My next project is Young's Somme bust of a 1st battalion regular of the Lancashire Fusiliers. I am adjusting him slightly to represent a member of my Great Uncle's unit - 3 platoon A Company 19th Lancashire Fusiliers (3rd Salford Pals), which attacked Thiepval in the centre of the battlefield on July 1, 1916....the First Day of the Somme. My Great Uncle was one of the lucky few not killed or wounded in his company but his luck ran out 2 weeks later when he was mortally wounded during night fighting in the trenches at Ovillers la Boiselle. He was 19.

So far I have removed the battalion flash from his shoulder and back and have replaced the shoulder markings with with the appropriate 3rd Salfords insignia of a red diamond with 3 red stripes below it.




I still need to sculpt in the Salford shoulder titles like this:



I shaved down some of the bulk around his mouth as the sculpt looked a little Godfatherish to me (had that cotton wool mouth thing going on). I also removed the hair over his forehead as well as I thought it made him look wet....and older. July 1, 1916 was not a rainy day but it was hot enough that sweat could have been an issue, especially while lumbering about with 60 pounds of kit. Personal taste. Otherwise it a great face that Young has rendered.



I will post my progress as I paint him up.

Colin

Colin I cannot waiting to see more.

marc

Hi Colin
Following this with interest.

Chris

Very interesting if sad Colin
Steve

You always give your projects a personal backstory... makes things more interesting. Look forward to see how this progresses.

Cheers

Colin

Looking forward your next step in this project

Gerard

This looks interesting Colin ,see the casting is up to Youngs usual high standard also.

Ron

I will try to do an SBS on this as I was the one rabbiting on about how everyone should do them

But you will see all the accidents, do overs, mulligans and white flags as I go. If it gets really bad you might even see a mid-model change from acrylics to oils. Been there, done that.....the other way too!

Base coated in Vallejo brown rose. Eyes undercoated in Vallejo light flesh. Edged with Raw Umber. Some light washes of Liquitex pro Alizarin for the teer ducts and insides of the lids. Base of pupil is Vallejo Prussian Blue and lightened progressively by mixing in light flesh.



Colin

Great subject and looking forward to the finished bust. Brilliant paint job.

Excellent start on the eyes, Colin.
On the other hand , "I'm still waiting to see this bust done as per the box" (as somebody told me time ago while I was doing mine)

A bit more dabbling - I used diluted (to avoid pumpkin head) liquitex burnt sienna ink to pick out some of the facial detail. Then a mix of diluted Liquitex deep portrait pink and Vallejo sunny skintone brushed onto the highights.



My face painting style is to make it up as I go, to use lots of various colours including browns, blues, reds, greens, purples, and lots of inks and washes. I am a firm believer that the human face is not flesh coloured if you really look closely. I still remember my first realisation of this when looking at an old Campaigns magazine where a couple of romans were shown in winter gear. The artist (sadly forget who) had painted them in layers of colours that just looked right to me.

Colin

Mine will be pretty close .... unless I lose his shovel

Colin

The eyes are great Colin. They've got a real weary melancholy about them.
Looking forward to seeing this progress.
Cheers
Derek

Great start Colin. No doubt one of the reasons this bust is proving so popular is the flexibility it offers to modellers who want to present a British/ Commonwealth soldier from WW1. My version will be an Aussie, no surprises there!!

Great work on the eyes.

Very nice Colin and thanks for the details!
Will follow closely!
Cheers,
Zeno

Hello Colin, Interesting color choices for the face. The eyes look great. Nice start and SBS. Good luck with its progress. Regards, SG

I sculpted in the "Salford" shoulder titles. A little rough but they will look fine once painted I think. I used sculpey firm, as its easier to manipulate than duro or magicsculpt for very small work. I sculpted the letters with a #11 blade and a pin. I also built up the strap on his right side as it passed over the shoulder title to indicate depth. I flowed some umber ink onto the titles to assist with viewing.



Colin

When you refered to Liquitex are you talking about the "craft" acrylics in the 4 or 5 oz bottles with the flip tops? I have loads of those I used to paint small murals and t-shirts with... never occured to me to use them on figs. If that's the stuff you're talking about

Scarborough Colin

The larger bottles with flip tops. Not craft - Liquitex Pro I think they are called and they are not cheap. I mix them with Vallejos and that yields a paint that dries more slowly and can be used to glaze and blend. Just another tool in the arsenal.

Colin