Painting my Terminator bust

[Alaneye]

I have a Terminator bust to paint so I thought I'd take some pics and document it. I'm not the greatest painter and take a lot of inspiration from these and other boards, (Josh of Small Studios in particular) I can't paint as well as some, but I'm learning

First off I prepped the bust for painting and drilled the eye out ready for the LED. Then I primed the bust with Hafords' grey car primer, and airbrushed the skin with Winsor and Newton Pale Teracotta. I've tried mixing my own flesh but it came out pretty disasterous.

Next I lightened it all up by drybrushing with Dale and Rowney Buff Titanium.

I airbrushed the face lightly with Tamiya Red Brown XF-64 and also gave the hair a base coat of the same.

Next up was a light airbrush of the skin and lips with Tamiya Red X-7 and I also filled in the big scrape on the head.

Airbrushed the jacket with Tamiya Black X-1.

Next I wanted to lighten and texture the hair a bit, so I tried starting with a dry brush of Tamiya Flat Earth XF-52, followed by Tamiya Wooden Deck Tan XF-78.

I thought that had taken it up a bit too much so I lightly airbrushed with the Tamiya Red Brown again to bring it back down a touch.

The skin looked a little light so I drybrushed with a little more Pale Terracota.

 

[Alaneye]

Bet you never thought you'd see a Terminator playing the Phantom of the Opera... this is a quick mask I made out of super sculpey so I can smoothly airbrush the eye with Floquil Reefer White. I find it's not as smooth if I brush paint. I made it out of sculpey because I figured I'd be painting more than one.

With Tamiya IJN Grey (Kure Arsenal) XF-75 I airbrushed the shirt and the eye was a little too white so I gave that a light spray too, again using the mask. I also dry brushed the jacket with the same and filled in the visible cuts and scuffs on the jacket with the grey.

Tamiya Red X-7 for the cut on his lip and face and Tamiya Chome Silver X-11 for the zippers and the press studs. I also dry brushed the jacket a little with Tamiya Flat Black FX-1 to tone down the grey dry brushing I did earlier.

Using another sculpey mask, I airbrushed Humbrol Gloss Black onto the endo parts in preparation for the Alclad Chrome tomorrow.

I let the Humbrol Gloss Black dry over night and the next day I gave 2 or 3 light coats of Alclad Chrome, again using the mask. You have to be careful not to over do the Alclad or it just looks like silver paint. The secret is to let the gloss black show through the Alclad. I also chromed the jaw piston and the base while I was at it. I also painted the teeth Folquil Reefer White and washed them with Tamiya Smoke X-19 to run between them and give some definition.

 

[Alaneye]

Next comes the fun part... the blood! I start by applying Tamiya Red X-7 around all the open flesh of the wounds, then I add a little Tamiya Smoke to give the wounds some depth.

For all the blood runs, I like to use Tamiya Clear Red X-27. When painting blood runs, I try not to apply straight lines, remembing to follow gravity, and let my brush waver a little. I let the blood run sideways too if it goes into a fold or a line in the skin.

A while ago I bought a pack of various shades of grey soft pastels.

When the Terminator is dragged under the truck, he picks up a lot of dust and dirt, so I use the pastels to dust the jacket. I find the pastels give a more realistic dust effect than trying to dry brush grey paint. I use a fairly light grey to gegin with, and the one of the darker shades to break it up and to dust the three grazes on his face. Some some reason, in the movie, these are just dark with no blood.

After the dusting, I decide to give a light spray or Testor's Dullcoat, and just like the last time I did that, the pastels all but disappear, so if anyone can tell me what's going on there, I'd be greatful is it the type of pastel I'm using? So I dust again over the tacky Dullcoat and hope the pastel will stick to it.

 

[Alaneye]

I mix up a little Winsor and Newton Ultramarine and Tamiya Red and airbrush it lightly under the eye and a little on the lips to darken them a touch.

Next up is the part I always dread a little: painting the eye. I always thought Arnold's eyes were blue, as they appear that way in many photos... but then in some photos there is a little green to them. I hear them also claimed as hazel. The eyes on the puppet head in The Terminator are very green looking, so I go for that option. First I paint a circle of Tamiya Green X-5. When painting this first circle I bare in mind that when looking straight ahead, the bottom of the iris touches the bottom eyelid and probably a quarter to a third of the upper iris is hidden under the upper eyelid. If you frame the iris so that it is right in the middle and the whole of it is visible, it gives a wide-eyed, staring appearence.

You can also see here that I've added in the LED and I had to patch it a bit with Aves putty because the hole was a bit too big.

Then I use Tamiya Khaki XF-49 and paint little lines all around the iris to break up the colouration.

Next I lighten the Khaki with Tamiya White X-2 and dab it in here and there, also pulling a little of the original Green in to mix it up a little.

When I'm finally happy with it, I mix a slightly darker version of the original green and broaden the ring around the iris; and finish off with a black dot for the pupil.

With the Tamiya Clear Red and a fine brush, I paint the rim of the eyelid and the corner of the eye (the caruncula).

Finally a coat of Tamiya Clear X-22 gives it that nice watery shine. You have to be careful with the Tamiya Clear because it will reactivate the underlying paint (if Tamiya), but it can also produce a nice blended effect too. I've also painted the Aves around the LED with Tamiya Black.

Using the Tamiya Clear, I coat all the blood runs to make them look fresh and glistening.

 

[Alaneye]

Finally I finish up the endo eye by painting a little Alclad over the black. The lens on this LED is clear and the LED is a little on the bright side, so I paint the lens with some Tamiya Red. I airbrushed the saucer part of the base with Tamiya Gun Metal X-10 earlier, so all that remains is to wire up the endo eye, switch on and we're done.

 

[EndoSickness]

That is an awesome job, my friend.
Congratulations on an absolute stunning piece.
Don't if the likeness is not so well, the overall piece it what counts and boy...did you make it count.
Awesome!!!

 

[annihilate22]

Wow. That was so detailed. Amazing work mate, it's come out brilliant!

 

[Platty]

You have serious talent bud, thanks for sharing the painting process with us. Stunning job!

 

[sparkstron73]

Great job thanks for sharing might have to knick a few of your techniques

His skin looks a little dry though, maybe add some sweat?

 

[Gary23]

Stunning

 

[Alaneye]

That is an awesome job, my friend.
Congratulations on an absolute stunning piece.
Don't if the likeness is not so well, the overall piece it what counts and boy...did you make it count.
Awesome!!!

Thanks. You don't think the likeness is there? Ah well, can't please em all

Wow. That was so detailed. Amazing work mate, it's come out brilliant!

Cheers.

You have serious talent bud, thanks for sharing the painting process with us. Stunning job!

No probs.

Great job thanks for sharing might have to knick a few of your techniques

His skin looks a little dry though, maybe add some sweat?

Thanks, nick away. Have you any good techniques for making skin look greasy, without looking too sparkley and wet?

Stunning

Thanks

 

[sparkstron73]

No I am still learning techniques myself but a matte acrylic varnish might work or gloss for a more shinier look of sweat.
Hav'nt used either myself.

 

[Reinhardt]

Wow, fantastic work and amazing tutorial!!!

 

[zuckuss77]

Same here , thanks Alaneye in the past for all the help and wow awesome work!!!

 

[Balsquat]

Wow. Very talented.

 

[The Rider]

Very Nice bust and very nice Paintjob.

Where did you get the bust ?

 

[galactiboy]

So glad to finally see this piece painted... don't sell yourself short; you did a fantastic job!

 

[Alaneye]

Very Nice bust and very nice Paintjob.

Where did you get the bust ?

Thanks, glad you like it. I sculpted and cast it. You can see the progress here.

https://sideshowcollectors.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98354

So glad to finally see this piece painted... don't sell yourself short; you did a fantastic job!

Cheers

Al

 

[Mr. Fusion]

Sorry to resurrect this thread, but I wanted to share something. I just purchased the Shout Factory Collector's Edition Blu-ray of John Carpenter's The Thing. I'm watching the bonus disc special features, and I swear I spotted this bust in one of the interviews. Has anyone else seen this? I'll try to make a screen grab soon.

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