Showing posts with label Steampunk Princess (Bust). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Steampunk Princess (Bust). Show all posts

24 March 2013

Steampunk Leia -- Prepwork: Phase (2)

It was "Star Wars Night" at last night's penultimate home outing for the ECHL Gwinnett Gladiators, and the Georgia garrison of the 501st Legion were out in "Force" as part of a fundraiser for Aimee Copeland. It was quite a show. . . and quite a game!

While there was no Leia in attendance (that I saw), it was just the ticket to get me thinking about my Steampunk Princess project, and prompting me to spend some time with her today. . .

Clean-up and minor touch-ups continue, but the restorative putty work is just about done. I have removed the choker, modeled a textured "collar", and tentatively fitted the head. I also pegged and tentatively fitted the plinth. Final posing to follow. . .

Finally, I've begun to clean and "dry-assemble" the gun. So far, so good; but haste is to be avoided at all costs. Most of the build-ups I've seen had had alignment issues with the gun components, which are an annoying distraction at best. 

That about does it for now. I will not be available this week as the demands of work command all of my time, but I will hopefully be able to pick-up right where I've left off in 10 days or so. . .

Until then. . .

24 February 2013

Steampunk Leia -- Prepwork: Phase (1)

I will save unveiling my plans for this piece until I launch the painting thread; but for now I can say it will be an homage to Luke's twin-sister.

My first step was to remove 2/3 of the left arm as sculpted. The near-symmetrical approach with the arched pose just didn't work for me; in fact it was a needless distraction that drew ones attention away from the focal point of the bust. I could say the same thing of the position of the pistol/right arm, but I will have to wait until the gun is fully assembled before deciding whether any repositioning will be required. 

Next I removed the head. The head is cocked at an unnatural angle, and this very nearly was a deal-breaker! But given the presence of a choker, it is easy enough to fix--and I would have had to remove the head in any event for one of the mods planned. The head is now pinned (1/8" solder) and is awaiting repositioning.

That's it for now. I have a little bit more research to do before breaking out the putty, and then. . .

Stay tuned!

CMON's Steampunk Princess - Review

Now for the full review. . . There was no way I was going to let this bust slip by me. Given its eminently reasonable price-point, this has got to be one of the best bargains currently on the market!

As I mentioned in my intro posting, the 1/9th scale bust was sculpted by Carlos Vaquero, based on the design by Björn Hurri. Curiously, I have seen but a single build-up painted in white. . . which must mean most people are not making the Star Wars connection; don't want to tackle white; and/or simply don't care. And that is fine. . . I have seen some stellar (no pun intended!) painted examples, which goes great lengths to illustrate the versatility of this exciting piece.

The bust is exquisitely cast in 7 pieces. On my sample there was a bit of mold shift on the left side of the head/torso unit, but nothing that can't be dealt with readily. As I intend to make some mods to my rendition, I was perfectly satisfied to receive a less than perfect casting--and lest too much be read into the latter, that was the ONLY "flaw" in the casting: no small feat when the gun itself is cast in 4 pieces! My only regret is that the head was not cast separately; but for the overwhelming majority this will not be an issue.

I am still not sure of CMON's arrangement with Vaquero, but there was no indication that this was in any way a limited edition. Nonetheless, I stand by my original conclusion: ". . . if you're interested, I would suggest acting soon--if not now!"!

17 February 2013

Steampunk Princess - CMON exclusive

This may or may not be a future project, as I do not have the bust in my possession; but I will say if the good folks at CMON would have had it on Friday evening, what follows would be but the preface to a full review. . .

There has been quite a bit of speculation as to the who, what, and where of the subject bust, and hopefully this post will go a ways to cast some light on the matter.

Steampunk Princess is a 1/9 scale bust, sculpted by Carlos Vaquero (theHYDRAFactory), based on the design by Björn Hurri. Hurri did a series of illustrations of Star Wars characters in a Steampunk guise that is absolutely brilliant; and his interpretation of Princess Leia is, IMO, one of the best. The bust was the Commemorative Show Figure for last year's La Fabrica Roja event, and as I understand it, it is a CMON exclusive on this side of the Pond.

I have not had a chance to discuss this with the gang at CMON, but Show Commemorative figures tend not to be "open" editions, so if you're interested, I would suggest acting soon--if not now!