Carabinieri Patrol

[Santi Pérez]

...But one mystery remains: Why has this Don Matteo series never been shown on German TV or any streaming platform, given that Terence Hill was really a popular actor here? It looks quite fun.

I'm afraid only those responsible for the various German public and private television channels can clarify that mystery for you, Stephan.

Now let's move on to the penultimate chapter of my project in the ‘Work in Progress’ section.

THE CARABINIERI FIGURES (1)

I chose a different pose for each of the two carabinieri. While one would be saluting, the other would have both hands crossed behind his back, a very common pose as I discovered during the research and image search phase.

Therefore, although the original figure was the same in both cases, the elements I had to change came from different donors.

This was the original figure, belonging to the Modern PRC PLA Troops set by Caesar Miniatures:



For the saluting carabiniere, I used the following donors:



While for the other figure with his hands behind his back, I used these:



Only for the first carabiniere I took pictures of the intermediate assembly step for all the elements, before applying the white glue that would complete the conversion:




Once the wood glue was added to both figures, they looked like this, ready for the priming phase:




To be continued...

Santi.

[Iceman1964]

Santi, your conversions are really impressive, mixing parts from 4-5 different figures is an incredible masterpiece !
best compliment for your capabilities

[Santi Pérez]

Santi, your conversions are really impressive, mixing parts from 4-5 different figures is an incredible masterpiece !
best compliment for your capabilities

Thank you very much, Enrico. I believe I was granted the ability to make conversions to compensate for my inferior painting skills.

In fact, I enjoy doing the former much more than the latter, although I am aware that both are essential to achieve the final result.

Santi.

[C M Dodson]

Wonderful chopping, truly in the Egbert league!

The glue is a good idea. I have used PVA but this sounds good.

Looking forward to seeing them in all their glory.

Best wishes,

Chris

[MABO]

I am also inspired every time I see your surgical procedures!

[Santi Pérez]

Wonderful chopping, truly in the Egbert league!
The glue is a good idea. I have used PVA but this sounds good.
Looking forward to seeing them in all their glory.
Best wishes,
Chris

I am also inspired every time I see your surgical procedures!

Thanks so much, Chris and Jan. I'm flattered to be compared to Egbert, my idol in matters of conversions and painting (along with other forum colleagues who are masters in the use of brushes and paints).

And here comes the final chapter of this series in the ‘Work in progress’ section.

THE CARABINIERI FIGURES (2)

After priming both carabinieri in white, this is how they looked:




And this was the final result:





The last step was to put all the elements together to obtain the complete diorama. I will post pictures of it in the ‘Gallery’ section.

Thank you for watching.

Santi.

[Iceman1964]

Great work Santi, understanding the production step-by-step now I appreciate more the final result !
Enrico

[sberry]

I believe I was granted the ability to make conversions to compensate for my inferior painting skills.

In fact, I enjoy doing the former much more than the latter, although I am aware that both are essential to achieve the final result.

Inferior... WHAT? I greatly admire your ultra-clean painting style! And these carabinieri guys make me immediately want to spend my holidays in Italy.
But I agree with you with respect to the fun of different aspects of our hobby: I am never satisfied with my own painting results, too. And thus I like other things, such as creating buildings and accessories, shaping the lanscape etc. much more. Perhaps I should visit a shrink - as a figure painter who hates painting figures...

[Santi Pérez]

Thank you very much for your support, mates.

...Perhaps I should visit a shrink - as a figure painter who hates painting figures...

When you find a good shrink to treat your case, Stephan, please give me his details so I can get in touch with him too.

Santi.

[sberry]

When you find a good shrink to treat your case, Stephan, please give me his details so I can get in touch with him too.

Dear Santi, I'll give you the address as soon as I've found a specialist who can treat rare conditions like acrylophobia and similar ailments!

While the topic is amusing, it also has a more serious side: I have heard of a very talented diorama builder who gave up our hobby after a kind of burnout. I think something like that can happen when you feel pressured by your own high standards.

And perhaps the internet plays a role here: As a kid, I had no real competition; there were only pictures of painted figures in the Revell catalog and so on - it was clear that I would never reach that level of quality, and that wasn't a problem at all. Today, you can immediately see what other people around the world are achieving, and I suppose that can sometimes be discouraging.

[Santi Pérez]

You're absolutely right, Stephan.

I think there are two keys to avoiding that pressure: first, don't be too hard on yourself and be satisfied with your achievements, knowing that you've given it your all.

Secondly, have other sources of satisfaction and happiness in your life, not just model making. It's something I learned when I was young and have tried to do all my life, so that when things go wrong in one area, you have several others to compensate and cheer you up.

By the way, I just posted pictures of the first painted musician of the Royal Guard band in my other thread, and I'm quite pleased with the result. I think it turned out much better than the test I did with a spare figure from the original Airfix set.

Santi.

[MABO]

That's right Santi!