I actually finished something! Two HO figures ...

[Malachi Constant]

Well, it's a rare occasion for me to say that I actually finished something ... but it has happened.

Greg Shinnie (aka "Ensign" on the Railroad-Line Forum) built an HO version of the famous Cherokee Parts Store and renamed it to honor Mike Chambers, who passed away in 2010.  Mike's contributions are familiar to the RRL regulars, readers of Russ' Annuals, etc.

When Greg posted his initial "final" pix, Dave Mason noted/lamented the absence of the two ladies shown in the original Walker Evans photo ... so I did my best to modify a couple of existing HO figures to APPROXIMATE those.  Working on HO figures is a bit of a challenge, so I just tried to capture the style or flavor of the characters rather than the exact details ...

Photos below show the Walker Evans original and Greg Shinnie's "Chamber Parts Store" rendition with the finished figures in place.  Photos by Greg Shinnie.  Here's the thread on RRL forum ... this link starts you on page 8 ... so you can go back from there to see Greg's initial photos, details on the construction, figure modifications, etc:
http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=31508&whichpage=8

Cheers,
Dallas

[Malachi Constant]

Please bear in mind that extreme close-ups of really tiny HO figures can be a bit cruel! 

Actual figures are about 5/8" to 3/4" tall if I remember correctly, so these are blown up a bit larger than they really should be.

The "flapper" girl out front (we've named Polly) had her head and arms repositioned, flapper hat made from Magic Sculp, dress and coat reshaped with same ... and black socks with white shoes just like the Walker Evans girl!

The other gal checking out progress on the vehicle repair (we've named Vera) was repositioned and had a few other modifications ... and show my attempts to reproduce curly hair and a fur coat in HO.

Again, extreme close-ups are pretty cruel on these tiny little things ... but I think the overall effect in the wider views helps set the scene.  And, if nothing else, I finished something!    (But I'll definitely stick with larger scale figures in the future.)

Cheers,
Dallas

[Ray Dunakin]

Excellent work considering the tiny scale of the figures!

[MinerFortyNiner]

Wow, Dallas, very nice. I like the subtle variations in coloring...very impressive, particularly for HO.

What type of brushes are you using for your detail work? My figure painting is coming along but the cheap brushes I generally use are producing crappy results on the really fine work, like mustaches and eyebrows in O scale.

[Malachi Constant]

Wow, Dallas, very nice. I like the subtle variations in coloring...very impressive, particularly for HO.

What type of brushes are you using for your detail work? My figure painting is coming along but the cheap brushes I generally use are producing crappy results on the really fine work, like mustaches and eyebrows in O scale.

Thanks Verne!  I "took the plunge" and bought some DaVinci Maestro Kolinsky Sable brushes.  I got the #0, the #3/0 and the #10/0 from this series:

http://www.dickblick.com/products/da-vinci-maestro-kolinsky-sable-round-series-10/

At $12 a pop, those were a lot more than I'd ever paid for craft store brushes, but I've been extremely pleased with these and plan to get more.  They hold a good point, and the body of the brush is shaped to hold paint and allow it to flow to the point like a quill -- it takes a little practice to thin the paint just right for precision work, but once you've got that you can literally do miniature calligraphy with these brushes.

The point on the #0 brush is better than anything you'll find on a 10/0 brush from a craft store!  I use the #0 for most of the detailed figure painting, the #3/0 for fine details like eyebrows, etc (on larger scale figures) ... and the #10/0 brush allowed me to paint the irises and pupils on HO figures (which is still extremely freaking difficult, but the brush was the right tool!) 

When I have a few extra bucks, I'll go back and get the other two small ones between the sizes I mentioned, a couple of larger ones and a few of the small flats from this series:

http://www.dickblick.com/products/da-vinci-maestro-kolinsky-sable-round-series-10/

Since these are premium brushes and they work so well, I hold them aside only for the "special" jobs and make sure to properly clean and cap them ... they'll never be used for any of the "harsh" stuff like drybrushing, etc.

Cheers,
Dallas

[chester]

Nice Dallas, I especially think the hair on the slut lady outside looks particularly good.

[David Emery]

If you take good care of your brushes, they'll last a long time.  I have one that I think is 30 years old. 

It's probably best to not mix paints, i.e. use one set of brushes for oils and enamels and another for acrylics.  Acrylics are generally harder on brushes (I've been told.) 

I love the figures, but the color on the faces looks a little pale to me.  I've had good luck starting with Humbrol 'flesh', but I haven't tried any of the products that have come out the last 5-10 years.

dave

[MinerFortyNiner]

Thanks for the tips, guys! Order to Dick Blick is in their hands for those spiffy brushes.