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1/35 scale civilians -- figures

Started by Malachi Constant, August 30, 2010, 08:02:47 AM

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Malachi Constant

Ed --

Cool!  Look forward to seeing what you do.  I really like this stuff.  For the little individual seams, I'm just mixing together a BB size ball of each part.  You have an hour or so to work with it, and it SEEMS like there's some advantages there ... (and I still have to learn exactly how to use those!) ... but you can apply it when it's soft, and really work it around ... you can let it harden a bit and do additional shaping without the mushiness ... you can do additional work with a knife at any point ... and after it hardens fully, it can be carved and sanded.  Handy to have some talc so your fingers don't stick, water for smoothing and maybe some aloe or something to lubricate tools.

Did some basic notes on mixing the stuff and using it as a putty here:
http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=29357&whichpage=2

Also used it to add the glazing to the windows on the auto shop and some past sculpting efforts (clothing on a figure, stone work, etc)  ... just gotta get back in the swing with it and practice a lot more.  Again, look forward to seeing what you might do with it.

Cheers,
Dallas
-- Dallas Mallerich  (Just a freakin' newbie who stumbled into the place)
Email me on the "Contact Us" page at www.BoulderValleyModels.com

NORCALLOGGER

Hey Dallas,
The cars will go out in tomorrows mail.  I checked out your other web sit posts, pretty cool stuff.
Later
Rick

Malachi Constant

Thanks Rick!  Those cars will go to good use.  I sent some $$ by mail ... yesterday, I think ... lemme know if it's not enough.  -- Dallas
-- Dallas Mallerich  (Just a freakin' newbie who stumbled into the place)
Email me on the "Contact Us" page at www.BoulderValleyModels.com

Malachi Constant



Just a quick bit about using different ends of the working/drying time on the Magic Sculp.  At left, mashed a blob of putty (much more than really needed) in place to make a pocket ... put some talc on finger tip to avoid lifting it, then mashed the blob to thin it, trimmed with knife ... checked, mashed and trimmed again ... then wet fingertip and rubbed gently to get rid of fingerprints (2nd photo) ... let that set for 45-60 minutes, then came back with a knife and made the seam lines on the pocket.  (Sorry, I haven't added the Levi's tag yet!)  ;)

You can carve, file and sand the Magic Sculp after it's fully set ... but if you try to scribe lines in it after it's cured, you get a grainy, rough line.  If you do it when it's semi-hardened as shown above, you can get nice clean lines ... which will work well for the style of painting that I plan to do on this one.  Nearly done now ... I've made front and rear pockets, just need a few more belt hoops, etc ... then a fresh coat of primer.

Cheers,
Dallas
-- Dallas Mallerich  (Just a freakin' newbie who stumbled into the place)
Email me on the "Contact Us" page at www.BoulderValleyModels.com

Malachi Constant

Aurora Models:  I mentioned the Aurora Models "street girl" in another thread and said that I'd order one ... figure was postmarked in Japan on Aug. 30 and arrived in US on Sept. 3 ... much faster than expected.  Photos of their finished models look superb ... photos of the white metal castings looked a bit sketchy (sample photo below) ... but, as hoped, that's just a matter of it being really difficult to photograph the bare metal castings.  The sculpting and casting are excellent.

Also happy to say that Aurora Models legitimately represent themselves on ebay -- at the moment, prices there for US customers work out better than ordering from the Japanese site with exchange rate and shipping considered.

Japanese site (click tab at bottom for 2nd page of figures):
http://aurora-model.jp/e-military1.html

Ebay store (if link fails, seller ID = aurora-model):
http://shop.ebay.com/aurora-model/m.html

I'll probably order a duplicate of this figure to try the different paint schemes (oops, outfits) they've shown ... and they have some other interesting figures and cats/dogs too.  Don't plan on starting this one until Lucie's a bit further along though ...

Cheers,
Dallas
-- Dallas Mallerich  (Just a freakin' newbie who stumbled into the place)
Email me on the "Contact Us" page at www.BoulderValleyModels.com

eTraxx

Dallas. Excellent on the use of Magic Sculp. Looking forward to using those techniques in 1:48.
Ed Traxler

Lugoff, Camden & Northern RR

Socrates: "I drank WHAT?"

Philip Smith

#21
The pocket is looking good. I recommend using a wire placed in the bottom of the foot/leg to assist in the constant handling and attached to a base of cork stopper (I'm sure you already know) ;)
The new street girl looks really nice. I have been using J.B. Weld to attach pewter limbs lately. Seems to bond stronger. Some may find sculpting boring but keep up the SBS! An excellant way to kill some hours! I have been looking at this blog today for additional motivation! Some 1/48 heads. This guy is really good. Some nice info in his blog off the home page concerning every aspect of sculpting.
  http://thunderboltmountain.com/serendipity/uploads/Heads.JPG

Philip 8)

finescalerr

Sculpting is not a craft; it is an art. You are an artist. -- Russ

Malachi Constant

#23
Well, that's encouraging!  At this point, seems fair to say that I have a good idea of what I want to do ... but struggling a bit to develop or refine the skills, techniques and/or "craft" to actually do it.  But that's not gonna stop me ... figure the guys who are really good at it had to start somewhere.

Quote from: Philip Smith on September 03, 2010, 05:48:29 PM
The pocket is looking good. I recommend using a wire placed in the bottom of the foot/leg to assist in the constant handling and attached to a base of cork stopper (I'm sure you already know) ;)

Well, yeah, but I'm really glad you mentioned it!  In the carving phase, I successfully made some narrow ankles out of army boots ... then snapped both off while whittling the boots.  Re-glued the ankles ... drilled thru the heels of the shoes and well into each leg ... and inserted a length of wire into each to make sure the joints would last.  Then promptly cut the wires off flush with the bottom of the heels without even thinking about providing a holder.  (Duh!)



And, of course, ya really gotta have a handle for painting and such ... so thanks to your prompt, I worked out a fix.  Drilled & press-fit some .030" styrene rod into the bottom of each foot, then drilled a couple more pieces of styrene ... pressed the bottom plate tight against her feet, used the capillary action of styrene cement to tighten the rods against the plate ... then pressed the bottom bit in place.



The base is nice and sturdy ... but it should be a breeze to sheer off those styrene rods when the time comes.  Did something similar with styrene rod when painting Mr. Mudgeon.  The extra bits on the base allow the figure to stand upright when not held with the clamp.



Here again we'll demonstrate that I really don't know what I'm doing in terms of technique ... but the material is flexible enough to allow for that.  First photo, of course, is "prototype inspiration" ... this is actually a pretty good one ... shows a thin girl wearing snug jeans in a very similar pose.  Notice that even though the jeans are snug, there are still places where the denim folds out a bit.

Next photo shows the start of one of those creases where the leg bone meets the hip bone.  Again, adding a bit more material than needed, but at this point that's these easiest way for me to get the thickness desired without too much struggle.  Last shot above, patted that putty down with a talc-covered finger and did some trimming with the knife.  Let it sit like this for a while.



First shot, did a little additional shaping with knife after it had set a bit.  Then slightly more as shown in the center.  After that, used a moistened finger tip to very GENTLY rub down and round the top of the ridge a bit.  Let that set, then did some very slight additional trimming.  In the last shot, it's pretty much the subtle effect I was aiming for.  Now, there SHOULD come a time when this becomes a very quick-n-easy thing ... meanwhile, it's a learning experience.  So, I'll share the struggle for those in a similar position who might be interested in giving it a try.

Also, if you compare the last two shots above, you can see a bit of difference in her right knee (viewer's left) ... there was too much material built up above and around the knee ... started carving and refining that shape a bit in anticipation of adding some small folds there too.

Another note -- if you look at a pair of jeans, the seam on the outside of the leg has an overlap.  The seam on the inside of the leg is material that's folded together and sewn inside-out.  Center photo above shows what happens if you scribe a line after the material is hardened -- inseam is a bit grainy there -- but that can be smoothed out with some water and light burnishing.

Front pockets were done using the techniques described for the outer leg seams (create a ridge, then wet-feather the soft edge).  Her right hip pocket has a little watch pocket ... that was done first and allowed to fully set before the outer pocket was done.

Well, at this point I'm very hopeful that the end results will be encouraging to other would-be and wannabe sculptors ... meanwhile, some occasional updates.  Thanks for the interest and encouragement!  :)

PS -- Regarding the link that Philip posted ... holy mackerel!  That guy's carving individual teeth in the slightly open mouth of a 1/48 figure.  Really had a good laugh at myself while struggling to put little belt hoops on this 1/35 figure and get them to go where I wanted.  All in time, I suppose.  ;D
-- Dallas Mallerich  (Just a freakin' newbie who stumbled into the place)
Email me on the "Contact Us" page at www.BoulderValleyModels.com

Bexley

Heh. Yeah, Tom Meier can get a little carried away.
CounterClockwise

Bexley Andrajack

Malachi Constant

#25


Moving along ... it definitely gets easier once you get warmed up a bit.  Added more details and folds, especially to the lower legs.  These were built up with blobs and/or ridges of putty that were then shaped back into the underlying material.  It's also a bit faster when you're not stopping to take photos ... actually, I really don't mind doing that, but the idiot who keeps banging the back of his camera on the front of my optivisor really gets on my nerves some times!  ;D

Mix ratio:  The mix ratio for Magic Sculp should be simple enough ... 1 part resin to 1 part hardener ... but the two parts have very different densities, and in mixing tiny quantities I think I was getting proportionately too much hardener.  That makes it really difficult to apply and work the smallest details.  For detail work, it really has to be 1:1 or very slightly in favor of the resin -- that way the resulting putty starts out softer and stickier, and it's much easier to apply and shape into place.



Probably not too much left to do here ... a few extraneous folds on the back of the legs, then an overall review and some putty on the wrist joint ...
-- Dallas Mallerich  (Just a freakin' newbie who stumbled into the place)
Email me on the "Contact Us" page at www.BoulderValleyModels.com

eTraxx

Dallas. Want to take the opportunity to thank you for this thread. I'm researching/mocking up for a Coke Oven bank for my On30 modules. I'm going to try and modify figures to work at the coke bank .. and this thread provides both inspiration and an excellent tutorial.
Ed Traxler

Lugoff, Camden & Northern RR

Socrates: "I drank WHAT?"

Malachi Constant

#27
Ed -- You might want to have a look at Creager Studios:
http://www.creagers.com/index.html

and search "Creager Studios Sculpting" on you-tube for some sample videos.  Michael Mott has done some beautiful large scale figure work on the Gn15 forum following their tutorials.  (Think most of his work was actually larger ... 1/16 or 1/12 scale maybe?)



Meanwhile, just finished up the backs of the legs and added a tiny little Levi's tag to the one pocket ... think it's down to some last-minute review and touch-up now.  Again, it really gets much easier to do the detail work once you get warmed up and use the proper mix ratio!   :)

Cheers,
Dallas
-- Dallas Mallerich  (Just a freakin' newbie who stumbled into the place)
Email me on the "Contact Us" page at www.BoulderValleyModels.com

JohnP

Very nice Dallas. The notes on working with the putty are especially handy, saves a lot of experimenting time. I need a few 1:13.7 figures. How about showing us how to build a figure from scratch? I know you have done it or can do it.

John
John Palecki

Malachi Constant

#29
John --

I think clothing and such are sufficiently challenging for me at the moment!  ;D  Fortunately, there are a variety of separate heads and hands in 1/35 scale, so I can probably avoid worrying about those for a good long while.  And, one of my local buddies has started customizing and casting 1/35 heads to practice ... think he's going to work his way toward sculpting, so I'll just trade for some of his castings.  8)

Meanwhile, Michael Mott has done some 1/12 figures on the Gn15 forum:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y169/my30mm/one%20eight-n-14/IMG_3523x800.jpg
http://forum.gn15.info/viewtopic.php?t=6828

He followed the Creager tutorials mentioned above ... the you-tube clips are free and well worth the time ... after that, you might want to invest in the DVD's.  Also look around you-tube for more sculpting tutorials.  If I had limitless time, I'd definitely try doing some of the head and body sculpting in a larger scale ... for 1/35 and smaller I'm happy to let others do that!

PS -- You might want to grab some of Carlo Spirito's 7/8" scale figures and/or separate heads while they're still available:
http://www.back2bay6.com/

Cheers,
Dallas
-- Dallas Mallerich  (Just a freakin' newbie who stumbled into the place)
Email me on the "Contact Us" page at www.BoulderValleyModels.com