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A Cut Above
by Troy Naeyaert
Troy Naeyaert has got a great new airbrush
and a great new kit. He takes us through the process in this article
about building this Blade bust . . . a killer kit from
Killer Kits.
What can I say about
Wesley Snipes in the role of the day walker Blade? |
Curious about a term used in this article?
Check out the "Model
Builder's Dictionary." |
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I was VERY excited when I saw this bust and even more excited when I saw
the honors were given to Mike Hill. This kit is produced by
Killer
Kits out of England and is a MUST have for ALL you Blade fans.
Thanks to Mark Atherton and Dave from killer kits for bringing this one to
Wonderfest this year. |
| Let's take a look at this bust which was cast beautifully and required
very little cleanup. As usual I washed the bust in soapy water and let dry
overnight. Next up was to prime it for painting. Testors gray primer was
used applying light coats and left dry overnight (right). |
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then loaded up my Sotar 20/20 air brush. Yes, I said "airbrush"! I'm
starting to use it now thanks to my wife Ann's encouragement using Horizon
Flesh Tone 10. I applied several light coats (right) |
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| Then, I wanted to see
how the flesh tone would look against the hair so I painted in Blade's
hair, mustache, and goatee. I also painted in the eyes and mouth area using
Freak Flex Pink Eye Burgundy (right). |
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| In the next
step, I will be using pastels to give the piece highlights and tone.
When using
pastels you will need a piece of sandpaper, paper towel, and a few
nice flat brushes’ from small to about a ¼ inch.
To start rub of some of the pastel stick onto the sandpaper and take
your brush and sweep it back and forth to pick up the dust. Then
tap the brush onto the area you are shading and blend the pastel dust
into the creases and folds. Lightly blow away the excess color. As
long as you seal between coats you can wipe the excess off with a
little airbrush cleaner or a wet q-tip. |
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Now, using my pastels, I
start to shade in his face area using black.
Go lightly; you can always add more color. A very easy technique
to do and it will make your kits come alive!
At this time, I also
paint in his eye color and teeth using Freak Flex Bleach Bone Tan
(right). |
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Next up was to paint in
the clothes to check the overall balance of my colors chose for the face.
I also soften up the pastel work with light drybrushing of my original
flesh tone. (right).
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Now, onto what I believe is one of the spooky
things about Blade--his eye color. I chose Freak Flex Buried Alive Brown
and colored in his pupil. I also painted his buckles using silver. You
still see the heavy pastel work, but I will deal with later (right). |
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Now onto the shading for the vest and shirt. I
used Freak Flex Dead Guy Gray and drybrushed the shirt and breast plate
area. I then added the black pupil in the eye to finish it off.
I also started to tone down the pastel work some more at this stage. This
was done again by light dry brushing of the base flesh tone (right). |
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Now onto the base, which is a stone pillar like the
sacrifice table used in the movie. I started by base coating it in black. Then, I selected
Freak Flex Cursed Earth and
used several light dry brushings to build up the color and added Freak
Flex Sunburn Red for the blood running down the sides of the pillar. Blade was then attached to the base to check out the color contrast.
(see photo) |
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His sword was also base coated black and
the detail areas were painted with chrome. This kit was a BLAST to
paint and the fun of just washing, cleaning and then painting a kit is a
welcome change. (See below.)
Here's a look at the finished kit with the sword attached and the pastel
work blended in. I can't recommend this kit enough to you.
Contact Dave at
Killer Kits and tell him Troy sent you (aka Modelman5).
Until next time enjoy this gift that God has given you!! |
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