The next edition of Mr. Black Publications' Scale Model Handbook arrived in the mails the other day and in line with their previous books, this one is a real treat for those who like figures. I always learn something from each volume, even though I may not put it into practice (mostly because I don't do that many figures).

As is the norm, there is a nice mixture of articles. This time there is a rather extensive gallery section that includes nine figures as produced by Pietro Balloni. He does provide an introduction where he talks about himself and his accomplishments prior to going into a talk on how he paints.

The first of the larger articles is Man Jim Kim's 200mm bust of Michael Wittmann. A nice touch to this one is that he shows the palette  from which he chooses the colors that he mixes for various parts of the bust.

Next is a Captain of the Queen's own Cameron Highlanders, a 54mm figure depicting this character from the 1882 time period. This work has an interesting display base that has its own mini-section that covers its creation.

A First Century Praetorian Guard is the next figure. This 200mm figure is quite impressive and very nicely done.

We then move to WWI with another smaller scale figure in 54mm. This is a Private in the First Battalion of the Gordon Highlanders from 1914. A short article that basically covers the colors used in painting the display.

A nicely done 120mm bust of a Bear Clan Iroquois is the next article. This is another relatively short article that shows stages in the painting of the subject.

The last major article is a cleverly done fantasy set using a 75mm Spiderman and 100mm Hulk to build a 'Rhinoman' diorama. The article covers the work done to modify and adapt these figures to a very clever display.

In all, another great issue for the figure modeler and those of us who want to learn some techniques. The end result is an 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.

October 2015

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