Nurse
28mm White Metal figure from Freebooter Miniatures
Painted in 2012
Freebooters Miniatures was a company I only discovered on a trip to a large Wargaming show down in London – Salute – and having bought several figures they sat on a shelf for a couple of years.
I’d always liked this one though, but it wasn’t until I needed a small figure to add to a bust – as though being conjured onto an old Gnome’s hand ( See finished shots for what that looked like ), that I decided to paint it.
It’s a lovely little casting, true 28mm and doesn’t require much attention with a scalpel or a file to get it ready for painting.
For a small model, this kits has a few parts – both hands are separate, each holding a syringe, and the long flowing ponytail hair is a further component.
I decided to keep these parts separate whilst painting the main casting, as it would allow easier access with the brushes.
Photo #1 shows the flesh tones done, as usual in oils over acrylic undercoats, and the only real difference from painting a much larger figure or bust is the use of much smaller brushes and the ability to hold your breath whilst blending the paint. OK a hand that doesn’t tremble helps too.
Why holding your breath – well it’s akin to why an archer holds then releases their breath when shooting, the release of the air from the lungs and the pause before reinflating the lungs makes for a steadying and more focused movement of the body. I’m not explaining that well, but it allows you to steady the hand and focus the mind, and after doing it repeatedly when painting small areas, it becomes automatic.
So, painting a face that’s about 5mm tall becomes a little easier – and getting smooth blends becomes possible. Of note here, use the best quality oils you can afford along with the best brushes. Both will help on areas this small.
There’s not a lot of colours used on this to be honest, but photo #2 is very necessary ( of course it is Adrian ! ), to show the extent of the skin areas on show. I used Mars Brown, and Titanium White oils with just a spot of Carmine oils added to make the mix slightly more pink that I’d usually mix for a male subject, and Winsor and Newton series 7 size 0 brushes to do the blending.
Photo #3 returns to the front of the model, and the colours used for the clothing and belts.
The turquoise is a very strong colour From Winsor and Newton, and one that I don’t use very often. Using more of the Titanium White to add mid tones and highlights, and then painting the side panels with Buff Titanium oils to provide an off-white base followed by more of that Titanium White for highlights.
The shoes and gloves are the Turquoise again with a lot of white added, as to ate the ribbons in her hair. These were added before painting began and are soft lead wire flattened out by using a paintbrush handle as a rolling pin.
The hands were added and the syringes painted with, strangely, more of the Turquoise – well all the best nurses have medication to match their uniforms……. Don’t they ?
Finally the hair – gotta be blonde I guess, and I used Mars Yellow and Titanium White to paint that.
So why remove her from the Gnome’s hand.
Well, to be honest I wasn’t overly keen on the Gnome. It’s a decent casting, with some nice detail, but the arm sticking out at the front – holding a gem on the original kit, just doesn’t look quite right. Removing the gem and doing some resculpting to change the hand a little wasn’t difficult, but even with the little nurse in place, I was still disappointed with the overall “look”
I think the Nurse far outshone the Gnome, and I thought that I’d remove her and put her on a little base of her own.
I’d got some wood veneer from Conrad Mynett and this would look spot on for a fancy floor section when added to the top of a small plinth.
A little sanding to smooth the surface right down and then a little gloss varnish, a hole to accept the pin I’d fastened into the nurse’s feet, and that was the figure finished.
Final thoughts.
Freebooters Miniatures has a very nice range of figures and I am most remiss in not painting more of them, there’s a couple of thieves that I keep promising myself I’ll paint, but life seems to get in the way.
There’s a few companies in the UK that import the range and it’s well worth checking out what is available.
As for this particular figure, I just really like it, the face is really well sculpted and the components very well cast.
It’s just one of those superb little models that often get passed over because of the small size, but when somebody does pause to look, they really get a treat because of the simple beauty of it.
Highly recommended.
