Deadpool - Prepwork: "Reconfiguring"

As I indicated in the last installment of the Intro, there would be a significant amount of "reconfi- guration" involved to have the base figure approximate my vision of/for the subject. To wit, I have already adjusted the length of the legs, and removed the head and reworked the upper traps. With the research completed to my satisfaction, it was time to take it to the next level. . .

Today, I have tweaked--and "fixed"--the length and position of the lower legs; and repositioned the right arm. As a producer, I can certainly understand the reasoning behind the pose and design of the figure; but as a miniaturist, it is perfunctory. . . "flat" and disengaging/uninteresting in virtually every respect. So I decided to "re-center" the figure, if you will, and bring the right arm into play. This was a very simple operation entailing the removal of the arm at the insertion of the deltoid, hollowing the deltoid mass, and reattaching the arm into the hollowed deltoid.

Now the question is: do I rework the right hand? Hmmm. . . 

FOLLOW-UP. . . I have removed the hand at the wrist and have pegged it with 16ga. copper wire. The question now is what to do with it? My personal inclination--and completely in character, I might add--is to have him sheepishly delivering the time-honoured mesodactyl salute. . . 

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

Deadpool (cont. 2)

The TDL has been expanded considerably. . . And by that I mean that there will be extensive resculpting undertaken before I can even begin to think about moving this figure off the work- bench! In short, I am talking about. . . a resculpt!

Allow me to elaborate. . . To begin with, the figure is roughly "ideal"-ly proportioned (8 heads), pushing the "heroic" (8 1/2 - 9 heads) to accommodate the massive upper body and the longer legs. As you all know, I am a proportional purist/realist, so the overall height of the figure will 
have to be reduced. BUT. . . that also means that the disproportionate muscularity of the torso and arms will also have to be reduced--considerably!

The legs have already been reduced, adjusting the proportions to a more "normal" range. I have yet to "fix" the legs, though I have determined that, for my purposes, the ideal height for this fig- ure should be 115mm +/- to the eyes, some 5mm (~13/64") shorter than provided. I have also removed and tentatively repositioned the head. . .

And so it begins. . . .

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

Deadpool (cont.)

24 hrs. in the "purple bath" should take care of the lion's share of the paint, in my sample reveal- ing an excellent casting. Once I removed the base and the harness/scabbards unit (see below), I decided to leave it in the bath one more night.

Eaglemoss is rapidly approaching the top of its game when it comes to casting bonded resin. As I mentioned, the casting is excellent. And it is definitely not over-engineered! In fact, if anything, it is under-engineered!! The only separate pieces that I have been able to discern as of this writ- ing are: the katana scabbards/back harness; the katana blade and tsuba; and the base! While Eaglemoss has well-earned the kudos expressed herein, I would caution anybody that intends to rework this figure to "make it their own" that the resin is somewhat "soft", and it evinces the ther- mal instability characteristic of bonded Al castings. . .

As to the TDL, this is what I have to date:

• Rework the musculature to achieve an aesthetic "middle-ground".
• Resculpt harness and scabbards.
• Resculpt katana.
• Resculpt/replace holsters + guns (and probably webbing). 
• Sculpt/add magazine pouches.
• Sculpt (add) shin guards/greaves.
• Sculpt (add) vambraces. 

I should be grinding by the weekend. . .

UPDATE 16.03.16. . . The figure is out of the bath, and the legs have been tapped: it is now "cur- ing" in the oven. Once done, I will mount it on its work base. DONE!

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

Deadpool

The long-awaited (~6+ years--or more than twice that, depending on your baseline) cinematic apologia is now in its 5th week on-screen. . . and STILL going strong! While I will await its Blu- ray release in May before indulging, ALL of my colleagues whose opinion I value give it top marks.

So I have less than 8 weeks to go, and I will put that time to good use in securing a base figure for a Deadpool project! While the plethora of available Deadpool "figures" should come as no sur- prise, neither should the dearth of figures targeted at our "niche". In fact, there are but three: two by Eaglemoss (~75mm lead alloy and 90mm bonded resin pre-paints), and one by Knight Mo- dels (70mm white metal kit).

Knight Models. This is the last 70mm Marvel figure released by this company. I have never seen this figure "in the metal", and I will admit that I almost 'bit' when I found one for just over US$50 just before the Atlanta Show this year, but. . . we are talking Knight Models! Personally, I find this figure to be too derivative of their earlier Daredevil release, with the design doing little to show- case the mouthy walking arsenal. In fact, this is a self-contained diorama that would have been better served by a standing, snarky DP interacting with the graffiti and/or flyers on the wall; not as a virtually "off-stage" filler.

Eaglemoss. First released was the lead-alloy figurine in their Classic Marvel series, no. 56. The smaller of these two pieces is quite clunky, lacking any sense of style, grace--or attitude. Quite disappointing actually. . .

Which brings us to the winner of the selection process: Eaglemoss' Deadpool Special, no. 5 in their Marvel Fact Files series. . .



These are 120mm (to the eyes), bonded-resin, multi-piece figures. As to how many pieces com- prise the subject of this review, I will let you know once the figure emerges from the "purple bath".

This is the best of the lot, but it is far from "perfect". The TDL is well underway. . . 

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

HCFR Technician - Prepwork I

Anybody who is familiar with YMs knows that the first order of "real" business is to remove the pour sprues: this was straightforward and uneventful.

The first of the reference images began to arrive last week: thankfully most were of the groom's face/head. So, I tapped and mounted the head on its work pedestal and lightly sketched the areas to be enhanced/reduced with colored pencils. This is no different to my approach once an original head is roughed-in. Surprisingly, Young's sculpture is a fair likeness of the subject, so this will be largely an exercise in tweaking and refinement: I will slowly begin to add putty over the next few days.

That's it for now!

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

HCFR Technician

This project is a major deviation from the norm on this site, so consider yourselves warned. . .

My "niece", I am delighted to say, is getting married this Fall, and her intended is a firefighter in  Hillsborough County (FL) Fire Rescue (HCFR). I had the opportunity--and pleasure!--to meet him when I was in Tampa last week, and I couldn't be happier for the couple.

When her parents got married some 30 years ago--damn. . . I'm getting old!--I presented the couple with one of my favourite pieces at the time: a Historex conversion of a 15th c. Bernese swordsman. Now, 30 years later, I will be presenting their daughter and her husband with a portrait bust of the latter. I am honoured--and psyched!!!

As of this writing, the project will be based on Young Miniatures' 1/10th scale bust of a FDNY Firefighter at the time of 9/11 (YC1801). This is YM at its best! The kit is comprised of 17 exqui- sitely cast resin pieces (including the support pedestal), and two clear resin visor halves. My on- ly niggle is the fact that the SCBA bottle is off-round, but this is hardly surprising. Whether or not I replace the bottle and harness will depend on what the references I receive indicate. . . 

The project will entail converting a 2001 FDNY firefighter to a 2016 HCFR Technician. Needless to say, work will commence immediately upon receipt of the reference images, and it will be my main project this year. . .

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

Monarch Models - ϯ Jan. 2016

Just to show how much I've been "out of it" this year, I have just discovered that Scott McKillop, full-time physician and professor, and part-time model manufacturer, announced over the New Year weekend that he was taking down the Monarch shingle.

Scott is a long-time Aurora fan. Monarch was launched with the intention of filling some of the void left by the closing of Polar Lights in 2006, occupying the erstwhile "Aurora niche". In late 2007, Monarch released Nosferatu. And for the next few years, things appeared to be steadily moving along. By 2010, however, the momentum was waning, and the realities of this hobby came home to roost. . . There would be but three more releases from 2011-2015, including our favourite Junior, Gorgo.

Scott and Monarch have been described as a "styrene garage-kit company", and I think that is quite appropriate. Thank you, good sir, and Godspeed! Your passion and your products will be missed. 

2016 has gotten off to a very rough start. . .

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

Daredevil - Prep (4)

This is where the two sub-preps converge and I am able to proceed with a unit. . . 

The 'perch' has been finalized. While I have been reshaping the toe boxes of DD's boots all along, the final adjustment required relatively extensive reworking of the left toe box: this is still in-pro- gress. On the other hand, all enhancements to the upper-half of the angelic monument have been roughed-in.

All that remains now is the final prepwork of both components of the piece:

• Funerary monument: assembly UPDATE 24.02.16 - DONE! and distressing the sur- face/weathering.
• Daredevil: assembly and clean-up (including finishing the left toe box, and re-working the mask seams and neck musculature).

As I said some years back. . . This is coming together quite nicely!

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

The Scarlet Swashbuckler returns - to the bench, that is. . .

In the hope of finding a project that would get me out of the doldrums, I have returned Daredevil to the bench after a nearly three-year hiatus. Unlike most of my shelved projects, this one regret- tably held no surprises vis-à-vis the extent of progress made at the time of "retirement". . . 

First thing: finalize the subject's perch on the angel's wings. I thought that this was essentially a fait accompli, but upon critical review, I am 2-3 sessions away from that. Once that is done, I can then move-on to the finishing of the prepwork. . .

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

REFERENCES - AK Interactive's Learning Series

By way of follow-up to my review of Metallics , vol. 2, I would like to point out that AK Interac- tive's Learning Series are some of the best modelling references it has ever been my pleasure to own and use. As of this writing, I have all but no. 2: Panzer Crew Uniforms.

The real strength behind these most useful guides is that they do not merely focus on the "how- to". Rather, the material is presented in the context of "what could be". What can be achieved is thus left entirely in the modelling reader's hands! And that is decidedly a breath of fresh air!!

And when you consider that they are little more than the cost of an Osprey book--or an issue of an imported magazine!--it's virtually a win-win situation.

ENJOY!

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

Metallics vol. 2 (AK Learning Series #5)

Last year, AK Interactive announced the release of a 2 vol. set of references in their Learning Series dealing with Metallics. Vol. 1, released in the Fall, was an excellent introduction to metals, the mediums available to reproduce optimal effects, and how they are rendered in miniature, specifically scale models.

Vol.2 has just made it across the Pond, and its focus is figures. It can certainly be read as a stand-alone entry, and most who are strictly figure-centric will appreciate this. This is by far the most enlightening and revealing treatise on the subject that I have ever encountered--and this coming from someone who has been peeling this delightful onion for over 35 years! If there was ever a turn-to reference on metallics this is it!! And for an old-timer like myself, it is worth the price of admission for the lucid presentation on how to work NMMs (Non-Metallic Metallics), especially as a complement to--and in combination with--more traditional approaches.

Admittedly, as with any reference, your mileage may vary--depending on your experience, pre- ferred medium/s, etc. Personally, I am not exactly taken with the ever-increasing use of the air- brush as a means to apply paint on figures. . . of any scale! However, that is the dinosaur in me speaking: you can argue with anything about it save [some of] the results!!

This is an invaluable reference, and one that I HIGHLY recommend!

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

Daryl Dixon - Eaglemoss' TWD

It has been a very difficult fortnight, and the bench has been gathering dust (not the good kind!) for the entire month of February. Slowly, but surely, I am making my way back, and though I don't expect things to return to a semblance of normalcy for quite some time, life must go on. . . 

Tomorrow night will mark the return of The Walking Dead from its mid-season hiatus, and I can't wait for any number of reasons! So while work needs to resume on the Eaglemoss Rick Grimes, I  decided to "warm-up" and refamiliarize myself with the bench on its companion piece of Daryl Dixon. 

Overall, this figure is not quite up to what was seen with Rick. . . if only because of the crossbow. The figure is comprised of 11(?) total pieces (3 resin; 3 white metal; 1 steel [the bolt]; plus the 3(?) pcs. base), and the overall casting quality of the resin is, as with Rick, VG+. 

As alluded to above, the "gorilla" on this piece is the crossbow: this is a "D-" effort--and I am be- ing generous! Whatever refinements might have been evident on the painted prototype are no- where to be found on the production piece. To make matters worse, the scale and proportions are completely off! Save for the bolt and the portion of the stock en suite with the arm, the cross- bow and accessories will have to be essentially rebuilt from scratch.    

In addition to making a 'new' crossbow package,  I intend to:

• Reposition the arms, rework the left hand, etc.
• Rework the seams on the garments where necessary
• Sharpen detail where required
• Add any items that might have been overlooked

This is a L-O-N-G term project, but one that I am perversely looking forward to. . . for now!

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

Moebius' rendition of a Frazetta CLASSIC!

The latest on this much-anticipated release can be found here. . . including an image of the approved master. Polystyrene and ~1/10th scale. TBR: Fall 2016??? . . .

Whaddaya think???

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