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07-22-2014, 09:38 PM | #1 |
Cobra Soldier
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Knoxville
Posts: 1
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The figures here really aren't "works in progress" as much as they are clumsy first attempts at customizing that really can't be dignified as finished customs. I started fiddling around with customizing last week because I am in the process of cramming for professional board examinations and wanted some kind of relaxing creative outlet. My last serious artistic or craft-ish endeavor was a bent stick figure in Mrs. Smith's 4th grade art class. It has, so far, been a wonderful experience. However, because I am in the process of studying for boards and haven't had time to research in depth the finer points of painting and sculpting, I was wondering if the kind folks here could offer some points or critiques on some of the customs.
This was my first attempt. He is loosely modeled on late 19th century British infantry—the kind that you might have seen in films like Zulu. Unfortuantely, I do not have a passable pith helmet yet. The figure itself is simply a touched up Wehrmacht infantry figure by 21st Century. The name of the specific figure escapes me as 21st made all the sculpts and names fairly interchangeable. The worrisome thing about the British soldier is the fact that the paint has already begun to peel off—I guess because I had no idea what I was doing and didn't apply a sealant. Has the window on the sealant closed, or is there still time? I also touched up the head of the GI Joe trooper from Retaliation. I am assuming that a lot of folks have tried to change the mohawk head into a Call of Duty 'Soap' MacTavish figure. Well, I couldn't resist either, but I will justify it by using the head as a way to experiment with using watery paint to simulate five o'clock shadows and closely trimmed hair. I am not sure if the photo picks up those details adequately because I have no idea how to competently utilize my phone's camera. Yes, Hitler. Why? Well, I've actually been looking for a Churchill, Eisenhower, and Stalin headsculpt for far longer (without much success). In actuality, 21st Century produced a figure with a disturbingly similar likeness (same hairstyle and manic-looking eyes), so I thought—like MacTavish—it would be a good sandbox to try out different paint applications. (Looks like Captain Price decided to hunt down Hitler in his Anglo-Zulu War kit.) Now, without further ado, I present the thread's title character: Aragorn. Painting is fun, but there's no guarantee that you can always find a headsculpt you want. Therefore, I went to my local craft store and got some practice clay—the kind that never dries out or hardens. Because I've always wanted Lord of the Rings characters to pose beside my GI Joe and Star Wars figures, I've always wanted a 3.75” Aragorn. Seeing that the Bridge Direct will probably never make one, I decided to try my hand at sculpting a head for the character. The head is a bit bigger than most 3.75 headsculpts, but I wanted to got a bit large for my first attempt to get a feel for the details. Check the spoiler tags: Unfortunately, it was quite hard to get the camera to pick up a lot of the details—which kind of look a bit smudged together. The rough areas at the bottom of the figures face is meant to replicate the light beard he had in the Lord of the Rings films. It looked okay, but I think I could have gotten a better and cleaner looking sculpt if I had just relied on the paint apps for the beard. What do you guys think? I also painted the headsculpt just to get an idea of what the figure would look like when the sculpt was baked, molded, and cast. The paint job was horrible—necessarily so because this kind of clay is still “wet.” Any exertion of force will actually change the sculpt. Thus, I just had to carefully dab the paint application over the whole figure. It certainly wastes the reusable clay and a bit of paint—and of course the paint itself looks bad—but I just wanted a feel for how certain details come out on a sculpt when painted—namely the eyes. What I was trying to figure out is whether it's better to have the sculpt bring out certain facial details or the paint apps. Painting it I think helped give me a rough idea of what to do (or not to do). Thank you all very much for checking out these [S]customs[/S] experiments and please, if you have the time, let me know what suggestions you have for the paint apps or the sculpting. |
07-23-2014, 08:11 AM | #2 |
Banned
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: cybertron
Posts: 4,661
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Nice work.
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soundwave84 |
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