Jessica -- Prep #1

As time is of the essence, and this is the only long weekend in October, most of my time will be spent at the bench with the newly-arrived Val Zombie bust. . . totally!

Dark World Creations is an internet-only retailer. Chuck is the only retailer that I know of that carries their products here in the States; BUT. . . he doesn't carry their busts. So when I decided to throw my hat in the ring with their 1st Anniversary Commemorative Painting Contest, my only option was to order direct. NOT A PROBLEM! Aaron (bka Rin) is all about the CS. I first contact- ed him on a Tuesday, and my figure was on-order on Thursday evening. He shipped on Friday, and it was in my hands yesterday! Packaging was exceptional, and the contents were pristine! It was a pleasure to see that kind of concern and care for a client!!

The bust. The character of Jessica, both the 70mm FF and the 1/10th scale bust, were designed/executed by the Swedish graphic artist/sculptor, Pedram Karimfazli. And it (the bust) is exceptional! This ol' dinosaur is actually warming-up to the concept of digital sculpts largely due to the efforts of the artists in DWC's stable. 

The bust consists of two pieces: the bust itself and the ponytail. My only criticism of this piece is the fact that there is no means provided to display the bust. While this is clearly indicated in the description of the piece: "This bust does not include a base or a stand," it is decidedly a bump- in-the-road for the miniaturist who wants to get straight to painting. Personally, it's neither here nor there for me, especially as I tend to rework/replace the pedestal portion of all my busts. But to a relatively inexperienced miniaturist, this could be a deal-breaker after the fact. Jessica is now in the oven with her newly added pedestal: hopefully it will be a done-deal before the lunch break. . .

Casting is exquisite, fit is perfect, and clean-up is minimal. While I could conceivably have her ready for priming before the end of the holiday weekend, it is more likely that I will have her primed and undercoated by the end of next weekend. And that will leave me 4 1/2 weeks to paint, and a fortnight to photograph!

Back to it!