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WIP Roman Testudo - Stage 1

Discussion in 'vBench (Works in Progress)' started by smudger1960, Dec 29, 2018.

  1. smudger1960 PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    First of all I hope all my fellow members had a lovely xmas and I hope you all have a great new year (y)

    Ive started to work on a project ive had in mind for a while,it will consist of 4x Roman busts which will depict just a small part of a roman TESTUDO,the busts I will be using will all be from the Young Miniature range with some scratch sculpting and conversion work and some casting of spare parts involved.
    The busts involved will be ;
    YH1854 - 2x - Roman Legionary
    YH1811 - Roman Legionarius
    YH1801 - Roman Centurion. ( Optio )

    Ive always been fascinated by the opening scene of the movie GLADIATOR where the roman defences withhold the attacks of the barbarian tribesmen,although a TESTUDO is not shown in this scene,i thought id combine the 2x ideas into this project.
    Anyone who knows me or my work will know by now,this project will have a campaign feel to it,so there will be NO shiny shields or armour,one thing I did like about this scene was the look of the roman armour which looked very dark,almost black in some scenes,this is what ill be aiming for in this project.
    The look of a roman soldier on years of campaign,unshaved,battle hardened troops and the scars of war and wounds to show as well,already im only in the early stages and im getting the taste for this piece.

    The first bust I chose was the latest Young roman release of a Legionary with shield raised and sword drawn,i purchased 2x of these busts,one of which will be converted and the other will just be left as it is,with the conversion work and painting and weathering im hoping it wont be too noticeable that out of the 4x busts 2x will be identical purchases.

    This first bust has been converted by myself with some scratch and sculpt involved.

    In the Gladiator opening scene we see the centurion QUINTUS with the headcover which I suspect was worn under the helmet for comfort,i don't think this is a wound bandage,although i'm not 100% certain.
    QUINTUS shows the scars of campaign on his brows and the beard growth / stubble also evident,this particular character I very much liked in the scene and studied a few stills of him.

    000.png 55.png 66.png th.jpg

    For the head,i left off the helmet part and had to sculpt a basic head shape so I could build the headcover around it with some hair also having to be sculpted.

    DSCN6151 (2).JPG DSCN6152 (2).JPG DSCN6153 (2).JPG

    Once this was cured and dried off I started to sculpt some hair which would be visable at the crown of the head.
    DSCN6175 (2).JPG DSCN6176 (2).JPG DSCN6178.JPG DSCN6163 (2).JPG DSCN6170.JPG DSCN6172.JPG

    The partial shield in this kit dosent actually fit or attach to anywhere on the bust,so I came up with the idea to have the TESTUDO shield wall under attack from spears,this way I was able to carry the spear through the shield into the main body of the bust,i used metal rod for this and chose 2 spears as this would give it added strength and less likely to break,i will paint the spears as appearing to be broken in the final stages.

    A white neckerchief has also been added as QUINTUS wore in the film,its probably something most roman soldiers done in the field,so there no hard and fast rules regarding this added feature.

    untitled.png

    I am not trying to portray QUINTUS in this piece,because in the film his body armour suggests he may be a centurion,ive only used the pics and the stills for ideas.

    Brian
  2. MoboSchreuder A Fixture

    Looking forward-following with interest ,great job

    Mobo
    smudger1960 likes this.
  3. DaddyO A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Looking great so far Brian (Happy New year and Xmas to you as well)

    Can't wait to see the next instalment (y)
    Paul
    smudger1960 likes this.
  4. smudger1960 PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Thank you mobo (y)
  5. smudger1960 PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Many thanks paul,another update later today (y)
  6. Jimbo A Fixture

    Country:
    England
    Hi Brian
    This is going to look great with all your weathering effects and style of painting, nice one mate
    Happy New Year(y)
    Cheers
    Jim
    smudger1960 likes this.
  7. smudger1960 PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Thanks jim,hope your well mate,look after yourself and have a good new year mate,I hope to see you sometime perhaps
    Jimbo likes this.
  8. misfit151 A Fixture

    This looks to be a great project Brian ....looking forward to progress.....great film by the way....(y)....Mike
    smudger1960 likes this.
  9. Gooner Mike Active Member

    great idea and excellent start one of my favourite movies
    smudger1960 likes this.
  10. smudger1960 PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Many thanks mike
  11. smudger1960 PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Thank you mike
  12. Viking Bob PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Wow I like what you have done on this Brian. Excellent.
    smudger1960 likes this.
  13. Nicolaos Well-Known Member

    Lovely project and great start! Warm thanks for the wishes, have a wonderful New Year!
    Cheers,
    Nicolae
    smudger1960 likes this.
  14. smudger1960 PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Many thanks bob
  15. smudger1960 PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Many thanks nicolae
  16. clrsgt A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States
    This is a great project and I will be following closely; anxious to see the others come to life. Good start by the way.
    smudger1960 likes this.
  17. smudger1960 PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Many thanks my friend
  18. Chezzie Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    This is going to be a good’n...........right up my street mate
    smudger1960 likes this.
  19. smudger1960 PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Many thanks mark
    Chezzie likes this.
  20. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Brian

    Oh boy !!!!!

    This is going to be good

    Clever reworking there with the shield

    Nap
    smudger1960 likes this.

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