a lot to like, the harmonica guy works well (and to my eye at least it's obvious what he's doing), the young lady in the ill-fitting trousers and the fact there's a mix of services including LW personnel (male and female).
Be interesting to see the base the truck and folks are going on.

Cheers

Sean