Sarnia Miniatures retail price £20 plus P&P Scale 1/10 Bust.

Sculpted by Peter Gillson
Box Art painted by Peter Day

https://sarnia-miniatures.co.uk



From Peter at Sarnia
“This bust was inspired by Joanna Salter who in became the RAF's first fast jet pilot, who joined 617 Squadron in 1994 and declared to be combat ready the following February flying Tornado aircraft. Since she led the way, there have been many female fast jet pilots in the RAF and this is a generic bust of a pilot wearing equipment from circa 1994.”


The stress on this must be that the bust is “inspired by Joanna Salter” and not intended to be a likeness. In the RAF’s 100 year, I think this is an appropriate tribute as it is nearly always a look back into history when a centenary comes up. What I like about this tribute is that it celebrates the changes and future of the RAF. Of course, women have always featured in the RAF and many brave women ferried damaged, repaired and new aircraft during WWII to free up the combat personnel.

Let us take a look.

As soon as I was informed of this new release from Sarnia I placed my order without hesitation. Having already bought and painted three of their new releases, I am a confirmed fan of Peter Gillson’s sculpting style and the stylised painting style of Peter Day who does the box art.

The bust comes in a strong cardboard box and is in four parts. These parts are well packed and protected by bubble wrap and nothing rattles in the box prior to opening.

All Peters busts come with a simple, but nicely done, stand. I have used them on all my busts to date but some may prefer to omit this in favour of their own method of attaching to the base. I like to drill vertically through the stand then align it to the bust to drill into the base of the bust. That way I can have a steel pin running from the bust, through the stand and into the plinth giving a good strong unit.

The subject is dressed in a standard NATO Green flight suit of the period, mid 1990s, which is basically a green overall type garment with the horse collar style padded lifesaver jacket which fits nicely onto the torso before the head is attached. I have not fully cleaned up the parts as yet so cannot comment on final fit but, in the uncleaned state, they fit reasonably well.

The stitching/seams and full length zip on the flight suit is well represented. The face is quite rounded and the nicely sculpted hair in a tight bun at the back of the head emphasises this. I like the face, it is good to see that could well be a real pilot not a glamourised Hollywood stand in preferred by some sculptors.

All in all, I like this piece and there may be a little more cleaning up to do but I think that the Sarnia busts in general represent great value for money. I like the fact that all Peters sculpts have a style that is his and, for me, that makes them interesting and attractive.

Here are the pictures of the component parts.












Continued in next post

Now the full bust

Please remember, I have only cleaned up enough to allow me to show the bust in its entirety. That and the blue tack mean that it may look a bit wonky in the pictures and does not represent how it will finally fit together.













Many thanks for watching and I will be starting painting this up soon

I think Peter has done better..too much kewpie doll look for me..for her chipmunk cheeks the rest of the body needs be porkier...it’s early days for Sarnia..good on you for supporting Graham...

Nope. Looks like Charlie McCarthy without his monocle.