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Lazybones

Discussion in 'vBench (Works in Progress)' started by Dan Morton, Jun 18, 2006.

  1. Dan Morton A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States
    This figure is based on a snippet of a large photo of a British platoon on fatique duty. The attitude and pose of the soldier in the photo intrigued me. I'll post the photo so you have a reference and then a couple shots of the figure so far. I started a bit last weekend, just part of a mannikin. This weekend I've had fun trying to get the pose just right and doing the anatomy. Let me know what you think. This figure is intended for Mr. Newsome's brushes.

    [IMG]
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    [IMG]

    As always, your critique and comment, very welcome!

    All the best,
    Dan
  2. garyjd Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Dan, I would have made the roughed in legs a little more round. Additionally I thing the knee for the left leg could have a slight bend to it.~Gary
  3. Dan Morton A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States
    Thanks, Gary! I can do that easily!

    All the best,
    Dan
  4. periklis_sale Member

    Country:
    Greece
    nice start Daniel!!!

    Keep us posted!!!!
  5. billyturnip A Fixture

    Country:
    England
    Good start Dan. Incidently this battalion was only in existence for a relatively short period of time. It was incorporated into the Labour Corps in early 1917.
    As well as it being hard work labouring it seems it wasn't an entirely safe job either, I have found twelve casualties for 22 West Yorks. Six on 12th September 1916.

    Roger
  6. Christos Well-Known Member

    Country:
    Greece
    Interesting figure Dan.Looking forward to see some updates!
    christos
  7. Dan Morton A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States
    Thanks very much Rog, Christos and Periklis! :)

    I appreciate your interest and comments. I'm away on business this week, so no opportunity to work on this until next weekend.

    Rog - I don't think there was a truly safe job anywhere on the Western Front, was there?

    All the best,
    Dan
  8. billyturnip A Fixture

    Country:
    England
    No, there probably wasn't Dan and I see this figure as a tribute to those soldiers of the 22 West Yorks who worked immensly hard and also endured danger but don't get the same "publicity" as the frontline infantry.

    Roger.
  9. flart1943 Active Member

    Country:
    England
    Hi Dan
    It's coming on great (y).
    Pete
  10. pmacko Member

    Hi Dan,

    Thats a great subject. I have yet to paint my first figure from the Great War although it's one of my favorite periods. This would make a great start.
  11. Markus Well-Known Member

    Country:
    Germany
    Hello Dan,

    great photo and a really good start in sculpting.

    I´m looking forward to see your next step.

    Best wishes,
    Markus

    :)
  12. Guy A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States
    Great start Dan.................will you be in Tulsa for the show?
  13. Kyle Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Nice start on this very worthy subject, Dan. I like the scenario you are creating.

    One observation: When standing in an leaning position that way, the right knee naturally locks, meaning that right leg would be straight, rather than bowed (try it yourself - also, see your original photo for perspective).

    But again, I think you are off to a very good start.

    Cheers,

    Kyle ;)
  14. Dan Morton A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States
    Many thanks for your comments - Roger, Pete, Paul, Markus, Guy and Kyle!

    Guy I really wish I could be in Tulsa (this weekend?). I had originally planned to go, but several things came up at work. I've just come back from 4 days in Ft. Worth and have to go to San Antonio 4 days next week, so, frankly, an 8 hour road trip to Tulsa this week-end - Not happenin'! Maybe next year!

    Particular thanks to Kyle and Paul from Model Cellar who e-mailed detailed and very accurate critique. Really appreciate it guys!

    The photos I posted were taken from a little above the figure - not straight ahead, etc., so they might have been a little misleading as to some parts of the peculiar stance of the figure. On the other hand, I do want to get it right. So - I plan to have my youngest son pose in the position and take some pics. Normally I try to do that, but this time I got a little ahead of myself. Anyway, I'll work on him this weekend.

    All the best,
    Dan
  15. Dan Morton A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States
    Slight correction on the title of this one - the year should be 1916 not 1917!

    All the best,
    Dan
  16. billyturnip A Fixture

    Country:
    England
    I was just about to politely point that out but no need now :lol:

    Roger.
  17. Marijn Van Gils New Member

    Hello Dan!

    Looks great already! The face suits him well. Where is it coming from?

    Some observations though: to me the left leg seems to be quite a bit longer than the right, even when you take into account that the hip sits higher. It can be the photo of course...
    I would also place the right foot a little bit more under his head. maybe not strait under to emphasise the leaning position, but still a bit more.
    Also be carefull to emphasise the S-shape of the back sufficiently. I think the hollow in the lower back shouldn' get any less pronounced than it is now, and he could use some extra volume on his belly.

    But again: great start! Posing is always the hardest but also most fun part, isn't it?
    Best wishes!

    Marijn
  18. marvin Member

    Country:
    Netherlands
    Hey Dan,

    When looking at your picture the pose felt a bit unnatural to me ;) So what I did is take a piece of four by four, cut it to length and try to stand in the pose you have your figure in.

    I found that with the bent elbow I had to catch most of my bodyweight with my triceps and shoulder muscles. It was very uncomfortable and not a pose I could stand in for long :(

    When looking at your reference picture I saw that the soldier actually has the pickaxe pinned against his hips. When I tried this pose I found that my body weight was counteracted by the pickaxe and I only used my arm and shoulder for balance. It didn't take any upper body strength and was a relatively comfortable pose.

    I don't know if this is of any help to you at this stage, but I just wanted to share my observations with you. Good luck!.

    - Marvin -
  19. Dan Morton A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States
    Marijn - The face is from The Lost Battalion. # 120-22 on their accessories page. Not sure who the original sculptor or manufacturer was. He originally had a American Civil War era thick trimmed chin beard and lots more hair. I've done some minor surgery. I don't know if it would be possible to do that kind of thing much with the smaller scales, but I've done it a lot with 120mm heads. The measurement of both legs from foot to hip is exactly the same - a real rarity in my work!!!! I think you're seeing a distortion caused from the fact that I took the photos from above the figure in most cases.

    Marvin - Thanks so much for your observation about the pick! Gosh - I missed that completely, but it is so obvious now that you point it out! His hand is just on top of the pick handle, balancing. I'll have to take the figure substantially apart, but much better now than later! Again, thanks! As they used to say when I played baseball - "Good eye!"

    Tonight I'm going to take the legs and pick apart. Tomorrow I'm going to have my youngest son pose for this figure as well as the Edward Ball figures. That should help immensely.

    All the best,
    Dan
  20. marvin Member

    Country:
    Netherlands
    Dan,

    Your welcome! First time I was actually able to contribute something to this forum... Good luck with your figure surgery.

    - Marvin -

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