"The Face of Crime" - Painting: The Head (2)--Eyes

I blocked-in the irises with oils this evening. Too soon to render an opinion save that they're a so- lid foundation. I will probably take a by from the bench tomorrow (month-end), so hopefully they wil be ready to finish over the weekend. . . 

UPDATE -  02.02.2020. . . Save for glazing and final outlining, the eyes are DONE! 

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

"The Face of Crime" - Painting: Oils - Black (1)

I decided to leave the eyes for now, jumping to the black of the jacket collar, shirt, waistcoat, and pocket square. 

This was easily managed using the blacks at my disposal, as well as mixing a proprietary warm- ish black. Carefully applied, it was a breeze to paint--again underscoring the importance of proper canvas preparation--and application.

More to follow. . .  

UPDATE -  30.01.2020. . . The initial blacks are dry-to-the-touch, but still tackier than I'd like. The head will be permanently attached sometime this weekend. . . 31.01.2020--DONE!

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

"The Face of Crime" - Painting: The Head

With the body essentially undercoated, I was at a fork in the road: break out the oils on the body--or the head?  I opted for the latter.

The head was primed with Tamiya Fine Surface Primer-White. This would serve double-duty as primer and undercoat. And as I mentioned in the Priming posting, I intended to treat the head as a stand-alone 'sub-project'. . .

Phase 1 (basecoating the face) of the head is now done. This was an interesting--and enjoyable!--exercise in capturing the effect of a flayed face. I have followed the "comic" effect, as striving for realism would be not be very appealing.

Phase 2 will entail u/c'ing the hair DONE and the eyes DONE, as well as "highlighting" the white of the face IP and the teeth. . .

Stay tuned. . .  

UPDATE -  28.01.2020. . . The face is all-but done! I kept a loose, fluid, multi-media approach along the lines of my approach to Jessica, the Queen of the Prom. . . and I am very pleased!! The Joker is one of the few subjects where the head is decidedly the defining aspect, and this iteration of the Clown Prince of Crime takes this up more than a few notches. Thus it is easy to see why I elected to start with the face! 

I will tackle the eyes next; and once they are done to my satisfaction, I will proceed with the shirt (and waistcoat) as a preamble to permanently attaching the head. . . 

More to follow. . .  

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

"The Face of Crime" - Painting: UC'ing 1

With the figure primed, it was time to break out the acrylics. . . 

The purplish-violet is now done! "Joker purple" is a tricky color, and the blue-biased warmish tint of this iteration is especially so. The key is to do your research, and have the particulars of the color firmly imprinted in your mind. 

The time spent "prepping the canvas" yielded ample dividends: the u/c went on smoothly, and was eminently manageable. 

NEXT: the black. . . 

UPDATE -  26.01.2020. . . Save for the shirt-sleeve cuffs 02.02 DONE, the black is now done.

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

"The Face of Crime" - Epilogue: The Head

The head is essentially done; i.e., the putty-work is behind me! While the kit-provided head is very well done, I had to deal with the roughness due to the filler settling--and the soft detail of unfilled resin. While I was at it, I enhanced some of the details of the edging of the face to cre- ate a unique sculptural synergy.

What lies ahead is basically final detailing and pre-prime clean-up. I expect most of the work will be done by eod tomorrow DONE -- priming should take place some time next week. . . DONE!

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

"The Face of Crime" - Painting: Priming

The figure is now primed! 

As I mentioned in the last (to-date) installment of the Prep arc, there remains some work to be done on the face/head before that can be primed; however, one of the advantages of having a se- parate head is that it can be treated as a stand-alone 'sub-project'. As long as the head is ready to paint by the time the oils are finished on the main figure, it's all good. . .

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

"The Face of Crime" - Final Finishing

I am finally on the home stretch. . . !

I am now about half-way through final finishing. Most of the casting seam work has been com- pleted, and I have just about wrapped-up scribing the garments seam-lines where required. 

Which brought me to the final corrective measure to be taken. . . You might recall my comments regarding the coarseness of the aluminum filler used by Eaglemoss. While I described the issue, I did not mention how to best address it--thankfully it is quite simple. 

Firstly, sand the surface as smoothly as possible--I prefer using 3M's Metal Finishing Pad (you can also use steel wool of an appropriate grade, depending on the durometer of the resin). Wipe the surface clean with a damp cloth and let dry. Then, carefully brush G-S Mr. Hobby's Mr. Surfa- cer 500 on the affected areas. Mr. Surfacer is a self-leveling, liquid filler/primer that will eliminate the surface irregularities caused by the coarse filler. Allow to dry overnight, and then lightly sand (400G) until you achieve the desired results. You may have to repeat the process several times before you are satisfied--be patient. . . and uncompromising! [NB: I like to slightly thin the Mr. Surfacer with the proprietary thinner; however, it usually requires at least two sessions to get the desired results.]

And that's where I am now! I will hopefully have the surface finishing of the affected areas completed by eod tomorrow. Once that is done, I can schedule priming. . . 

Stay tuned!

FOLLOW-UP. . . The surface-finishing mentioned above is just about done. . . I feel the 'canvas' would benefit from at least one more surfacing session, and I hope to have that done by eod tomorrow. . . DONE

UPDATE -  21.01.2020. . . Mista J should be ready for priming by the weekend. I still have to do some upgrade/enhancement detailing on the face/head, but this can be set aside until a suitably opportune time. Aside from that, all that remains to be done this week is final finishing and giving the figure a thorough once over. . .

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Harley Quinn - DAMNED: Prep 4

The bust is now on its workbase, with the pedestal/plinth about 50% done. I modelled the latter with MS, per usual, around the resin post provided with the kit, albeit reduced in length by about a third. The putty-work is essentially done; and I am now in full finishing and detailing mode. . . 

 UPDATE - 20.01.2020. . . The pedestal/plinth is all-but-done. . . 

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Harley Quinn - DAMNED: Prep 3

The trench-coat is now roughed-in in its entirety save for the left lapel DONE, which I intend to treat as an in-situ accessory item. Thus, the conversion is now ready for surface-finishing, detailing, and finalization.

In fact, the entire project is well-beyond Phase 1! I finished roughing-in the combined Victorian standing/high collar with the Pierrot collar yesterday, and it is now in the final finishing phase.

Stay tuned!

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Harley Quinn - DAMNED: Intermezzo--Deviations from Canon

The 'story' of Harley Quinn in Damned is given rather short shrift. While the fact that she has as- sumed the guise of her "Puddin'", and is looking to avenge him against Batman, fits quite nicely, how she is presented is where I remain somewhat befuddled. . .

I am amazed that this has barely been touched upon in any of the countless bulletin-board post- ings about Damned--Harley is clearly dead. I can't say with any certainty if she is a revenant; but she is definitely dead! The Y-shaped autopsy incisions (admittedly à la Hollywood for a female), sutured, is the most obvious indication--and are a clincher for the brown eyes (canon dictates that Harley has blue eyes) and the star on her right breast (the first 'quarter' of Harley's outfit is solid black) introduced a few pages earlier.

The "how" and "when" of Harley's demise is not touched-upon at all. While this might be consi- dered a loose-end, it may just be that it fits the story line perfectly. . .

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

HELLBLAZER-John Constantine

John Constantine has always been one of my favorite DC characters. While I was not particularly ta- ken with Keanu Reeves' rendition of the character in the feature-length film, Matt Ryan's' portrayal in the short-lived NBC series nailed-it, afaIc. And seeing him on the CW's DC Arrowverse-crossover event a month ago (especially his all-too-brief exchange with Lucifer in pt.3) simply served to "whet the ap- petite". It makes one wish that the CW would either pick-up the series, or give us something "spicy" like the Justice League Dark! 

But I am again ramblin'. . . As I noted, seeing Matt Ryan again got me thinking of a Constantine sce- nic vignette. But what figure to use? The best figure of Constantine is unfortunately Knight Models' 35mm rendition. Too small. . . obviously! So I spent a few hours surfin' the Web, and I decided to give Eaglemoss's iteration a try. Constantine is issue #35 in the DC Comics Super Hero Collection, and at ~80mm in height, the scale was perfect. . .

Fortunately, no rude surprises/disappointments with this one. There is some tweaking and reworking to be done, but in all respects a VG casting. This is a multi-media kit cast in two pieces (the right hand is cast in white metal) + the display plinth.

While I am certain that there is ample evidence to support the fact that the figure is minus a tie, this was a major letdown--but thankfully easily addressed. Other things on the TDL are reworking the drapery of the shirt, and the shoes.

More to follow. . .

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Harley Quinn - DAMNED: Prep 2

The flight jacket is no more, and a trench-coat is emerging in its place. The conversion is now about 60% complete and progressing very nicely. I will begin surface finishing tomorrow, and commence work on the collar and lapels once that is done. . . 

Stay tuned!

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Harley Quinn - DAMNED: Prep 1

Movin' right along. . . the arm has been fitted, with its final shape roughed-in; and the Pierrot col- lar and the star on her right breast roughed-in with MS.

So far, I am delighted! But the devil is in the details and I have but flirted with those to this point. I have begun working on the lower lip, and, hopefully this weekend, I will begin to refinish this criti- cal aspect of this rendition. . . 

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

New Year. . . New Project! . . .

As it should be!

I recently finished reading Brian Azzarello's Batman: Damned, illustrated by Lee Bermejo. I picked-up the collected HC edition while Christmas shopping last month. This three-issue super- natural horror story is, in a word, AWESOME! The fact that it includes fresh and provocative iterations of some of my favorite DC characters is merely the maraschino cherry on top of the sundae!

The team's interpretation of Harley Quinn is priceless! And begged to be done!! Fortunately, I was afforded a Quality (with a capital Q!) base sculpture: Life Miniatures' "Bye Bye Baby", a 1/10th-scale bust of Marilyn Monroe in Korea during her 1954 USO Tour (LMB013).  

Intrigued?

The casting--and sculpting!--is, as one would expect, bordering on perfection! A simple two-piece bust comprised of head and torso, the design and engineering is Exemplary (with a capital E!!). While there is very little work (if any!) to be done on the head, converting the nylon flight-jacket to a trench-coat will be the major obstacle to negotiate. 

To date, the sprues have been removed, the resin sanded, and the head fitted; the fur collar has been reduced; and the arm has been removed.. .

More to follow. . .

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003