Tiananmen Square Build Part 2

So in the first post, I got most of the base and tank finished. Of course, the true subject of the model will be "Tank Man" himself. My plan originally was to buy a generic male figure in 1/72 scale. However, it's actually surprisingly difficult to get a figure suitable for the conversion with a reasonable level of detail at a reasonable price. Then I had a moment of madness!

In my collection of unpainted models I had some Napoleonic French in 1/72 scale. I found a drummer in a fairly neutral pose.

For some reason he doesn't have a head! The first thing to do was to cut off the drum and drumsticks with an X-Acto knife and a file.

I cut notches into the figure's shoulders, elbows and knees and bent them to get a "straighter" pose. I filled in the gaps with epoxy putty. Then I cut off the tassels and buttons on the figure's jacket. 

Next, I cut the head off another French infantryman with the X-Acto knife. I sawed off the shako helmet from his head. Then I glued the head onto the "drummer".

I sculpted Tank Man's satchel and shopping bags with Milliput. Since the head originally wore a shako, it was flat on top. I needed to sculpt hair onto the head.

And this is where it started going wrong! I was really unhappy with the detail on the figure's face. I painted washes and a lot of highlights onto the face, but I found it really difficult to bring out the facial features. I was disappointed that I wasn't able to bend his legs so that he would stand with his feet together (as in the original footage). I think my figure's pose looks a bit aggressive because of this, but it probably is the best I can manage. If I find a more suitable figure, I'll substitute it.

Using cheap PVA glue, I glued some felt to the underside of the base. I trimmed off the excess once it was dry.

Finally, I gave the tank a few coats of matt varnish (the oil paint was given a week to fully dry) and positioned everything on the base.

Here are some photos of the finished diorama!

This project was a lot of fun. I'm mostly happy with it but I'm a bit disappointed with how the Tank Man figure turned out. It's certainly encouraged me to build more dioramas, and I hope to do more of them in the future.