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 eight 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 90mm Claus von Stauffenberg. This article specializes in doing the face and getting leather to look right.

A 75mm French Gentlehomme is next and is one of the more colorful entries.

A very nice bust in 200mm is next. This is the German General Heinz Guderian .

For the fantasy fans we have a 75mm Brunhilde; the Walkurie. This is one of two female figures in this edition.

A great 'how to' article is next on how to do a variety of bases and scenic settings. A very useful article.

Moving to 1812, we have a 75mm Russian, Marshal Ney in a winter scene.

On to Desert Storm with this 120mm figure of an 82nd Airborne soldier.

Finally, Nokjagerin in 54mm to show how to use 'cold' tones.

Some of these articles are rather short and to the point while some others are quite detailed making for a most well rounded edition. 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.

June 2013

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