Valiant Miniatures (1 Viewer)

[blaster]

Hi All,

Got a couple of these beauties from Valiant Miniatures. Old timers will know of this US coy and others can read about them from Mirof's website.
https://www.mirofsoft.com/nostalgia-old-catalog-pdf/

VM are now generally producing ship models but continues to supply 54mm figures from their ebay website.
http://stores.ebay.com/Valiant-Enterprises-Ltd?_trksid=p2047675.l2563


I was drawn to the geisha single piece casting by the drapery and the US grunt looks to be a well-sculpted piece. The pieces are very well packaged and the castings look very decent, despite their age.

Rgds Victor

 

[Obee]

Victor,

they are still in production so check out all the figures here : https://www.veltd.net/

Looking forward to seeing you transform these 'pieces of metal' into 'colourful characters'



John

 

[theBaron]

Yep, they're a classic maker. I recommend them, too. Maybe not the same crispness as the connoisseur kit makers, but they can be finished into a nice figure. I think the absolute best figure they make is the US Navy pilot, buckling his parachute harness:

https://www.veltd.net/collections/wwii/products/valiant-miniature-kit-9808-u-s-navy-pilot-1941-45

For years, that was the figure that you'd put next to the Revell F4U or F4F kit. I like their Revolutionary War figures, too.

I look forward to seeing your finished pieces here, Vic!

Prost!
Brad

 

[Mirof]

This is one I painted 40 years ago all Humbrol

 

[blaster]

Hi All,

I have just read that many of these figures were sculpted by the great Shep Paine. I have just gotten THE Shep Paine book (Schiffer Pub) and it has lots of pictures and his biography. The photos are not of the best quality, many being reproduced from other publications but they serve as a lynchpin for Shep Paine's prolific output. The US Grunt is definitely identified as being sculpted by him.

I assembled both figures with epoxy putty. the castings are a little dated. I had to clear out a wedge of metal slag in between the legs.

rgds Victor

 

[Obee]

Victor,

I think that you may need to remove and replace the M60, you have it upside down !!

I thought something was wrong when I noticed the backsight sticking into his shoulder, and anyway, why would he have it up???

I'm looking forward to seeing both these figures evolve

regards,
John

 

[blaster]

Hi John,

Good eyesight still eh? One up for the artillery!

I haven't glued the gun to the figure yet and it is just perched precariously for the picture. Will need to "improve" this figure first as the casting isn't quite top-notch.

Rgds Victor

 

[blaster]

The pics show the slight improvements that I have made to the US grunt casting. Part of the jaw, the hands, the inside trousers and boots.

 

[blaster]

Rummaging thru the heap and came across this. It was already undercoated in enamels but I noticed that the trousers needed some more putty.

 

[blaster]

I added some putty up front but will probably have to repair the back as well. The castings are not quite top-notch and a basic underglaze with thinned paint highlighted the defects.

I epoxied the figure to a base.

 

[blaster]

I also started work on the geisha.

 

[blaster]

The drapery of the geisha does not make sense to me. It is supposed to be a kimono (kosode) but the front portion looks wrong. Hence I resculpted it.





The GI grunt trousers were resculpted and the piece was painted.

 

[blaster]

The figure painted in red enamel.

 

[blaster]

I decided to paint a specific kosode pattern from the 18th century. First, the basic undercoat was done followed by the details.

 

[blaster]

I completed the painting of the geisha and mounted the piece on a fancy base.

 

[blaster]

Just as an expt, I selected a cherry blossom image on my ipad and used it as a bkgd for these shots.

 

[Ivanhoe]

Just as an expt, I selected a cherry blossom image on my ipad and used it as a bkgd for these shots.

Very well done !

Really like the Base also...fits so well with theme of figure and ground work.

Thank you for posting.

 

[blaster]

Hello Matt,

Thanks for your comment. The kosode was taken from an actual example in a book. The unusual base was from a batch that I had purchased many years ago in Singapore chinatown. I've never seen them since. I really liked them due to their size and elegance. There are similar looking bases offered on the web but these are not so attractive to my eyes. I reserve these few bases for my eastern oriental figures.

For the groundwork, I buiit "on top" of the base in order to elevate the figure even more. I will add a little brass name plate to this piece later.

Rgds Victor

 

[blaster]

Here is the GI grunt with groundwork done.

 

[blaster]

Just painted the name for this piece. Will add more foliage later.