1/16 German Stormtrooper

[Deleted member 6559]

Some of you may remember that some time ago I built a 1WW German stormtrooper based on Miniart's Ernst Udet figure:



For my next project I'm going to have a go at doing the same with their Herman Goering figure:



These aren't great kits. The rendering is a bit slapdash, with soft details and poor moulding. Witness the flash on the sprue shot:



The head is unusable as the mould line goes straight through the front of the face. I have the following Jon Smith head in my stash, and I intend to have it wearing the gas mask:



I've put the figure together, adding a belt and shoulder boards from metal foil and wire:



The equipment will be as follows:



The gun is a pre-painted one inherited from Richard Pierce, and most of the equipment came from the same source (cheers Richard). I may have the grenades suspended on a string around his neck, and he'll be holding the gun in his right hand.

 

[Mickc1440]

Sat waiting for the rabble to arrive

 

[Richard48]

Got in quick and claimed my pew.Im sure Captain John will be arriving soon with beverages and tucker.Watching your take on this one Peter.
Richard

 

[Deleted member 6559]

Mick - Sorry to keep you waiting. Take a pew.

Richard - No sign of Wing Commander Race yet, so refreshments may take a while.

El noggino:



This turned out to be quite a complicated process. I first painted the parts of the face that would be seen through the eye holes. I find Jon Smith heads quite difficult as the eyes are extremely small - I wanted to get them right as they'd be inaccessible once the mask was on.

The eye holes on the mask were covered by a thin layer of resin, but as Jon Smith also supply clear lenses I went for that option. The only trouble was that I'd lost the lenses, so these were made from plastic food packaging - quite tricky getting the correct diameter.

Once the mask was attached, I painted the rest of the head, then painted and attached the helmet, which is a hessian covered version. I then made the string for the mask from painted, glue-soaked cotton thread, and completed the thing with a chin strap for the helmet, made from paper.

 

[Deleted member 6559]

I wasn't happy with the shape of the helmet, or the way it was sitting, so:



I swapped the helmet for another spare, and shaved off a bit more of the head. I think it looks better.

 

[JR]

Carry on chaps , just arrived, bit of a hold up in the N.A.F.F.I the pies were still in the oven .

Evening Mr Day.

Gas mask I read, what a splendid idea, your a wizard at eyes, but I could have everybody in them ! save all that stress.
Taking my seat with the rest of the rabble
John.

 

[Deleted member 6559]

About time John - everyone's starving.

Yes, it would be great if they all wore gas masks. It would save a lot of trouble. One of the lenses has fogged slightly due to the effects of the glue, but I'm telling myself it's just natural condensation - it would be too destructive to remove the mask now and replace it.

 

[SteveH]

Morning Peter

A gas mask is definitely something different.

Perhaps it is the best way to display Herman?

Looks like it will develop into another interesting build too.

Not sure about the pies?

A cappuccino and biscotti would be nice though!

Have a good day with the paints

Regards

Steve H

 

[papa 695]

Nice one Peter and a nice start.

 

[Mickc1440]

Carry on chaps , just arrived, bit of a hold up in the N.A.F.F.I the pies were still in the oven .

Evening Mr Day.

Gas mask I read, what a splendid idea, your a wizard at eyes, but I could have everybody in them ! save all that stress.
Taking my seat with the rest of the rabble
John.

That's why I like miniature Knights John, no faces

 

[Tim Marlow]

Good start on this Peter. Looking forward to the rest of him....
Cheers
Tim

 

[Richard48]

Splendid work mate.Gasmask looks a treat.I was thinking of doing a figure sculpt with a gasmask from N.I troubles era.Aha Wing CommanderJohn has brought the pies and pasties.I must get my sister dolly to make some of her dainty cucumber sandwiches and some upside down cake.
Its always nice having a laugh with you guys.As an old friend told me years ago laughter is the necessary oil to keep the bodies cogs going.Francis was great with words.
Carry on Mr.D.
Aha do i spy the Camp.coffee veing served!.
Richard

 

[Deleted member 6559]

Morning chaps and thanks for the comments.

Actually the gas mask is proving a real pain in the a**e! I decided that I couldn't live with the fogged lenses so have spent an hour this morning making a new pair and being very careful with the glue. You can see his eyes now.

Don't worry Steve. I'll ask Richard to get Dolly to supply some dainties for the less gluttonous. In fact I need to be careful myself as I've put on a bit of weight over the summer - I'll blame the hot weather for that too.

 

[JR]

Peter.
Too hot to walk the dog, not that he fancied being dehydrated either. No pies for you then !
When somethings bugging you it just can't be left can it.

John.

Excuse me Peter .

Camp coffee Richard, can you still get it, thought Health and Safety would have banned it !

 

[Gary MacKenzie]

Camp coffee Richard, can you still get it, thought Health and Safety would have banned it !

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Camp-Chicory-Coffee-Essence-Pack/dp/B01ARQ7JU0 <<<<< YES

 

[Deleted member 6559]

John - Too wet to walk the dog here today - excuses, excuses.

Gary - Thanks for that. Camp is indeed still with us - there's even a Camp Coffee Club - but as it appears to be made mostly of sugar, I'll stick with the ordinary stuff.

OK, jacket done:



I found a bit more detail on the jacket than I thought there was at first, so I'll partially take back my earlier comments about the quality of the kit. It's had two coats of Daler Rowney matt varnish, but is still quite shiny, so I'll wait for the arrival of a new bottle before giving it another coat.

 

[SteveH]

Morning Peter

Dainties, very nice, much appreciated, my duff knee hasn't helped the weight this year!

Camp coffee too, that's a blast from the past.

Herman is shaping up, though the gas mask is still an unusual sight when I sign into the blog.

Your faces are just so striking, not seeing one, is still quite odd.

Good party too,

Have a good day with th epaint

Regards

Steve H

 

[Deleted member 6559]

Morning Steve

Hope the lighter fare is to your liking.

I was keen to see if my approach to the whole figure would change without the face being the focus. Not sure that it has, and I think you are instantly drawn to the mask anyway, though the result is slightly disturbing at first. I was watching a repeat of Andrew Graham-Dixon's series on German art earlier in the week and this Otto Dix image came up:



The masks here are like death heads and the effect is menacing and nightmarish. The pose of my figure negates that impression, but I hope to be able to capture some of that feeling.

 

[Jim R]

Morning Peter
All this talk of pies, cucumber sarnies, dainties and strange coffee - thought I was on a Heston Bloomingheck site.
Jacket looks excellent and I agree with all the others that the gas mask is a real eyecatcher.
Jim

 

[Deleted member 6559]

Hi Jim - All this food talk just makes me fell hungry...

The main part of the figure is done now:



I attached him to the base at this stage so that the weathering could be matched up.