Hi everyone,
I'm a model builder developing an interest in figurines. I've been painting 1/48, 1/72, and 1/35 scale model figures badly for a while now and find that smaller is much more difficult.

And I don't always like being confined to the poses that are out there.

Ideally I'm seeking a pose-able figure so that I can pose it and then cover and sculpt clothing and other details. Also, interchangeable heads would be handy.

I don't mind creating detail, but the time and effort to properly execute a properly proportioned human body and face might be more than my level of patience can take.

For size I'd prefer a human that stood around 6 inches tall.

Am I chasing rainbows? I hope not.

Thank you for your thoughts,

Gaz

Loads.
https://www.elgrecominiatures.co.uk/collections/types?q=Mannequins
El Greco service is top class but most retailers will have what you're looking for.
Cheers
Derek
Not so sure about anything as big as 150mm. You could contact Mitches or Stormtroopers who might be able to help.

Reedees do heads and weapons and I know he was doing a smaller scale with a view to doing a larger mannequin you could check if he has done it yet.

Friends,
Thank you for your replies and links.

I've spent some time surfing, looking at various things, and coming up with the conclusion that 1/12 scale isn't overly popular regarding available mannequins or heads....or hands. The 1/6 scale is a bit too big for display purposes. More stuff seems available in 1/16 scale including mannequins, heads, and hands.

My ultimate goal is to make small groups of men in formation with flags, muskets, drummers etc. Bigger figures, but fewer of them.

Gaz

Hello Gaz,
Check these figures:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SH-Figuarts-Man-DX-Gray-Action-Figure-Set-/322191585194
http://estatuaslimitedediti.super-f...de-figures-vitruvian-h-a-c-k-s-action-figures

This figure is about 150mm tall
http://www.shfiguarts.com/products/detail/5755/SH-Figuarts-Man-DX-Gray-Action-Figure-Set.html

Jason and Fantomas,
Thank you for your helpful replies. The SH Figuarts is a great looking mannequin but a bit pricey. The Vitruvian H-A-C-K-S are also nice looking but I need to study them more.

Gaz

Looking at the potential cost of buying mannequins such as the preceding one you might be best served by commissioning a master. Then you could cast as required, 'wire' and pose accordingly.

I've tried exactly what you plan to do. It works sort of...

A word of caution about mannequins of any scale and adding clothing, equipment, etc., to them. Some commercially available mannequins are too fully developed to allow adding clothing. Sculpting on clothing adds depth and you end up with an unrealistically bulky figure. Note also that to hold certain poses, you may have to replace portions of the mannequin with wire. So - for what you propose to do, the head and hands (sometimes the feet) need to be fully developed but the remainder of the mannequin must be quite slender everywhere. Sometimes, looking at the web site photos, you just can't tell whether a given mannequin would work. Be prepared to buy several to get the right size - - or, as Del suggests - - commission one.

All the best,
Dan

Here, Gaz.
Same mannequins at $11.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/She-he-S-H-F...id=100005&rk=4&rkt=6&mehot=pp&sd=122616223137

Dan,
Wow! I hadn't thought of that! That makes a strong case for making body part blanks that are more than stick figures, but less than completely muscled. I think I could probably do that myself.
Maybe I would start with wood since I have some shop tools and wire lying around. Reedees has about fifteen different heads that would work, a lot of them bald. For them I would only have to add period hair and moustaches. There are hands too, but I would have to look for hands that are usually wrapped around muskets, spontoons, flag-staffs and musical instruments.

What's the most preferred sculpting medium? I've heard a lot about magic sculpt, but never actually seen any.

I know that when gluing resin to styrene, CA is what works best. Is it the same for resin to the preferred sculpting medium?

Sorry for asking so many questions... There is so much to consider!

Del, Dan, and Fantomas,

Thank you for your recent and very helpful replies!

Gaz

The lost battalion did 1/16 heads with period beards and moustaches not sure if they're still available. I've seen a lot of sculptors use just the palms of hands and sculpt fingers around weapons etc. Please post pictures as you go it sounds really interesting.
Scotty.

Scotty,
Tried to find a website for Lost Battalion. I found some other links from other sites from a few years ago, but nothing fresh. Still in business?

I've been Googling Magic Sculpt and watched a few tutorials working with it wet. I'm curious about it's dry properties. There's no way I'll get fabrics right in a sitting.

Gaz

Gaz:

Examples of useful armatures from web sites attached. I don't see why you can't use wood, but I'd experiment with your selected sculpting mediums to see how well each adheres.

With respect to choosing a sculpting medium, I think you must try several yourself and see which you prefer. I use a combination of MagicSculpt natural and Kneadatite - varying the mix - more stickiness & more detail = more Kneadatite/less MS. These are air-drying putties with a useful sculpting period from 30 to 45 minutes. As long as you wait until it is dry, you can add layers of putty without much concern for delamination or cracking. You can speed up drying by heating it a bit. Low heat like a slow cooker or an exposed 100 watt clear light bulb. You can over-cook it, causing it to become brittle and shrink or crack. Other 2 part air-drying putties include Apoxie, Aves, Milliput, etc.

Each of these use similar chemistry with a similar activator which can provoke progressive sensitization reactions.

YouTube and product demo videos often show the sculptor using no gloves. Phooey, baloney and other technical terms like that.

Protect yourself from skin contact exposure by wearing tight-fitting nitrile rubber gloves. Use each glove once and throw it away. Mix and sculpt in an area with good ventilation. Keep your hands out of your eyes; don't rub them when wearing contaminated gloves. If you want more information, Google each product with "safety data sheet" in the search term. Be aware that some of the safety data sheets are better, more factual and so forth than others.

Keep the dust from cured resins under control by manual (no power tools please!) wet sanding and rinsing the pieces often. Wear a dust mask if you are grinding, cutting, sanding, etc., any cured resin. This particularly true if you are using power tools.

Another group of sculpting mediums, the best example of which is Super Sculpey [firm, grey] which is hardened by heat. I don't use much of this but when I do, I heat it in the slow cooker.

Read the directions in all cases.

I agree with Scotty - keep posting pics of your development.

All the best,
Dan

Dan,
Thank you for the informative and thoughtful reply. And the pictures of armatures. Of all the products you mentioned, the only one of which I'm familiar is Milliput. I can't imagine trying to replicate the waves/folds/ripples in fabric with it. Then again, there are various grades of milliput that I haven't tried. Hopefully there will be a lot of those other sculpting mediums you mentioned available here.
It seems like every answer I get raises another question or two. Eventually I'm going to have to make my own answers. I haven't even started to gather materials, yet. I've found a way to order MS and will check out my local art store soon for other things.
...so it might be while before I have any progress photos to show.

Thank you for all of the help!

Gaz