The fine folks at Mr. Black Publications, out of Athens, Greece, seem to have upped their production schedule a bit as I got two volumes in the mails this time article, which is good news for those who like superbly done figures. This is the second one. I have to assume that they are getting in a lot of fine articles and this edition is very much up to the standards of the earlier ones. This particular edition contains seven articles.

All of the articles are superbly done and provide material from award winning modelers. Though it is from Greece, the book is written in English. Though my own figure skills are amateurish by comparison, I like to read articles on how the masters are able to do their work. They make it all seem so easy!

I particularly enjoyed that each one of the writing styles of the various authors was different. It is quite refreshing to read a book done in this manner as often times, the 'how I did it' books get to be rote and dull. Not at all in this particular case.

Each of the articles is loaded with full color photos and each one goes through the steps taken by the builder to reach the results shown. It is pretty obvious why these folks won awards for their work as it is truly superlative. Each of the articles highlights a different aspect of the hobby and as you can imagine, many of them are on the painting of the subject more than any actual construction, but that is not entirely the case.

I have included a photo from the back of the book showing all of the included subjects. You may notice that there is a considerable variety of subjects with this one, which always adds to the interest. 

This edition starts with the cover figure, a 75 mm figure of a Byzantine Draconarius, 6th Century.  This figure is done by Christos Katselos and as you'd expect, much of the article is in the painting of the figure and the preparation and painting of the base. What I like about this and some other articles is that there is a full chart of what paints were used on what parts of the figure. Very helpful for those who wish to replicate the figure.

Next up is an Afghan Tribesman from 1842 in 200mm. This one is done by Ernesto Stahlhuth and is a superbly done bust. This article shown how the builder mixed the various shades right on the figure to get the effect he wanted.

The third article is by Ioannis Tsiktsiris and is a remarkable diorama of the Hidatsa Warrior from 1835 called Free Spirit. This includes the warrior's horse in a fall scene that includes some excellent water representation all on a rather small base for this 75mm figure set. A truly well done presentation and every step of the construction is provided in the article.

The fourth is a very colorful Ottoman Warrior in 90mm by Jesus Gamara. The painting of the figure and the surrounding display base are included in this presentation.

A 150mm bust by Carl Startin is next and this one is of a German soldier on the Eastern Front in winter. A very well done figure.

We move to a nice fantasy figure with Ju-Won Jung's 180mm Kyle, Heir to the Blue Sun. This is another bust and is mostly an armored figure with images showing how the original was sculpted.

Finally another short article by Mike Butler and another bust, this time a Young Desert Warrior in 180mm. This is a New Zealander as a member of the Long Range Desert Group in 1941.

Overall, another great issue for the figure modeler and those of us who want to learn some techniques. The end result is an excellent reference book on these various techniques as well inspiration to see what can be accomplished with practice. Highly recommended if you enjoy figures.

Thanks to Mr Black Publications for the review book. Visit them at www.mrblackpublications.com.

July 2014

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