Polite Green man, 1/35

[Frank3k]

This is the Tank 1/35 "Polite green men IV" It's an excellent, well detailed resin cast figure. With only five parts (plus the AK-47) it takes no time to put together.
I used some online images of Russian soldiers to generate a decal of the Russian equivalent of Flecktarn camo. My first attempt was on clear decal film and the pattern all but disappeared. My second attempt was on white decal paper and it was more visible on the model.

It should look like this:


Here's the finished figure in bright sunlight. Not a complete failure, but I need to experiment for the other three figures in the set:


The tape rifle sling was starting to pop off the figure.

Here it is in even illumination. The uniform isn't as shiny in normal light:



I also used decals (tiny, tiny decals) for the eyes. I took pictures of my eyes and my wife's and scaled them to 1/35. They were a PITA to attach and this figure went through about 8 pairs... and they're barely visible. At least they don't look like this (my pet peeve when I see 1/35 figures):









I didn't attempt the very faint camo visible on the uniform. I'm going to even out some of the shading, then cut him loose from the very convenient resin base.

[Buzzbomb]

That is a nice figure and I am liking what you have done.

[Volkodav]

Great job and what an outstanding idea using decals for difficult to reproduce cam and eyes.

[Frank3k]

Thanks guys. I think the decals on the helmet and the back are closest to the original. They're all the same decal, so I think some of the variations are due to post shading and Moire issues with the decal aliasing.

[Old Wombat]

He looks very good! :)


I've thought about buying the full set of these "Russians in Crimea" figures for a small dio but that camo freaks me out, a bit.

You wouldn't be thinking of making decal sheets available for sale, would you?

[arkon]

Man, I would dread painting any figure evan a solid color, much less putting decals on the little guy! On the decals- I have had a hard time making them conform to some shapes on wins and such, how the heck do you get them to go on to those little pouches and other things on those figures and all look so good? Do you cut them into a bunch of little pieces or just a lot of solvaset? Great work . Envy your figure painting skills.

[Frank3k]

Here's a PDF with three versions of the same pattern: light, normal and high contrast (darker). Just load into your PDF reading graphics program of choice, make sure the scale is correct and make more copies. The originals were printed at 2400dpi. These copies are at 600dpi, which should be good enough. Print on white decal paper, or apply to a white (or very light green) surface if printed in clear:

http://frank.bol.ucla.edu/Images/russiancamo.pdf

The decals were made by copying the patterns from photos online. I would experiment with changing the greens (or the contrast).

Mike - I used Tango Papa decal paper on my color laser printer. The decal film is very thin, but also very strong and it comes off easily from the backing paper. I cut a strip of camp about the length of the armored vest and about half the width. I used a smaller section for the area at the bottom of the front plate. Once on the model, I used Solvaset to soften the decal and a microbrush to push it into place. I used a regular brush (with soft bristles) to cram the decal paper in between the pouches. As it dried, I carefully removed the excess decal from the neck and shoulder areas with an exacto knife. By then, the decal was almost as soft as butter and it came off easily. The Solvaset will soften acrylic paint (or at least Vallejo) so I had a small amount mixed and ready for touchup.

I used Vallejo 4 parts light green camo and three parts Vallejo yellow for the color. I think I should have added more yellow, or a tan color to get a better match to the uniform colors. The shirts and pants have a faint camo pattern on them; I didn't bother to replicate it with a decal, but I experimented with a small piece of sponge and some tan paint on the side of the right leg; you can barely see it. On the side of the right arm, I used Tamiya weathering powders with green and sand and just jabbed the brush against the figure; that worked a little better.

[Old Wombat]

Thanks, Frank! :)

[Brian da Basher]

Your talent for figures is just off the charts, Frank!

The eyes look natural and not overly-excited as one often sees on figures.

Most excellent and worthy of the blue ribbon in my book!

Brian da Basher