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Has anyone painted 1/9 italeri infantryman?


The Great Escape

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17 minutes ago, The Great Escape said:

As the title suggests, I’d be interested to hear (and maybe even see) if anyone has painted italeri 7407.

 

Google image searches don’t bring out anyone’s painted efforts.

 

If anyone has it, what’s it like?

Thanks

I saw a diorama on an old Military Modelling cover, with the 1/9th BMW and 3 figures, stated all converted from the same base figure, so I assume it was this one, I was curious so I looked at the cover caption ( I was given a huge stack of model mags a few years ago if I sound a bit vague)    

 

I can have a look later for the exact issue, I'm sure the cover will be online. 

 

Looked good though.  

 

HTH

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That would be ideal! Thanks.

 

I (accidentally) bought the 1/9 bmw R75 as it was an absolute bargain. I wasn’t intending for this to be my next build as I’m really into figure painting but I couldn’t turn it down.

 

The italeri infantryman isn’t specifically in motorcycle gear but I wanted to know if he’d look fitting to display alongside the bmw.

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17 hours ago, The Great Escape said:

The italeri infantryman isn’t specifically in motorcycle gear but I wanted to know if he’d look fitting to display alongside the bmw.

I'd say yes. This is the mag cover, the figures have been heavily modified,  

2a80b911874a8dd50f9a7c8b8554b2c9.jpg

 

 

HTH

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The first time I saw this kit (made then by Esci) completed, was in my local hobby store back in the late 70's and knew I had to have it!  However, as a young and inexperienced figure modeller, I wasn't prepared for the amount of work involved in building the kit, especially with the very dark green plastic, but got it done eventually and was quite pleased with the results!

 

Fast-forward 40-odd years and a loooong break in figure modelling and guess what? I once again have the original Esci kit sitting on my table, ready for building. I intend to change the shape of the face as I was never satisfied with the original, and add deeper creases to the folds of the cloth. If I find the time, I'll post photos of the work in progress.

 

I wish you good luck in your endeavours with this kit - I do remember that it took a lot of patience!

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Would love to see a picture. It’s curious that I really just can’t seem to see anyone’s photos on the internet, despite this kit being so old.

 

I’ve now completed the R75 and I must say that I’m very happy with the paint job. The kit went together really well and was quite forgiving at times as I’m not used to working on this scale.

 

I’ve also bought a Scheich German shepherd dog (which happened to be appropriate size) to sit in the sidecar, which I think will finish the display off well.

Edited by The Great Escape
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Sometimes it's worth using a different search engine - I've just found this set (click on image) of pics on DuckDuckGo (I normally use Google). I must stress that this isn't mine:

 

Large scale plastic military models


Having seen this, I'm even more determined to change the face - on all the ones I've seen previously, including my first one, they all have the same expression...

Edited by Harls
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Thanks @Harls

i appreciate you taking the time to search. 
To be honest, I didn’t know the kit was so old. Up to now, the oldest kit I’ve built was Tamiya’s kettenkrad from 1988. 

I hope I’m not disappointed and that I can get a decent finish. I ordered the figure at the weekend so it should arrive tomorrow and I’ll immediately get stuck in. 
 

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He arrived today. It went together ok although quite a bit of filling was needed and lots of rubbing down seams. Lots of flash.

 

The box art looks nothing like the actual figure! He’s quite a bit fatter than the image on the front. His uniform is less fitted.

 

But I think it’ll paint ok.

 

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11 hours ago, The Great Escape said:

He arrived today. It went together ok although quite a bit of filling was needed and lots of rubbing down seams. Lots of flash.

 

The box art looks nothing like the actual figure! He’s quite a bit fatter than the image on the front. His uniform is less fitted.

 

But I think it’ll paint ok.

 

Yes, I remember I had quite a few fitment issues and for someone who's supposed to be a fit, lean soldier, he seems rather 'blocky'. I was also disappointed that the 'Y' harness of the webbing wasn't included.

 

With regard to your second point, a guy on Planet Figure sculpted a 3D version of the box art and it makes for a much better looking figure. Unfortunately, Italeri won't entertain any idea of selling his figure, and the guy can't either because he'd be in breach of copyright. See below - I'm sure, like me, you'll be blown away by the detail:

 

https://www.planetfigure.com/threads/1-16-german-solider-1-9-itareli-boxart-sketch.294223/

Regards.

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Thanks for the links. That’s such a great sculpt.

 

Not that it would have put me off buying the kit if I had read them first, but I agree with all of the sentiments mentioned.

 

I’ve been painting for several hours but have found that the lack of definition and texture in the mould is resulting in a blocky figure. The creases in the uniform are non-existent so highlights and shadows are hard.

 

My conclusion is that I’ve made Action Man. He looks like a toy soldier in terms of pose, uniform and definition.

 

Will post some photos later...

 

On the plus side, I paid £25. The only other figure that would have worked was £65. You get what you pay for.

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1 hour ago, The Great Escape said:

My conclusion is that I’ve made Action Man. He looks like a toy soldier in terms of pose, uniform and definition.

😆😆

 

Yes, I must admit that I'm having second thoughts about building it myself now. Nostalgia is a wonderful thing at times, but I'm wishing I had remembered all the bad things about this kit before I bought it again!

Still, I'm sitting here awaiting delivery of glue and filler so I can crack on with it. I suppose I could make a start on removing flash, etc., but I'd rather wait until I have everything together.

Looking forward to seeing your pics - what paints are you using? I'm thinking about acrylics this time around; I did the original in enamels and the face/hands in oils as I preferred a longer drying time, but it's been so long and I've been out of the game for many years, so I'd appreciate any recommendations...

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It’s not going well, I’m afraid.

Painting went ok using Vallejo. However, I noticed with normal handling, paint easily rubbed off. Used my usual primer so not sure why.
 

But the big issue came from the cursed belt. The pins won’t hold it in place and nothing glues it! I carefully threaded all the equipment onto the belt, but securing the belt around his waist has caused so much damage that all my hard work is ruined. I’ve absolutely ruined the paint job in the uniform.

 

I have not enjoyed any part in making this one I’m sad to say.

 

I’ve had to leave it for now as I’m so cross with it.

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Sorry to see that after all your hard work! To be honest, I was contemplating using thick cartridge paper (layered, if necessary) to replace the polythene(?) straps because I knew they were going to be a problem - I'm sorry I didn't mention it earlier. 

 

I remember buying an enamel primer in a rattlecan especially for this which held the paint well. Due to the large size of the figure, it was the first time I used a primer. 

 

I never cared for the facial expression either, so I put a cigarette in his mouth to give it more character,which worked, after a fashion. 

 

Take some deep breaths and go back to it after a while... 

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I’ve persevered today and nearly finished. Or at least I feel that I’m done with this.

 

 

For anyone else considering making this kit, despite my best efforts, I’ve ended up with a dolly.

 

I’ll just leave this in your imaginations before I post some photos later: imagine a Barbie Ken doll dressed as a Nazi - that’s what mine looks like!

 

 

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A valiant effort on a particularly nasty kit! As you say though, he does set the BMW off - very good detailing on that, by the way! I'll add some pics of mine when I eventually get it done...

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Yes - please build yours! I’d love to see someone else’s efforts on this. Maybe it was just me and my lack of experience. As I’ve not been modelling long (lockdown newbie), I don’t yet have the skills to deal with anything out of the ordinary or have the knowledge to know what to do when I encounter a problem.
 

From that magazine front cover, evidence shows that a more experienced modeller can turn this kit into something cool.

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On 2/21/2021 at 9:44 AM, The Great Escape said:

Yes - please build yours! I’d love to see someone else’s efforts on this. Maybe it was just me and my lack of experience. As I’ve not been modelling long (lockdown newbie), I don’t yet have the skills to deal with anything out of the ordinary or have the knowledge to know what to do when I encounter a problem.
 

From that magazine front cover, evidence shows that a more experienced modeller can turn this kit into something cool.

You did a great job since figures can be rough at the best of times.

At least your eyes and face look human as opposed to the other pics where it looks like the poor guy just realized it wasn't a fart!

 

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