Category: Model Building

Sheperd Paine

When discussing miniatures, military modeling, and especially dioramas, Sheperd Paine’s name always rises to the top of any list. (The other big name on that list is Francois Verlinden, who deserves his own story, so I’ll save it for another time!) Shep Paine literally wrote the book on it. (Actually, he wrote SEVERAL books on it.) He worked with Monogram, then Tamiya, and eventually Dragon models, increasing kit sales, promoting the hobby, and demonstrating the potential to tell complete, engaging stories with static plastic scenes.

I was first introduced to him through the series of “Tips on Building Dioramas” booklets included with various Monogram plastic tank kits in the 1970s. In those 4 pages were beautiful color photos of the completed kit, displayed in an engaging scene, and brief, but concise text that provided both actual techniques with historical background; in addition to his talent as a modeler and craftsman, Shep was also a learned military historian. He paid close attention to the uniforms, camo patterns, etc.

I still have a few of those mid-70s guides. I’ve heard that they can fetch a nice price on Ebay, but never fear – they can also be found online in PDF form. I came across this amazing resource – I’ll share a link to it at the bottom of the page. Along with ideas about putting together a scene, he gave examples of scratchbuilding techniques for additional detailing, and advice on painting figures. It was a game changer for a young, inexperienced modeler, though, I still find the booklets valuable, 50+ years later.

As inspiring as those free booklets were, even they can’t compare with the wealth of information presented in his books, “How to Build Dioramas,” “Modeling Tanks and Military Vehicles,” and “Building and Painting Scale Figures.” While his “tips sheets” focused entirely on table top style dioramas, his books also feature the use of forced perspective, shadow boxes, mirrors, and lighting effects.

How to build dioramas
The 2nd edition of Shep’s manual (though I’m fortunate enough to have both.) Either is invaluable to the modeler.

how to build dioramas

If you have ever thought about creating a dynamic scene to display your hard work, look into Sheperd Paine’s dioramas. They are truly inspirational. Although Shepard Paine died of a stroke in 2015, at the age of 69, he will be remembered as the All-Time Master of military dioramas.

-Toph

http://sheperdpaine.atspace.com/index.htm

Surf’s Up

Feeling nostalgic for a few 60s Good Vibrations? I decided to make a retro kit from my model stash. It’s a re-release of a 1964 Hawk Classics “Silly Surfer.” He’s titled “Hodad Makin’ the Scene with a Six Pack.” For you non-surfers – myself included- “hodad” is a pejorative term for a guy who pretends to be a surfer. He dresses like one, hangs out at the beach, and generally puts on a front, but is really just a wanna-be poser. He silently screams, “Come on, I’m tryin’ really hard, man!” This would be surfer dude comes complete with a six pack of drinks (you can choose what to make them,) a few empties laying around, a clam, a pelican, and a few other characters to round out the scene.

As I already said, it’s a kit that was first released in 1964 (that’s even before I was first released!) It came into being as a part of the “Wierd-Ohs”, “Nutty Mads” and Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s creations. His exaggerated expressions and borderline grotesque features make him fit right in with those other wacky caricatures. The molds are original, so the fit of the pieces is a little loosey goosey, and the gaps are really obvious. The white plastic is also pretty low quality, and very brittle. I did some work at cleaning up the gaps, filling with sprue goo (left over plastic sprues, dissolved in model glue to a goopy putty-like consistency.) I even resorted to some Green Stuff for the worst offenders. In the end, I decided to just lean into the vintage vibe, and not worry too much about perfection. Some seams still show, but (in my entirely biased opinion,) that doesn’t really detract from the charm of this guy.

I did up the 6 pack carrier and cans with some photo-shopped Hamms beer labels. Might as well go full retro, and use a vintage (now extinct) brand. (Other contenders included Schlitz, Olympia, and Falstaff.) I’ve seen some completed versions of this kit with the stogie painted white to look like a marijuana joint, but chose to stick to the box art for that particular feature.

I decided not to attempt a flowery shirt – went instead with a pale sea foam green. I thought it looked relaxed with his red, fading to pink shorts. His sandals have rubber soles and a green strap. I gave a little medium brown wash on his teeth – he doesn’t look like the bright white type, with that Havana knock-off he’s chomping on (He’s a wanna-be. His smoke probably should be, too!)

I really like this kit. It’s a cool break from the precision-focused real world military models, and the science fiction / fantasy figures that consume the majority of my hobby space.

As I’ve stated in other entries, I love the retro vibe – especially this era. It was already a little past its heyday when I was a kid, but I fondly remember the style on older cousins’ shelves and hand-me-down toys. I got it at a flea market table while on vacation (it was such a good deal, I picked up all 9 different Hawk kits they had!) Even without a bargain table bonanza, they can readily be found on Ebay for under $20. This damn hobby needs to be sustainable, right?

So slather on some Coppertone SPF 1 and grab your Wayfarers. Hang with the cool kids down at the beach.   Dude.

-Toph