A MODELMAKER’S LIFE: PUSH THE BOUNDARIES ONCE IN A WHILE…

The model now looks so much better than it did, appearing as if I’d spent time on it rather than rushing to push it over the finish line.

21st August 2025

So, what have I learned today?

1. A model is not complete until it’s, well, complete.
2. It’s not colour I need, it’s contrast.
3. Stop being so conservative, push the boundaries…

Yesterday, I bemoaned the fact that my Jackson looked far too bland and that I had to do something, anything, to address that far from inconsequential issue. Sleeping on it, I came back to the model (having had my barnet trimmed before starting work) with the realisation that I had, as is so often the case, been far too cautious with the finish, in particular, the stowage.

As it stood, the model was an almost identical tone across its entire surface, camouflage and stowage, included. Nothing stood out; nothing read properly; nothing looked particularly interesting. So, I pulled up my big boy pants and reworked the areas that I considered worthy of attention: the kit bags, tarpaulins and other items of kit.

This involved pushing the colours of each piece beyond what I had already achieved, if indeed I had achieved anything at all. And not just colour, tone as well. Everything was lightened, individual parts were painted in slightly altered colours so that they looked to have been manufactured in different places and then highlights added to further push them towards the viewer, rather than have them recede into the background as appeared to be the case, yesterday.

All of this work was a learning curve that I’m happy to ride. The model now looks so much better than it did, appearing as if I’d spent time on it rather than rushing to push it over the finish line. More than that though, I now have another set of ideas that I can bring into play during the next build. Yes, I used the ideas I had to improve small parts of this particular model but who knows, next time they might come in handy to heighten the appearance of the whole finish and not just those little details that I wanted to accentuate, this time around.

See you tomorrow.