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Completed Erich Topp - U-552

Discussion in 'vBench (Works in Progress)' started by smudger1960, Jul 26, 2011.

  1. smudger1960 PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    I thought i would follow on from my previous posting with another U-Boat subject,this is a bust of Erich Topp one of the famous U-Boat comanders from WW2,Topp was the 4th highest scoring U-boat ace in terms of tonnage sunk 192.599 tons resulting from 35 sinkings.

    The bust is produced by Beneito and is cast in white metal and the scale is 180mm.

    Upon assembling the piece i found some of the casting and sculpting to be quite poor,there was a lot of sink holes and pitting on the metal's surface which required filling with milliput,add to that the beard and hair area's wer'e not very well defined so i sculpted my own again with milliput.

    As i have an interest in the u-boat history i could'nt resist having this one in my collection,aside from the few things i mentioned earlier the bust is pretty good although some care must be taken when joing the periscope to the bust.

    Painting of the flesh area's was achieved using oils over acrylic basecoats,the beard and hair wer'e painted in different shades of brown acrylic and toned down with washes of GW sepia inks.

    The denim blouse which was worn by all ranks on a u-boat i decided to paint in a shade of field grey,this was also finished in oils over acrylic basecoats.

    Weathering was very important here as the conditions on the u-boat wer'e very poor and unhygenic,clothing would soon become soiled with dirt and grease and this would be very evident on the clothing as well as the hands and face in some cases,the type of weathering on this bust i wanted to show signs of grease/oil/dirt so i applied it sparingly to the blouse and hands.

    weathering was also completed on the periscope with rust and watermarks evident as well as areas of metal showing through,the peaked cap was also weathered with some umber again to replicate the dirt/grease.

    I decided to add the brest eagle above the right breast pocket as the blouse dosent have one,this i cose to paint on and highlight and shade accordingly to make it stand out a little,i'm sorry to say that i painted it a little bigger than it should have been but i have decided to leave it as it is now.

    The bust has been about for some time now,i brought this in 2000 from Euro and had it in my loft,forgot i had it to be honest :confused:,anyway for anyone interested it is still availble from Historexagents.com and retails for arroung £35.

    I hope you enjoy this one and coments and critisism are always welcome.

    Happy painting - Brian :lol:

    Attached Files:

  2. housecarl Moderator

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Lots of great details Brian. Like the image in the scope, and the breast eagle is superb.
    What's next, the other U boat crewman from Young?
    Carl.
  3. Dr Force A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Brilliant, just brilliant..................love the weathering, it's just a fantastic job, I can't really add any more Brian!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  4. Carlos69 Well-Known Member

    Country:
    England
    Nice work Brian,I have allways wanted to do this sculpt.
  5. pmfs A Fixture

    Country:
    Portugal
    Brilliant Brian, the piece is wonderful and the weathering is perfect.(y)
    Nice work on inside shirt!:)
  6. kansas kid Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Brian:

    You've done a beautiful job on this "vignette" if that may be use as a term
    here. I am wondering if there was a flash used in shooting the photographs.

    It seems some of the colours and contrasts look washed out. If that is not
    the case, I would like to see more contrasts with the paint, in the shirt and
    in the shadow areas of the face.

    Now you realize that I am not there to see the actual piece you have
    painted. I have to rely on photos, and that can be very misleading. But
    looking at the photos only, I would like to see more contrasts, deeper
    shadows in the shadow areas. I think your highlight areas are right on. . .

    However, in saying the above, I still think you have done a very striking
    piece and look forward to seeing your next offering for we Planeteers to
    gaze upon.

    Ricardo Jayhawker
  7. rheath Active Member

    Country:
    South-Africa
    Excellent ! - like it very much.(y);)
  8. FigureLover A Fixture

    Country:
    Australia
    For some reason I have never been a fan of this bust, and I'm not sure why, but you have done a superb job on painting this one up. Great detail work and the weathering, esspecially on the periscope is first class. I love what you have done.
    Ben
  9. megroot A Fixture

    Country:
    Netherlands
    Looking very good to me.
    Maybe you can do more contrast in your new figure.
    But it could be that the light washed out your colors.
    The weathering in the periscoop is awesome


    Marc
  10. Reccymech New Member

    Country:
    Australia
  11. sam b Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Im a big fan of your work Brian , keep um coming mate .
  12. smudger1960 PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Apollogies for the late reply,many thanks to you all for your kind coments and to the following:

    Carl - i've already completed young's version in my previous posting.
    David - many thanks mate,glad you like it.
    Carl - the bust is still available,give it a go,you never know!
    Pedro - many thanks mate.
    Rick / marc - it may be the camera shots resulting in thye washed out look but it definatly has medium and deep shadows applied to it.
    Rod - many thanks mate.
    Mark - many thanks mate
    Ben - i can understand your feelings about the bust as the quality of busts are much better today with regards to sculpting / casting / detail.
    Sam - many thanks for your coments,its nice to know you like my stuff.

    Many thanks again gents :)

    Happy painting - Brian
  13. John Bowery A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States
    Brian,
    You have done a great job on this bust and the effect is excellent.
    Cheers
    John

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