Hi there ,

I am always happy to share a new release from a smaller company this time we have the first bust release from a Russian company called

Looking at their website I also see they have released some figures as well .

The release we are looking at today was announce here :

http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/legends-of-cinema.73286/

Now I must admit I have never heard of Baba Yaga , but both the legend and the actor is very well known in Russia and the Slavic countries

Russia is steeped in tradition and folklore , among the most well known character is the evil witch known as Baba Yaga

This character is a witch who lives in the dark forest n a house with chicken legs ( the house not her!!!) , she has iron teeth , a long hooked nose , straggly hair and an evil smile , she flies about in a tub and uses a silver broom to sweep away her evil doings, her hands are long and bony as are here legs almost skeletal despite her huge appetite.

Living in the forest in a house that can move around !!!

The subject was played by a famous actor in Russia called Georgi Millyar , who was born in 1903 , passing away in 1993 , he played Baba Yaga in the 1973 film of the same name.

It is as I said a bust from the Legends of Cinema series by Art Miniatures.

The story is obviously been in many books and languages , the character has many names as well with the story relating to other folklore tales .

If you read the tale make sure the light is on or at least you are hiding under the duvet!!!!

Continued in next post

Nap

Lets keep the light on and look at the resin

Release details:

Title: Yaga (from the Legends of Cinema series)

Reference: N/A

Scale: 1/4

Material: Gray Resin

No of parts: 4

Sculptor: Alexander Belov

Box Art: N/A

Shipping was quick but unfortunately despite the resin being packed extremely well a piece of the headscarf was broken , easily fixed though , perhaps something that needs looking at with pieces like this..cast separately maybe.

I mentioned the good packing this consisted of 20mm foam sheets all around the inside of the box and resin

On the front we have a piece of film like image of the piece , the details are all in Russian , perhaps some English on the next release ( Having said that the website has both Russian and English language choice), all parts were also in clear bags with a business card also included.

Parts consist of the main torso , the arm , and 2 teeth







Prep

Torso...casting plug from underside and casting line from edge, tiny bit of excess resin on left face edge ( by hair), a casting line running up the hair on the left side
Hand...Small casting plug from the lower edge and a fine casting line on lower edge of actual hand
Teeth...remove from former and fit

First impressions

The scale being large gives us a lot of resin , the arm is as shown separate and does not fit the torso but is designed to be placed next as in the film shot.

The eyes have been sculpted with the pupil as a small hole so my first task would be to fill this making the eyeball easier to paint .

Teeth..these are small so be aware of that carpet monster ...I would suggest fitting after you have painted the mouth.

The sculptor has achieved a very good likeness to the film character and is to be congratulated for this , casting is clean and well done with there being some really nice surface textures, so lets look at the resin in more detail now

Main Torso

Despite the headscarf being broken the headscarf is good this has itself a fine texture on it , it looks like a material was used to help in this ..clever idea, the folds are very good with the edges being a little worn

The hair , long and straggly I feel this is a little soft in places and needed more definition .

The clothes ....well textured , you can see the weave of the material , a button is shown , the edges have afur like texture.

The face ..this is without doubt the make or break of any bust and in this case its a make ....absolutely packed full of character , the sculpting is exactly like the character , good eyes(apart from the pupils which need filling IMO)

Good strong cheek bones and lines at the eye edges , but just look at those eyebrows ...awesome !!

The nose is as in the story , long , hooked and large , nicely worked , it hangs over the mouth , this is a toothless crone for sure the upper gums have none!! the two teeth provided fit into 2 hole in the lower gums .( albeit a bit fiddly)




The Arm this is a separate item so you could leave it off the base , I would be inclined to use it , as it brings more life to the torso but you could display separately!!
The hand is sculpted waving in a sinister way , the clothing is really good , ragged and torn , a lot of work has gone into this but the actual hand is a long bony set of fingers exactly as it should be , really good details on the fingers themselves , veins on the hand .




Teeth...tiny to say the least , but will look good when in place , easy to remove from the former but a little fidlly to fit as stated before

Final thoughts

This is an interesting release , the character not that well known outside Russia but the conversion potential of this is really good , perhaps add a witches hat to her , its full of some good details , a few things to think about for future releases but if you paint it then its certainly going to be a great display piece , good for painting , nice textures and features

Good on Art Miniatures lets hope we see more both in figures and some historical busts in the future .


Here is a couple of pictures for, the website

For more details on this and the other releases ( both historical and fantasy, myths and legends )

Website: www.art-miniatures.ru

Email: art.miniatures@mail.ru or tinminiatures@gmail.com

FB:www.facebook.com/inforatborec

Thanks to for the review piece and for you all for looking in

Happy modelling

Nap