1:35 Israeli soldier patrol N°2

Israeli soldier patrol N°2, a 1:35 figure from Black Dog

The designation No. 2 in the name shows that this is the second position of the same patrol. That is exactly why it makes sense to consider it together with the first position: two figures turned in different directions turn a static scene into a situation that the viewer reads as a story. The 1:35 scale remains the standard of ground modeling and offers enough room for detail on both the face and the equipment.

Composition and placing

A pair works best with a gap, not side by side. Let one figure hold the direction of the walk while the other looks back or watches the opposite side of the street; an angle of view then arises that gives the diorama tension. A suitable setting is a dusty access road, the entrance to a yard, the space beside a low wall or the surroundings of a halted vehicle.

Painting tips

To keep the pair from looking like two castings of the same man, shift the shade of the uniform in a different direction on each figure: one slightly more faded toward yellow, the other cooler toward gray. A barely noticeable difference is enough. Build the skin tones from a darker base up to lighter layers on the forehead, the nose and the cheekbones; rather only suggest the eyes with a dark line, because at this scale a suggestion looks more faithful than a drawing.

Who it is useful for

• For modelers looking for a counterpart to the first position in the same scene.
• For builders of street scenes with a dusty surface and low buildings.
• For anyone interested in painting figures who wants to try working with skin tones.
• For collectors who put a scene together gradually from the individual items of the line.