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German Motorcyclist WWII sculpt

Discussion in 'Sculpting' started by bonehead, Dec 4, 2010.

  1. bonehead A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States
    Every once in a while you get to start a project that is a completely new precedent - well, for me anyway. This project is a German Motorcyclist in 1/24th scale. It is the scale that distinguishes it from other previous projects. I already had some armature parts to work with, but many other things had to be worked fresh. In this case, I had some gear that I could use as starting points for new accessory bits as will be seen below.

    Because I sculpt figures as my full-time job, this means that I must find ways to re-utilize my time by creating standard parts that can then be re-used in future projects. These bits are time consuming to create and I would have a hard time paying my bills if I devoted this much time to every single project. So, time spent creating new parts is time that I can bank toward future projects.

    [IMG][IMG]

    These first two images show the basic armature worked up using armature parts I made some years ago. The shoes I had were inadequate so I spent quite a bit of time re-making them into proper jackboots. These bits will, in turn, be made into new armature parts for future projects in this genre.

    The basic anatomy is filled out here. Notice the correct alignment of upper and lower torso, legs and head to achieve a natural looking contra-posto pose with the figure relaxing with his weight shifted to his right leg. The boot tops seem a bit short, but these will be covered over anyway so it is of little consequence.
    Djoubri M, gioazz, rej and 9 others like this.
  2. alexwencho Active Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Mike,

    Thanks for getting my attention!

    hmmmm, bike build?

    alex wence
  3. bonehead A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States
    Modern helmets are probably the most demanding thing one can sculpt. There are many photos and actual items around that all look nearly exactly the same. If you blow it on these parts, people will notice. More importantly, I would notice!

    I had two helmets to choose from to use as a basis. One was from a Hasegawa 1/24th scale Kubelwagen kit. I did not like this helmet as it seemed too wide. So, I used a helmet from a Tamiya 1/25th scale figure that came out many years ago. The helmet was not great, but it was closer to the right shape than the Hasegawa piece.

    [IMG]

    The original Tamiya helmet is on the right and my reworked version on the left. The brim on the Tamiya helmet was a little short and chunky and the crown was too rounded. I corrected these parts with sheet plastic and putty then primered the piece to get an even finish.

    Weapons are always a chore to do, although I really enjoy the work when I do. The problem is, it takes nearly as much time to do a decent rifle or pistol as it does to do an entire figure. So, I do them very rarely. In this case, I saved some time by reworking available parts.

    [IMG][IMG]

    Again, I had a Tamiya 1/25th scale K98 and the Hasegawa one. The Hasegawa part was too narrow through the mid-section (when viewed from above). The Tamiya part was slightly narrow too, but not as bad as the Hasegawa. What's more, it was too short by a few millimeters - being a slightly smaller scale. I decided it was easier to lengthen the Tamiya part than it was to widen the Hasegawa part. Most of the detailing was replaced with bits of carefully shaped plastic strip and sheet.

    The upper rifle is the unmodified Hasegawa part. The lower shows the reworked Tamiya rifle. I used the Hasegawa part to help keep proportions as it was basically correct in proportion from butt to muzzle. I compromised on the gun cleaning rod below the barrel so that the part could be easily cast in resin without chronic breakage.
    Manfred and gordy like this.
  4. mil-mart A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Mike, very interesting stuff and will be following this with interest. (y)

    Cheers Ken
  5. bonehead A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States
    Here I started sculpting with the motorcycle coat which was worn buttoned around the lower leg to ease wear on the motorcycle. I gathered as much reference as I could then did what we all do - faked it!

    The truth is that i could only find two photos of the coat worn this way. They helped, but I had no pics of the back so I had to guess on the drapery. Fake it till you make it.... (BTW, thanks to Krisztian Bodi for his nice sculpt of a motorcycle coat. It helped me when I couldn't figure stuff out! http://www.timelinesforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10458)

    [IMG][IMG][IMG]

    Notice how the cloth is shown compressed on the "short side" (right leg) and with tension on the left leg where the fabric would be more extended. The top photo also show the gas mask canister which was made from three Hasegawa cans. Two made up the front and back half and another made the butt piece at the rim. The lid detail was made from sheet plastic while the fastener is Pro Create putty.
  6. bonehead A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States
    Well laid plans and all that stuff. I decided that the lower legs looked a little too bulky when compared to my photos. Crap! That means resculpting. So, I carved away a big chunk of the previously finished legs and had a second go at it. Okay, it does not look much different, but then I have all of those hours I spent re-doing stuff and making it look right to thank for that.

    It looks better to me now. At least that is my excuse for all of the lost hours redoing stuff...

    [IMG][IMG]

    To be continued....

    BTW, yes this will be a commercial kit. The manufacturer will remain anonymous for now.

    Cheers!!

    Mike
  7. gordy Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Superb work! (y) The krinkling folding on the pants are top notch :)

    What is the white/light grey putty you are using?

    Thanks for sharing!
  8. housecarl Moderator

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Nice lesson in drapery, outstanding work Mike. I take it, it will be commercially released?
    Carl.
  9. megroot A Fixture

    Country:
    Netherlands
    Not my favorite stuff but i will following this with great interest.

    marc
  10. TWOMOONS Active Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Another home run, Mike. You should test the free agent market. Fab folds!!!
  11. 1969 A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Nice work so far Mike and interesting to see your approach to figure sculpting, its always nice to see how others do it.
    Dont know if these will help but i got these pics from a reenactment event i visited a couple of years ago, the guy was very happy to pose for them.

    Steve

    Attached Files:

  12. bonehead A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States
    The white putty is Aves Apoxie Sculpt, white. The gray stuff is Pro Create. The head was sculpted with a blend of various colors of Sculpey Premo.
  13. gordy Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Thanks Mike!
  14. garyjd Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    AWESOME Mike. your my hero! :D Seriously thanks for taking the time to put this sbs together (they take time too) for us to enjoy. May have to pick one up for a study model. Pay attention budding sculptors. You can either sculpt drapery that looks okay or sculpt it to look real. Just the motivation I needed to get back to work. ~Gary
    rej likes this.
  15. garyjd Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Out of curiosity are there any concerns incorporating Tamiya parts with this kit?
  16. Diegoff A Fixture

    Country:
    Spain
    Brilliant work, as usual, Mike!

    Are these pieces of equipment going to be commercial?

    I had those same problems with the helmets... but I´m too lazy lately.
  17. bonehead A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States
    What Tamiya parts? I am not copying them, I only used them as a jumping off point for my own "versions" of them. If you compare the original parts and my heavily modified parts, they are no longer the same. I would not have used the original plastic parts for any model of mine. They simply were not up to snuff. I only used them to speed up a process which would have taken at least twice the time otherwise. In the case of the gas mask canister, I could not have made a decent one at all because I do not have a lathe and am not a machinist.

    If not for this "boost-up" I would not have undertaken this project at all. I can no longer afford to spend the time it takes to do these things from scratch for my clients. To do so would put me out of business. What would you have me do?

    I am reminded of a fellow modeler (who will remain nameless) who thought it terribly gauche that I used a decal for a particular insignia, or used an airbrush to speed shading on certain of my painted figures. He implied that this was "cheating".

    Really? Who made those rules? I am a modeler and the only thing that matters is the final result. If there is an easier and better way to get a good result, then I will use it. If certain purists think that is cheating, then the problem is only in their mind as far as I am concerned.

    I feel that easing my job, or creating short cuts to obtain a better final result is working smart. To my mind it is foolish to deliberately make a job more difficult - especially if nobody is paying me for all of that extra time invested. That is, invariably, the case. As I said before, this project would have never happened but for the available short cuts.

    No boost-up parts and this thread and this discussion would never have happened....
  18. alexwencho Active Member

    Country:
    United-States
    keep on truckin' my brother.

    Mike,

    You are so true with: "...nobody is paying me for all the extra time invested."

    A scratch-builders job is never done.

    aloha,
    alex wence

    [IMG]

    [IMG]

    [IMG]
    Dan Morton, gordy and Tommi like this.
  19. JasonB Moderator

    Country:
    United-States
    Beauty!
    Man, it would be awesome to have one of these guys in 1/9 scale to go with the Esci/Dragon big motorcycle kits, thats for sure.
  20. slaj Well-Known Member

    Country:
    Malta
    Awesome Mike. Please keep us posted. BDW, I wouldn't have expected less :):)

    Steve

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