Verlinden Resin Kits (Medieval Archer)

 When I was coming up in modeling, I HATED to paint figures. Any figures, 1/72, 1/48 and certainly 1/35 scale! As I got older, and realized that history and specifically military history, was not always about the latest and most wazoo weapon. It was and always will be about the warrior. I am still in the military, and as there are more days behind in my career than ahead it strikes me that in my life of service, it was not the grand campaigns or battles that seem to stick out at me, but moments. Moments where I was pretty sure the breaths I was taking were going to be my last.

 So what has this wonderfully dramatic set of statements have to do with figure modeling? Everything. Figure modeling is all about capturing a moment of a random representative of some precise point in history. I see the allure of that now. I have strived over the years to be a better figure modeler. It occurs to me that painting is really the crux of where it's at in figure modeling, if you are into assembly, your probably going to be disappointed in the 8.9 seconds it takes to assemble one!
Reading model mags over the years, it came to my attention that some of the most renowned kits of figures, and indeed one of the very few manufacturers at the time was Verlinden. This is a company that does primarily figures, but also detail and modification packs for other model kits. When I was younger these kits seemed VERY expensive for what you got. With the advent of ebay, I was able to purchase a few of these kits on the cheap (sub 20 bucks.) This particular kit caught my eye after

 reading the book Agincourt by Bernard Cornwell. (http://www.bernardcornwell.net/books/azincourt-2/). The book is about a longbowman named Hook. The story is about the English invasion of France with Henry V. Needless to say I was pretty inspired to capture that particular moment in history. As an additional caveat, one of my subordinates was having a birthday, and as his great passion was archery, I decided to build the kit for him.
This is how the kit turned out. The present was well received, and I found the project very relaxing. As is with most figure models the hours spend painting are well applied. If you muss it up a bit you can wait 30 minutes and reapply a different shade or color and try again.
I highly recommend Verlinden kits to anyone to try out. If you don't think your ready to tackle "fleshy" subjects, pick one of their figures wearing armor or masks.