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According to my plans, I fixed a metal rigging to the back part of the boat, (step 11/19) and sculpted out of thick balsa wood the big device at the front of the boat whose purpose was to store the pole mines, as well as one or 2 details in Magic Sculp (step 11/20).
The painting was quite a straightforward affair. Last summer I was tramping in the marches you have near the Arcachon bay in western France when I discovered some very well hidden fishing boats wrecks. I took a couple of pictures and noticed the very light colours of the wood being attacked by the salt and the sun.
I then put at each side of my palette some white, sand, green and brown acrylic paints and proceeded to paint the boat plank by plank, every time using a different mix so that the boat could appear like it would collapse at any minute. I added some darker shades under the boat as well as below the side planking as well as some rusty run offs on the wood. I finished the wood itself with a slight white drybrush.
The rust was painted in my usual fashion –though this time I tried to make it more red than usual. So on each side of my palette I poured some red, Van Dyk Brown , Burnt Sienna and black Windsor and Newton pigments, and some watered down brown paint at the middle of the palette. Then picking in each of the little pigment heaps and mixing it with the paint, I half painted, half poured the mix on the metal; after a good half an hour it looks like what you have on the picture (step 12/21).
Now what a stupid statement, sculpting that kid has got to be the hardest thing I ever did. And it seems it’s the same for basically everyone as that need for kid sculpting came from the fact I just couldn’t find any, even in the best aftermarket companies, that could have suit my needs.
They either look like caricatures, or like young rascals. And I didn’t want my kid to be either of that.
Years ago I had bought Hornet’s Little drummer boy, which is certainly the worse (and only from what I saw) sculpting in Mr Saunders complete career. He just looks beefy and moronic. But then that special figure proved very useful to get an idea of the right proportions to use, and the level of details I could obtain if I was really ready to pay a lot of attention in the sculpting process.
Modestly I started with the body, using some roughly shaped Magic Sculp as well as some paper clips cut at the right size for the arms and legs (pic 13). I then coated the shape with some more Magic Sculp to have roughly the right “weight” of the kid.
The wrists and ankles are thinned at this stage which will be easier afterwards to fix some legs and hands (pic13 ).
I started adding details from the bottom on. First I modelled some kneecaps and then the shorts. I carved the various folds around the middle of the shorts while the Magic Sculp was hardening, and ended up these with a bit of carving with a modelling knife once the mastic completely set. I also sanded both legs and shorts at this time. (pic 13).
I sculpted the boots in 2 steps: first I did the shoes sole while cutting out some semi hardened Magic Sculp which allowed me to still be able to bend it around the talon once glued. And then I put 2 strips of Magic Sculp above to create the upper part of the shoes. I blended up the front and the back of the shoes and let gap the opening –he’s a kid so he is not suppose to have the laces put on. I voluntarily put him some shoes that are way too big for him in case anyone wonders.
Then the hard part started –which means the hands and the face. The hands were done in 2 times. First time I used my magnifying glass to disjoin all fingers from a Magic Sculp strip while this one was still unset. When set i carefully sanded each extremity so that it really could look like fingers. But then i managed to break most fingers during the following weeks while working on other parts of the diorama!
So I have been fixing some new fingers –this time using some very fine Green Stuff strips all glued/ tied to the main hand. The Green Stuff is a mess to work with in my opinion, but then it’s also way more flexible once set than Magic Sculp which means it can sustain rougher handling which suits my pretty violent behaviours towards my own dioramas quite well. Some people might say that Green Stuff also adheres much better to other surfaces than Magic Sculp which is true, but then you have to handle a lot the stuff while you shape parts as tiny as the fingers, and then too much handling just kills the stickiness which is a bad thing when you want to start fixing them. (pic 14)
More green Stuff was used to model a collar over a sculpted shirt.
The head was just another story, and it took me 3 different attempts to finally come up with something really worth my own expectations.
The painting was quite a straightforward affair. Last summer I was tramping in the marches you have near the Arcachon bay in western France when I discovered some very well hidden fishing boats wrecks. I took a couple of pictures and noticed the very light colours of the wood being attacked by the salt and the sun.
I then put at each side of my palette some white, sand, green and brown acrylic paints and proceeded to paint the boat plank by plank, every time using a different mix so that the boat could appear like it would collapse at any minute. I added some darker shades under the boat as well as below the side planking as well as some rusty run offs on the wood. I finished the wood itself with a slight white drybrush.
The rust was painted in my usual fashion –though this time I tried to make it more red than usual. So on each side of my palette I poured some red, Van Dyk Brown , Burnt Sienna and black Windsor and Newton pigments, and some watered down brown paint at the middle of the palette. Then picking in each of the little pigment heaps and mixing it with the paint, I half painted, half poured the mix on the metal; after a good half an hour it looks like what you have on the picture (step 12/21).
The kid
As a New Year resolution for 2007, I had stated that I “wanted to sculpt some kids”.Now what a stupid statement, sculpting that kid has got to be the hardest thing I ever did. And it seems it’s the same for basically everyone as that need for kid sculpting came from the fact I just couldn’t find any, even in the best aftermarket companies, that could have suit my needs.
They either look like caricatures, or like young rascals. And I didn’t want my kid to be either of that.
Years ago I had bought Hornet’s Little drummer boy, which is certainly the worse (and only from what I saw) sculpting in Mr Saunders complete career. He just looks beefy and moronic. But then that special figure proved very useful to get an idea of the right proportions to use, and the level of details I could obtain if I was really ready to pay a lot of attention in the sculpting process.
Modestly I started with the body, using some roughly shaped Magic Sculp as well as some paper clips cut at the right size for the arms and legs (pic 13). I then coated the shape with some more Magic Sculp to have roughly the right “weight” of the kid.
The wrists and ankles are thinned at this stage which will be easier afterwards to fix some legs and hands (pic13 ).
I sculpted the boots in 2 steps: first I did the shoes sole while cutting out some semi hardened Magic Sculp which allowed me to still be able to bend it around the talon once glued. And then I put 2 strips of Magic Sculp above to create the upper part of the shoes. I blended up the front and the back of the shoes and let gap the opening –he’s a kid so he is not suppose to have the laces put on. I voluntarily put him some shoes that are way too big for him in case anyone wonders.
Then the hard part started –which means the hands and the face. The hands were done in 2 times. First time I used my magnifying glass to disjoin all fingers from a Magic Sculp strip while this one was still unset. When set i carefully sanded each extremity so that it really could look like fingers. But then i managed to break most fingers during the following weeks while working on other parts of the diorama!
So I have been fixing some new fingers –this time using some very fine Green Stuff strips all glued/ tied to the main hand. The Green Stuff is a mess to work with in my opinion, but then it’s also way more flexible once set than Magic Sculp which means it can sustain rougher handling which suits my pretty violent behaviours towards my own dioramas quite well. Some people might say that Green Stuff also adheres much better to other surfaces than Magic Sculp which is true, but then you have to handle a lot the stuff while you shape parts as tiny as the fingers, and then too much handling just kills the stickiness which is a bad thing when you want to start fixing them. (pic 14)
The head was just another story, and it took me 3 different attempts to finally come up with something really worth my own expectations.
