2013 Status Report -- [Early] Fall Update REVISED

The newly revised 2014 Show lineup:

1) Jessica (Dark World Creations DotA bust,1/10 scale)

2) "Justice" - Judge Joseph Dredd (Dark World Creations, 70mm)
3) The Rhino (Studio McVey, 65mm)

And this WILL be it! Prospective entries may be removed, but this is the base of what I will be working with through February.
   

Back to the bench!

Jessica -- Prep #2

I have already sculpted--and am in the process of finishing--an integral pedestal to support the bust. The remaining prepwork is entirely at the discretion of the miniaturist. 

I decided to do the following:

• Enhancement of the dorsal surface of the pinna: the back of the ears are essentially featureless. DONE
• Extend the torn shoulder strap of the dress with MS. This creates more depth and dimensionality to the bust. DONE
• Undercut all layered surfaces as necessary--notably, the right shoulder strap of the dress. DONE
• Enhance the edges of the wound with MS. DONE
• Add distressed areas of flesh on the face. DONE
• Tear one of the earlobes? DONE

 
Aside from these minor enhancements, the bust will be essentially stock. 

Back to it! 

UPDATE 14.10.2013. . . Jessica is now in the oven drying, and, barring any oversights on my part, will be primed within 24 hrs. [UPDATE: She is now primed and in the oven curing! Tomorrow, I break out the brushes!!]

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! 

Dawn of the Apocalypse Competition & Jessica bust

Greetings all!

Aaron and the good folks at Dark Word Creations have decided to commemorate their first anniversary by sponsoring a Dawn of the Apocalypse Painting Competition.

It is after all October. . . What with Hallowe'en and the premiere of the fourth season of the Walking Dead (October 13th!!!!), how could anyone resist! I am definitely in: my canvas is on order, and the palette-selection has begun. . .

Let the games begin!!!

UPDATE 12.10.2013. . . Jessica has arrived, and is on the bench (well, actually in the oven)! Kudos--and THANKS!--to Aaron (Rin) and the gang at DWC for their superb customer service!!

Back to the bench!

PS--Review and update/s to follow soon!

"The Revenant" -- Prep #1a

The last major pre-prime hurdle is now behind me. . . The bust has been pre-mounted on its display base, and all is now set to accept the painted work. 

While I will do a quick color sketch on the "groundwork" to block in the colours and get a feel for the hues and tones prior to transferring the bust to its "final resting place", the groundwork will be painted in situ once the bust itself is painted and permanently mounted.

Let the final clean-up and finishing begin!!!

"The Revenant" -- Prep #1

The bust is now securely mounted on its working base, and I have filled the inscribed name of Ossorio that graced the ankh. Without the nameplates, this would be a potential source for misinterpretation (no context) by the "uninitiated", as well as a distraction.

The worst is now behind me! All that's left-to-do in the pre-prime prep is removing what seam lines there might be, and pre-mounting the bust on its display base. All projects should be so easy and straightforward!!

More to follow. . .

Project title

It has been decades since I've had to work with Latin to any great degree; and even longer since it was part and parcel of day-to-day life, so I am unabashedly stumped to come up with a "correct" title for my revenant project. . .

This is what I have to date. . .

Miles Christi spiritus funesto (or should it be funestus???)

which translates as: "Soldier of Christ (reference to any crusader, but in particular the Military Orders) deadly spirit (spiritus was used at least through the 13th c. to describe a ghost or revenant)"

If anyone is up to speed with their Latin, and would like to comment and/or suggest, it would be most welcome--and appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Augie

"The Revenant"

The title of this post is but the working title of my latest project. Hopefully, I will be able to come up with something more inspired by the time it is completed. . .

The subject is Quarantine Studio's newly-released 1/4 scale bust of a blind revenant of a medieval crusading Order (more on this later), sculpted by the inimitable William Paquet as an homage to the inspiration for this artistic tour de force: the first film in Amando de Ossorio's Blind Dead tetralogy, Tombs of the Blind Dead (La Noche del Terror Ciego). I've been a huge fan of this series since I stumbled upon it at a Blockbuster over 25 years ago; when I saw what William had come up with, I ordered it immediately!

Before delving into the bust, please indulge a brief quasi-historical meandering. The knights in these films are generally referred to as Templars; but in fact, this descriptive is not introduced until the second film, Return of the Blind Dead (El Ataque de los Muertos sín Ojos). In the first film, they are simply referred to as the "Knights of/from the East". The inferred identity is contextually fairly obvious, but it provides free reins to the creativity of the backstory, including the mystical cruciform device in the shape of an ankh.

Back to the bust. It is a one-piece casting that measures 10.5" in height. The casting is impec- cable, with minimal seam lines--I would suggest that when you do find them (and they are there!), you mark them lightly with pencil to give you a trail to follow. I should point out that the resin used is remarkably light in weight/density, which makes this sizeable bust a breeze to handle.

I would have considered doing this one straight OOB if not for the extended support for the bust itself that includes two in situ nameplates: the English version on the front, and the Spanish version (with a Templar cross!) on the back. These are extremely well-done (as one would expect), but therein lies the rub, at least for me: while I should be focused on the moldy, undead crusader, my attention is drawn to the nameplates at the base of the sculpture. . . !

I was able to remove the expanded base in short order thanks to the low-density resin, and the bust is now upon my bench awaiting final clean-up. I do intend to add some personal enhance- ments, but this will not come into play until the bust is completely painted and mounted on its display base, so the project itself will be "stock".

More to follow. . .

2013 Status Report -- [Early] Fall Update

As always, there are a lot of projects either underway or under consideration. And, in the spirit of absolute candor, ALL are currently being under-worked! For any number of reasons, the fast start of earlier this year has throttled back to a slow crawl. This just underscores two of life's old saws: "Best laid plans. . . "; and, "The road to Hell. . . "

It is what it is, and with the Atlanta Show less than 5 months away, it is time to objectively re-evaluate what is likely to be at the show--or not. This is my revised 2014 Show lineup:

1) "The Revenant" (Tombs of the Blind Dead) (Quarantine Studio bust, 1/4 scale)
2) The Rhino (Studio McVey, 65mm)

My erstwhile "2013 Project", Adrian Smith's Frankenstein (iM, 1/8th scale), has gone the way of its companion; i.e., sidelined. There is way too much work to be done to make this the stellar piece it can be, and I am less than inclined to approach a Tier-1 sculpture as a glorified Aurora kit--in spite of its design!

The only good thing about a "light schedule" is that it greatly reduces the likelihood of a year-end crunch with a mad-dash for the deadline to the Show. I was done jumping through those hoops last year--and that is one wagon I intend to stay on! If not for my mental health, then certainly for my physical. . . 

A~

Notable Acquisitions September 2013

KITS
Quarantine Studio Tombs of the Blind Dead (1/4 scale bust, William Paquet)--AWESOME!!!

New piece

Things have been a bit topsy-turvy in my neck of the woods for a while now--and will continue to be so for at least another fortnight or so; thus, you might say I've been "distracted". But today, I stumbled upon an idea that has prompted me to break out a resin mannequin, and start generating some dust!

For those that might be keeping track, this will be my first original, ground-up sculpt in five years--and the first full-figure--assuming I complete it--in almost a decade!

While I will save the textual reveal until I am bit more into it, I will say that it will be in 135mm "scale" (my favourite working scale back in the day); and it will be a "humorous"/tongue-in-cheek horror/fantasy take on a beloved movie character. While I am prepared to sculpt the entire piece, I hope to be able to introduce some multi-media elements for heightened realism and textural depth.

So far, I am about 70% through the posing, and the mannequin has been mounted on its work base. I think I have about three or four major cuts remaining before I can begin to think about locking the pose. . . 

Stay tuned. . .

Bad moon rising. . .

With bench-time at a premium, I have resigned myself to simply push forward and whittle away at manageable portions, rather than immerse myself in multi-course undertakings. To this end, I have been literally whittling away at the reconstructed right "hand" of my current lycanthrope; and after two sittings, the end is finally in sight! There are still some minor "sizing" issues to be tweaked, but all in all things are coming together quite nicely.

Once the hand is done to my satisfaction, I can then permanently attach the arms, and proceed with the reconstruction of the fur and hair. Fortunately, this is something that can be best tackled in small servings. . .

The Rhino--Back on the front burner. . .

It has been a while, and while I'm still in "thick brush", things are starting to assume a semblance of normalcy. . . Or, it could just be that I'm getting used to the "madness". . .

In any event, with Fall right around the corner, it's time to start paring down the project list to the finalists. One of these will be the Rhino, so he was moved to front & center on the bench yester- day. The left arm/hand is now finished and permanently attached. I still have to rework the deltoid and trapezius, but once that is done (this week?), all that remains is the right hand, skin textur- ing, and final finishing.

Close. . . 

UPDATE 12.09.2013. . . Work continues. . . The left arm and shoulder are now done. The right hand has been repositioned, and it makes all the difference in the world! I continue to work on the feet, attempting to get the right "pose" and a convincing "drape" of skin. . . almost there. Assuming nothing unexpected breaks cover this weekend, I will hopefully be well into the skin texturing by Sunday! 

Stay tuned. . .