Oberschütze Senfgas -- Prepwork: Phase (1) - cont. [UPDATE 2]

Making serious progress. . .

The right lens is just about done. Final "distressing" still awaits, but it is all-but-done.

More importantly, the left lens is mounted and the lens/frame unit is now in the process of fitting (read: curing under the lamp). AND. . . the left eye has been mounted/permanently attached. Looks great as is, but more detailing and build-out to follow. . .

Oberschütze Senfgas -- Prepwork: Phase (1) - cont. [UPDATE]

This is the first time I've touched Oberschütze Senfgas in over two weeks, and I am again surprised how much had been accomplished in the last few sessions. . . 

Today, I went ahead and cut-out the gas mask lenses, and mounted the lens on the partial right frame. The left lens might be a bit more challenging depending on how I decide to mount it.

More to follow. . .  

FOLLOW-UP. . . The left lens has been tentatively fitted, and it looks GREAT!  I remain undecided to what extent it (the lens) will be distressed/damaged; and as to how much of the face behind the lens will be built-out (read: traumatized). But since I am starting with nothing, I now have the right eye/orbital area in rubber, and I should have a casting available to play with by the end of the week.

Stay tuned!

Oberschütze Senfgas -- Prepwork: Phase (1) - cont.

Though it might be too early to throw in the towel, I might as well resign myself to the fact that my 4th of July goals will not be realized--at least not in their entirety. Between the all-but-non-existent benchtime in the past fortnight and some last-minute, high-priority home repairs, things are running a bit behind schedule. But just "a bit". . . 

In any case, I have been able to spend some time at the bench in the last few days, and at least Private Mustard Gas is making significant progress. The refinishing of the helmet is just about done, and I have begun working on the filter mount of the gas mask in earnest. I hope to get the lenses cut out sometime over the weekend -- once that is done, things should start falling into place rather quickly.

To those who celebrate the day, hope everyone has a safe and happy Fourth of July!

'Til next time. . . 

Oberschütze Senfgas -- Prepwork: Project Notes/TD List

William was extremely candid re: his approach to this series:

As the series evolves I am working hard to refine the designs of the uniforms and gear. ... But, these are fictional characters so I will also use artistic license when I feel the urge.

And I am perfectly fine with that. These are works of historical fantasy, and one should not expect them to be historical paradigms: historicity is not what compelled me to acquire these.

Having said that, IMO, the broader the historical foundation, the more believable the unbelievable becomes. If nothing else, historicity becomes the "lure" that might attract someone who would otherwise unilaterally dismiss the work. This was/is my motivation for expending so much effort on my renditions of the Red Skull--and now these.

Hence the following TD list. As those of you who know me well know, WWII is not my area of expertise; but neither am I a wet-behind-the-ears noob. I feel there are some areas that could benefit from [a little] additional prepwork, and with everything else being good to go, it is worth spending the time. . .

• The helmet. The Stahlhelm is a subject of specialization unto itself; and I doubt that I would be able to become sufficiently knowledgeable in the time it takes to prep the bust. But I do want to make sure that the "lines" are right, and that the finish is ultimately believable.
• The gas mask. Work has already begun on the focal piece of this work, and there is more to be done. Again, a very complex subject that AFAIK has not had much press devoted to it. My intent is to accurize--within reason--the mask and filter to M1938 specs. While I have begun work on the filter as well, I have yet to scale it out to determine whether a Fe41 or a Fe42 is a better "fit".

And that is it! The challenge here is to first accurize; AND then suitably distress the items depicted, whether sculpturally or via paint/finishing. One must keep in mind that these are the reanimated dead 70 years after the fact. . .

Oberschütze Senfgas -- Prepwork: Phase (1)

As you can well imagine, the OOB/stock option didn't stand much of a chance. Granted, the mods are relatively limited, but it is somewhat involved.

As I mentioned in the opening posting, the left side of the mask will be--has been--modified. While I certainly understand the decision to mold the unbroken left lens of the mask en suite, it just didn't look right to me. . . too much of a "Two-Face" air about it. 

To date, I have removed the unbroken lens in its frame intact, finished the rough back, and restored the ground away mask with MS before resetting the lens. Once the restored mask has cured, I will pop the lens off, grind away the resin lens, and finish the frame. Then I will make a new lens from clear PS, and suitably distress it -- I am undecided to what extent it will be damaged. I am also undecided as to how much of the face behind the lens will be built out: intact eye? avulsed eye?? ruptured eye???

I am also considering blistering the exposed skin, but I have yet to decide whether this embellish- ment will be a good "fit" given the relatively limited amount of exposed flesh.

In the meantime, the research of insignia and helmet continues. . . 

Good times. . . 

UPDATE. . . The resin lens frame is, not surprisingly, somewhat delicate and challenging to handle--and relatively "crude" for this scale. Thus, I am in the process of making a replacement frame from a metal washer. So far, so good; though I may yet settle on the original resin frame. Stay tuned. . .  

FOLLOW-UP. . . The metal replacement lens frame has been completed -- it looks AWESOME! So much so, that I am going to make a second one to replace the partial right frame. Movin' right along. . .

Oberschütze Senfgas

Well, Q2 end has certainly lived up to the anticipated dread--and the worst is yet to come! Thus, as expected, very little production bench time has been/will be realized this week, but that doesn't mean that the bench is on "lock-down". I have had some very enjoyable chats this week with William Paquet, the creative genius behind Quarantine Studio's Dead Reich series, and that, along with the forthcoming--albeit limited--release (FINALLY!) of Frankenstein's Army got me thinking about the [Nazi] undead again, which in turn prompted me to return Oberschütze Senfgas (Private Mustard Gas), QS' second release in their DR series, back to the bench.

I picked up a very-limited pre-release version of this 1/4-scale bust back in November. What with year-end at work, the Holidays, etc. etc. etc., I barely did anything with it--or so I thought. As it turns out, given the quality of the casting, I had made considerable headway in the prepwork; so much so, that I am now about 70% through the pre-prime phase of the work!

If I decide to go with the stock piece, it should be ready for priming in relatively short order. BUT. . . I am considering modifying the left side of the gas mask. I am also thinking about how to enhance the "gross factor" with evidence of Herr Jünger being host by his own petard.

Lots of fun still to come. . .