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    Monty


    Spasm

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    Thanks Gents. Still under construction but I'm quite pleased with Monty's portrait. Black & white ones are easier but I thought I'd try getting into colour.

    As Van Gogh said - "I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it." Long way away from that sort of stature yet but on the path.

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    Thanks Gents.

    The Admin staff said she thought it was Colonel Gaddafi when I showed it to her. Pfft.

    Robin - I did your Hussar Attila but don't tell anyone.

    Cheers

    Steve

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    • 3 weeks later...

    Lambert,

    The base and worn tops colours take about a day and then the detailed paintings take about 4 days, obviously depending on what they are. Also the preparation of the helmet to take paint can take ages especially if it needs the mud and rust removed and the shell rebuilding to reform edges and filling, sanding and filling.

    If its a poor condition helmet it can take a full week of work while a helmet in pretty good condition, like the one above, takes me 4 to 5 days.

    Thanks for asking and showing an interest. Go get yourself an old relic and have a go......it gets you to do some historical research, builds skills (particularly sanding and repair of body panels which is handy for when the other half borrows the car) and gives you neck/back ache bending over something for so long.

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    Larry, thank you

    Once all the base colours and camo is done and aged and I have done research for medals, pictures, history etc I print out the pictures to the right scale and position on the helmet. I get through reams of paper and I buy ink cartridges in bulk. I then trace these directly onto the helmet in their correct position. Then its just a matter of colouring them in, a bit like painting by numbers. Easy, but very time consuming.

    I do each element separately and apply an intercoat of lacquer over the pencil (so that i don't rub it off as I'm painting) and another coat over each element as it is finished. A final two or three coats of lacquer is then applied once complete.

    I used to do everything freehand but it just takes too long. Given the detail that collectors look for in medals and vehicles getting the lettering, panel positions, number of leaves in a scroll etc etc right is important. Portraits, figures, clouds, scenery etc I do freehand. Portraits, especially colour ones, take me a whole day.

    As I've moved on since doing my last 'how to' when I did the SA helmet as a competition prize a couple of years ago, maybe I'll do another to get my post numbers up. I owe you lot another one anyway, any ideas?

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    LOVELY IDEA - HOW ABOUT KING GEORGE 6 AND QUEEN ELIZABETH - WITH THE BOMBED PALACE AS

    BACKGROUND. AN ALTERNATIVE MIGHT BE THE THREE WARTIME LEADERS - BUT THEY WERE ALL SO UGLY

    AND NON-DESCRIPT.

    DID YOU EVER FOLLOW-UP ON THAT OTHER IDEA WE DISCUSSED ? BEST WISHES MERVYN

    ps. I was thinking of doing a difficult quiz as a one off in the New Year - perhaps a 100 questions

    and allow 2 weeks for answers. Not settled yet. This would make a wonderful prize and get the

    interest going. I could recompense with a some medals - let me know what you think ?

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