JnS Miniature Moments

Happy Monk - scoring of the casting

2011-10-15T22:40:00.001-07:00

Casting score card.

Materials - A mid grey resin, the carves off quite easily, and sands well.

Parts break down is as follows; upper and lower torso, left foot, gourd/ drinking container, branch, 2 x resin runners with 4 x flowers & 1 x butterfly. No base included, although the right foot has a pre made peg that will allow for drilling out and mounting.

Air bubbles - found one (and just 1) under the right elbow. a 15 second fix. 2 marks

Texture - smooth on the skin, robe and necklace of beads, texture on the soles of the sandals (where raised) texture on the branch is okay. 2 marks

Fit - very good, torso joins along a natural seam line, as does the left foot/ sandal. The gourd/drinking vessel will need a bit of gap filling, however there is a peg & hole to help with fit on this also.(it fits to the right hip, just under the sash). 4 marks for the torso fit, the left foot, and branch

Mould lines - only visible under a magnifying glass - so don't be that up tight, it's a hobby!

Mould slippage, short pours or rough casting? none present.

Overall view. Minus the 3 marks for lack of instructions, subtract another for the single air bubble I found, I'll give this a score of 22 out of 26 marks.

A off beat and interesting subject, within the 54mm range. I have already contacted Ernst with a quick impressions review, and advised him that I would also do a review.

For a first figure, it is nicely sculpted, cast with a logical part separation (and better, a smart way of hiding the seam on the torso)

I do this review to offer feed back to Ernst & his team of co-artists, he stays in communication with queries (he can be contacted via Planet Figure, via private message. I'm not aware of other websites he attends, although Cool Mini or Not is likely) and to see more of his work in the future.

I would buy from this person again, and if the subject matter appeals to you, would encourage you to buy with confidence also.

From Latvia to Australia is a good test for a mailed package, both for potential damage, and time for delivery. It arrived intact, and in a realistic time-frame, for a good price.

There is a link to "White Rabbit Minis.com" on the box - this website is under construction, I had to Google search for a image of a completed figure. Ernst and his team are working on this for the future.

The lack of instructions or images is understandable, for a first run or limited run kit, the lack of a base helps keep the cost down. This kit is not a table top gaming figure, and I cant recall too many Tamiya kits where a base is included for each soldier.

Recommended with confidence.

Note - reading back over this, I will have to rework the scoring system. Errors are mine, it's still a nice kit, and an excellent first start.

Happy Monk - scoring and image

2011-10-15T22:22:00.001-07:00

Images - top, the lower half of the figure, the foot, branch, drinking gourd, and 2 x resin runners with flowers and butterflies. Next, upper and lower torso of the monk. There are pour stubs on the belly, underside of the sleeve and top of the raised knee. The figures in the bags, to ensure against loss. The bagged parts in the plastic clam shell box.

The Review.

The figure I first saw on the Planet Figure sculpting forums, and it caught my eye as different and novel.

I sent a private message to Ernst, and arranged for a copy, and paid through pay pal.

Ease of ordering, 2, secure payment, 3 mark. total, 5.

IT arrived approximately 2 & 1/2 weeks later. quite acceptable, Europe to Australia. Well packed in a padded bag (the type lined with bubble wrap). Additional 2 marks.

Total 7 so far.

Packaging and security.

See above photos - for a smaller scale figure (well, smaller for me) the clam shell style plastic box kept everything together, and resisted delivery bruising very well. Sealed bags kept everything together. 2 marks for packaging, 2 marks for security (bagged and taped shut)

Instructions and images - I am torn on marking this down, as a smaller figure, these are uncommon. But I have seen (& purchased) other figures that have a least one picture on the front of a completed, painted figure. So had to mark down the three points for that. Tank line of figures spring to mind, as that company has images on the boxes.

Still on 7.

Next post, casting score card.

"Happy Monk" 57mm tall kit.

2011-10-15T22:14:00.000-07:00

"Happy Monk" is the first commercial relase for the sculptor Ernst Veingart, of Latvia.

It depicts a monk, holding a branch, that is flowering and attracting butterflies. The monk is a well fed fellow, wearing a robe, and shown standing on one leg.

Nice animation, and a different subject. The image is from the blog, Massive Voodoo.

No base is included, so it is up to you on how you base it.

Onto the next post, images of the figure, and the scoring system.

Doing a review - a scoring system of some kind.

2011-10-15T21:20:00.000-07:00

OK, first of all, let me set down my qualifications for doing a figure review.

None. Smallish grey army, and have painted 8 figures to date. So my experience is limited.

So this will be a semi - objective opinion piece, and I have tried to assign some values to the process, so the evaluation process can be sorted out, rather then ...."hmm, I really like this subject, so I'll rave about it".

Here is the process I am going to follow.

Subject - no marks, just the title. Potted history, or back ground description.

Ordering and Delivery

Ordering - how easy was it to order on-line (or over the phone, out of a catalogue, via fax, carrier pigeon, etcetera) and then get what was ordered within a decent time at a decent price.

Ordering - 2 marks. 1 mark for ease of ordering., 1 mark for timely (within 72 hours) replies

Payment - 3 marks. 1 mark for ease of paying, 1 mark being for able to pay securely, 1 mark for acknowledgement of payment

Delivery - 2 marks, did the item ordered show up? and did it show up within a reasonable time frame? (3 - 3& 1/2 weeks for a surface economy order)

Packaging

Was the figure (or paint, putty, reference book, brushes, tools, gadget, gizmo, do-dad or essential 'bit of kit') securely packed, padded or boxed to guard against the casually incurred damage sometimes viewed when items go through the mail or courier system?

Packaging - Figure protected from transit damage and 'bruising'. 2 marks (box and padding)

Security - reasonable steps taken to ensure small parts are not lost, and resist damage (ie, zip lock bags, backed onto cardboard) 2 marks

Instructions

Simply, How do I put this together, and then paint it? And in what colours? was it red cuffs for the cavalry, or the blue cuffs for the grenadiers, those kind of things. Is there a image (or two) that helps with the instructions

Instructions - text, line art work, combination included. 1 mark if present.

Image for reference - photo of at least front and back view. 2 marks if present. Additional marks for images (painted or otherwise) on how to put the figure together, or additional views. maximum additional 4 marks.

Casting

What material is this made from; resin, metal, combination of materials for different parts, quality of casting also

Casting - No air bubbles present? 3 marks. (or!) Air bubbles present, in easy fixed places? 2 marks. Good textures, 2 marks. Good fit, 2 marks

Loose marks for the following

- mould slippage - 2 marks

- air bubbles, more then 11 over the figure.* 2 marks

- rough casting or short pours. Where a casting is in complete. 2 marks

*I had to think over this number, and I have started with this figure of 11. Some air bubbles are almost inevitable in most figures. I chose to build on some lee-way, yet balance that against a number that still allows a figure to approach sale worthiness.

Fit - How closely do the parts fit? I'd allow a 2-3 mm gap for figures above 70mm, 1-2 mm below that. 5 points maximum, loose a mark per poor fit, per part.

*For the 30mm size minis (and lower) I dont usually see these in multiple parts, so I'd automatically award the points.

So a quick tally.

Payment & Delivery - 7 marks

Packaging - 4 marks

Instructions - 3 marks

Casting - 7 marks

Fit - 5 marks

Total - 26 marks.

And of course, there will be the human element added back in, to compensate for rigidly applied markings

Onto the review.

Other projects, Sculpting practice also.

2011-07-31T04:54:00.000-07:00

Well, time at work has taken away time with loved ones, and that time has priority over bench time.

Life is what shows up while we make other plans.....

Have two sculpting projects under way, both as practice and to be turned into display pieces....

And they will be reworked until I have achieved a level of satisfaction with them.

Top is Kanae, it will be a 3/4 (or demi-) bust*, as I will be depicting her in her yukata. I like the challenge of doing a likeness, the simple colour palette, plus the details that can be included such as the pattern on the obi (the broad, purple belt)

The second is Hayao Miyazaki's Porco Rosso. I do this as a practice piece, to either warm up before working on the sculpt of Kanae, or when I feel like I have a "block" I find it quite relaxing to work on Porco, so I may have to do more of these kinds of sculpts....great to mentally get away from it!

Plus, I will be doing some more work on Mirei-san, and now that Base44 is a good guy, I will be ordering a base (or two) from Micheal.

Till next time

* a bust is usally a head and shoulders sculpt. For me, a demi bust is almost a half figure. It may include a arm, or two.Thinking about it, this will end up a 1/2 bust. As the details of the waist sash are just to lovely to ignore....

A slightly different view point.....

2011-06-27T02:05:00.000-07:00

Ok, I admit, I don't spend as much time as I could on the hobby bench.

But I do wonder, with all the little people that get painted by fellow scale artists....

.....what would they see, from their view point?

Something like the photo in this post, me thinks......

(either that, or I am trying out my 'Popeye' face)

Melbourne Model expo - Bases!

2011-06-18T02:46:00.000-07:00

Good News for the Australian (& hopefully New Zealand) Modelling community!

I'd like to introduce Michael & Robyn (& Luke) of Base44.

Michael is an avid modeler, of skill and experience. He also produces bases for displaying completed models.

Some of his work was entered in the 2011 Expo, hope he earned some trophies!

Michael & Robyn stuck me as friendly people, promoting their business venture at the Model expos.

Bases are reasonably sized & priced, and he can do custom work.

Link to his blog

Details on woods, edges, round bases for figures (Yay!) can be found on his blog

For more information, email Michael at axisarmour@bigpond.com

And yes, he will do mail order!

And now, some light humour

2011-06-12T03:24:00.001-07:00

"It's not easy being green...
...when 900 years you reach"

At this point, I'm calling "time" on posts. I do have a few more entries to do, I just need to get eyes away from the screen for a while.

Thanks for looking in!

Melbourne Model Expo 2011 - Full Figures

2011-06-12T03:17:00.001-07:00

A selection of the figures. Great whites on the first figure, nice atmosphere with the second, while the third is a Russian sniper moving through sun flowers.

I like the contrast being the sniper and the flowers.

Again, a high standard aimed for, and achieved by these people.

Mind you, I still remember thinking "gee, those are tiny!". working in a larger scale has re-calibrated my ideas of scale!

Melbourne Model Expo 2011 - Boxed Vignettes; the close ups

2011-06-12T03:04:00.000-07:00

Here is where I have difficulties shooting a pic through glass - hopefully, the pics are visible enough to make sense.

Top, a wounded soldier is lowered down a track. I presume this is the Kokoda track, and the stretcher bearers are Papua New Guinea natives, nick named at the time "Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels"

Second is titled "Farewell my Darling", a final embrace before boarding ship. Yes, that is the side of a hull as a back drop.

Third is some commandos /soldiers scrambling down the cargo net - gear does look Australian.

Fourth is the pair of Soldiers, rescuing a lady from a bombed building. Given the rest of the figures and the theme, I would say this would be related to the Japanese bombing of Nothern Australia.

The fifth (again blurry photo) showed emaciated figures, wearing tattered clothes and battered slouch hats, working on Hellfire Pass.

Wikipedia entry on Hellfire Pass.

This as high craftsmanship, these five.

Melbourne Model Expo 2011 - Boxed Vignettes

2011-06-12T03:00:00.001-07:00

Here are five vignettes I saw, that really show some thought, hard work, sculpting and painting as an all round presentation.

all are themes from WW2, and related to the pacific theater (or related to it)

I had to stop, back up, and really look at these.

Close ups, next post.

Melbourne Model Expo 2011 - Busts part 2

2011-06-12T02:46:00.001-07:00

More busts. I like the ida of the US Marine, one from the Vietnam War, the other from WW2.

The subtle blacks on Captain Ramius are nice too.

Subdued basing also lets the eye dwell upon the busts, rather then drag it away.

With figures, basing does become very much a part of the overall; you have to focus the viewers attention on such a small area, and give it character and life.

Great effort from these artists.

Melbourne Model Expo 2011 - Busts

2011-06-12T02:38:00.000-07:00

Busts - where skills with a Brush will breathe life into the figure - or otherwise.

These have been done to a very high standard, and cover a broad range of periods and roles.

And almost all are military related.

I did grab some photos of a New York City fireman, as well as a Native American mother with Child. My skills with the camera weren't up to the task, and blurry photos are no good.

Bases are either subdued, or occasionally, complement the bust nicely (like the U-Boot seaman).

Again, photos to speak for themselves.

Melbourne Model Expo 2011 - Figures, other scales or subjects

2011-06-12T02:17:00.000-07:00

Ok, top to bottom, we have Motoko Kusanagi, from Ghost in the Shell, a Japanese Manga/ Anime,
followed by Judge Dredd, from the British comic 200AD,

rounded out by Yoda.

And if you don't know who Yoda is, well, "Welcome to Earth!"

I like the hair effects on Yoda, the folds with highlights and shadows is heading in the right direction, just has missed the directionality of light.

Great expression on the face of Yoda, though!

Melbourne Model Expo 2011 - Build it BIG!

2011-06-12T02:10:00.001-07:00

Now here is a big & little project.

a 1/72 super cannon, German, WW2.

The Tiger 1 & figure are to the same scale.

Monstrously huge, even in 'braille scale'. I think I'll let the pictures speak for them selves.

Melbourne Model Expo 2011 - Naughty Lady

2011-06-12T02:06:00.000-07:00

Well, there had to be at least one lady, barely dressed, or in a state of "wardrobe malfunction"

Andreas (I think) maid puts in a appearance.

Pity the lighting doesn't flatter the figure.

Melbourne Model Expo 2011 - Gundam & Mecha

2011-06-12T01:56:00.000-07:00

Here's where the Sci-fi has shown growth over the years - previously (from memory ie pre internet or digital cameras) Gundam was one of those things that meant a pilgrimage to Japan, or mail order from the USA.

(and waiting a week or two after you sent off a letter....)

Now we are a few mouse clicks away from our areas of interest; and 'Lo & Behold' see the growth!!

The top suit has a teeny tiny soldier, between his feet, to give an idea of scale.

Melbourne Model Expo 2011 - Kits for Kids

2011-06-12T01:44:00.000-07:00

Bravo to Mr John Croaker, of Model World, South Australia.

Simple kits, mostly cars, almost all of them for about $10; so very affordable, easy to put together, and a sense of acclomplismnet for our younger modellers.

This group I over heard discussing diorama ideas.

John Croaker I remember from when I was living in Adelaide, and has been in the trade for something like 15+ years now that I know of.

Yes, he keeps moving his shop (business driven decisions) however, this is a local hobby store I could recommend.

Friendly guy, God Bless him!

Cheers to John

PS - if you live in or are passing through Adelaide, the current contact number is (08) 8234 1159

Melbourne Model Expo 2011 - Scratch builds

2011-06-12T01:29:00.000-07:00

Now into the realm of the scratch builders.

Here, the Australian sense of humour comes through - the Red-back spider (sometimes called the Black Widow in the USA). Normally these are very tiny, rather shy, and rather poisonous. When I say tiny, about the size of a pea is the average for a real big one; usually, much smaller.

So this one is about 15 times normal size.

The troll is also good, from the sagging skin to the dynamic pose.

And from a technical viewpoint, the 8 gun Pom-Pom anti air mount is head of the class - here's why.

- neat, tidy, precise construction
-well finished, and logically weathered.
- all the spent brass rounds give a idea as to how much fire power this weapon system had.
- a figure to give it scale
-textural variety, from the shiny brass rounds on the deck, to the worn deck plates.

Bonus - a figure on an anti air system that isn't pointing to the sky at the same angle as the guns!

Not all, just a sample, still, these guys are good; setting a high standard!

Melbourne Model Expo 2011 - Ships, Boats and floaty things...

2011-06-12T01:16:00.000-07:00

When it comes to craftmanship, and in a very tiny scale, I have to admire the scale shipwrights. As you can see, they can put a lot of detail into a very small scale.

I counted two IJN Yamatos, one Bismark, a few aircraft carriers (one just as big as the Yamatos) plus a few others of types I am not familiar with.

The top one is a vessel lowering a Remotely Operated Submersible, over a ship wreck. There was another with a submarine doing a ballistic missile launch from under the surface.

As for doing crew, I find it hard enough putting eyeballs on a 1/9 face.

Painting 1/700 scale figures (and making them 3-d) is another skill set again!

Sunday, a day of Rest.....

2011-06-11T17:26:00.000-07:00

Yes, today is a day of rest.

Where I get a chance to do the...

the Rest of the housework

the Rest of the laundry

the Rest of the car maintenance

the Rest of the animal & pet upkeep

and the Rest of everything else I didn't get to do during the week.....

Melbourne Model Expo 2011 - Sci-Fi

2011-06-11T17:03:00.001-07:00

Sci-fi was represented, and with some fun stuff such as the "chopper" speeder bike, and the speeder bike with side car. (Princess Leia as aBad biker chick,who would have guessed.)

The general entry view covers buck Rogers 1980's TV show) to Battlestar Galactica, to Star Trek, plus the Star Was.

Others were there as well, the Gundam/ Mecha had their own entry fields.

Again, this is a over view, not a detailed write up, nor a "entry by entry" photographic effort.

Melbourne Model Expo 2011 - Helicopters

2011-06-11T16:52:00.000-07:00

This is a 1/72 scale (big!) Mi-26 Halo, Russian super lift helicopter.

Big, bold, although given the size of the base, more figures could be included with out taking away from the aircraft itself. A little sparse for 'life'

Still, a white finish, well executed, and there is a story there. And good to see something from the other side of the old iron curtain.

There were a few more helicopters, but in I guess 1/144 or 1/72. Again, this caught my eye, white contrasting against soil.

Melbourne Model Expo 2011 - Aircraft

2011-06-11T16:40:00.000-07:00

Aircraft were, as always, well covered.

No surprises, lots of WW2 German, some multi engine bombers (mix of American, British & German) the jets, mostly American.

the ones caught my eye, for two different reasons.

Both are large, and the aircraft themselves are finished to very high standards. Weathering is right - subtle, yet there, and not over powering the finish, just complementing it nicely.

Bases; the German bomber is at home, unified with it's base.

The American aircraft, is at odds with its base. The aircraft is realistically weathered, yet it sits pon varnished wooden planking (in scale) with glossy rocks and a wooden work platform.

The rocks and high gloss planks detract the overall effect, for me.

If the planks were subdued, with tie downs, and some steel decking where the rocks are, then I could believe this carrier based fighter is at home.

Having said the above, both aircraft are well finished, excellent craftsmanship in construction through to clean up.

Melbourne Model Expo 2011 - first pic

2011-06-11T16:30:00.001-07:00

Well, after doing a orbit, this was the first one to stand out for me.

Navigating to the "Edge of the World"

simple, effective, clever.

Scale? I guess about 1/1400

Melbourne Model Expo 2011 - over view

2011-06-11T16:14:00.000-07:00

Well, for the first time in about 7 - 8 years, I managed to get to a model expo.

Explaining this to co-workers and friends, well, I said "it's kind of a convention, for scale artists"

True enough, I suppose.

I got there about 1pm on the first day, the event being held at the Sandown Entertainment centre. (and will be held today 12th and tomorrow 13th).

I was surprised by the area covered, and the variety of entries (positive surprise). I suspect I was still a bit early to see the full array of entries, as the tables didnt seem full to brim like other events I have read about.

There was a cafe serving hot meals, demos by various experts (I sat in on parts of resin casting and weathering with pigments)

I spent a lot of time, doing orbits, just seeing what was on display, and how the models were finished.

Vendors were there, the hobby shop guys barely visible behind walls of kits, while the after market people were doing their bit on the opposite side of the hall, with enough resin and brass detail accessories to almost justify serious consideration of selling organs.

Crowd wise, fairly general, other modelers, mums (and grand-mas) shepherding young kids about, Dads taking an interest and shepherding kids away from the "touch to see" natural curious response of little kids. Lots of cameras about, from little digital point & shoot, to cameras that would look out of place bolted to the top of a missile launcher (ie big lens)

Onto the photos, roughly by groupings, not in the order I wandered around in.

Lilly pics, part the second.

2011-04-27T05:35:00.000-07:00

Ok, artsy wanna-be photos out of the way...
top, Ben, me, and my niece.

middle, the new way to baby sit. set up X-box, place swaddled baby on legs, play co-op Portal 2.

third, Lilly doesn't mind, shes fed, warm, happy, and most importantly, loved.

I felt a bit travel worn on the trip to Bens place.
Still, for an over-nighter, it was good to be with family.

Cheers

Pics of my niece

2011-04-27T05:31:00.000-07:00

Well, after flying over to Adelaide and back, here some pics of Lilly.

Top, Lilly opening her eyes for the first time.
Middle, Mother & daughter look upon each other
Lower, Lilly holds her Dads finger.

Welcome here, Lilly.

Welcome Lilly, my Niece.

2011-04-21T18:26:00.000-07:00

Well, my brother & sister in law have had their first daughter.
Lilly, born early this morning (a quick labour) healthy & well.

I'll fly over Sunday morning, then fly back the next day.....

Pics to follow,

Congratulations to Ben, Mish, Tahn for the new daughter & sister!

O-hana-mi....Sakura...Ohka

2011-04-16T02:37:00.000-07:00

O-hana-mi.

Flower viewing.

Cherry Blossom (Sakura) season in Japan, the flowers (hana) bloom, last for about a week.

A Cherry blossom that has fallen, is known as an "Ohka"

My friend, Kanae, sent me some pics, and it shows the trees near her work covered in Pink.

so lovely, for such a short time.

After so many disasters and tragedies happening around the world, it's nice to be able to step away from that, for a while, and enjoy something so lovely, so fleeting.

Best wishes to all out there.

Painted items parts holder

2011-04-16T02:07:00.000-07:00

Now for something completely un-glamorous. Often, when painting, we have parts of our kits attached to bits of rod, wire, or dowel. To act as a handle

Hold on the handle, paint away, no fear about smudging paint, leaving finger prints....

Only thing is, where to put these parts plus handles while the paint dries.....

I did the old "place in an empty jar" and that worked.

Until I got to Mirei-san, a larger (and heavier) scale figure then I was used to.

New situation, update thinking time.

First, I tried just placing fine sand in the bottom of a jar, which worked for the smaller pieces, like the hands. Struggled to maintain balance with the legs, so, update thinking again.

Rummaged through my tool box, found some 35mm film canisters (yep, that far back) with lead fishing weights and another with ball bearings.

Added a later of sand (sieved out the junk & organic grit) added the weights (rather then drop them straight onto the glass) then topped up with more sand.

Works a treat, so long as the base is heavier then the figure (parts) that are attached to the handle. Still, saves a part from toppling...happy little fellow am I.

Mirei-san; well, that (mostly) worked!

2011-04-16T01:52:00.000-07:00

well, filling and shaping the putty really gave good results. 1st Pic shows that the contours are still there on the jacket, but most of the trench is gone. Still some spots that require a touch of filler, but way better then the trench that was there before.

One thing I am a bit annoyed about is the tiny amount of over spray, one on the hinge point of the left jaw, the other just behind the right ear. Way better then having to rework the face at this late stage.

Oh, the airbrush.....it seems I spend more time masking the subject up and prepping (then cleaning) the airbrush, then I do actually painting with the airbrush.

still, for covering large areas smoothly, quickly, still quicker then hand brushing.

Mirei-san: casting call for the Mummy, in tamiya tape

2011-04-16T01:42:00.000-07:00

Ok, putty dry, time to get ready for some airbrush work. As always, break out the masking tape for the large areas, then the blu-tack (sometimes known as silly putty for my overseas friends) and apply to all areas I wish to be other then blue.

2nd pic shows where I carved back the putty blobs; one worked, the other, well, not really. Still, good to try, and get some results form the effort. Other details I could carve in I'll add with painted effects.

I am glad I went for a 'straight from the bottle' colour, rather then a custom mix. It has saved me so much work, given the amount of work and rework I have had to do on this figure.

Masked up, compressor ready, lets get to it!

And yes, it does resemble some odd kind of 'Mummy' as in ancient Egyptian wrapped up.....

Mirei-san; attaching the arms, closing more gaps....

2011-04-11T04:16:00.000-07:00

Attached the arms, using the super wonder miracle technique, 2-part epoxy resin.

While the arms attached ok, because of the peg & hole system to line them up, there was only so much room to wiggle, jiggle & fiddle the fit. So in the end, got it as close as I could, and glued it.

Top pic shows the line up leaves gaps, and a "bump" where the sleeve meets the shoulder. Bit much, even for a figure/ anime/ cartoon where historical accuracy is non-existent.

So I reached for some Pro-Create putty, nice stuff, mixed as per directions, and applied thin snakes to the gaps.

To avoid excess sanding work, applied talcum powder to the sculpting tool, works a treat at preventing the putty sticking to the tool (or fingers) and lets a smooth surface be achieved. (2nd pic)

3rd pic shows how I re-masked the face to help protect the finished face from errant files, scalpels and clumsy fingers. I swear, this poor little lady has spent so much time bound with rubber bands, or swathed in masking tape......

I also built up the edges of the jacket collars, and will carve/ shape new ends next, before I lay down paint again.

I am glad I did pre-paint, as trying to get an even paint on the insides of the arms and jacket - testing, to say the least.

Just the fit issues are slowing down the last stages of this project.
Mind you, I have heard it said that the last 20% of a project seems to require 80% of the effort.

Plus, I should get off my butt, and take action more often,. then be brain dead in front of the TV.

Mirei-San; closing the gaps.

2011-02-26T20:55:00.000-08:00

OK, the back view will explain more; once the epoxy glue had set, I mixed up some two part putty, and then made some long thin sausages out of it.

Gently laid them down, and then using my sculpting tools, smoothed/ pushed the putty into areas I needed, following the curves already there.

(The curves follow the natural folds of the jacket - didn't want to lose them.)

Set aside to cure, then the next weekend, sit down and devote some time.

Put a fresh curved blade in the scalpel, and gently carved off the bulk of the putty. Then followed sanding with wet& dry sandpaper, used dry.

Although I have completely stripped the paint off, I can easily fix it with the airbrush.

I had to do something similar with the front.

Also, notice how I have laid down masking tape - this is to help avoid disaster if the scalpel, putty or sculpting tool should slip.Just a bit of foresight.....

It feels good to have some creative momentum happening again.

Mirei-san; blocking in the base colours, outer layers.

2011-02-26T20:49:00.000-08:00

Primed, cleaned and then base coated the figure. I found by doing this, it gives me a better idea of how the project is tracking, especially of colour schemes.

The Blue is a nice contrast against the pink, and both are good against the white bra, and the pale pink flesh tones.

I had base coated and prepainted the inner sides of the jacket, and once dry, used two part epoxy to glue the jacket halves together.

Still, there is a huge trench down the back, and a small gap down the front, (where the button is straining to keep the jacket closed) so these areas will require attention, with putty, and sanding sticks.

Mirei-San; back at the bench, time for some overdue updates.

2011-02-26T20:45:00.000-08:00

OK, after the getting the silly season and new years out of the way, I think I fell victim to the "Couldn't be Bothered".

Happens to all of us, and frankly, this is a hobby.

Finally, I got back into the right mindset, and am now happily at the bench.

Now to work out how I out photos in these posts.....

Holidays!!!!

2010-11-17T13:34:00.000-08:00

At last, some holidays, my first holidays that are for relaxation and recreation.

I'm off to Japan, specifically, Osaka and Hiroshima.

Only 5 days. but I do have a friend to catch up with, and I'll be getting guided tours around some photogenic sites, plus enjoying the local nosh.......

Preparations for this trip have demanded my attention, so that explains the lack of hobby bench time.

So once I get back, I'll be completing Mirei-san, and then posting some pics here.

Cheers!

Mirei-san; getting the chair height right

2010-09-19T02:52:00.000-07:00

test fitting the parts, so the chair is the correct height. Well I lashed the figure together, temporary fittings, with Tamiya tape and blue tack, then measured the gap between wher her shoe floated in space, and the ground.

Removed the offending bot of pipe, and voila, looks like Mirei is actually going to be able to use the chair.

The upright that goes between the chair and the swivel stand was originally made out of resin, but I replaced it with a combination of an inner brass tube with an outer layer of Evergreen styrene tube, to help fill the gap. (almost a perfect fit - bonus!)

I did that for strength issues, didn't want the chair bending on a warm day, if I could avoid it.

Also need to clean up her skirt - laid down the base coat, then fumble it, smudged the wet paint with my fingers, and got it dusty and gritty. So thats a bit of a rework I'll have to do.

Still, now the major components are coming together (and in colour) I am looking forward to completing this even more!

cheers

Mirei-San; details on the eyes, lips and bra

2010-09-09T04:53:00.001-07:00

Having done the eyes, decided to work on the lashes....so Miriei-san has something to bat at us!

Used a warm brown, tinted it with back, rather then straight back. again, it may be a subtle thing, it just helps reduce the stark contrast.

Then I added in her eyebrows; I did go for a raised eyebrow look, although I was worried that it may have been too high. However, when I put her hair on (fringe and cascading down the sides) as a check, I noticed two things. The psotion isnt too bad (could be a bit lower, truth be told) and with her unpainted resin hair on, she looks like a real "Dirty Blonde" - innuendo intended.

I also worked on her lips. I did a quick swatch patch, partly as a warm up, partly to explain in picture form what I did. Not mentioned in the lip sheet is adding a layer of gloss to the lower lip. If going for a more realistic look, I would think about gloss for the lower lip, and satin for the upper. It is one of those little things, the cumulative effect of which is to give the figure a "whole" finish

Bra - opted for white on this - simpler. Plus, I didn't feel like mucking about with purple for the bra set.

I thinned the white down with gel medium, designed to thin paints down with out making the paint all runny and uncontrollable. So laid down my first coat, and gradually worked up the layer. Tried to add some uncut white, to imply lace texture. Around the tops of the lace 'weave', upper edges of the bra 'scalloping' (the semi circular pattern on the top side of the bra) and the little bow in the middle.

Next time I do some lace texture like this, I think I would thin down the white even more, or shift to a different shade of colour...like that purple, or black/ smoke, like the same effect I did for the stockings, for the bra. Still, a good idea to file away for next time.

Mirei-San; doing the face

2010-09-09T04:37:00.000-07:00

Ok, more work done on the figure. Decided to do the eyes at this point, as everything is still easy to access, and I can rework quite happily, if need be.

I elected for an olive green; lack of covering power kind of put paid to that idea. So I opted for some blue in the mix, and reworked the eyes again. Oh, please note, the whites of the eyes aren't white; actually they are Vallejo Light flesh, which gives a much better result.

(I have seen straight white used, and it can give a bug eyes look. Heck, have done it myself when starting out. Works better if the white of the eye is 'cut' with a minor tint of pink)

I was struggling to get the eyes right, until I realised that I was missing a third reference point - the lips. So I blocked those in, in red, and all of a sudden, I could see what was lining up where.

Last pic is to show my start point.

Painting the figure - painting the stockings

2010-08-30T20:04:00.000-07:00

Ok, having studied the tests, worked out how I should paint the stockings, my next step was to commit to actual paint......

I started by masking up the areas I wanted to remain in the original colour, then pre-tinted where I felt it seemed logical.

i.e backs of the knees, around the ankles, so forth.

(no work in progress pictures here though - I was in the groove, and not stopping for pictures...)

Once I had done my pre-tinting, then I laid down a coat over the top of this, trying to keep it as even as possible. For the whole, I think my efforts were successful, and I must remind myself this is my first effort at doing something like this.

Once I was happy with those results, I reached for the hairdryer, and force dried the first layer.

Then I quickly masked of the top of the thigh high stockings from the rest of them to lay down multiple thin coats, to build up density.

Over all, by varying the tones, this helps add to the textures and contours of the figure overall...well, the legs so far.

Going by the feedback of fellow figure painters, I seem to have achieved my primary purpose. Now to move onto the rest of the figure.

Painting the figure - preshading the legs

2010-08-29T18:05:00.000-07:00

Before I went ahead and laid down my smoke paints for the stockings effect I deiced to preshade the legs, to help 'boost' the colours underneath, before being muted by the overlay of the 'stockings'.

For the entire figure, the flesh toes, I decided on doing something a bit different - I worked from the lightest tone (IE, the highlight tones) then added more pink to get to my mid tone, then added even more pink to get my 'shadow' tone. As this is a large (-ish) figure for me, and I am using an airbrush exclusively for the flesh, smooth toes are essential.

Plus, it was something different for me to try. (traditionally, most figure painters start with a mid tone, then lighten or darken accordingly, which works fine)
It can be seen where i have darkened the skin tone, in places the make sense to me; around the ankles and lower calves, the backs of the knees, where the legs cross, around the knee caps and on the underside of the thighs, where natural shadows would fall.

Glad I did, although I wasn't sure how it would turn out at the time, tilla fter the stockings were done.

Painting the figure - Stockings, planning and testing first

2010-08-29T17:54:00.000-07:00

Stockings - are a sheer/ thin item of knit wear. Which means that loght will behave differently, depending on both how the stocking is compressed or stretched, and the underlying skin/ muscle tissue underneath.

This is one of the few times that research is really Fun! I had to research and examine images of ladies legs in stockings........

Then the work - what paints will give me the results I want.

I tired adding various shades of black or grey to the base flesh tone, to see what happened. All I got was a muddy colour, so that ruled that out.

Thinning paints down got fiddly quickly, because it would mean too runny paint - lacked control.

A reference book advised to use a 'smoke' colour. This can be seen every day on a car windscreen, that tinted band at the top. It cuts down glare, without blocking vision. Simply, it is a translucent paint, depending on how many layers of it is applied.

So a comparison test on my colour swatch seemed to confirm it.

Now I was set. Just a bit of pre work to do on the legs, first.

Painting the figure - the legs

2010-08-29T17:47:00.000-07:00

Here are the legs, after the revised paint scheme. This was just a base coat. I did have problems with the legs, not so much in handling them, but in what to do with them until the paint dries..... a fellow modeler, Bob Chawgo reminded me of pinning and handles. So in the second part, it can be seen how I filled up a jar with some sand (nice, wide, short, fat, heavy jar) and just poke the dowel handles in the sand, to let the paint dry, with out fear of smudges, finger prints, all those kind of things that can be avoided by a bit of thinking ahead of time.....

Painting the figure- base tones

2010-08-29T17:36:00.000-07:00

Ok, overdue for an update here. (mostly because I have been doing this as a build log on an other website with a lot of questions and answers)

Top pic is where I settled for the flesh tones - nice and pink. Probably a bit too pink, however, I wanted a nice, rosy hue to the girl, as by the time the jacket, the skirt and stockings were added, it would tone the entire figure down. So by making the flesh tones strong, I will balance out the other colours, and conform to the anime roots of the figure (rather then a portrait of a true figure, which would require more shading and highlights)

2nd Picture is the first coat. Which had a to yellow finish (too much ochre in my custom mix) so a repaint was in order. Never hurts to go back and rework if the first effort wasn't quite there.

Third pic is the colour swatch - because of my busy life, I find that a week or more will pass before I can get bench time, so this is a simple way of keeping track of my ratios of paint mixes. Plus, if anyone ever asks "hey, what colour did you use for X?" then I can find the answer.

Micro sculpting

2010-08-16T19:22:00.000-07:00

saw this link, and have seen some of his work on the net.

Just had to share. After all, it's not everyday that we hear of someone who sculpts stuff on the tips of pencil nubs!

http://kronikle.kidrobot.com/pencil-tip-micro-sculptures-by-dalton-ghetti/

Mirei san; priming the figure

2010-07-26T21:36:00.000-07:00

And then painting.

After a long time going over the figure with wet and dry sand paper, I thought I had just about got all the scratches and casting marks out....not quite. took me a few reworks, then respray, inspect......

Here is the figure at primed stage. (Vallejo Grey Primer)

Painting efforts to follow

Mirei - san; dents, dings, chips and things

2010-07-26T21:31:00.000-07:00

....pinholes, pinholes, pinholes......

part of the casting process, no way around them, and they can be a challenge to clean up.

plus chips from travel damage too.

So broke out the putty, wet and dry sand paper, and got busy.....

Plus cleaned out some resin from between the fingers of the hands, just to add some definition.

Mirei-san; first steps, fit issues

2010-06-26T17:26:00.000-07:00

Ok, here is an example of fit issues. While nicely sculpted, the drapery* being quite ok for a figure of this size and type (anime), because of the characteristics of resin, it will shrink as it cures. To a greater or lesser degree.
(there are some casters out there that have worked out shrinkage rates, and good on them)

As can be seen, there is a huge gap along the back. The folds line up quite ok, but the there is no way around the gap; I'll have to fill it during construction. This is perhaps the worst bit of fit on my kit; thankfully, it is easy to get to, and will be mostly hidden by the back of the chair she will be sitting on.

So dry fitting of the major and minor parts has been done, and now I can proceed.

* Drapery; the behavior of fabric/ clothing as it conforms, moves or settles around the body. For an anime figure, the drapery is acceptable to realistic. For a true to life figure, it could be considered perhaps a bit over done.

Mirei-san; tools for clean up

2010-06-26T17:22:00.000-07:00

Starting from left to right,

a pair of scalpels, one with a curved blade and stout handle, for general carving and rough tidying up. the second is a fine handle with pointed blade, I use that for cleaning up in fine areas, or doing light work.

I will change to a different shape blade if need be.

Next is a hardened steel pin mounted in the jaws of scalpel, great for cleaning out, picking out, a light re-scribing of some sculpted detail.

Next to that is a Micro Chisel, great for heavy duty cleaning up. No, I don't use a hammer, just hand power, and take off thin layers as need be. Better control that way.

For this project, my new best friend is a bottle of Vallejo plastic putty. Great stuff, effectively odorless, binds well, close to zero grain. (some fillers I've used in the past could flake away, due to grain, and other factors)

My Games workshop putty tool, actually became useful once I spent a weekend polishing the surfaces to a mirror finish. Tip to you budding sculptors out there, polish your tools. You'll be forever cleaning up rough finishes until you do!

Some rat tail files, some wet and dry sandpaper (in the upper corner) and....

the tool on the right is actually a dedicated scribing tool. Had it that long, cant remember which brand......may have been Squadron, or Micro mark, or someone completely else....
But I will be using it to re-scribe some lines that are soft/ missing!

Onto the build process!

Mirei-san ; parts lay out

2010-06-26T17:10:00.001-07:00

Here is our subject - I have excluded the chair she sits on from the parts layout.

Please note, the torso/ skirt/ face were originally separate, I had glued these together before repacking and moving interstate.

So there are quire a few parts for this figure kit. It's not actually complex, however there is some clever engineering and thought that went into the kit breakdown, and how the parts interlock for construction.

I have been thinking long and hard (and doodling a work process on a note pad) and have decided on a the following build/ paint sequence.

- Torso, face and skirt glue together, prep, then paint
- Legs, leave separate, prep, then paint
- Match up legs to skirt, then construct chair
- Jacket, arms/ sleeves, paint
- Hands - complete and add
- Hair - probably do last
- Base, pinning.

Of course, no plan survives first contact with reality, so I will have to alter plans as needed.

Tools and equipment next post.

Mirei-san; A step by step

2010-06-26T17:04:00.000-07:00

Ok, doing this as a step by step.

This is a resin cast garage kit, and like many garage kits, quality ranges from the superb to the rough and ragged. Mine is cast in an ivory/ off white colour resin. A bit hard when it comes to working it, but that means it will polish out scratches and take some surgery when needed. And this will need some surgery!

Generally speaking, fit ranges from great to huge gaps, usually due to the shrinkage rate of resin.

Some areas of the castings will need sanding and polishing, due to casting marks.

Air bubbles are present, and will need filling on visible areas.

onto the kit!

New Project - Mirei San

2010-05-07T04:08:00.001-07:00

Next project, something to relax after the high energy effort (and steep learning curve) of the wedding sculpt.

so here I present to you - Mire-San, a sensual anime style piece.

Based on the illustration of Shunya Yamashita, the kit is essentially the same with the glasses being swapped out for a pen.

two different right arms are included, for choice of postures, plus the options of either hair down loose, or up in a pony tail.

More details later.

looking forward to this project......

Mr & Mrs Stokes

2010-05-07T04:00:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Ben and Mish, now Mr & Mrs stokes.....

don't have any photos from the wedding reception itself (relevant to the wedding sculpt) but here a some pics of the happy couple with their wedding sculpt.

they were thrilled with it.

That's all that matters.

Best wishes to my brother and Sister in law,

much love,

Jamie

Wedding Sculpt - calling it Done!

2010-05-07T03:43:00.000-07:00

Project completed.

All the little fiddly details are done (although an extra month on sculpting the heads, and painting would have been nice) I got the project to complete status.

Ok, Figures attached, the faces given eyes, lips, and hair.

Mish holds in her hand a bouquet of Cherry Blossom flowers, while Ben gives the bike some throttle.

the licence plate has Ben & Mish's initials, with the date they were married (10th April, 2010)

The road sign is made from styrene, painted to look like wood, and has the logos for double happiness (in Chinese) on it. Ben and Mish, zooming along into the future, towards "double Happiness".

You may be wondering why the thing is set up on the diagonal, and why there is such a big gap to one side?

simple.

I'll be adding a sidecar, with Mish son Tahn, and Bens dog Vin, inside at a future point.

Still, the feeling of saying "I have done all I can in the time I have had" and looking upon it, it feels good.

Fitting the figures to the Bike

2010-05-02T04:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, it looks like Killer Zombies on Bikes in these photos.....

Here is the end result of me fitting the figures to the bike after base coating them, and fixing them to the bike (thanks to that miracle product, 2 part - 5 minute epoxy resin).

Here is where a weird thing happens.....once fine fitting figures now don't want to sit in the designated slots I dry fitted them to fine.

I think that paint must have some weird properties, warping mass and space to distort fit.

Or, I missed something during planning and fitting......

The hands had been left off til now, simply so I could make a set of hands grasping the handlebars.

How? start with a flat piece of clay, wrap it around the rod/ bar/ handle /what ever in question, then sculpt your hand down from there.

Sound easy when described in a sentence....trust me, it aint.....

It's one of those little things that helps add to the realism of the image.....

The key elements are here; Ben, Mish, motorcycle and base. All in an Action pose.

Glad I base coated them in the correct colour before fixing them, to the bike; there is no way some of that could have been painted once put in place. Any project like this demands thinking about three steps ahead (at a minimum) and trying to work out what may work, and what might not.....then figure out a work around or a fix, even if the process doesn't even physically exist at this point in time.......

Lost some sleep doing all this, but hey, now it is really looking like the original idea I had. Always exciting to see an idea emerge into physical reality.

Figures bulked out, primed and prepped

2010-04-13T21:20:00.000-07:00

Rather then drag you, the reader, through every step of the build up, we'll skip ahead to where I had decided that I had hit the point of diminishing returns on the faces and bodies.....

I ended up baking these figures for a good time; the figures ended up a dark brown colour.

Ouch.

Definitely set though. Any more work needed on this would require carving, files and sandpaper.....

Gave them a coat in Vallejo grey primer, after washing the figures in soap and water.

Once the primer coat was dry, laid down some base coats. Blue for the jeans and denim skirt, flesh tones where needed, and Andrea grey for the jackets (part of their Black set)

Hands I was going to wait till final fitting to bike. Bens hands needed to grip the handles, while Mish had to grip Ben, and a bouquet of Cherry Blossoms.

I think this was taken very late one night, after a full day on the project.

Mish figure work up

2010-04-13T21:01:00.000-07:00

OK, we can see where I have made an effort at capturing a likeness of Mish; challenging. After a few different efforts, I got one I was fairly happy with. Alas, took no photos, as I had to push hard to get this complete in time, and was so focused on making progress that I plain forgot to take much in the way of work in progress shots.....

Now, for you budding sculptors out there who wish to sculpt a female figure, here is something I am trying to keep things real, regarding breasts.

Mark a centreline from the hollow of the throat, down to the centreline of the hips. This gives the centreline of the figure. Next, at about 45 degrees, mark a pair of lines from the top of the throat, down to the base of the rib cage. Should look a bit like a triangle, or a three line sketch of a tree. I added in a line to make a triangle at this point so I could place some boundary lines around my Sisters in Laws anatomy.

Next, made up a ball of Sculpey, cut it in half to ensure some symmetry, then blended it in, so it resembled a teardrop shape.

This gives something resembling cleavage, and realistic breasts.

two often I see what looks like a pair of soccer balls attached in a rather optimistic way, with no appreciation of gravity, mass or massive back aches for such large....err.....sculpts....

Anyway, until I find a better way, this technique is giving me a start point.

Figure of Ben work up

2010-04-13T20:46:00.000-07:00

Ok, here it can be seen where I revisited and then had to rework Ben. The top photo shows how I built up his body, and jacket, in sections. to keep layers even in thickness, I laid down two thin strips of plastic sheet, and then used a brass tube to flatten the Sculpey. Worked quite OK, and by doing it in sections, well, it was easy to manipulate around the figure.

Second photo, it can be seen where I cut a wedge from out of his belly, and a line across the small of his back; then I bent him forward, so his stance was more natural, and he didn't end up with arms down to his knees!

His arms at fixed at this point, but will be rotated up so he can grasp the handlebars.

Ground work near completion

2010-04-13T20:34:00.000-07:00

wow,
now that looks good. really, it looks like a piece of ground with grass, and rocks, and stuff now. I did airbrush successive layers, then I added a thin layer of groundwork glue, then sprinkled the grass onto it. The grass is a bright shade of green; rather too bright, so I cut the green sheen with some green paint, airbrushed on.

Also, the bike is gaining extras, like rear shock absorbers, an exhaust, mudguards, and some piping and plumbing. Definitely a big part of the entire task was that bike scratch build.....

More work on the base

2010-04-04T13:42:00.000-07:00

Ok, there has been more work on the figures, but I am going to refrain from posting, so the happy couple and their friends don't spoil the surprise!

Having said that, here is how I have worked on the base so far.

I made the decision to varnish the entire base, including the area that was going to be covered with the groundwork.

True, nice shiny varnish was never going to see the light of day ever again, the varnish will add a protective layer, so moisture from the plaster doesn't seep into the pine board, and warp it.

I followed this by hammering nails into the base, so the groundwor material will have something to grip. Another way of doing this is to score the base up with a knife in a cross hatch pattern, but doing that here would defeat the purpose of the varnish.

Then I worked on my groundwork materials.

Next pic is one of the materials used....here, I have mixed all my dry materials together. Just plain old plaster of paris, with some stones and gritswept up from the end of the dirveway, as well as sourced from the neighborhood when walking faithful hound.

Followed by the wet mix. Plain water, with a lot of acrylic paint mixed in. Mostly dark earth, with some black added in. A bit too much black, and next time, I'd go for a lighter shade of ground, say Burnt Umber, for example.

I add the paint to the water, so I get the plaster of Paris tinted at the same time I mix in the water. This avoids the horrors of bright white plaster showing through the groundwork when the finished piece s set out for display......

because if the viewing public find one glaring error, they will start looking for others.....(insert smack forehead action here)

Mix together according to directions, I prefer it to be about the consistency of cake icing, or pancake batter. This enough to flow, thick enough to be pushed about by artists palette knives.

Then I added some texture to the ground, in this case, a pair of wheel ruts, formed by tapping a spare tyre from one of the motorcycle kits along the ground.

I followed this up by adding a thin layer of very fine grit, just to add visual texture, and locked it into place by covering it with a layer of Woodland Scenic Cement, which is like watery PVA glue, except dries nice and flat!

Set aside to dry, and the final photo shows it in it's raw state. Needs to be airbrushed, with some other details yet to be added, but is already far more intersting then a plain old polished piece of board.......

back to it now!

Display Base Preparations

2010-04-01T18:00:00.000-07:00

OK, now for something completely unexciting, and yet without it, any finished figure (or scale model, trophy, etc) looks like something is missing -

that's right, the base!

Scrounged up some pine planking form the local hardware store (just an offcuts) as well as some edging material, also in Pine.

There is a Acrylic display case in the pictures as well, I will move onto that shortly.....

Marked up my dimensions, cut the base down to size, then added putty to end grains to try and get a smooth finish.

Let dry overnight, sand back the next day, and soon, I will be adding a stain/ varnish, a nice warm red tone.

Before that though, I measured up and then mitered down the edging, to act as a visual lock, help secure the case, and act as a retaining wall for the groundwork.

Now, at the wedding itself, plus travel, plus trying to keep dust off it in the newly weds place, a protective case made sense.

Afer a few phone calls, the team at East Coast Plastics were willing to do a 'small' job.

Made to spec, and on schedule (time is running out, and Easter is here, clogging up delivery times with public holidays) and for a decent price too!

They are also willing to do mail order, and are a fairly switched on bunch.

I am happy to recommend them, and here are the details if you want to ask them for it. they are based in eastern Victoria, do keep that in mind....

East Coast Plastics
625 Prices Highway
Bairnsdale
Vic 3875.

Ph (03) 5152 6061

or

eastcoastplastics@gmail.com

I spoke mostly with Anthony, although Claire answered the initial call, both friendly and helpful.

Thanks!

Head Sculpt Mish

2010-03-24T03:57:00.000-07:00

OK, my effort at doing a sculpt of a head, that actually looks like someone.

Lots more practice to go, me thinks.

Overall dimensions are alright, while the lips, chin and cheeks need work....

sigh.

To help put this in context, the heads, in this scale, are slightly smaller then a grape.

Progress forward though.

Test fit of figures to bike

2010-03-24T03:50:00.000-07:00

Ok, test fitting the armatures of the figures to the bike, looking ok. Ben is crouched over way too far, and Mish's torso is too tall; her head should only come to Ben's shoulder.

To rectify that, I will cut down the wire between hips and chest, and re-glue after shortening it.

Ben's cure is a lot easier, just add foot spokes, and glue/ pin him to the seat.

Pleased with this, so far.

Bike component test

2010-03-21T02:16:00.000-07:00

Bringing most of the major parts together, to see the 'look of the thing'.

So now it is coming together, there are some voids in the frame to be filled or camouflaged by "Gizmolgy"

What is "gizmology" I hear you ask.

Well, it is the science of constructing parts, using scrap, cut up kit parts, and anything else appropriate till it fits the "TLAR" test

(pronounced 'Tee-Lar)

TLAR stands for "That Looks About Right"

While everything is still a bit naked right now, it will start to fill out rapidly.

So I am likely to start pre-painting this, so I can then glue parts in, and move onto the next bit, with out having to sweat how the hell I can paint a steel grey engine part next to a chrome finish exhaust pipe with out messing up the finish on either part......

and I must admit, of the people checking in on this project, and offering words of encouragement, all are much appreciated.

Most of these people are leagues ahead of me, in experience and results, yet they take the time to share their experience, insights and encouragement quite freely.

Thank you, for your contributions to this project.

Sculpting tiny heads, part 2

2010-03-14T22:16:00.000-07:00

More work on this Rogue/ handsome devil.

Comparing one to other, lots of work to go...plus, I may have to sculpt a lot more heads before I get it right.

One sculpt is Super Sculpey base, with a Pro-Create overlay, and the other is a mix of Pro-Create and Super Sculpey, a 50%- 50% mix. makes the characteristics slightly different, pluses and minuses all around.....usually, the pluses of one, are minuses of the other.

time for a cup of tea, and some fruit....hungry and thirsty

Sculpting tiny heads!

2010-03-14T22:04:00.000-07:00

...sculpting a head is a challenge.

Sculpting a likeness, more so.

Sculpting in smaller then 1:1, add more challenge.

Well, I had to start somewhere, with someone.....

(Steep) Learning curve ahead.....

set up efforts, so far.

And the look we are (kind of) going for....

2010-02-28T20:00:00.000-08:00

...is this one.

Although, Ben isn't that much of a big bad wolf, nor does Mish go much for hoods that are red.....

it does capture the flavour of what I am going for, although the finished result will be much closer to reality.

Rework the tyres, more work on the frame.....

2010-02-28T19:24:00.000-08:00

Finally, after some harsh language, and reworking the wheels (again, and again, and again!) I got results the meet my criteria - light weight, sturdy, and look right!

Lots of mucking around on the planning stages, and reworking, then a "crash" noise as plans collided with reality.......

Make a cup of tea, stay away from the bench, sleep on problem......

return to work bench, and repeat.....

eventually cracked it....comparing the top two to the lower one, the lower (first effort) one looks like something that should be on a steam locomotive...hefty, way too hefty.....

Once I got that first tyre done, it took me only a fraction of the time to wire up the rear tyre.

Then I realised that most of this is going to be hidden under disc brakes, forks, drive gears...

which is OK, as it will look right, still support it, and gives me some room to fudge it with spacing on the wheels.....the rear wheel is slightly off, compared to the front.

Now that the wheels were done, I returned to the frame, and added the forks, as well as the headstock.

It works, holds together OK, and will look OK once complete.

mind you, there was bit of passionate language soldering all that together!

Just please keep in mind that I cant get the figures themselves sitting right until I get the foundation piece (the bike) right.

I've done enough for the morning....duty calls else where!

Motor cycle tyres, part 3

2010-02-14T22:08:00.000-08:00

Oops!! As can be seen, the spokes are starting to 'drift'. from the 6 o'clock position round to the 12 o'clock position, we can see how the spokes are starting to 'reach' rather then run in a line direct from the rim to the hub. So this one is an experiecne write off.

Lessons learned?
- get the alignment right! Check, check and recheck.
- everything will dry fit perfectly until you open the glue bottle
- remain aware of scale - this current set is way over thick, which lead to over crowding around the hub, which in turn, lead to the the reach effect.
- be prepared to write parts of a project off, rather then muck about in rescue effort.
and!

- have ample spares!

More as more gets done

Motorcycle wheels, continued

2010-02-14T22:03:00.000-08:00

Som the preliminary results looked encouraging. It can be seen where and how I marked up the points on the rim.

Measure the circumference, divide accordingly, and it was mostly on the mark.

Did something similar for the hub, that got messy......

The rim itself worked OK, as can be seen from, the test shot.

The next step is where I started wiring the sucker up, for the spokes.

Motor Cycle Wheels

2010-02-14T21:58:00.000-08:00

In keeping with the theme of the thing, I decided to rework the motorcycle wheels....

not completely successful.

First things first; basic math stuff....

360 Degrees to a circle, leave a 20 degree arc between the spokes. and work all this out, means I need 18 spokes per wheel...simple!

Right?

Well, lets look at the start of it....

The layout was ok, the tricky bit was going to be alinging the hub and the rim.
and then.....

things coming together, in a basic way

2010-02-09T22:56:00.000-08:00

Looks like some measurable progress, at last!

Here we can see how by cannibalising some motorcycle kits, that adds easily to the project, giving it a visual bit of 'oomph'

Fuel tank, radiator, frame and engine roughly tacked in with blu-tack, then the body dummy placed in to check the overall image and fit.

Coming together, thumbs up!

oh, the brass rod coming out of the figures butt, that is a working rod, in place to hold the figure while putty is applied and worked, then to be an anchor pint when the figure is fixed to the frame.

Yep, pleased with this.

Cheers

(and time for beer!)

Frame work on bike built up

2010-02-09T22:44:00.000-08:00

More work in progress. Have completed the basic frame, and started the fuel tank. Lots of soldering pracitce, and the fuel tank is not a structral element (IE, not load bearing) so that is just a quick build out of plastic sheet. More next post.

New pictures soon!

2010-02-05T02:19:00.000-08:00

Have been juggling my time amongst other projects, and also been getting sleep, showering and working full time!

Gad Zooks, plus the Dogs need walking, the cat needs a feed, the goats need some hay, the baby chickens need tending to (and being protected from the dogs, who will snatch a baby chick - not from being malicious, it's just instinct. Small, fluffy and makes a high pitched noise. that description applies to chicks mice and chase toys....)

Have finished most of the basic bike frame, and will be carving up a motorbike kit for instant detail, rather then muck about with all that scratch building. Cannibalisng or kitbashing, so long as it looks right, and helps get me closer to sculpting the figures, then those results matter.

Pics later,

Cheers for now.

More work on the bike frame

2010-01-18T03:55:00.000-08:00

OK, working on the bike frame.

I'll share this learning straightaway though - if I could, I'd do the left half/ right half of the bike frame, then solder both halves together. Simple.

I may yet do that, as a rework though.

That's the beauty of soldering stuff - re-apply some heat, separate it out, and "Ta-Dah!" reusable parts. Well, mostly.

The way I am doing it is a bit cart before horse.

Checked the figure dimensions out for scale, estimated roughly where the pelvis sits, and where the hips would articulate from there.

After all, riding a bike with the legs at something close to 180 degrees not only looks unnatural, it makes the eyes water (in real life) just thinking about it!

So the above measuring gave me an idea of the width of the bike. This will effect the thickness of the tyres/ hubs/ discs in the end, but I have to start somewhere!

Once I had that, I soldered some cross braces on. to add stability to frame as I worked on it. So good so far.

Stopped there, and started working on the radiator. Basically, a plastic sheet, with plastic rod (tiny) glues to it. Note how one end looks rough - I only did one end neat (well, mostly neat).

Then I trimmed that end down, and tidied it up.
Found some etched brass mesh (for some long ago project) and cut that down to size, added that wonder chemical of the 20th century, super glue, and now the radiator has a spiffy mesh front.

Although, truth be told, most of the details will be missed, probably, so I wouldn't bother with such detail ever again, next time. Oh well, learn and do, then live and learn.

Other thoughts - Ben confirmed that bike engines come out and go in sideways, which makes sense, and that's how I plan to build it too.

And this scratch building is like Sudoko - looks easy, then gets real fiddly darned quick!!!

Ciao for now

bike frame - base started

2010-01-13T04:09:00.001-08:00

Reviewed the plans, looked at them, and realised - "This needs a review from a bike rider", so asked Dave (my stepfather) to look them over.

And found some flaws!! Thank goodness, as if the motorbike was wrong, then the figures would be wrong, which means a rework in the future!
So 20 minutes of review form an expert, has saved me about 20 - 50 hours of work (and rework!!)

So we reworked the plans, in colour pencil.

He also has lent me his manual for his BMW, so I'll be using that for references, to aid construction.

For strength, added a bit of paperclip (the modelers universal useful bit) between the two pieces of brass tube, to add strength , and limit the 'wobble' as I apply a soldering iron to the brass.

seemed to work, so I'll persist with this.

to keep angles consistent, I cut out a guide from a bit of card, used that as a guide - again, simple and effective. Big fan of simple and effective, and will minimise a 'twist' in the frame later.

Joins are a bit scruffy, I'm not fussed, it has a fair degree of strength, and its amazing what sand paper, some putty and a coat of paint can hide!!

So that is the base of the frame, I'll work on the top part later

cheers

PS, just realised that this is turning into a scratch built effort!

Wedding Sculpt, plans

2010-01-11T01:01:00.001-08:00

o
Here are the plans for the motor bike and side car frames.

I'll make them out of brass wire, soldered together, and give a skin of plastic sheet where appropiate.

I'll be cannibalising a kit for some parts (balls to the idea of building everything from scratch!!) yet I elect to make the frame work form brass for long term strength!

I'm going to Melbourne city, tomorrow, for some supplies I can't get locally (sigh, the country life....) plus, there will other things I'll be following up on too.....

the frog is one form a water tank in our garden, which just goes to porve that life shows up while we make other plans!!

Ciao

Wedding Sculpt - offical start point

2010-01-11T00:51:00.001-08:00

Seeing as I have had some past success with sculpting, and wanting to do something above and beyond a 'new toaster' for the happy couple, I offered to do a wedding sculpt for the two - the idea of a cake topper rapidly got nixed, as the cake is one of those pyramid thingies, made up of little puff balls of pastry. No way is would stand up to a sculpted figure.

So, to make something meaningful for the couple, we decided that the pair should be riding a motorbike, with a side car, him driving, her side saddle, in the side car is her son, and his dog.

Lots of reference photos gathered, more will be needed, and time at the bench.

I can see myself juggling time between this, and two other projects I want to get done. Should be interesting, to say the least!!

Cheers for now

First Figure for 2010

2010-01-10T14:47:00.000-08:00

Have completed the first figure for 2010 (well,near enough) a small (40mm) scale cartoon type Character of a mounted bugler.

A Mig Productions figure, Flea Series, same as the Russian Pilot & Napoleonic soldier series.

Did him up as a redcoat, as I had the blue Napoleonic soldier, and wanted some variety!!

Only a temporary base, until I find a rectangular one.

The sharp eyed amongst you may notice that although he has a scabbard for a sword, no actual sword handle (which got lost in the move) so I'll be making one up for him.

Cheers for now

Christmas Tree Bauble Sculpt...

2009-12-24T01:20:00.000-08:00

.....well, kind of.

My brother and his fiancee celebrate ther first Christmas together. And Younger brother has his first Christmas tree in a few decades also.

So to help mark the occasion, I did a fast (very fast!) sculpt of the two in a wreath. About 1/72 scale.

First time working with Procreate two part putty (learning the quirks of the stuff) and first time ever doing a 'speed sculpt'.

not entirely pleased with the results, I can see massive flaws and crude finishes.....lacks a degree of much in the way of a good finish......

I think, all up, I had about 8 - 10 hours, from start to final paint coat.......just managed to get the paint dry in time ready for posting - EEEKK!

The basic circle was a twisted wire base, then given layers of Sculpey, until I was happy that it would stand up to a few years indifferent handling as a tree decoration.

the figures are based around a twist of wire, and done by eyeball...dimensionally, way off.

So next time, I'll either not use new materials and tools in a rush period to get everything done, or I'll buy something to send earlier, and not do such a rush job!!

Anyway, best wishes to all you out there, hope you get to enjoy some time with loved ones, some how!!

cheers for now

A new project begins..

2009-11-15T19:43:00.000-08:00

.....while a stored project gets restarted!!

Two projects, both for people whom I adore...

The first is to be a gift, with a couple riding a motorbike, a side car attached, with a kid and a dog riding in same. Has to be done by April 5....so no pressure.Only 140 days...not even six months....

remember, I only get to do hobby bench time for a few hours per week, at best! So better make every moment count.

The second project is a much smaller, "keep my sanity" project....designed to keep my hand in, and a fun easy project, called Walk in Spring time, about 1/32 scale, perhaps a bit smaller.....

Hopefully, I'll get some hobby bench back too!

Cheers for now

Jamie

Groundwork demo test piece pt 4

2009-10-24T15:39:00.000-07:00

Done! As an experiment, turned out rather well. Peeling the tape off left neat, clean edges. The piece has multiple textures, from the 'log', to the grass, to the bits of stones. (Yes, I did paint the 'stones' as the colour they had didn't look right, after airbrushing.) So I feel more confident about doing groundwork for my figures. I have skipped over a lot of details, if you want to learn more, I would thoroughly recommend adding these series of DVDs to your library. Will speed up acquiring the skills you wish to acquire very quickly, and give you ideas on how to tackle future projects.

Cheers

Jamie

PS, compendium can be found below, or ask at your local hobby store, or other hobby stockists.

http://www.compendiumfilms.com/

Groundwork demo test piece pt 3

2009-10-24T15:25:00.001-07:00

Adding vegetation; here is some etched brass reeds, clipped from the sprue, and just polished at low speed with a brass bristle brush. The gets rids of any chemicals from etching, fingerprint oils from handling, and are now mounted in a clothes peg holder. Like all etched brass, this is two dimensional, and I wouldn't recommend using it for a scale above 1/35 or close to that. It would look thin, particularly on the reed stem and seed head. Adding a fine wire to the stem, and bulking up the seed head with a mixture of super glue and fine silt would work to fix that, though.
After I had polished it, I airbrushed a primer coat, then cleaned out the airbrush while waiting for the primer to dry.

Once that was done, I airbrushed a dark green to the 'plant', the brushed on some different shades of green for visual interest. Set aside to dry, while finishing the base.

Before adding the reed, and the log (which I hadn't glued down yet) I airbrushed the ground with various shades of brown, slightly lighter in some places, bit darker in others.

I then added 'flocking', a type of synthetic grass, to the base after brushing on some ground work glue ( type of water based glue, that doesn't dry "shiny"). , glued the 'log' down (just needed a touch of superglue) and the reed as well.

Please note, the masking tape is still on at this point, to protect the base from over spray, glue, handling and general work bench bumping.

Groundwork demo test piece pt 2

2009-10-24T15:17:00.000-07:00

Adding some visual interest (or eye candy). This was always going to be just a test piece, for practice and fun.

Here, I have added some larger size bits of rock, and a bit of a twig, that looks like some part of a log. I have only pressed the twig into the damp (not wet) groundwork, to leave a hollow for it to settle into.

By settling the 'log' into the ground, we can see that the 'log' has been there for some time, and has had dust, dirt etc build up around it. Which does reflect what happens in nature too.

More progress, next entry.

Groundwork demo test piece pt 1

2009-10-24T15:02:00.000-07:00

After watching Richard Windrows demonstrations on how to do groundwork, one of the best things in life is to "Learn and Do'. practice of what I just learnt helps lock in the learning.

First step was to prepare a base. I selected an off cut of wood, scored the surface with my trusty Swiss Army Knife, and covered over the edges with electrical tape to create neat edges. Next time I'll do some groundwork, I'll lay done modelling masking tape, then the electrical tape. Why? The masking tape has low tack, so it wont peel of any varnish, while the the electrical tape has a shiny plastic finish, so the ground work wont stick to it. Plus, with both used, a clean removal of tape is assured. Just a thought to keep in mind.

Then I got some wall putty, as a dry powder, added some some small stones to it, added water, stirred till I had a slurry I was happy with. Then I added some paint to it. Adding the paint at this stage (and mixing it in well) means that if any bits are missed at later stages, then we don't have to worry about there being a bright patch being visible after we declare the figure (and the ground work) 'finished!'. Been there, done that, annoying when that happens.

tips; add a darker shade of paint to the groundwork if the medium is very pale. Unless you are going for snow/ ice. Using fine dust adds a visual texture to the groundwork.

tools; plain old artists spatulas, you could also use old spoons and butter knives, if you so desired.

More next post.

Groundwork, & Airbrush techniques

2009-10-24T14:40:00.000-07:00

Groundwork is one of the major pieces of any figure. A finished figure, done to the highest possible standards, looks like a figure as is, when displayed on a polished wooden base. (or any other base, come to think of it)

Add groundwork for the figure, and suddenly, we have a snapshot of life!! If we see a sentry all rugged up, then we see him placed amongst ice and snow, well then, we appreciate the miniature story behind the figure. Likewise, a figure looking at an empty bottle doesn't say much. again, place the figure in a desert type scene, we have a whole new dimension to the figure.

To that end, some months ago (before moving) I ordered 2 DVDs, one one groundwork, one on airbrushing.

In this entry, I'll share the groundwork review. (I did a similar review on Planet Figure months ago, so this may be familiar to some readers)

Terrain Modelling, with Richard Windrow, goes through some of the basic steps required to make realistic groundwork. From basic groundwork, making rock features, colours of ground, weather effects (dusty ground or muddy) plus vegetation, from moss to shrubs and trees. He also covers urban terrain, including weathering, building, destruction of buildings, rubble (too many dioramas don't have enough), snow and ice, and most importantly, research.

Also covered is materials used, as scaling terrain to figures is key. What looks like gravel to a figure of 1/16th size (about 200mm tall) is very rocky ground to a figure in 1/35th scale (about 54mm tall). Herbs from the supermarket, walks in the countryside and suburbia, and keep your eyes open, and you will find an abundance of stuff that can be used.

Lets have a step by step, to show you what I mean. Next post.

The airbrush review I'll leave for a future post.

Roll Call of Gratitude

2009-09-27T02:54:00.000-07:00

For those who encouraged me early on in this hobby.
- Rudi, of Taroks Tales, top guy.
- Chas, a young man who should go far in life; keep an eye on this fellow, he'll suddenly emerge doing something, one day.

On Planet Figure,
- Tony Dawe, who said that there are no dumb arse questions, and gave excellent feedback for my first efforts at figures. Still one of the leading flag wavers for the hobby in Western Australia.
- Ian Harries, and the lovely Kim, great people with big hearts. Also doing their bit to support a niche market in Australia.
- Ken Farrar, decent bloke, very good sculptor, helps with feedback.
- Einion, walking colour genius. Lives in Ireland, and is very generous with the sharing of his knowledge.
- Ray Farrugia, another fellow, sculpting interesting stuff of his own, and a dab hand at the brush also.
- Willem Plaisier, another fellow who does great work, from concept, to sculpting, to painting, to base.
- Mark, aka Stiff, who is a good one for spotting details. It was he who advised me that the nipple colour of my "China Lady" was about right. Not his only claim to fame, interesting guy all the same.
- Joe Hudson, another talented fellow, who happily shares his experience and thoughts
- Ray Lantz, a very generous individual, an absolute gentleman from Colorado.

I will have to add to this on an ongoing way. If I haven't mentioned you yet, I will be!

Edging forward to a new hobby bench, so I can pick up the tools again.

And looking forward to it!

Cheers

Jamie

Lack of time on the hobby bench continues......

2009-08-06T02:53:00.000-07:00

....due to various factors.

Most of all my goods (the few there are) are still in transit, so not expecting them for a few weeks. All is not lost though, here on the parents hobby farm, here is one of the new projects that took up some time.

Above is me with one of the six (yep, 6!) new Kids (baby goats) born on the farm. So I lend a hand where and when I can, as well as sort out a few loose ends from winding up life in Tasmania.

No, they aren't being grown for meat, that is definately a no go area on their futre life plan.

Above, is me with 'Moby', whom I helped deliver. Above, he is about 2 days old, I think. he has a sister and a brother, and a few cousins.

Didn't faint at the sight of the birthing process, so pleased with that too.

None of which has much (if anything) to do with modelling, but for those of you that check in, I haven't forgoten about you, its just that time is still been juggled.

Thanks for continuing to check in,

cheers

PS; A roll call of gratitude is now overdue, which (goats, dogs, chickens, trees, any other event as yet unforseen) time permitting, will be started this Sunday morning before work.

We would like to apologise......

2009-07-02T15:41:00.000-07:00

......for the slow down in updates.

I am moving interstate, changing careers, and tackling all the challenges that goes along with such a move.

Hopefully I will be updating my blog just after two weeks, and be returning to the workbench by 16th August, with updates on here.

I would like to squeeze in one more roll call of gratitude, hopefully this upcoming sunday evening.

Till then

Cheers

Why is the Centurion headless?

2009-06-23T22:58:00.000-07:00

I definitely goofed big time on this...... in trying to give this fellow some 5'o'clock shadows, went way overboard..... Now he looks like he has eaten a few shovelfuls of licorice.

So stripped the paint off, and redid it all over again.

Lessons learned
1 - Do the hard bit first (like faces)
2 - Don't delay on hard bits till forced to pull an all nighter
3 - Good work always takes longer to do right
4- If no good, go back and rework it!

So this is the before shot, of a face about the size of a grape. Good sculpting, just not good painting.
Also, this photo is at the limit of what I can achieve on the quick with a digital point and shoot. I took this picture long before upgrading both photo skills and photo area.

So it has been sprayed with oven cleaner, and is awaiting some loving attention on the workbench.

This 'before' shot I decided to post, so I can go back in the future at some point in time, and remind myself that I was not as fantastic as I though I was.....

Mind you, this is all amongst packing up to move house too!

A thank you to my support network......

2009-06-12T19:04:00.000-07:00

..of friends and family.

The upper photo is Liz, happy little miniature Dachshund of Kanae, in Japan. Kanae deserves a big thank you for her ongoing friendship over the past years, plus agreeing to be the inspiration for a future project. Liz is also a groovy little Dog! Both have very big hearts in small bodies

The next photo is of Tenzing, my Pomeranian. A muse, source of unconditional love, and someone I can talk to about anything and keeps it absolutely discreet! His ongoing role in keeping me (relatively) sane and getting me out for walks is appreciated. Not much of a conversationalist, a very good listener though!

Thanks to Ben, for getting me used to technology, even if I do resist the swift uptake rate he adopts, plus his feedback on my projects, as well as putting up with my odd sense of humour.....

Steph (Mum) & Dave, for the encouragement to keep going, and also for putting up with my sense of humour.

Gary, friend for more years then either of us care to count. That list is long and deserves at least a few beers to discuss....

The Rowneys, an ongoing example of clear and critical thinking, as well as sound advice, plus a few other traits I find admirable

Bryan (Dad) & Vicki, for my ongoing thirst for knowledge, plus their efforts at trying to fathom the nearly unfathomable Jamie

Lynn in America, who offers wry observations about my quirky hobby.....

So a big Thanks to all of you,

Ko-chan, Domo Arigato, watashi no ichiban tomadachi! (Kawaii desu!!)

And a side note, Gary picked up the sign above Tenzings head in the photo; just a coincednce, nice though!

Sayonara

PS; I'll do a roll call of "Thanks" for my fellow modelers in the near future, I just want to get names and details right first

The tale of the Headless Centurion, pt 2

2009-06-12T18:55:00.001-07:00

These photos were taken several months ago, but you can see the shading and highlights on the figure. The transitions aren't quite as smooth as I wish, and being metal, this can be a fiddly piece to manipulate around the paint bench. (needs a good solid handle to be mounted to)

I have done as much work as possible in pre-painting in sub assemblies. Why? Because some of the stance will not allow paint brush access later, but will still show up when 'finished'.
I did check, and recheck fit of the figure before I even went anywhere near priming the figure, so assembly should go ok (fingers crossed)

More up dates later, I have moved this figure back to the workbench for painting, I want it finished, as it was supposed to be a Christmas gift back in 2008!

Just goes to show, what we plan to do, the time we allot for it, and our capacity to do the work in the time allowed, are three different things!

Or simply put, "Quick, Quality, Cost - Choose any two"

The tale of the Headless Centurion

2009-06-12T18:25:00.000-07:00

Pegasos 75mm Praetorian Centurion Figure. Got so far with the figure, then put it onto the "Work in Progress" shelf, sometimes also called "Tomb of the abandoned figure".

Above is the work so far; I had really pushed myself on learning this, but a few things first.
- Not historically accurate. The type of armour is a combination of two different styles, the wrist band is unknown, and overall, this kind of array of clothing is more stereotype then accurate.

Still, a wonderful sculpt, and easily recognisable for the figure it portrays.

Lots of techniques (that are new to me) to be learnt, most of which, once I have finished the figure, I will look back at and say "I can do better, next time"

Far Side Catapult work, calling it 'Done'

2009-06-07T19:00:00.000-07:00

Well, calling this done. Oh, I could keep fiddling with it, sand this, more putty that, really go overboard on the painted details.....nope.

One, it is a cartoon piece, two, it was a 'quickie' project, just something to keep momentum going, three, too much fuss will kill the fun!

If you click on the picture, an expanded version of the photo will appear. You can see where I painted texture effects onto the catapult, stone wall, and planked walkway.

With a bit of closer examination, you will pick up some shading on the figures; creases in trousers, shadows in the lower sides of the figures (like under arms and at the sides of torsos), as well as some of the highlights

Mounted to a block (painted to resemble marble) from the local trophy shop, looks rather presentable.

Have had one request from my brother for an idea, plus lots of encouraging feedback from the Guys at Planet Figure. So thanks to all those who gave feedback and encouraged me along the way.

It's amazing what a little bit of positive and constructive feedback can do!

Will be looking at doing more of these 'flat' type sculpts, with inspiration from Japanese art, some of the classics, as well as some glamour shots too!

Cheers

Paint applied to the Far Side plaque sculpt

2009-06-01T16:12:00.000-07:00

Well, the under layers so far. I airbrushed the sky portion of it; first a base coat of white, then a light eggshell blue, then a slightly darker mix of eggshell blue and oxford blue. Airbrushing allowed me to gain a smooth graduation quickly that I couldn't have achieved as quickly or as smoothly in the same amount of time (less then 15 minutes to airbrush the sky to that degree)

The soldiers have their tunics done in white, later I will add red crosses for a splash of colour.
I'll also redo the pants and helmets on all figures, plus some implied texture through paint effects

A lot more work is required, with special attention to shading and texture effects.

One thing I am very aware of is the 'wavy' effect, due to an uneven thickness. Still, it is a practice piece, and I am having fun!
And I think that I have an answer to the waviness worked out anyway.

Thanks for looking, comments welcome

Cheers

The original Cartoon

2009-05-26T17:42:00.000-07:00

The cartoon that inspired it. Cut this out of a newspaper or something, and stuck it to the top of my work box from a past career. In that work place, the big thing was to have a small tool box, and customise it. Some guys just wrote their names, one guy pasted pretty girls all over his, I just pasted a series of cartoons to mine. Wanted to be different, and not give the political Correct police an excuse

Catch ya later.

Far Side Humourous "Flat" sculpt

2009-05-26T16:52:00.000-07:00

"I told you guys to slow down and take it easy, or something like this would happen"

One of my more favourite "Far Side" cartoons, where castle defenders, manning a catapult, are receiving a telling off because they have just accidentally launched one of their own guys from the catapult.

The edges aren't squared off yet, the 'lumps' you can see are beads of water from where I was trying to smooth the surface down. It looks a bit bowed because it is; I balanced this on my hand under the work light so the shadows could make the figures stand out.

This could be labeled a plaque, a flat figure or a demi round, given it is mounted to a background plate, it would be a plaque.
(Oh, quick legal bit; All rights reserved of original artist; intended as a study piece for personal use only. Not intended for commercial reproduction)

Similar in style to the Greek and Roman friezes, partly rounded figures carved into or onto walls.
So there is a long history of this kind of sculpting taking place.

This is also a practice piece, to get me used to working with putty, smoothing it, and gain confidence with handling of it.

I have several projects still in the pipeline, so this practice of handling the putty is good practice, and a bit of fun!

Thinking about it, this may be the first post that is a "miniature moment" and tackles humour.

Gosh..........

Basic miniature photography

2009-05-17T17:30:00.000-07:00

Photographing miniatures.......seem some great photos, seen a lot of photos that were the best that people could manage, and seen some others that made me wonder....

A few key items of equipment
- A camera (even a point and shoot can give good results)
- A tripod for the camera, or a stable stand for it
- A soft, diffused light source. Daylight standard flouro tubes are better, incandescent globes masked with a plain white sheet of paper give good results, bare bulbs create colour shifting in the photo
- A neutral background drop cloth.

In the photos above, you can see a simple tripod, a light blue cloth for the backdrop, and a light that has a daylight standard globe (It's an Ott-Lite, if you're wondering about the brand name).

I hang the cloth from my two workbench lights by use of bulldog clips, arrange the tripod and camera, switch on the light, and arrange the mini I am going to photograph.

In the second photo, you can see two reflectors I used to soften the shadows on the figures 'dark' side, one form the non- lit side, and the other from underneath, to help fill in the underside of figures (avoids long dark shadows under chins, noses, that kind of thing)

The use of a tripod is to keep the photos consistent, and one easy thing to do, once you have finished mucking about with set up, is start the self timer on the camera. press the button, camera counts down, click, photo. By linking the camera to tripod and self timer, there is nil risk of having a camera wobble at the last moment.

Like everything else, if the time is taken to prepare properly, then the results are that much more pleasing, and that little bit better.
The challenge is in finding the knowledge.