The May 2018 duel was postponed several times, but it was finally ready, and published, in September of 2018. Here is a link:
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=21925
The opponent is not known by me prior to publication of the duel, but there was more correspondence shared than usual because of the delays involved. I picked up, from certain clues, that my opponent was highly professional and quite a perfectionist. He selected the figure to be used and even shipped a copy to Remco, which is always helpful.
Therefore I knew I would need to research and paint my entry to a very high standard. My first thought was to make him a Confederate soldier to defy expectations, and, indeed, many colorful units were soon to be found.
But that hat was wrong. The more I researched, the more I realized that uniformity and Civil War Zouave uniforms were concepts foreign to one another! So I decided to use a generic name and pick a color combination that existed and was also pleasing to the eye.
Once I had the colors selected, it was time to plan the painting. I noticed that voters often favor bold colors, so I tried to brighten the red trousers with crimson, but they came out too glossy despite coats and coats of matte finish.
For the jacket, dark blue with golden yellow was a real example I found, and with details that really pop. The yellow stitching was done in 3-4 layers so it would stand out from the dark blue. The sky blue waist sash and canteen made for a nice contrast.
For the face, the figure is somewhat comically looking straight ahead, even though he is theoretically using his ramrod to the side out of his own view. Italeri figures have big faces, and especially, large, expressive eyes. I have painted them previously, and the eyeballs are too big not to paint, but they tend to look ridiculous if painted. I studied my own face in the mirror, and concluded that the eyes might look better if they were depicted as only partly open. The skin of the eyelids, once tanned, tends to stay that way, so I thought to make it a bit darker than the surrounding flesh.