Did Dusty have brown splotches on his uniform in the toon? I thought his uni was tan with green splotches?
The figure itself is masterfully assembled. You are one of the best around at blending soft straps with plastic accessories. I could never pull that off in a million years. The way those straps are made just SCREAM Dusty and really make this figure. The headgear is perfect, and the painting is solid.
Two suggestions:
For the nameplates - don't give up!
I like to put them on my figures where appropriate, What I do (and it still is far from perfect) is to use a needle to write the letters. I start from the center and work my way out. Even then, it takes several times.
I really admire painting the sleeve patches, but have a couple of suggestions. One, if you are really dead set on painting them (like I am) then try painting in colors that match up with the uniform similar to patches worn by the US military. For instance, with Dusty's desert uniform, paint the patch in light browns and tans. This will help the patch "blend in" with the uniform a bit better and mask the imperfections of your brush strokes. Not trying to put down your brush strokes, but unless you are a master on par with Da Vinci, your brush strokes ain't gonna be perfect. If you absolutely must have the patches in starkly contrasting colors like the red patch you have here on the tan uni, then print it off as a decal and apply it. This will really make the custom look sharp.
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I don't care how badly I have been defeated. I declare victory nonetheless.
