The fine folks at Mr. Black Publications, out of Athens, Greece, seem to have upped their production schedule a bit, which is good news for those who like superbly done figures. 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 on various aspects of the wide world of figure modeling, ranging from quick looks to very detailed 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 the seven subjects. You may notice that there is a considerable variety of subjects with this one, which always adds to the interest. 

The first article is a 75mm metal model of Vlad the Impaler. This is also the cover figure and is divided into several sections with one on the horse, one on the figure and another on the base.

Next is a 180mm bust of a Vietnam war photographer. These larger scales really give the artist a chance to show off features and highlighting.

The third article is on how to scratch-build a figure. For this one, the artist took a photo of Montgomery and shows us how he turned this 2D image into a superb 3D 120mm figure.

Next on the list is a rather imaginative diorama entitled 'Fujita's Dinner' done in 54mm. I'll leave the details to the article, but you will find it quite enlightening.

We then come to an article that shows one how to do conversions as the builder creates a 50mm Royal Hungarian Army Zrinyi SPG crewman.

This moves us on to the very dark 75mm Jack the Ripper. It is in settings like this that shading and shadows take on prominence on how the overall scene is painted.

Finally, a 180mm Waffen panzer trooper head. Don't see too many like this so you will find it quite interesting.

A variety of techniques and painting are done on each one and any modifications to the base kit are detailed. Some articles provide a full tool and color listing while others simply mention these items in the article. 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.

March 2013

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