Son of the Regiment

[Guest]

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Having recently painted an excellent academy head set by Altores Studio, I thought I'd try another of their busts and opted for this unusual subject. 'Son of the Regiment' was a title given to orphans who were adopted by Soviet forces and who often fought alongside them:

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It was also the title of a 1946 Soviet film:

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I had high expectations of this figure, given my previous experience with Altores, but I was somewhat disappointed on opening the box:

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I always go straight to the head as the make or break part, and unfortunately this one was pretty badly finished, with loads of lumps and debris around the eyes and mouth. I therefore spent many hours cleaning it up with a scalpel blade and it's now in a state where I can attempt to paint it. The body is better, though some parts, like the right arm, need quite a bit of work. On the plus side, you get three headgear choices - the Cossack papakha looks the nicest as it includes a lock of hair - and the gun looks well done.

So no promises with this one.

[Guest]

The head:

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Well, the clean up seems to have worked out well enough, as I've got what I feel is a reasonable result. Quite difficult painting a child, remembering to keep the features soft and having no 5 o'clock shadow to shade the chin and jaw.

[Guest]

The rest of the figure is cleaned up and ready to paint:



There was a fair bit of tidying up to do on the torso, but overall it had fared better than the head. The PPSh-41 is beautifully done, the kit even including the alternative stick magazine - I went for the classic drum.

[Wouter]

Despite the mess you had to clean up the face turned out well. Very nice youthful face.

Looking forward to see the torso and PPSh-41 painted!

Cheers

[Neil Merryweather]

That is looking very nice already !Great job on the face,Peter.

[Guest]

Thanks chaps.

[Fernando N]

Great looking face Peter, the PPSh will be neat in showing the size of the kid :thumb2:

[JR]

Great result on the face, agree with Wouter.
Front row please as this looks good .( Well it is Russian )

[Lee Drennen]

Peter. Nice start very interesting

[Guest]

Fernando - Yes, the PPSh looks quite chunky in his hands.

John - Thought you'd like a Russian!

Lee - Something a bit different. Altores do another child figure and several female subjects which I might try.

[SteveH]

Morning Peter

Quite the angelic, cherub face, nice palette and no 5 o'clock shadow must have been tough to leave off!

The "cow lick" is just right too

Looks like another grey day with the light too, so much for the heatwave!

Back to full time and early shift this week 8-4's, but minimal travel LOL

I might just get a little more painting done, now I've cracked the ice on the palette and wet the brushes

Have a good day with the body, should be a fun day with the drapery and a medal too!

Regards

Steve H

[Steve Brodie]

Usual Excellence Mr. D. I have started reading Stalingrad by Antony Beevor. For such a tome, its very readable and full of amazing details and information.

[Guest]

Steve H - Fun day today, painting the uniform. Quite bright and sunny here, but surprisingly cool. Glad to see that you've wet those brushes.

Just said goodbye to my younger daughter, Naomi, who's gone off to have a second try at leaving home - Covid-19 interrupted her first year at university.

Steve B - Thanks re the head. I've read Beevor's book and a couple of his others - always very readable.

[Guest]

That's the torso done:

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The shirt was done with Vallejo Russian Uniform, darkened with German Camo Black Brown and lightened with Flat Flesh and Flat White. The strap and belt were done with Saddle Brown and Red Leather.

Just the gun to do now.

[Neil Merryweather]

blimey that's good!