The fine folks at Mr. Black Publications, out of Athens, Greece, are on a three month publishing schedule and so it is time for the next edition. 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 two of them are women, which always increases my interest.

The first four are in 75mm starting with the cover figure of Boudicca, Queen of Iceni, followed by a pair of Barbarians. Next is an Ashigaru warrior, whose clothing colors are remarkably done. The last of the smaller figures is the second female, a Mongolian archer.

Moving to larger scales there is a 90mm Wehrmacht soldier from 1940. This article is basically on how to paint the field grey uniform. Next is another German soldier, an MG 42 gunner, this time in 200mm scale. The book ends with another 200mm figure, this one an Uruk-Hai bust which has been quite fancifully painted.

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.

November 2012

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