Unboxing atelier iT resin figure kits [HQ12-02 Race Queen & HQ12-04 Girl with Spear]

My newfound obsession with larger scale resin figure kits dovetails nicely with my first steps in airbrushing. For figurines, the bigger their size the harder it is to obtain smooth skin tone transitions with just a hand brush. Not entirely impossible, just more difficult and time consuming. That's where the airbrush comes in. But painting an entire figure solely with an airbrush isn't feasible, especially for finer details like facial features and hair. I plan to use a combination of old (hand brush) and new techniques (pastel shading). And all these will be tried out first on atelier IT resin figure kits.    

A pair of 1/12 scale resin figure kits from atelier iT of Japan

First up is the unimaginatively titled HQ12-02 or as I like to call her the Race Queen. If you are a motorsport fan then you will likely have come across models at racing tracks be it the pit stops or starting grid. Race Queens are a unique Japanese phenomenon in that they are viewed as glamorous models and they usually have many fans of their own. With her pose, the Race Queen figurine is ideal for placement next to a similarly sized vehicle, not unlike what you would see in car shows.    

atelier iT 1/12 scale resin figure kit - HQ12-02 Race Queen

Packaging comprises a fairly hard cardboard box with the resin parts enclosed in bubble wrap

No assembly instructions are provided but in my opinion none are needed

A simple kit, the Race Queen comes in only five resin parts 

She makes for a good subject matter for airbrush novices mainly because there is potentially little masking required when painting her. With the exception of her head, the flesh parts are by and large separated from her torso. This clear demarcation between parts mean they can be painted separately before being put together without worry of paint over-spray. Only her head and hair would require either masking or careful painting within the lines as it's connected to the torso.     

Fine details on her face are excellent with a well sculpted smiling expression

Clear demarcation between her torso and the exposed flesh of her arms ...

Detail-wise the Race Queen sculpt is excellent. I love the smiling expression on her face as well as her realistic anatomy, not to mention the creases and folds on her outfit. As I intend to paint the pieces separately before attaching all of them together, I may have to pin the individual resin parts with some brass rods. Pinning would serve two purposes i.e. enable parts to be held and manipulated easily when painting and also allow for stronger joints to be formed when glued together.

... and legs makes for easier airbrushing i.e. less need for masking except for her head

Clear muscle definition and bone protrusions on both legs will help in the placement of shadows and highlights

Actual size of the 1/12 scale atelier iT HQ12-02 resin figure kit

Then it was the turn of HQ12-04 or Girl with Spear to be unboxed. Overall, the Girl with Spear seems to have much better details then the Race Queen, especially the facial features. The former also comes with an additional arm option i.e. her left arm can either rest on her hips or extend by her side holding on to something which provides creative options for diorama or vignettes.

atelier iT 1/12 scale resin figure kit - HQ12-04 Girl with Spear

Girl with Spear box art displays the extra option for her right arm

Packaging is sparse but functional

Girl with Spear comes in 11 separate resin parts

Despite comprising more parts, the Girl with Spear too seems well suited to the airbrush novice with similarly clear demarcations between the flesh and non-flesh parts. Even her fringe/bangs come as a separate piece thus making it easier to delineate between her hair and face. The one thing I found curious was as to why the spear was sculpted in two parts. Perhaps it has something to do with the opening in her left hand. I will know more once I do a proper dry fit test of the figurine.   

Her bangs come in a separate piece which will make painting the face easier

There are two right arm options for the Girl with Spear kit

As with the Race Queen, the Girl with Spear also has great details on both her bare legs

Reverse view of both legs showing the outer side

Not sure why the spear came in separate pieces but it may have something to do with the opening in her left hand

Actual size of the 1/12 scale atelier iT HQ12-04 resin figure kit

So with both muses in my target sight, I now have something inspirational to work towards as I practice at gaining some semblance of fine motor control over the airbrush. It's not just resin figurines though. The airbrush should also provide access to weathering techniques for AFV model kits. So I'll be continuing work on that front too - on a previously reviewed 1/48 scale AT-ST Imperial Walker, a 1/35 scale King Tiger tank and hopefully a 1/1000 scale Space Battleship Yamato kit. Lots to do but as always I'm fighting a losing battle trying to slow the flow of sand grains in the hour glass. So what else is new, eh? Well, that's it for this week. Thanks for reading and enjoy what's left of the weekend.