Astonishingly I haven't gone anywhere near this lovely figure since December and I have no idea why this is the case. Yes I got distracted by other kits but I started this one with real enthusiasm and finishing it off has been enormously enjoyable so I'm baffled by the delay. Whatever the case, here we are with a finished figure and I can say that it won't be the last Pegaso figure I buy.
Last time I left this kit with the primer done and the metal parts sprayed with Vallejo metal paint, but that was as far as I had got. Here is a breakdown of the rest of the project:
The Face:
I used the same colours as the SAS figure and left the finish slightly satin to give the effect of someone who is tanned but also sweating: a base colour of 927 Dark Flesh (50%), 921 English Uniform (921) and dots of 817 Scarlet and 814 Burnt Cadmium Red. Highlights were done by combining the base colour with 845 Sunny Skintone and then Ivory, with lowlights using the base colour with 921 English Uniform. All of these colours were heavily thinned in order to give a delicate effect.
A small amount of Klear was used on the eyes.
Leather:
Leather armour and cheek/ neck guards: I used a base of 984 Flat Brown (which of course is semi-gloss rather than Flat), lowlights with 822 German Camo Brown, highlights with 981 Orange Brown, then 911 Light Brown. Each colour was applied heavily thinned and with a jabbing motion rather than strokes. This helped to give the mottled effect of leather and I think it works well. If anything I've underdone the highlights though.
If you look at the box the example pictured has patterns on the rear of the armour in a faded gold effect and I quite liked the idea of this but extensive research failed to provide a consistent view of the kind of pattern which would have been used. This isn't surprising since the Mongols were running around the steppe hundreds of years ago but in the absence of any clear idea I decided to give it a miss.
Leather shoulder straps: with the addition of the leather cheek and neck armour the shoulder straps are not especially visible but it's worth describing their treatment here anyway. 312 Leather Belt was applied with lots of Matt Base, then lowlights with heavily thinned 822 German Camo Black Brown, and highlights of wear and tear done with the base plus 876 Brown Sand. This gives a very different effect to the shiny leather of the armour.
Metal shoulder clasps: 864 Natural Steel and 922 Neutral Grey were combined, followed by highlights with 864 dry brushed on to high spots. These clasps are difficult to see on the finished figure but they are delicately done and are worth the effort.
Metal armour: this had been painted with the airbrush quite early in the build but at this stage I applied a thin wash of Paynes Grey in order to bring out the details.
Edging to the leather:
I assumed that this was some kind of shot silk material so I used 976 Buff with a small amount of 878 Old Gold and satin varnish. I added a wash of thinned 941 Burnt Umber, then highlights with thinned 976 Buff and 918 Ivory brushed over upper surfaces.
Interior of cheek and neck guards:
This was possibly the most difficult part of the entire project and it took a lot of experimentation to get it the way I wanted. On a base of 986 Deck Tan I added 990 Light Grey and then 992 Neutral Grey for the lowlights. For highlights I used the base plus 918 Ivory, then added 951 White, then finally White on its own.
Red shirt and Helmet Plume:
I've said before that red is a difficult colour but I think I'm getting there. I used a base of 926 Red, then lowlights using the base plus 814 Burnt Cadmium Red, then some 859 Black Red, finally 950 Black. Highlights were done with the base plus 817 Scarlet, then added 915 Deep Yellow. I also did some 817 Scarlet on its own. I will say that I should probably have used a lighter red as the base colour and I could have been more adventurous with the highlights but as ever this is a learning experience.
Shirt collar: in some respects it could be argued that the shirt collar should be the same red as the main shirt, but using a different colour adds variety and acknowledges that Mongol archers used multiple layers under their armour. This was a practical decision since arrows piercing the armour rotated in flight and the layers of silk wound around the arrow head. To remove the arrow from the wound was therefore a question of pulling the silk and in the case of barbed arrows this could prevent a lot of internal damage as well as creating a cleaner entry wound. That's a pretty sophisticated approach really. For the collar, then, I used 914 Green Ochre, then a lowlight with 872 Chocolate Brown added to the base, which produced a lovely kind of mustard colour. Highlights were done with the base plus 837 Pale Sand.
The Bow:
The bow is an exquisite piece of sculpting and while I toyed with the idea of replacing the string with some thread or with fishing line I eventually decided to stick with the original moulding.
Leather strips around the bow: for this I used 981 Orange Brown and then went over it with thinned 984 Flat Brown for lowlights.
Ivory bow end: a base of 918 Ivory was used and this eventually became the highlight colour, notably on the edges and the top of the bow. I then used the highlight colour which I had created for the shirt collar as the darker colour at the base of the Ivory to give the impression of yellowed bone.
Bow string: the base is 874 Tan Earth and 999 Light Grey. I then used 918 Ivory to produce stripes to give a sense of the texture of taught string.
Where the bow string is looped over the top of the ivory, at the rear there are a couple of metal fittings. These were done with 865 Oily Steel mixed with 992 Neutral Grey
Wood: I decided to use oils for the wood effect and for this I started with a base of 976 Buff, sealed in with Klear. The Klear was used to prevent damage to the Buff when using oil paint - I've had this experience before and I'd rather not repeat it. This was left to dry for a couple of days and then a mixture of Burnt Umber and Burnt Sienna oil paints was applied quite thickly and then streaked with a flat brush both to remove the excess and to create the wood grain effect. This was left to dry for a week (yes I really do mean a week - oil paints are very slow-drying) and then sealed in with Klear. The final effect is quite rich and convincing.
Construction:
This was pretty straightforward, although I had spent time at the start of the building test fitting the helmet to the head. This had required a small amount of sanding and cutting for a good fit so when it came to the final construction there were no problems. The neck and cheek guards are notably well designed, especially the way in which they overlap. The bow was fitted last and this has some very cleverly set out attachment points which make the modeller's life a bit easier. The leather ties for the cheek guards are quite delicate and need some care when they are being fitted, but again there are attachment points which help.
Final Thoughts:
He's a pretty imposing figure, with a certain grandeur to his pose. With so many different elements to the figure, including lots of lovely details and varied finishes such as leather, cloth, metal and wood, there is a lot of visual interest. As a composition the piece is striking, while the height of the helmet and the additional width provided by the bow mean that the figure is impressively large. As ever I'm always pleased with a kit which pushes me in new directions, allows me to learn and which helps to hone skills. This figure has certainly done all of these things and he'll have pride of place on my desk.
Happy modelling,
Nick
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