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Franz und Emil - an epic story (sort of)

Discussion in 'Sculpting' started by bonehead, May 8, 2013.

  1. bonehead A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States
    Whoa Dave, Lucky you! I do not even have castings of these guys yet.......

    Both figures wear bits of the two piece flight suit (they were also available as a one piece overall). The guy with the over-boots is wearing both the top and bottom of this suit. They were made of cloth, available in both field gray and different shades of brown with natural leather waist-belts. This cloth often had a slightly fuzzy texture similar to mohair. Since the two pieces on this figure make up the complete suit, I would make them in matching fabric in one of those two colors.

    The camera dude is only wearing the trousers from that suit. His coat is, instead, an early war leather one. I often thought these coats were black or very dark brown. However, I have never actually seen one that was brown - every sample I have seen was black. So, forget I said brown at all! I suspect that these coats are identical to army issue "motoring" coats worn by lorry and limo drivers from before the war. In photos they appear identical and invariably seem to have been issued in black leather. His shoes could be black or brown leather.

    The heavy over-boots are also issue items. I have never seen any actual examples of these except in period photos. My guess is they came in brown, gray or field gray cloth. Only the "toe-caps" of these would be in brown leather - as would the pull straps. The fur in this case is lamb or sheep wool. This same figure carries a "Roold" helmet on his arm. These helmets were actually constructed from heavy canvas or linen (over a cork core?) with a dark brown substance applied to it for water-proofing. You can do a google image search for "Roold helmet" to find good images of existing examples. In practice, they look like they are made of brown leather, even though they are not.

    The other guy is wearing a German issue helmet. These seem to come in many different shades of brown. I have seen some that are painted as well. I believe these are covered in natural colored leather, although they could be treated fabric like the Roold helmet. In practice they should have a semi-gloss brown color that looks like leather - just like the Roold helmet.

    Goggles, scarves and gloves can be painted to taste. For the camera, I recommend consulting the photos in Wingnut Wings instruction booklets for the LVG C VI and the Hannover CL II kits. These were they only references I had for this item. Colors are anybody's guess. But the photos will give you a decent guide as to relative shades, if not the actual hues.

    I look forward to seeing these painted up. I know I will be eventually painting them myself as these figures have been percolating in my head for nearly thirty years now. As for "interchangeable heads" you might want to consult your nearest scrap box. No extras are planned......

    Cheers!!

    Mike
  2. Einion Well-Known Member

    Nothing wrong with it Mike, it's actually one of my favs of yours; just would have preferred a fresh one is all.

    Einion
    bonehead likes this.
  3. John Rosengrant A Fixture

    Beautiful Sculpts Mike!
    John
    bonehead likes this.
  4. kellerkind Well-Known Member

    Country:
    Germany
    Hi Mike,
    they are soooo fantastic. I wish, I can sculp like you or I can buy this masters :)))
    You hit the typical ww1 pilot verry well!!! Congratulations.

    Best regards, Martin
    bonehead likes this.
  5. bonehead A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States
    Many thanks to all for the kind comments - especially to John and Martin, whose work I have always admired - and of course my good buddy Alex! I just got my castings from Paul and they look outstanding! (as usual)

    I guess that means I will have to paint them up soon.......

    To Einion: In my defense, this the very first time that i have used this head on one of my sculpts - so it is still "new" for me....
  6. stu A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Lovely work mike,,,

    stuart
  7. T50 A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States
    Awesome!!!
  8. Romque Member

    hello,
    what a great job beautifull :woot:
    Romque
  9. Johan Well-Known Member

    Country:
    Belgium
    ... Just wondering - any release date in sight for these figures ? They're at the top of my "wanted" list.
  10. ModelCellar A Fixture

    Hi Johan,

    My target is for release in the fall. Just keep watching our website. We will also make an announcement here when the time comes.

    Paul
    www.ModelCellar.com
    Johan, Mike - The Kiwi and kaz6120 like this.
  11. Johan Well-Known Member

    Country:
    Belgium
    Thank you Paul, I added your website to my "favourites" ;-)
  12. dak66 Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Mike .
    Are these1/16 or 1/32?
    Nice work!
  13. ModelCellar A Fixture

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