It was nice to open the day's mail and find another delightful edition of Mr. Black Publications' Scale Model Handbook. As you know by now, this series is mostly figures and is not only superbly presented, but has a bunch of well written articles by award winning modelers. There is always something interesting in each edition so let us see what is in this one.

First up is a 120mm figure of Werner Molders. I was especially pleased to see that this one was molded by an old IPMS San Diego friend, Mike Good. He does work for all sorts of folks and has to be one of the best figure people on the planet. This is an Alpine Miniatures figure and comes with two different heads; one with a peaked cap and another with a soft cap. As you can guess, much of the article is about painting the figure and special attention is paid to doing good work on the face. The result is a superb representation of one of the Luftwaffe's most famous personalities.

Next is a 180mm bust of a German Solider carrying an MG 42 tripod at Kursk in 1943. Busts require even more attention to detail than the norm, as much due to their size as anything else and this one offers a goodly number of 'in progress' images.

In 54mm, which isn't exactly huge, is 13th Century Fratres Militae figure. Sort of a Crusader from the looks of things. This one is in very dark colors, but highlighted by a snow scene base. This figure concentrates on textures in leather and metal as much as anything else.

Another bust is our fourth entry, this one being a British officer stationed in China during 1914. It is also in 180mm and concentrates on flesh tones and the khaki uniform.

A Roman Officer of the Marines from the 1st or 2nd Century is next. This figure is 75mm and is actually quite colorful. The concentration on this one is not only the different fabrics, but also dealing with the wooden base and shield. The overall work is excellent and I can see why it is an award winner.

It seems that busts are popular in this issue as we have another, also in 180mm. This one is entitled 'Night Watch' and is also mostly dark. It is based on a character from the TV series 'Game of Thrones' so I can see why it is a popular figure.

The final entry is a Byzantine Heavy Infantry Warrior in 75mm. This full figure is, like the previous Roman figure, quite colorful though with muted tones. The focus of this article is combining acrylic and oil paints on the same figure, with excellent results I might add.

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.

November 2014

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