Combatpainter Studios

Combatpainter does French and Indian War! I do these on the side for fun. Why, you ask? Cause they are a bit of a challenge as they have multiple and varied straps, belts, bags, pouches, feathers,  jewelry, weapons and Native American trinkets. There are a variety of uniforms represented-Brits-French-Rangers-farmers-Indians and so on.  Back in March I picked these up at the Cold Wars Flea market. Unfortunately, they did not come cheap. Anyway, here are my latest creations. I hope you enjoy. I am working with a new camera and will add more pics later and compare lighting and camera positioning as well until I get to something I am totally satisfied with as that is what is most important to me.

Been working on loads of things. Here are some of the items:

My son, 9 and I collaborated on these three tanks over the last 8 months,  7 1/2 of which they sat unmolested in the cabinet.

Guy had these and they looked plain so I gave them a makeover cartooney style! Costs one third of what it costs to have them ptd…

Project

Here is somewhat of a big ol’ project-maybe too big as I felt a bit overwhelmed in that there was a somewhat tight time constraint and I passed it vehemently in that I could not just slap the paint on and let them go.  I was a bit intimidated by the new airbrush and air compressor I began using. 

 I wanted to add the guns and the antennas but due to shipping requirements that was not possible. This, of course, was a disappointment.  All in all I feel this as one of my most complete projects ever despite some airbrushing pitfalls which are sometimes a bit too noticeable. I arrive at that conclusion based on my basic and somewhat limited knowledge of airbrushing, my choice of both minimalist and high contrast effects on the tanks and the research and time invested.  Hopefully, I found a the perfect balance of the two. Let me say that I did not do this job for the money but rather for the experience and theme.  

I am looking forward to the feedback that I will receive so that I can perhaps improve the next project.  Remember, I doubt these are perfect but I am satisfied for now until the next batch. 

PICTURES

I want to make it clear that the pics were taken over the course of 4-5 days during which time I learned a new camera and set up a somewhat darker corner than I am use to and that they may not be 100% representative of the final product although most are. My target was to get the pics in focus the best I could with decent lighting.  Also, after some pics I went back and touched up the vehicles at points which I thought untidy or just overlooked. I don’t know if the other painters work this way but I do. Also, this job was done with countless hours of research into the vehicles, photography and airbrush techniques I used including research I did at Historicon in July.

Thanks

I want to thank Great Hall Games for getting me the models, Battlefront website picture gallery where I learn lots about what I do, Pete for giving me this job and being patient although I am sure he wants to kill me  and finally my family for putting up with a madman and his passion! Enjoy the pics!

Wow! Just made it back. I had a great experience. Made a new friend, talked to lots of old ones and bought two items I am especially excited about-10mm Alamo and troops and Stuka Saurus troops(i.e. three flying dinos with WW2 German pilots) The con, at its new venue, was about 30 minute ride from the Philly airport as opposed to an 1:30 ride it takes to get to Lancaster. The space was very large and the AC worked nicely. The rooms  clean and large. The food was available but nothing really special. Do I go to these things for the food??? No! 

Again I spent some time with an old gaming buddy-Matt. I sat around with Michael Perry and Howard Whitehouse. I also shared some time with  Lee Howard painter extraodinaire. He does lots of work for OG/Blue Moon. Talented and passionate he is very entertaining and dedicated to this “crazy career” as he calls it. I retired early to my room as I needed the rest so I didn’t do too much at night. Mike, Igor, Frank were all at the con from my club in NY. I saw Bill, my neighbor from my South Florida days. The con staff was gracious and helpful. Monica did a great job putting it all together. I didn’t make it back til Monday morning 3:30 AM. My plane was delayed in Houston for two hours. I got back and immediately got to work as I scheduled a series of jobs at the con and want to get a move on the queue.

Since arriving home I have been working on a largish FOW armor commission. Mostly I have been assembling the models with all their little tank bits-priming and basecoating them. I will line them up and then paint. I have done some WW2 French Dragoons should get to some Blue Moon martians later today. That will be fun. The next potential cons I have in line are Sept Hurricon in Florida, Halloween at Fall In and Milcon in Austin in November so stay tuned. I will be pulling out a few boxes I have and getting a move on things. I need to secure some storage space in the neighborhood as I have less and less room for my private property, most of it baseball equipment I use for the camps I run. Just got finished with this commission 17 USA Ultra Moderns in Digital Camo!  Here you have a picture of 6 of them. I am working with a new camera-Canon Rebel $500 so hopefully my painting will look  better. Hahahahahaha! Not really good to laugh at my own  jokes….

Good to be back!

Seems I will be away this week-my son’s baseball camp and Historicon 2010. I will return next Sunday night very very late. My trips are not the easiest in the world as I reside 3 hours from nearest airport. I will travel alone this time and meet up with my cohorts in PA. I hope the ride from Philadelphia International to Valley Forge is fast and affordable. I will be running my booth (Cavalcade’s spot/ We switched. He couldn’t make it!) and talking to friends I hope I see you there. Recently,  I have been painting up lots of 15mm Rebel Minis and Foundry Old West lately. The latter will be at the con with me. Do I plan to purchase anything at the con? I doubt I will return empty handed. I seriously doubt it!

I recently found an old memory card of work I did three years ago. Also, a pic of some work I am doing painting Battle Honour’s Alpine French, Dragoons and Francs with helmet covers. Note:The French LMG is missing a bipod. It is not floating in the air.

Just finished a commission over the weekend. Will be ready to shoot out tomorrow in the mail. The Panthers came to me partially painted by another. They may have been purchased like this. The Panthers were missing some parts-splash guards, exhaust pipes, hull MG and the like. I made do with what I had to work with.  They are properly sealed and ready to roll. I request was to keep all the extra tank baggage separate so that the owner could attach where he likes. This was no problem and done that way. (Not in Picture) I normally take pics with a white background. This time I used a dark blue background for a change.  Hope you enjoy it. I will add a few extra pics in a bit as my memory card was complete and I need to find another.

Ok Starting to get back on track after being overwhelmed for two months with both commissions and conventions. These are from Resistant Rooster. Easy enough to paint. I really like ém. Painted in my studio using both Foundry Rawhide for the coats and Vallejo Brown-violet for the helmets. I used Vallejo Green-gray(I think) for the Webbing and some dark green for some other equipment here and there. Some bags have a highlight of Khaki to make them standout a bit.  A bit larger than the Battlefront but the picture shows some Battlefront and I personally don’t notice the difference. I offer you both front and back shot but no closeu-ups as I really don’t think it is needed.