Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin raised S$100,000 for charity by painting a miniature model of the Leopard 2SG tank. In a Facebook post published today (25 Aug), Mr Tan revealed that he presented the painted miniature tank to ST Engineering, who made the donation to the ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone by Community Chest’ campaign.
The ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone by Community Chest’ campaign is fronted by Mr Tan, a Liverpool FC fan. Supported by the Official Liverpool Supporters Club Singapore, Official Liverpool Supporters Club Singapore East, the campaign raises funds to help charities run programmes for the disadvantaged.
Mr Tan said that the painting project is close to his heart because he was part of the team that went to Germany to ‘shop’ for the Leopard 2SG tanks. He shared on Facebook:
“There is always quite some sentimental value for a few of these capabilities when you were part of the team that brought them in and/or initiated the project. This was a particularly intimate project because we actually went to Germany to ‘shop’ for them!”
Going into detail about the painting process, he wrote: “When you paint miniatures, you often need to accentuate the highlight and shadows so that it has a more defined 3D look to it.
“I base-coated or primed this in black and filled in the green in layers, allowing a slightly darker shade to exist where there ought to be shadows. Raised items like bolts were painted or glazed with a thinned layer of lighter green. This makes them stand out more.
“Also used colour pencils to edge the vehicle and also the panel lines. Also used enamels to lightly ‘wash’ the grimy areas such as engine grill area and wheels. Didn’t want to have it in just one flat paint job. Variations and slight modulations were worked in to provide it a more aesthetic feel.”
https://www.facebook.com/TanChuanJin1/posts/3345815668794518?__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARDzuHsFlYpyUIaDUHgElDHQkxWvPX3TIlhNB5bL83Fa1HA0-mforbHJWl4m_NwxLJ-rLaDaQCyhqntsbxKuy-j3dfbRdioja1VfPybYoUrVW7l6EKmnqkQ2ZjghdRHv6F-IgAwEsuojpLZ6Dhr-odvmEYGsk8ayby1-go4KaBTyh5PPfXfm7W22DDj9jy1tliNmzWPh5C5Ac-p1JU5BdfTehafk5fj-pdV0SMeHr7rBmquKe352TPw_mfdwUIBGcwKrhcOQoOOPJenX_DQpfBF1p2VnDBafC236J7GbBDbrpbh1l4djX-ggS50lgzQit4NvcSoAhHEd6VTgt7OncpZIrg&__tn__=-R
This is not the first time Mr Tan has tapped on his artistic side for charity. He raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity through an exhibition of his photographs, last year.
The exhibition, entitled ‘Our Place In The World,’ was part of Singapore’s bicentennial celebrations. Showing pictures taken by the ruling party politician in 20 countries over the last two decades, the exhibition raised funds for 13 charities, including Care Corner Singapore, Centre for Fathering, HealthServe and The Turning Point, and The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund.
Tan Chuan-Jin’s brother’s photography goes viral on social media