Members

Hi from NE Asia

Posted by Flashcad on 01 Sep 2021, 04:23

A friend of mine in the USA suggested I try this forum and even though it’s mainly for figures in smaller scales than I’m used to, he assured that posting photos of my 54mm/75mm/90mm collection would receive a warm welcome, which has indeed been the case. So now I’ve been here for a few days and am likely to stick around, I reckoned I better introduce myself.

I'm an ex-pat Brit, and after being assigned to an engineering project close to the border between The Mainland and Hong Kong back in 1996, I’ve kind of been based in Asia ever since; apart from my company deciding to make us live in Dubai for three years during 2004 to 2007. Whereupon we returned to residing in my wife’s home town up in Bohai Bay, around halfway between Beijing and the coast of Korea.

As a kid I had painted a few figures; however, by the time I was in my late-teens motorcycles and girlfriends had taken over as being much more interesting activities. I got back into the painting hobby in 2008 but soon became bored of just putting the finished miniatures into a display cabinet. So I've built a considerable number of small dioramas and vignettes down the years and found this approach to be pretty rewarding, although there are certain drawbacks.
The solution to our house being overrun with this stuff was to, (supposedly on a temporary and rotating basis), give the wife's “Old Uncle Ho” a few dioramas -- and I’m told he's put them on display behind the reception area of the 2-star hotel he built on his spread around 6 miles outside of town -- to general "Ooh's and Aah's" from his clientele. I also loaned out a few to the Son-in-Law who had been bugging the life out of me for some of the larger examples so he could "show them off" to visitors turning up at his Condo -- who have "never seen anything like it". Apparently.

Realizing I should’ve known better, and the chances of ever getting any of these dioramas back ranged from Zero to No Chance -- I came up with the idea of creating slideshows that were intended to provide a semi-permanent record of the stuff I've done. I then had the further "good idea" of uploading them in MP4 format to YouTube, where I knew they'd be de-monetized due to the embedded audio tracks. But that's okay as I get enough hassle from Customs Officials questioning my motives every single time I try to import kit figures from the UK, without also having to explain why I'm receiving what would likely be pittance payments from YT in any case -- when it's one of the many websites that are blocked nationwide by my ISP. It's an easy enough fix, but probably wise not to go into too much detail here on how to get around it.

Unfortunately, the initial slideshows weren’t great and it gradually dawned that watching painted figures filmed on a turntable is about as interesting as watching a goldfish swimming around and around in its bowl. Although I'll admit there's a certain enjoyment to be derived from putting the MP4's onto a flashdrive and torturing unsuspecting visitors by forcing them to watch my attempts to be the new Tarantino on the TV in our living room... :-D
I’ve recently began addressing the "boring" issue by adding some commentary and stories to the slides, but it’ll take ages to sort them all out, so it’s kind of an ongoing project. Keeps me out of getting into too much trouble though.
Okay, that’s enough waffle about my (very) amateur MP4 slideshow’s for now.

Other Likes/Preferences:-
Music; most genre’s but mainly Blues, Soul, R’n’B and Classic Rock from the Age of the Dinosaurs.
Movies; Film Noir and Historical Drama; Cheesy Hammer Horrors and anything else that’s either deliberately or unintentionally funny.
Reading; Nothing too cerebral, or requiring much effort. Mainly Historical Fiction and Fantasy similar to the likes of R.E. Howard, or David Gemmell’s first two or three books before he started writing-by-numbers.
Figure Painting Preferences; mainly, but not limited to, Samurai-Era Japan, Greek Mythology, and “almost believable” Fantasy with a Dark Age Norse/Germanic/Celtic flavor.

Meanwhile, I'll be spending some time over the next few weeks exploring other areas of the forum instead of just looking around in the Galleries.

Cheers
User avatar
Flashcad  China
 
Posts: 178
Member since:
29 Aug 2021, 04:30


Posted by Susofrick on 01 Sep 2021, 07:45

I write my little "Huge welcome here!" here. I've seen your work and it is quite marvelous. And I understand fully well the people that want to have your dios. I just paint my small figures and make scenes with them. Have a couple of different bases, but mostly I use two or three. The space issue is quite common in the hobby after a while. So after some blablabla (as mod Peter says) I can say again: Huge welcome here and it is very nice to see your work!
User avatar
Susofrick  Sweden
Supporting Member (Gold) Supporting Member (Gold)
 
Posts: 7678
Member since:
19 Feb 2008, 12:10

Posted by Bluefalchion on 01 Sep 2021, 13:06

Thanks for sharing this short bio with us. Most of us focus on 1/72 and 20mm figures here, but we are certainly open to larger (and smaller) sizes as well.

Your painting skills are truly impressive. Can tell us a little bit about your process? Do you use oils? Do you work from a photograph image? Do use maginification during the painting process? How long does it take to complete a figure? I will try to watch your youtube MP4s if I find time.

I can easily see why (especially male) relatives harbor ambitions towards your dioramas. No, you probably never will get them back. But I think it is very cool that they went somewhere for public display, where they are valued.
User avatar
Bluefalchion  United States of America
 
Posts: 3575
Member since:
23 Dec 2010, 07:57

Posted by Flashcad on 01 Sep 2021, 16:20

Susofrick wrote:I write my little "Huge welcome here!" here. I've seen your work and it is quite marvelous. And I understand fully well the people that want to have your dios. I just paint my small figures and make scenes with them. Have a couple of different bases, but mostly I use two or three. The space issue is quite common in the hobby after a while. So after some blablabla (as mod Peter says) I can say again: Huge welcome here and it is very nice to see your work!

Thanks for the welcome.
Please bear with my own "blablabla" as I know that I do tend to drone on and on... :oops: :-)
User avatar
Flashcad  China
 
Posts: 178
Member since:
29 Aug 2021, 04:30

Posted by Flashcad on 01 Sep 2021, 18:33

Bluefalchion wrote:Thanks for sharing this short bio with us. Most of us focus on 1/72 and 20mm figures here, but we are certainly open to larger (and smaller) sizes as well.

Your painting skills are truly impressive. Can tell us a little bit about your process? Do you use oils? Do you work from a photograph image? Do use maginification during the painting process? How long does it take to complete a figure? I will try to watch your youtube MP4s if I find time.

I can easily see why (especially male) relatives harbor ambitions towards your dioramas. No, you probably never will get them back. But I think it is very cool that they went somewhere for public display, where they are valued.


Hmm, okay, I'll assume you're aware that I've been cherry-picking and posting the absolute very best examples from my miniatures collection? On reflection, I now reckon this was the wrong approach, as members here will now be anticipating that I can attain that kind of painting level every time -- and I simply can't. Believe me, I've had more than my fair share of painting disasters. Just as well paint stripper fluid is cheap.

I paint exclusively with acrylics. My favorites are; Andrea, Vallejo, Scale75 and I have some really old pots of Reaper paints that I like. I also use inks from Andrea and Scale75 when I want to apply very intense colors.
I tend to use W&N #00, #0 and #1 Series 7 brushes, backed up with the same sizes of cheaper, but still very good, Rosemary & Co brushes for less detailed areas on the models. And I probably couldn't paint anything at all without wearing my Donegan Optovisor.

As for the YouTube slideshows, these are very much an evolving Work In Progress and subject to continual change as I learn more about the various software apps I'm using. Plus I'm pulling together various slideshows that I originally did on Powerpoint several years back. So it's all a bit of a mish-mash at the moment, but I'm gradually getting the MP4's cleaned up and improved.

And my dioramas? Well, umm, I was being slightly satirical in my intro post and am actually delighted that family members do enjoy showing off my work to their friends, colleagues and customers. Of course I've been asked to sell some of them, but am very reluctant to go down that road -- after all, this is my hobby -- not a business.

Time spent per figure is variable, depending on what I want to end up with. I can churn out a basic 54mm/75mm miniature in a couple of days, but more detail naturally takes more time -- being retired does have its advantages... :P
I know for sure, (because I saw them on one of my ex-HDD's the other day), that I have a series of Step-by-Step photos illustrating the WIP of the two 75mm "Dancing Vampires" in this photo below, so I'll have a hunt for them tomorrow and post the snaps up as a sort of "painting large figures" tutorial:-
Image

Anyone would think I only do female figures, but they actually represent just a small percentage of my miniature collection, whereas this WIP photo of a certain 75mm Barbarian brute is far more typical:-
Image

However, I do find that female miniatures can be easier to paint. This 90mm figure took around six weeks and is arguably the best I've ever done in terms of a realistic Asian lady's face:-
Image

Of course, she's far from perfect, but then again, these photo's are at an insane level of magnification. I painted her face in normal flesh tones and then did the makeup around her eyes before adding the typical Japanese/Korean/Chinese white facial makeup -- and I think that approach worked really well in emphasizing the highlights and shadows on a sculpted white metal face that's no larger than the average pinkie nail:-
Image

Anyway, that's enough from me for now -- as I'm going to be busy chilling out for the next couple of hours -- coz I finally got my hands on a restored version of "Heaven and Earth" ("Ten to Chi to" 天と地 from 1990) and added English subtitles to it earlier tonight. This movie provides a wealth of excellent material for diorama ideas and I'd highly recommend it for anyone who's looking to paint a few Samurai figures -- or anyone who just wants to watch a great movie.
Check it out on IMdB:-
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099753/

Cheers
User avatar
Flashcad  China
 
Posts: 178
Member since:
29 Aug 2021, 04:30

Posted by Peter on 02 Sep 2021, 21:26

Welcome Harry! :thumbup:

And about the blablabla, it's a forum isn't it? :-D
User avatar
Peter  Belgium

Moderator Moderator
 
Posts: 22507
Member since:
25 Mar 2008, 18:51

Help keep the forum online!
or become a supporting member

Posted by Flashcad on 06 Sep 2021, 05:36

Peter wrote:Welcome Harry! :thumbup:

And about the blablabla, it's a forum isn't it? :-D


Yes, that's true, but I'd like to avoid being the stereotypical "Pub Bore" with droning self-opinionated posts that turn people off. Especially on a forum that's not specifically aimed at those areas of the hobby that fire me up. I'm not a 20mm/28mm wargamer and I've never played an RPG, but do find these interesting from an aesthetic point of view. So I hope those members here who participate in these pastimes bear with me and take time out to enjoy the photos of my collection of 54mm/75mm figures, vignettes and small dioramas.
:-)
Cheers
User avatar
Flashcad  China
 
Posts: 178
Member since:
29 Aug 2021, 04:30

Posted by Kekso on 07 Sep 2021, 18:58

I think I welcomed you to this forum in another topic... but one more time couldn't hurt... so, welcome to this forum... but don't get used to it :xd: :xd: :xd:
User avatar
Kekso  Croatia

Moderator Moderator
Supporting Member (Bronze) Supporting Member (Bronze)
 
Posts: 6839
Member since:
19 Oct 2011, 18:32

Posted by Flashcad on 07 Sep 2021, 19:05

Kekso wrote:I think I welcomed you to this forum in another topic... but one more time couldn't hurt... so, welcome to this forum... but don't get used to it :xd: :xd: :xd:


:P :P ... :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
User avatar
Flashcad  China
 
Posts: 178
Member since:
29 Aug 2021, 04:30


Return to Members