Hi John thanks. As for the sword what i did was this. I used a Historex part and very carefully removed all the detail moulded on. Then I resculpted all the detail with MS/ duro mix. I hope that helps

Stephen Mallia

Ciao Maurizio. Grazie per i complimenti. Infatti hai notato bene perche e' una cosa che mi dava nell'occhio. La sfoglia la dovevo fare un po' spessa per paura che si rompeva dato la larghezza dell'aria. Ma adesso che me lo punti tu posso fare come dici e cerco di assottigliare i bordi. Credo che non sra' un'impresa difficile anche con il pezzo finito. Grazie.

Stephen Mallia

Dan, I know what you mean. But contrary to a 2 figure piece, where you can sculpt the figures seperately, with this one there was one major problem. And tha's the tartan. I knew that I was going to tackle a massive task in the painting of the tartan and really was scared to paint the tartan first and then sculpt the coat after. This for fear of ruining everything I had already done. Apart from that the coat was sculpted in at least 4 parts so the stress on the already painted areas was going to be bigger. To add to this a lot of shaving and sanding took place which wasn't really something I was looking for with the tartan already done.

Stephen Mallia

Stephen, The figure looks nice. my only comment concerns the edges of the overcoat. They look very square. If possible try to sand the edge down so it looks more of a scale thickness rather than cut piece of rolled out putty. I would also double the amount of buttons you have on his overcoat and coat.~Gary

Hi Stephen,

The figure looks great!
I really like the subject. Concerning the size of the head: According to the picture it is exactly 1/10 of the total height. 1/7 to 1/8 would be the right size going by the "classical" proportions. That means the head of your figure is a bit on the small side. But ... not everybody is built the same. There are actually some tall people with long legs and small heads. I am one of them! :lol:

I can't wait to see this one in colour. Good luck with the tartan-breeches.

Happy painting
Andreas

Just a question - with that type of coat, would there be a button and flap thingie to close the back vent at the bottom?

All the best,
Dan

Hey Stephen,

I like it so far but would have to agree, the head looks a little small and the coat could be thinned out a little on the edges. I really like the Claymore and would like to know how you did it. I have sent an email to our buddy for you.

Here is the art work that the figure is based from.

Joe

Guys thanks for the feedback.

Gary you're perfectly right about the thickness of the coat. In fact as soon as I saw it in the pics I realised and adjusted accordingly. As for the number of buttons, I have to be honest with you that I don't really know. This because I only have a colour plate to work on from the book 'Like hungry wolves' and it doesn't go that deep into such details. So I stand to be corrected there.

As for the head I'm obliged to disagree a little for the simple fact that the size of the head is 8mm and i sculpted the figure in 65mm scale so I should be well with reasonable height. On the the other hand in the photos it does look a little on the small side so I don't blame you for reaching that conclusion

Stephen Mallia

Good sculpting but it won't be easy to paint it

Ok guys, after your very useful considerations I thinned down the coat and as you can see from the picture it looks much better. I was even thinking of going a little bit more but I'm afraid it would break.

Again, as for the head I had to recheck. Otherwise I wouldn't put my mind to rest. Give or take a fraction the size of the head is about 8mm ( as stated previously) so Having sculpted the figure to 65mm I should be safe :lol: . I kept turning this guy back and forth to see if I was going nuts ( which probbaly I am :lol: ) but I think I should now concentrate on that tartan

Stephen Mallia

Have you chosen which tartan to paint yet?

HI Stephen,
I'm pretty new to figures, having fallen under the spell at the Boston Expo. I'm also new to the crowd here and have more questions than answers. But, may I ask what medium you're scuplting in? It looks like two different types.
One thing I can add to the discussion of your great figure; I was a pretty hard core Highlander reenactor a while back and was fortunate enough to be well schooled in Highland uniform rules by a 3rd generation memeber of the Black Watch; what you're man is wearing below the waist are referred to as trews. Also, if you haven't decided on a tartan, you might consider MacGregor, as it is just green and black on a red background and about as simple a pattern as they come. The pattern, or, more correctly, the "set" of the tartan was more complicated and had more colors the closer the family was to royalty. Hence, Royal Stewart is the most complicated and the poor MacGregors were pretty much at the bottom of the ladder. The good news in this case, however, is that it would be a helluva lot easier to paint!
Good luck with it and thanks for inspiring a new guy.
Michael

Wendy, yeah but am looking for help on that.

Micheal, thanks. You came as a blessing in disguise. Can I write you personally regrding a problem I have with the tartan colours? BDW I knew they were called trews but not much else :lol:

Stephen Mallia

Sure man, write away. I was actually directing my trews correction to the readership in general, as I saw so many great words for pants, but none of them actually correct. I don't know much about figures, but that much I do know.
Just to be sure, my email addy is moscarborough@earthlink.net.
I'll be glad to help if I can. I actually have some MacGregor tartan fabric here that I could shoot some pix of for you, if that would be of help.
All the best,
Michael

Micheal thanks. Just shot you an e-mail

Stephen Mallia

Hi Stephen,only just seen your figure.Great work.Looking forward to follow your progress.Great movement captured in the clothing.Kind regards John

Hey John thanks. BDW, had the chance to view close up your figure at Euro. No photo can do it justice my friend. Simply fantastic work

Stephen Mallia

I can;t wait to see some new photos,
painting will be a challenge!
christos

Michael thanks a lot for your clarifications. I got the tartan disease a few months ago and now, my every second figure is a scotchman. I believe that in order to paint a tartan, the surface plays the most important role. I find it much easier to paint the most difficult tartan on a straight kilt, rather than on a trew that it's slightly covered from the coat (like in this case). Anyway I agree on the MacGregor tartan. It's simple and can be painted easily. I suppose that this clan was indeed involved in the Culloden battle.

Xenofon