Osprey's 'Modelling' series has been a real boon to both Osprey and to those seeking advice and inspiration in their own personal efforts. #42 in the series is on a subject that many of us would like to learn how to do better, and that is Scale Figures.

Author Mark Bannerman covers all the usual bases with an introduction to figures with some information on just how popular this facet of modeling actually has become. Then there is a goodly number of pages covering some of the tools and materials of the trade. Unlike some of the other books in this series, the author then goes into a brief of just what sorts of skills are needed for out of the box, various levels of conversions, working with metal figures and scratch-building.

Of course, the major area of concern for most of us is painting. In this section, the author introduces us to the basics of using oils, enamels and acrylics. Each of these subjects includes work on a figure using these paints. I found the section on how to paint a horse to be particularly interesting as horses are extremely difficult subjects to get to look just right.

This is followed by the expected build articles and they are well chosen for various levels of difficulty either in construction or in painting. There is a mounted knight in metal, a 30mm fantasy figure, a Luftwaffe pilot in 1/48 and a superbly done 1/6 scale Confederate soldier. A gallery of various figures by other builders/painters follows along with a rather comprehensive resources section.

If you are like me, you can only hope to do as well as these artists, for artists they truly are. This book is really a superb reference for those of us who want to sharpen our skills and provides a number of ways to achieve that goal. A book you'll be referring to many times over.

July 2008

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