Wow you've got a great figure!

[justsendit]

Hello again fellow figurers! As promised, here’s a little sump’n else…

Hornet Hand SBS… or, “Move over, I’m drivin’ the JEEP!”

“Not with that hand, you ain’t.”

.

What? That DML hand looks pretty good, don’t it?
Sure, for holding a RIFLE! … We’re going the extra OCD mile here, pal — beginning with adding a new Hornet Hand.

Step 1: Clip the original hand… followed by obligatory “OUCH!—#$@%!”

Step 2: Make a pilot divot using a No. 11 X-Acto blade. Not too deep — just enough to prevent the-drill bit from skating out o control… blah, blah. Careful, don’t break the tip… blah, blah, blah.

Step 3: Drill a hole approx. 3mm deep. Use a couple of bit sizes to gradually increase the hole diameter. Hand drill with Tungsten Carbide Drill Bits. Don’t open-up too much sleeve just yet.
• Standard SNAP WARNING applies throughout.

Step 4: Start carving towards the sleeve using the No. 11 X-Acto Blade. Next is where I shift into high-gear with Dremel power and this nifty little undercutting 5/64" Engraving Cutter.
• This little gem makes quick work of removing lots of material. Take small bites (in-and-out stabs).
• Leftover material tends to build-up quickly which can block visibility. Clean-out the cavity often or next thing you know, you’ve cut too far.

Step 5: Clip your Hornet Hand of choice. Leave the “Giraffe Hand” (new term). Lightly sand the edges of the stump, but not too much. Then, begin back-and-forth mating of the wrist with the sleeve.
• I usually pack a tiny bit of Blu-Tak into the sleeve for dry-fitting.

“You see these stripes, son?”

“All due respect, Sarge. I thought they was mould seems.”

Step 6: You know the drill!… Drill through the brandy-new hand, enlarge the grip a couple of drill bit sizes.

D’oh! … Now what, Captain Obvious???

Step 7, that’s what: Clip that steering wheel and slide said hand into position… Cleaver, huh?

Now hop in the JEEP, head on over to the Navy Yard and steel us some beers!

At ease…

[Haggisbasher]

I thought my clean up was ok until i tried to take pics and the zoom highlighted glaring seam lines. So do you work with magnification all the time?

[justsendit]

@ Haggisbasher: That’s quite the common issue. The camera will pick up every seam, hair, and dust-bunny that the eye doesn’t see. I’m vision impaired and I wear an Optivisor over reading glasses whenever I build and just hope for the best. BTW: I shoot with an iPhone and review my images on a MacBook Pro with a large external display.

[Haggisbasher]

Thanks makes sense, time to invest in some vision enhancement I guess.

[Lazarus]

Yep, optivisor, +2.5 reading glasses. Hard to believe that just a few years ago I didn’t use either. I hate getting old……
G.

[Lazarus]

Very nice tutorial there, Mike. I have exactly the same problem with carbide drill bits. I bet you have boxes of them with loads missing too😉.
G.

[Tank_1812]

I am messed up also but cannot wear a Optivisor without getting a bad headache after 2 mins so I use a desk lamp with a magnifier combo. Magnification and light is a great combination for me.

Great hand SBS, thanks for sharing.

[metalhead85]

Great work so far Michael. Same here with the optivisor lol. Couldn’t model without it especially figures.

[SSGToms]

Thanks Mike! Your SBS are awesome, informative, and entertaining! I’m just venturing into figures this year, so I appreciate this stuff very much!

[SSGToms]

Yes. I’m pushing 60 and now need reading glasses, so when modeling I wear +4 reader (non-prescription) glasses for magnification and my bench is VERY well lit with 7 daylight balanced lights so I have no shadows and it’s bright enough to detect the slightest seam line. I find the reader glasses are lighter than an Optivisor and don’t give you that “tunnel vision” that brings on headaches. The magnification puts me back to age 18 eyes constantly and I can peek over them to grab tools, reach for coffee, etc.

[Striker]

Here’s a progress picture, not too happy about it. Going to try half white scheme with base of a tan color, it may turn out but right now I’m not seeing the final white. I think I just have to muscle through.

[metalhead85]

Looking good to far John. White can be very difficult to do. The shadows can’t be too dark but the highlights can’t be lighter than white right ?? Last white uniforms I did was when I was a teenager doing the crew of a Tamiya flak gun lol. I’m 55……

[Lazarus]

Well then, Ladies & Gents, finally, here’s how I paint faces….
Now, please bear in mind, this method works for me. You might not get along with it but, hopefully, there might be something you can take from it and adapt.
All this is done with Vallejo’s. Here’s what I use.

Start with a base coat of Brown Sand.

Next, very lightly, drybrush downwards with a touch of Sunny Skin Tone. This will give you an idea of where the highlights and shading will go. This should be very subtle so, don’t overdo it.

Next up, shading. Add a tiny amount of Burnt Red to the Brown Sand. Remember, you only want to darken it by a shade.

This much is enough. I also make use of Flow Improver as well. Does exactly what it says! Add a few drops of distilled water. What you need to do is to build up the effect with multiple glazes.

First shading.

And the next, with a tiny bit more Burnt Red. For subsequent coats, keep adding more. Remember to thin as you add more paint.

See the effect getting stronger? Subtlety and patience are key here. At this point, block in the eyeball with very dark brown.

Now for the highlights. Once again, Brown Sand but this time, tiny amounts of Basic Skintone. Same as the shading, build up using progressively lighter glazes.

Ok, five o’clock shadow. This time, an even thinner glaze of London Grey. Build up in multiple layers.

Now, to blend it all together, a couple of glazes of Medium Skintone. These should be almost transparent.

The eyes can now be painted. Block in with Offwhite, leaving a very thin line of the dark brown around the outside to outline the eye. Dot in the iris and pupil, then apply a very thin line of Rose Brown to the lower eyelid. The inside of the mouth is painted in Burnt Red and a touch of Rose Brown applied to the lower lip.
And here we go! Finished .

Hope this helps someone. Any questions, feel free to ask.
G.

[Tank_1812]

That’s a great SBS, thanks for sharing.

I don’t want to assume but Vallejo’s flow improver should work as well? Does it have to be distilled water? Does the primer need to be gray, how/what you change if starting with a black or white primer base coat?

[Haggisbasher]

Thanks for that, you make it sound very simple and the results speak for themselves.

[phantom_phanatic]

Thanks Lazarus, that’s a really helpful tutorial.
Will try it on my next figure.

[SSGToms]

Thank you that was very straightforward and very helpful.

[Lazarus]

Not sure about Vallejo’s as I’ve never tried it. I think most of them are much the same thing, glycerine and water. All they do is break the surface tension. Make water ‘wetter’, so to speak. It also has the benefit of making Tamiya paint brushable. Reason I use distilled water is because all the impurities have been taken out. It can reduce the tide marks you get when using a wash. A bottle costs a few pence and lasts for ages. Primer, grey is just a neutral colour. I’ve tried white as well and never really seen much difference.
G.

[Lazarus]

Thanks for the encouragement lads. As for being simple and straightforward, all it needs is a bit of patience and practice and it’s dead easy! Believe it or not, it actually took me longer to do the SBS than to paint the face
Happy modelling Gents,
G.

[justsendit]

@ Lazarus: Thank you for the superb tutorial! I really needed that! Can’t wait to apply these techniques on a forthcoming round of figures. Especially looking forward to trying out the five o’clock shadow technique… still got a couple of hours to go. Looks like I have some of the products needed, but not all — might need to do a ScaleHobbyist short-order before I begin. I’m sure I have many questions, but I’m too worn-out from doing the ‘HH SBS’ to list them right now. Once again, many thanks!

Happy figuring! …
—mike