Hi to all on PF ,

Its good to have the time and the internet to post again so its my pleasure to be able to show you a bust from the company called Adalid Models :

Whats the subject of this review :

Title: Pretty Mati Hari ( in the blog its called La Bella Mata Hari)

Reference: HV 001

Scale: 1/7th

No of Pieces: 7

Material: Resin and White metal

Sculptor: Pablo Ronda

Concept and Box Art: Eduardo Sanchez


The title of this releae is Pretty Mati Hari , speaking to Eduardo she was the inspiration for the actual sculpt , they wanted to get the feel of the period , the model itself is not intended to look like Mati IMO but they have used her clothes , the hairstyles , the pose and the ambience of the time to produce the bust.

IMO its a 19320/30's "flapper ", I beg your pardon I hear you say a what ......so lets have bit of detail about these liberated and racy women of the period .

The term "flapper" first appeared in Great Britain after World War I. It was there used to describe young girls, still somewhat awkward in movement who had not yet entered womanhood.
The Flappers' image consisted of drastic - to some, shocking - changes in women's clothing and hair. Nearly every article of clothing was trimmed down and lightened in order to make movement easier.

It is said that girls "parked" their corsets when they were to go dancing. The new, energetic dances of the Jazz Age, required women to be able to move freely, something the "ironsides" didn't allow. Replacing the pantaloons and corsets were underwear called "step-ins."

The outer clothing of flappers is even still extremely identifiable. This look, called "garconne" ("little boy"), was instigated by Coco Chanel. To look more like a boy, women tightly wound their chest with strips of cloth in order to flatten it. The waists of flapper clothes were dropped to the hipline. She wore stockings - made of rayon ("artificial silk") starting in 1923 - which the flapper often wore rolled over a garter belt.

Flappers' behavior was considered outlandish at the time and redefined women's roles. The image of flappers were young women who went by night to jazz clubs where they danced provocatively, smoked cigarettes through long holders, and dated the slick males freely, perhaps indiscriminately. They rode bikes , drove cars, and openly drank alcohol, a defiant act in the American period of Prohibition.

Flapper dresses were straight and loose, leaving the arms bare (sometimes no straps at all) and dropping the waistline to the hips. Silk or rayon stockings were held up by garters. Skirts rose to just below the knee by 1927, allowing flashes of leg to be seen when a girl danced or walked through a breeze, although the way they danced made any long loose skirt flap up to show their legs.

Famous flappers of the period included : Marie Prevost . Marion Davies. Joan Crawford . Louise Brooks. Edna Perviance. Dorothy Sebastian. Clara Bow . Betty Compson. Anita Page. Barbara Stanwyck amongst many others .

The model itself was received well packed and secure as with the Confederate bust I reviewed in a clear see through container with box art on the front .

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Moving onto the model iself :

It was as I said received well packed and conssists of a total of 7 pieces these being the torso and right arm (less hand) both being cast in a cream resin , the remaining pieces being cas in white metal , thes ebeing the right hand the feather , the cigarette (in a holder) and 2 minute earrings .

The packaging is a strong see through container with the pieces secured in an addtional plastic bag .......be careful you don't loose the earrings to the carpet muncher that inhabits all our modelling spaces !!!! .

We also have a full colour picture of a painted version very nicely painted byEduardo, if you want more views the just go to the website or blog .

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Lets have a look at the largest of the resin pieces : The Torso

This is the main part of the model , with the subject having a shoulderless dress wearing a classic flapper style dress and accoutrements including a necklace , hair is in a style worn in the period with hair decoration .

The casting on the clothing is crisp and well defined , you have a small casting remnant to deal with where it meets the left arm , speaking of which these are thin ...as see in many pictures , there is a finecasting line to carefully sand off but no real concern there , the neck is long, delicate and feminine ,the shoulder blades are well done as well .

The facial features are of a young woman , a really beautiful face , high cheekbones with nice attention being paid to the eye area , the ears have tiny holes already drilled to take the earrings provided .

The hair style is a "bobcut" type , strands of hair are well defined and delicate, the area between the hair and face has a tiny bit of excess flashing to take away , the hardecoration is good and looks like it is being worn .

The overall casting standard is smooth and a very high quality , a small amount of flashing to deal with , on the undersides we have a small plug to sand away , cast into the undersides is a nice piece of resin to act as a stand .

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Looking now at the right arm and hand now;

The arm is cast in resin and is cut to fit just below the shoulder and the fit a perfect , with no filler needed whatsoever , she has a metal arm bracelet on her uper arm and at the wrist , the deails of which are very good , perhaps a little heavy but well done and matching with the dress . there was a casting plug to cut and sand away at the elbow.

Fit into the shoulder is by a plug which matches into a recess carefully produced in the shoulder.

The Hand is in white metal , , again feminine and delicate , long outspread fingers , detail is extremely good agin mtching the overall quality ., there is a sall amount of metel flash to carefull cut away at the wrist , I would suggest pinning the hand to te arm for addiional security .

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On now to the remining white metal pieces :


The feather plume is a really nice sculpt , full of fine details , I like the ay the feather is positioned at he top , slightly drooping, , individual parts of the feather well done , all of which will aid painting , use washes to bring out the work that has been put in by the sculptor ..... IMO it seems lighter and more delicate , fit into the headpiece is again by a recess , I would definately pin this .

The earrings are on metal former and absolutely minute , they are a magical piece of work , fit is, after carefully removing from the former , by a tiny pin cast into the back which fits tightly into the hole cast ready in the ear .

The final piece is the cigarette in its holder ,a gem of a casting , this in its own right epitomises the period and the piece , you can almost see the smoke coming off it .

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Lets put it all together now and show some pictures of the painted piece ..so ENJOY

The model has won numerous awards among them being :

MEDALLA DE PLATA en SCRATCH FANTASÍA en el II Concurso Model 34 (Leganés, 2012)
MEDALLA DE BRONCE en FANTASÍA MASTER en el Concurso MAPA (Venta de Baños, 2012)

SILVER MEDAL in FANTASY SCRATCH in the 2nd Contest Model 34 (Leganés, 2012)
BRONZE MEDAL in MASTER FANTASY in the Contest MAPA (Venta de Baños, 2012)

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Final Thoughts:

This is another good addition to the range from Adalid models , I feel that although Mati Hari inspired the piece it perhaps should have been titled differently as its a little misleading to the purchaser IMO I hasten to add , as this so much looks like a flapper , maybe this could have been a possibility .

Having said that this is a top quality product well sculpted and cast , presentation is very good , this will give the modeller many hours of enjoyment and fun , both in the research (as I did for the review) or in the painting , testing the different textures of female flesh , cloth , metals , and of course working ut how to put smoke from the cigarette ..perhaps easd out strands of cotton wool

Once you have painted this it will I have no doubt be a talking point at shows or when you are showing friends your display cabinet .

WELL DONE Adalid Models

For more details why not visit the website , there's lots on there , full of tempting products , while you are there make sure you go through the links and visit the blog as well .

Price of this bust is a resonable 35 euro's plus shipping , service is very fast and efficent .

E mail ddress for Adalid being : info@adalidmodels.com

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