White Ape of Barsoom-2: Prepwork - Phase (1)--cont.

The figure has been tentatively assembled, with the intermediary scapulae permanently attached. Once the filler putty has cured, I will reassess the proportions before permanently assembling the component sections of the body, and commencing work on the integrating musculature.

I have also tentatively fitted the head and commenced the reworking of the same, most significantly removing the en suite canines.

FOLLOW-UP. . . The intermediary left limb has been pegged and tentatively fitted to the body.

UPDATE -  30.03.2020. . . The figure is now permanently assembled, "filled", and I have begun to rough-in the integrating musculature. The only pieces left to attach permanently are the head, the intermediary arms, and the upper set of forearms. I have also modelled a roach of hair along the sagittal crest of the cranium.

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

White Ape of Barsoom. . . redux!

Nearly nine years ago, I embarked on what is one of my favourite projects of all time: the Great White Ape of Barsoom from Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoomian [Mars] series.

I do not own that precious fruit, so in the back of my mind I always thought I might retackle it should the opportunity arise; however, with the untimely demise of the manufacturer, Smart Max, the odds were very much against it ever happening. . . until about a fortnight ago! Against all odds, I ran across 2 kits of Mr. Honk (XXXIII) at a very affordable pricepoint from a single retailer.

I have read and re-read my bench log to re-familiarize myself with the then-project, and it was finally time to start cutting and grinding--again.

Step 1 follows Phase 1 fairly closely. There have been a few minor deviations, but, to date, the torsos have been sectioned, reduced, and pegged; and I am in the midst of tentatively locating the intermediary set of arms. While Pegasus' Gothic Rubble set #2 appears to have been dis- continued, I have the remainder of the set with which to create my Barsoomian landscape. . .

Now, as then. . .a very promising start.

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

Exhuming Smart Max!

The regulars in the readership know what a committed fan I was of Smart Max's product line, es- pecially their SMOG 1888 series. Superb design and sculpture; VG+ to Excellent casting; and above all, creativity and imagination to . . . well. . . the Max! Regrettably, the line is no more. I don’t know the particulars behind its untimely demise. Its denouement was not unlike that of Knight Models, in that the wargaming foundation eventually overtook the miniature edifice, and 
we were left wondering what might have been. . .

My disposable time has been at a premium of late, so relatively little time has been spent at either bench. What I have been doing is reviewing my miniatures’ “bucket list”, and checking on the availability of core figures for future projects. I came across my project list for Smart Max, and two entries immediately caught my eye: Kaïn Finger (LXX) and Mister Honk (XXXIII).

In 2011-12, I kit-bashed two kits of Mister Honk to create a Great White Ape of Barsoom. This has been one of my all-time favourite creations, and I truly wish I had it in my collection. This past weekend I was browsing through eBay when I stumbled across two kits of Mister Honk at very affordable prices; the same seller had one kit of Kaïn Finger. It was time to revisit the past—literally and figuratively. . .

The Mister Honk kits will eventually – hopefully – be my second Great White Ape of Barsoom, and pave the way for the Barsoomian denizens in my ‘great grey army’. Kaïn Finger has been on my project list for nearly a decade, and I am just glad to have the opportunity to bring this crea- ture of the night to the light of day. . .

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

"Gothic Bat - Haunted" - Prepwork 2: The Cape

As I continued reconfiguring the "topography" (drapery) of the cape--and reducing the volume of the same--I decided to lengthen a portion of the cape to improve the visual flow and restore some of the apparent volume. And. . . make it more Jones-esque!

The extension is now roughed-in and curing. I will begin reduction and configuration tomorrow. . . 

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

"Gothic Bat - Haunted" - Prepwork 1

Done to-date. . . 

• As alluded to in an earlier posting, the separate head and cape are now a single unit and fitted to the body, albeit still a separate piece.
• The cowl's ears have been elongated.
• The vamp and toe box of the boots have been reworked.

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

"Gothic Bat - Haunted" - Review: Postscript

The figure is now stripped, disassembled, pegged, and mounted on its work base. . .

OBSERVATIONS:

• The worst aspect of this figure are the incidental 'flaws' caused by the wire inserts in the legs. If there were no wire, the figure would be near flawless.
• As I mentioned in my previous posting, the left gauntlet is finely-cast white metal. However, it is equally significant that the balance of the figure is apparently pure resin--there is no metal filler evident.
• This is one of the finest conflations of 2-d graphic illustration and 3-d representational figure design that I have seen. It "works" superbly from any angle!  

Now that I have the figure broken-down into its components, I would like to upgrade my review to HIGHLY recommended! 

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

"Gothic Bat - Haunted" - Review

The figure arrived on Thursday; and, at first glance, it is certainly impressive. . . 

The casting is VG+++/A-. There are a few stray air bubbles where you might expect, but nothing to fret over, especially as they are mostly unnoticeable.

This is the "cleanest" and most adequately painted Eaglemoss I have ever seen! Yes, seam lines are still an issue; but on this figure, they are effectively "out of sight". The paint job, while com- mendably "light", is still somewhat erratic (e.g., the right arm was left in blue [i.e., left unpainted], and the seat of the trunks was painted blue only as far as the eye can see). Also, it appears that Eaglemoss is taking advantage of the larger scale to use an airbrush. . .

It is interesting to compare the painted sample used to promote the figure on their website with the figure before me. The bat logo on the sample figure was a painted bas-relief; on mine, the bat logo is a decal (NB: Eaglemoss has taken to using decals on points of fine detail such as eyes, logos, etc. of its larger-scale offerings. It's hard to argue with the results regardless of where you stand on the issue.). The sample figure has a disconcerting rough finish; on mine, the finish is the best I have seen to date on an Eaglemoss figure!

Measuring a sizeable 112mm to the eyes, it is comprised of four pieces (3 resin, and 1--the left gauntlet--in what appears to be finely-cast "white metal", not lead) + the circular DC branded plinth. Eaglemoss has over-engineered the attachment of the cape, so it is highly unlikely that you will be able to remove the cape without damaging the collar area--worry not: easy enough to reconstruct, though you will have to carefully plan your painting strategy.

If I am to be completely candid, I feel Eaglemoss made short work of the cape--literally. Kelley Jones' Bats are distinctive in two areas: 1) elongated 'ears' at least as long as the head; and 2) an organic, seemingly sentient, at-times fantastically long cape. The cape as designed does not convey any of these characteristics. I have yet to decide on if--and how--I intend to address this.
UPDATE -  06.03.2020. . . While I stand by my original assessment, with the now head-cape unit refitted, and given the stock drapery, I do not feel that lengthening the cape would provide results commensurate with the effort required. Thus, I intend to rework the folds and create what appears to be a more voluminous cape. . . 

This is a worthwhile acquisition--recommended +++! 

“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" - Groundwork (3): The Terrain

With the grating done--save for the welds--it was time to integrate the grating with the groundwork proper. . . 

The terrain was made with MS. It was suitably textured--but not too much. The final surface tex- ture/finish will be applied with paint, mediums, and pigments. 

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

"Gothic Bat - Haunted" - Intro

Eaglemoss continues to entice--and hopefully impress!

Last year is when I noticed that they had launched a new 1/16th series of the evolution of the Batman costume, which they aptly named "Batman Decades". Issue #6, Batman Modern Age 1990s, immediately caught my eye, as it depicted the Dark Knight in Kelley Jones' distinctive iteration. . .

The figure was recently made available in the US, and it is now on order. Review 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 5

The pedestal/plinth is DONE! 

For the last four weeks, I have been refining the lines, drape and volume of the trench-coat: hi- therto, I had been too reliant/dependent on the flight-jacket as provided. What began as a con- version of a garment is now an original!

As I mentioned earlier, progress is plainly evident, but I am far from the white flag. The fine de- tailing will take some time, but I can find consolation in the time it will save while painting--and the end result, of course!

“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" - Groundwork (2): The Grating

The Joker's lair is a subterranean network of tunnels, etc.; hence, I settled on a split-level setting with the floor of the chamber as the primary groundwork, and the secondary burled surface as a water drain. 

To add some interest, I  decided to add a roughly-welded and finished grating as an extension of the primary groundwork. This was constructed with strips of sheet plastic that will be suitably distressed, weathered, and, ultimately, integrated.  

Movin' right along. . .  

“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" - Groundwork

To date. . .

Base selection. Check.  The one drawback to not attending shows is the inability to hand-select display bases for future projects, and have the opportunity to spitball your ideas with an individual who is not only a master woodworker, but an accomplished miniaturist.

I roughly knew how I wanted to portray Mistah J, but did I have a base that would accommodate my concept? I thought that I did, but after two evenings of cursory inventorying of my base sup- ply, I was "close, but no cigar". I suppose "third try's the charm", cause last night I found precise- ly what I was looking for! A maple burl with an appropriately rough finish that would permit me to modify the burled area to my specs. An hour or so with hammer and chisel and I was good to go!

Compositional design. Check. Now that I had the base, it was time to finalize the design of the groundwork. I broke out the relevant source material, and decided that a canon-true depiction would not work in 3d. So I proceeded down the path of creative adaptation, and this morning I concluded the design work, templates and all.

Once my materials arrive, I can begin work on the groundwork proper. . . 

“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 (2)

There were three black items waiting to be painted: the mourning armband; the shirt cuffs; and the shoes.

The armband is now done. While I was at it, I tweaked the finish on the pocket square.

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