Tars Tarkas -- Prepwork (1)

The more I handle and study this figure, the more I like it!

To date, I have done two things:

• Lowered the height of the pedestal. Whether by coincidence or design, Andrew thoughtfully marked-off three tiers at the business end of the pedestal. This is a rather large bust, and being solid-cast resin, relatively heavy. Handling weight is not a concern; "display weight" is: the figure could be somewhat top-heavy. So I simply cut off the first "tier", thus lowering the figure on its pedestal. I might go for second reduction once the mods are completed.
• I have roughed-in the front main section of the Thark war harness. I haven't finished the design of the harness yet, but I needed something more palpable than a 2-d'al sketch to work out the details. So the roughly-shaped MS harness is now curing on the figure: once completely cured, I will sketch out the areas to be reduced and then pop-it off the figure. The harness will be constructed in at least four pieces.

And that is it for now. More to follow. . .

FOLLOW-UP . . . With the harness section cured, I pegged it to the figure in situ using 1/16" brass tubing. The harness was then popped off the bust, and placed in the oven to "hard cure". I then counter-sunk the exposed ends of the tubing, checked the fit, and started marking off the areas to be reduced. So far, so great!

White Ape of Barsoom--Prepwork: Phase (2)

The right hand has been pegged (to serve double-duty as the figure's mounting peg) and positioned, though not "locked"; and our subject is now sporting a new set of much more impressive canines.

So much for the latest, already-announced "news". What is most noteworthy is that I am in the finishing phases of the musculature! This has really been a relatively painless--and yes, enjoyable!-- process. Given my current workload, I am guess-timating that this piece will be all-but-ready for priming in about 4 weeks!

I'll see if I can throw some images up in the next week or so. . .

Movin' right along!

Notable Acquisitions July 2011

KITS
Smart Max kit of Mister Honk (Allan Carrasco, 1/35th scale)

REFERENCES
Captain America: The Art of Captain America - The First Avenger

Hail [Monster] Caesar!!! Tars Tarkas bust

In my June installment of "Notable Acquisitions", I mentioned that I had Monster Caesar Studios' bust of Tars Tarkas of Thark, Green Martian of Barsoom (aka Mars), sculpted and produced by Andrew Martin, on order.

Unfortunately, this was just about the time that the Canadian Postal Strike was hitting its peak, so a delay was not entirely unanticipated. What turned-out to be a four-week in-transit time was! But all's well that ends well--and it did!--and I can say with no reservation whatsoever that it was well worth the wait!!

Before moving on to a brief review, let me just say that Andrew is a consummate professional--not only as a very talented sculptor, but as a businessman. I contacted him yesterday (of course!) about my concerns re: the seemingly inordinate delay, and he was very forthcoming and accommodating. I can't recommend him highly enough!

To the matter hand. I don't feel a need to post images as what you see in the link above is what you get. This is certainly the most convincing, "realistic", and faithful depiction of a Green Martian I have ever seen. A two-piece casting-- bust and pedestal, it is the embodiment of perfection. Truly amazing!

Some might argue that it is a somewhat minimalistic rendition of the powerful warrior. And I would agree--to a point. But in so doing, Andrew, much as Burroughs in his literary creation, has given us enough latitude to let our imagination flourish, and personalize our depiction as we would like--and our skills allow. I plan to make a few mods to mine: the most obvious will be the addition of a Barsoomian war harness, virtually the only article of clothing on Martian warriors.

Before closing, I would just point out that there are no less than four Green Martian "hordes" on Barsoom, so we can certainly go above and beyond and depict a Warhoon or a Torquasian. BTW, for the curious, this is an approximately 1/8th scale bust!

I just received this piece, so rest assured more to follow shortly. Until then. . .

PS--Clean-up and pegging to pedestal. . . < 15 mins.!

White Ape of Barsoom--Prepwork: Phase (1)--cont.

The figure has been assembled, "filled", and the integrating musculature roughed in. The only pieces left to attach permanently are the head (though it has been pegged and fitted) and the upper set of forearms.

This in effect concludes Phase (1). Phase (2), aside from repositioning the right hand [DONE!] , will involve:

• creating a plausible, aesthetically pleasing overall muscular conformation.
• removing any remaining traces of clothing.
  
• reworking the head slightly: repositioning ears, reworking the canines [DONE!], and adding hair.

I'd like to think that the worst is over. . .

FOLLOW-UP . . .

• conforming the musculature underway.
• canines removed and tapped.
• right supporting intermediary arm pegged.
  

White Ape of Barsoom--Prepwork: Phase (1)

Let the cutting begin!!!

• Fig. 1: I first assembled the two-part torso (dorsal half [with arms] and body; nb--forearms cast attached to the lamppost). I then bisected the torso at the terminal edge of the vest before setting the upper torso aside.
• Fig. 2: Dorsal half of the torso set aside for safekeeping. Upper section of the body then reduced to the mid-pecs, more or less. Fig. 1 was then pegged to Fig. 2.
• Head: No major work done to this point, save grinding off the pince-nez, the collar and bow-tie.

A very promising start. . .

FOLLOW-UP . . .

• Fig. 2: Dorsal half of the torso has been sectioned vertically, and the arms roughly fitted to the pegged compound figure.
• The assembled intermediary left limb has been straightened and permanently attached to Fig. 1 (note: the upper third of the body [the primary shoulder girdle]    can still be removed from the rest of the actual body).

Coming together very nicely. . .

What can one do with Mister Honk?

Mister Honk, by virtue of its x-treme pose, is a figure that you either love right away. . . or you relegate it to the B-list.

I was one of the latter. Great subject, and certainly a great sculpt. . . but when it was all said and done, "What do you do with it?"

Well, a couple of thoughts immediately come to mind. For fans of the DCU, there is the makings of a pretty neat, if leaner, Gorilla Grodd, or his benevolent counterpart, Solovar. Obviously, those more ambitious miniaturists can try their hand at one of the PotA's militant gorillas. Me? Well, one of my favourite Martian species in Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoomian series is the Great White Apes of Barsoom, and I thought I'd take a stab at it before the market gets inundated with figurines from next year's cinematic release.

The challenge facing any miniaturist wishing to do a Barsoomian White Ape is much the same as one wishing to model a Green Martian: integrating a second set of arms/legs in a convincing and anatomically plausible fashion. White Apes and Green Martians had a pair of arms and a pair of legs--and in-between a pair of limbs that could serve as legs and/or arms! To this end, I acquired two kits of the rampaging primate.

I've yet to decide how I am going to tackle this. Needless to say, I've dug-up and dusted-off my primate anatomy books that were my constant companion for 2 academic quarters many moons ago. I'm surrounded by at least four legal-size xeroxes of a gorilla skeleton. And while I am no closer to a solution, I am having a ball!!!

More to follow. . .

Batwoman (Eaglemoss)

What with work, some lingering health issues, and the unbearable heat, it's been a rather rough Summer benchwise. And the "dog days" are yet to come! Still, it has not been entirely unproductive, though little worthwhile to show for it. . .

As you might have read, I stripped the Bowen Designs' retro Iron Man bust yesterday. While I was at it, I threw my latest addition to the Eaglemoss grey army, Batwoman (#81) into the acetone. This project, along with the bust, is tentatively scheduled for next year, so no expectations please; but I might as well start chronicling things from Day 1.

By way of prologue, what I received--the finished piece--was a serious disappointment. As I mentioned in my review of this piece, this has become a rather alarming trend of late with Eaglemoss. Nonetheless, I still consider these some of the best values on the market. . . provided the miniaturist is willing to hold up his/her end of the bargain.

The figure is now stripped and awaiting repackaging to be stored. Stripping revealed the breakdown of the piece, a surprising 5(!) pieces: main body, cape, rt. boot, and gauntlets/forearms (x2). It also revealed a wealth of detail and subtlety that had been largely obscured by the heavy-handed application of heavy-bodied paint!

The figure will be done largely stock, though I intend to redetail the gauntlets, and replace the batarangs, which were little more than scallop-edged rectangles. The rest of the work will involve reworking the cape to effect a seamless attachment to the body.

More to follow. . .

Iron Lantern (Bust) – Introduction

Some of the last comic books I read back in the 20th c. were from an ad-hoc publisher, a regrettably short-lived collaborative effort between DC and Marvel that went by the name Amalgam Comics. Unfortunately, there were but 24 issues published from 1996 through 1997.

Amalgam Comics provided us with some of the most memorable superheroes in comic book history. Dark Claw (Logan Wayne//Batman/Wolverine); Dr. StrangeFate (Charles Xavier//Dr. Strange/Dr. Fate— admittedly not the most imaginative of names); and the subject of this homage to Amalgam, Hal Stark, aka Iron Lantern (Hal Jordan/ Tony Stark//Green Lantern/Iron Man).

The base figure—bust—is the “Retro” Iron Man, part of the Group 2 Iron Man mini-bust (mb) 3-pak (Phase III - #2485/2500) offered by Bowen Designs, and sculpted by the Kucharek Brothers. While the now-classic Silver Age Iron Man mb (Phase I) is in some ways a better “fit”, the Retro mb eked out the Silver Age candidate given what I have in mind and the palette.

So how do we go about transforming Tony Stark/Iron Man into Hal Stark/Iron Lantern? The first step is to strip the bust down to the cold-cast porcelain, and disassemble as much as I can—if at all. [FU-16/07/11: DONE! AOTW, the gauntlets have been removed and the bust separated from the pedestal. While I am still examining potential joins, it appears as if this was the extent of the "break-down".] Second comes the actual mods to the original sculpt. These are relatively easy (including the addition of the Lantern insignia) save for the enhancements required on the helmet. Finally, the painting. I will be venturing into uncharted waters when I get to this point. . .

NO FEAR. . . Corps ASSEMBLE!