77 replies to this topic

[Tom W.]

ph0ebus, on 05 March 2012 - 01:53 AM, said:

Tom,

Your work is brilliant.  Thanks for sharing it!

I used to do 1" lead figures, but now face similar problems...so I can appreciate what you are talking about.

-Daniel

Thanks very much. I'm reading a lot of hopeful stuff about stem cells, so maybe soon we'll be able to regenerate our eyesight. If so, I've still got a closet full of airplanes, tanks, and figures that I'd like to build.

[geraint]

Absolutely brilliant display Tom! Superb workmanship and eye for detail. Tommy on the Somme has caught the spirit of the age.Beautiful!

[compo sausage]

Fantastic. And what a craftsman, thanks for sharing Tom and a very big well done.

If you dont mind me asking, at what age or when did you first start making models?

[Tom W.]

compo sausage, on 05 March 2012 - 09:55 PM, said:

Fantastic. And what a craftsman, thanks for sharing Tom and a very big well done.

If you dont mind me asking, at what age or when did you first start making models?

Thanks very much. I built models between the ages of five and 41. My very first model was a 1/72 Revell PZL P-11c that my father helped me build. I had a long hiatus from building while in college and then when I lived in Japan and San Francisco, working like a dog, and then I took it up again at the age of 29. All of the models you see in this thread were built when I was between 29 and 41. I'm 49 now, so it's been eight years since I stopped.

I'll always have a soft spot for the Revell PZL P-11c.

Attached Files

•  Revell H647-50 Pzl11nm.JPG   40.91K   0 downloads

[ShirlD]

have much enjoyed going slowly through this thread, the attention to detail is fascinating, and i can see why Tommy at the Somme is a favourite.  
Cross fingers with stem cell regeneration, every day there are advances in all areas that give good reason to hope
Cheers
Shirley

[better ole]

Great work Tom. I wish I had your skills. I mess around with 1/6th scale but nothing like you have achieved. There are a couple of new models due out soon.

http://www.did.co/pr.../German/d11002/

http://www.did.co/pr...British/b11001/

These are not cheap but a basis to customise. Being bigger making new parts may be easier.

[Leigh Mc]

Tom, I am in awe of your skill. You are (were) a top notch modeller.

[Tom W.]

better ole, on 06 March 2012 - 12:58 PM, said:

Great work Tom. I wish I had your skills. I mess around with 1/6th scale but nothing like you have achieved. There are a couple of new models due out soon.

http://www.did.co/pr.../German/d11002/

http://www.did.co/pr...British/b11001/

These are not cheap but a basis to customise. Being bigger making new parts may be easier.

The German face is incredible. The only thing that bugs me about the 1/6 scale figures is the toylike quality of the uniform and equipment. The weave of the uniform is always so large. I've thought of scratch building in 1/6 scale, but it would require years of practice. Maybe I could buy commercial action-figure heads and cast them in resin.

I once ran across a forum composed entirely of 1/6th scale WWI figures, converted from commercially available products, but I can't find it now.

[ericthornton]

Tom,

I can only add to the admiration of the other members.   That is one incredible collection.   The figures are superb but I was also taken by the detail of the surroundings.   Top quality modelling.  Thanks for sharing.

  cheers, ET

[better ole]

http://onesixthnet.y...10/The-Trenches

This may be the site you looked at?

Agree about the weave on the uniform. A lot of the chaps on the web site above scratch make kit (kit bash being the term often used in the hobby)

http://www.antheads.co.uk/

This chap takes the hobby to a different level. His models are often to museum standard and highly accurate.

[Tom W.]

better ole, on 07 March 2012 - 12:58 PM, said:

http://onesixthnet.y...10/The-Trenches

This may be the site you looked at?

Agree about the weave on the uniform. A lot of the chaps on the web site above scratch make kit (kit bash being the term often used in the hobby)

http://www.antheads.co.uk/

This chap takes the hobby to a different level. His models are often to museum standard and highly accurate.

Thanks for the links. You're right; those figures are terrific. Something to think about.

The site I saw was devoted entirely to WWI. It may already be gone.

[pioneercorps]

Hi Tom

Excelent detale Mate, really enjoyed looking at your dioramas , Like you I started when I was kid, airfix and others, started again when I was 59, I have the same eye problem as you, and like you I can't use a magnifying glass, so I don't try to get to much detale in the faces as you have, the ones I have done that I 've enjoyed making the most, are made from what I can find around the house, pinch of the Grand children or from the garden, I've even used dirt mixed with PVA.

Regards.
Gerwyn

[compo sausage]

Thanks Tom for getting back intouch, loved the history behind it all, wasn't being nosey

or anything like that, just interested in it all mate. Now eight years is some tea break,

get back to it before the glue goes hard.

Bob

[APB]

Great work Tom and what a collection! Sorry to hear that your eyes let you down now, you have a lot of skill. Have you tried the magnification things that some modellers use? I've seen them at model exhibitions and in magazines. They could help you back to a hobby you obviously enjoyed. We've enjoyed looking at your work. Thanks for sharing it. Andy

[Tom W.]

APB, on 10 March 2012 - 06:16 PM, said:

Have you tried the magnification things that some modellers use?

Thanks for the nice compliments. When using magnifiers there was a depth-perception problem that made it impossible for me to judge how far the brush was from the little face I was painting. I used acrylics, which can't be blended, so I used a layering technique of building up shades with thinned paint. It required a lot of brush strokes, and I could never manage it with the magnifying ring or with the special magnifying lenses you wear over your glasses.

The secret is to miniaturize myself so the model and I will be the same size.

[THE SHINY SEVENTH]

Tom W., on 11 March 2012 - 04:00 AM, said:

The secret is to miniaturize myself so the model and I will be the same size.

Tom, have you seen Willy Wonka, I think he invented a machine that might suit your purpose

[Verrico2009]

Wonderful work, Tom.  Incredible detail.

All my brothers are creative - the gene passed me by, unless you count knitting, which I also started when I was 5, and photography - one has concentrated on house renovation and now progressed to helping redesign an extension to his local church, the other two have been keen photographers but the one who was also an excellent model-maker has had to give both up due to severe arthritis (he started as a hobbyist and then blagged his way into projects that made working models of petrochemical plants).  It's such a shame when it's no longer physically possible to enjoy hobbies that give such pleasure.  It is to be hoped that the stem-cell processes become a reality for all patients.

[M.Davies]

Hello Tom. I would just like to say that you work is FANTASTIC!!!!!.  Your attention to detail is just AMAZING especially in that scale.

I am  model maker myself and I struggle to get the detail I want working in the bigger scales of "00" and 1/24 it is a real credit to you that you could turn out models like this.

Am very sorry to hear about your sight,even I have to wear glasses now working in these bigger scales.

Could I ask you a question,hope you don't mind.  Are there any bigger scale WW1 kits on the market in the scales I work in or would I have to go down to 1/76 or 1/87.  There seem to be a number of WW2 kits about that could be converted but I am not too hot on the kit bashing/scratch building scene.Any info you may have on this would be of interest to me. Many thanks.

Kindest regards Mark.

[Tom W.]

M.Davies, on 12 March 2012 - 05:32 PM, said:

Hello Tom. I would just like to say that you work is FANTASTIC!!!!!.  Your attention to detail is just AMAZING especially in that scale.

I am  model maker myself and I struggle to get the detail I want working in the bigger scales of "00" and 1/24 it is a real credit to you that you could turn out models like this.

Am very sorry to hear about your sight,even I have to wear glasses now working in these bigger scales.

Could I ask you a question,hope you don't mind.  Are there any bigger scale WW1 kits on the market in the scales I work in or would I have to go down to 1/76 or 1/87.  There seem to be a number of WW2 kits about that could be converted but I am not too hot on the kit bashing/scratch building scene.Any info you may have on this would be of interest to me. Many thanks.

Thanks for the compliments.  I appreciate them.

Verlinden has a few 1/16th scale figures:

http://www.verlinden...hp?cPath=16_119

Jon Smith Modelbau has some:

http://jsm.tuwhost.e...e_id=21&clang=1

The Imperial Gallery has a couple:

http://www.imperialg..._model120b.html

Citadel has a few:

http://soga-miniatur...=citadel-models

The best line of 1/24th scale WWI figures was The Fusilier, but it went out of business in 2008.

For large-scale aircraft, the best and most affordable is Wingnut Wings, run by director Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings, etc.)

http://www.wingnutwings.com/ww/

I don't know of any large-scale armor kits.  Your best best is to go on eBay and look for out-pf-production models, because there don't seem to be many manufacturers doing WWI figures and armor these days except in wargaming scales.

[clarke]

G'day Tom,

I remember some of your displayed models from military model magazines in the 1990's, some great work. I remember that they inspired me to attempt to keep trying with my own work. Thanks for the memories.

Cheers Clarke.

[M.Davies]

Hiya again Tom,

Just to say thankyou for listing a few model suppliers for me. Have bookmarked the sites so I can look at them in detail.

Thanks again Mark.

[Tom W.]

clarke, on 13 March 2012 - 09:32 AM, said:

G'day Tom,

I remember some of your displayed models from military model magazines in the 1990's, some great work. I remember that they inspired me to attempt to keep trying with my own work. Thanks for the memories.

Cheers Clarke.

Thanks very much. That was a productive period for me. I'm glad you were inspired.

[80th division]

Tom W., on 03 March 2012 - 07:19 AM, said:

American BAR squad. Converted plastic WWII figures in 54mm.

I enjoyed viewing this thread and seeing your work.

The American soldier on the left reminds me of the American humorist/commentator Will Rogers.

Regards,

Joseph

[The 26TH Yankee]

Awesome stuff Tom! I went through the thread a few times, each time seeing more detail that I missed.

You are truly an artist Sir!

[Tom W.]

80th division, on 24 March 2012 - 09:25 PM, said:

I enjoyed viewing this thread and seeing your work.

The American soldier on the left reminds me of the American humorist/commentator Will Rogers.

Thank you. The head was put out by Hornet. The sculptor had only one eye, if you can believe it. His heads were the best. I'm sure he based them on photos, so this might indeed be Will.