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Grenadiers Guard, Inkerman 1854
 It was after talking to Ken Jones about subjects for futher articles at the Trucks and Tracks show, that I got the idea to do an article on this Latorre figure. The figure wasn’t for sale at the show, but Ken told me he got a review sample from Historex Agents. They didn’t had one at the moment but they promised to bring one the next day. So on Sunday I had my figure and I started looking for a suitable base to go with it. Luckily Oakwood Studio’s had a stand at the show as well, and if you’re looking for a first class base you must have a look at Oakwood Studio’s. You get the main body, head, sword and a metal base. This all comes in the by now well know Latorre box with colour pictures of the finished figure on it, painted by the master himself. Inside you get beside the parts which form the figure, a very informative instructionsheet. Unfortunately, no more colour mixes as used by Mister Latorre are provide. The next day I started to clean the kit up which was a breeze . The head was pinned to the body, and this had a hole drilled in it’s foot to accept a piece of paperclip. A corresponding hole was drilled in the base, so the figure would be firmly attached once finished. The groundwork was build up using Magic Sculpt, and the figure was pressed in the still soft Magic Sculpt.  I made sure the base was protected by tape while working with the Magic Sculpt. The base was painted as I was weathering the figure, so more about this later on. The figure was now glued to a temporarily base and washed with water and a washing up detergent. After rinsing it, it was left to dry. Once dry it was primed using Citadels primer from an aerosol can.
It was while talking with Ken over the internet that two little “faults” came to light. One is in the painting instructions. It says that the plume can be painted different colours, but this isn’t the case. The plume on the bearskin cap needs to be white for the Grenadier Guards, not a coloured one as mentioned on the instruction sheet. The other one isn’t really a fault, more like a rarity. Officers water bottles were usually privately purchased, like their uniforms and arms, but this figure has an Other Ranks wooden water bottle. As I learnt this only when the figure was almost finished, I didn’t bother to change it anymore. Might I do the figure again, then I would correct it for sure. Thanks Ken for letting me in on these interesting details!!!
Out with the paints
 As always I started by painting the flesh parts. This was done in the same way as my R.F.C. WWI pilot ace figure (see Military Modelling Vol. 33 n°3) so I’m not going to bore you with that anymore.
It had to happen one time: even an old oil painting dinosaur like myself had to switch to acrylics some day. It was thanks to Larissa Tamberg, who showed me how she paints with acrylics, that I gathered my courage to try using this medium too. I started by painting the bearskin cap.  I mixed some Black (VA950) with a couple drops of Dark Flesh (AC10) and Light Turquoise (VA840) to form the basecoat. Shading was done by painting on layers of very diluted Black. The parts that I wanted to be the most in the shadow, being the bottom of the hat, received the most filters. Next the top was drybrushed using Light Turquoise mixed with Light Flesh (AC09). As I reached the point where more light was displayed I increased the amount of Light Flesh. The final highlight was done using Flake White ( Windsor and Newton). Finally the shadow of each hair was painted with diluted Lamp Black (W&N).
 The red coat was painted Vermilion (VA947). To create the highlights I mixed in some German Orange (VA805) and Light Flesh (VA928) and White (VA951). With the little experience I have painting with acrylics I find two things are of the uttermost importance: the paint has to be well diluted and you might not load your brush with too much paint. Once you pay attention to these two points, you just have to find “your brushstroke” and the colours you like to use and you’ll be forgetting those oils soon. Well not completely. The first three or four highlights were painted with this mixture, adding more Light flesh and White as I progressed. The last three highlights were done using pure White. To shade your paint needs to be even more diluted then to highlight, almost like a lemonade. In this case I mixed Basic Red (AC12) with Burnt Umber (VA941) and Black.  As I progressed towards the darkest shadow I increased the black, to use pure Black for the final shadow. The collar was painted Burnt Umber and when dry was overpainted using Red Gold (VA794). Highlighting was done using Old Gold (VA878) while Sepia oil paint, I told you I wouldn’t say goodbye completely to my oil paints, was used to create the shadows.
The pair of trousers were next to be painted. German Grey (VA995) mixed with Light Turquoise was used as base. Highlights were achieved by mixing in Light Flesh and White while pure German Grey was used for the shadows. Black was added for the deep shadows and the really darkest parts were painted with pure black. I’ve found that the darker the shadow, or the lighter the highlight, the more you need to dilute the paint. Pay attention though to not load your brush with too much paint, as it will flow all over the figure and leave watermarks when drying. I also would like to note that you almost don’t notice the first three or four highlights.  At first I was concerned that I didn’t use enough paint in my mixture, so I went a bit less on the water. This resulted in way too harsh contrast so I now add more water again and build up the colour variation slowly. This will also give a more subtle blend I feel, but that’s to one’s own taste.
 Next came the overcoat and this has given me a serious headache! In total the coat was painted, highlighted and shadowed seven times, and to be honest I’m still not satisfied with the result. This is another big advantage from acrylics over oils: you paint your part and if you don’t like it you can paint it all over. Since we use very thin coats it won’t ruin the detail on our figures! The main problem I had with the coat was that the contrast of the big soft creases was way to harsh, and it was at this point that I started to mix more water to blend the colours. Another technique I used here, and for which I would like to thank Larissa Tamberg for showing me, is the wet on wet blending technique. Yes it can be done using acrylics, if you work fast that is. Just remember to wet the surface before each blend you want to make. I finally mixed the following colours, which gave a pleasing result: Black + Light Flesh + Light Turquoise + English Khaki (VA921). I first added Flat Flesh (VA955) to highlight and later Light Flesh and in the final highlights White was added. For the shadow I increased the amount of Light Turquoise and Black to finish with pure Black.
 His sack was painted Khaki (VA988) and highlighted by adding Flat Flesh, Light Flesh and White to the Khaki. Some Yellow Green (VA881), Burnt Umber (VA941) and Black was mixed with the Khaki to paint the shadows. Final part to be painted was his water bottle: Light Turquoise mixed with Basic Blue (AC21) formed the base colour. The amount of Light Turquoise was increased to paint the highlights and some Light Flesh was added for the highest highlights. More Basic Blue and some black was used for the shadows.
The dirt was painted on using Flat Earth and was highlighted by adding khaki, sand and beige colours. Burnt Umber and Chocolate was used to shadow and to paint some spots in. At the same time the previously built base was painted exactly the same way. This will help to tie the figure to his base, rather then having a figure place and some ground. To enhance this feeling even more paint and mud were applied to both of them. For the snow I use a material that’s used when shipping glass. I once bought it at a show, but had no label on so I can’t give you an exact name. This was mixed with some gloss varnish to make sure it stays in place. Mig pigment powders were mixed with the same Gloss Varnish (I used Vallejo’s) and were splattered on the figure and the groundwork.
Should anyone want to pose me a question or make some remarks over my work and/or articles then you can always reach me through the following discussion forum on the internet: http://www.network54.com/Hide/Forum/200895 I’ll always try to answer each topic as soon as I can.
Conclusion
This is bound to be yet another winner for Mr. Latorre. What could have been a dull figure is made an excellent one, not only thanks to the gifted hands of the sculptor, but also because it shows a sparkle of colour with the red jacket.  It’s easily cleaned up and assembled and I think that’s what figure painters are looking for, I know I am. Finally I would like to dedicate this article to my wife Rita for supporting me in this hobby for the last 15 years. This once again became apparent when I thought about giving up on painting with acrylics and going back to the world of oils in which I felt more comfortable. However, she could convince me to give another and another try, saying that it wasn’t so bad and gave me the courage I needed. Thank you for being there all those years!!!
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