On a related note

In addition to sculpting and art projects I've also been involved in a miniature related project. Mike Stelzel of Michael Roberts Ltd has just released two sets of photo etched Civil War belt buckles and cartridge box plates for use with 75mm figures. I did a total of seventeen different designs that make up the Confederate and Federal (Union) set. Here is a sample of the designs along with the finished product in photo etched brass. Though the design work plays a major part, the folks that did the photo etching played a major role also. These piece will help save a lot of time (and stress) on future projects. Believe me, sculpting something this size with detail that small is not fun.

A sample showing four of the designs.



The finished product in brass.







Sculpting completed

The sculpting portion of the figure is now done, finally! I have to now add some fring to the shoulders and sleeves. I believe I'm going to use lead coated with superglue for strength. The only piece missing from the figure is the powder horn which attaches around the upper right corner of his bullet pouch/ hunting bag.

Left arm and hand sculpted

This part was a little tricky. The remainder of this figure is turning into a bit of a learning experience. The rough body of the hand overlapped the barrel of the rifle too much. I thinned it down as much as I could with the hand glued to the rifle barrel. It was a nail biting process as it was not holding onto much. The addition of the fingers gave it additional strength. So if you're wondering why the fingers are not wrapped around the entire barrel that's why.

Let's get moving!!!

It's finally time to get this project done. What's the deal with work on a piece coming to a dead stop when it's about 70 to 90% done? I almost always seem to run out of steam went a piece gets to that level of completion. Let's get on to what's new on the trapper.

Trigger Guard and rifle placement

Originally I planed to make the trigger guard out of putty rolled out and cut into a strip. Due to the size and shape I decide to try a different approach. The first 2/3 of the guard was made from flattened sheet lead ( yes lead ) cut into three small individual pieces. Each piece was shaped and applied using Gorilla Glue ( super glue ) to assemble the pieces. The last 1/3 was made from Magic-Sculpt. The rifle was then fitted and glued to the blocked out left hand. After the glue thoroughly dries I'll add the fingers.

What's left?

After the hand I'll then sculpt the remainder of the coat sleeve. After that comes strips of fringe that will run down the back center of the sleeves. I'm thinking that more flattened sheet lead will work best here. After that a little detail on the powder horn and a feather for his hat will see it complete.

Pyle's Pirate complete

Pyle's Pirate: Hat and torso roughed in

Pyle's Pirate: Head Sculpt

Here are the first shots of the head sculpt for the bust. I tried to work in some finer wrinkles and skin texture to help convey that rough searfarer look.

Pyle's Pirate; The Sculpey Sketch

Though I've never done this for a figure I find a Sculpey sketch of a bust to be a big help in it's development. The sketch is a nice warm up and helps to establish the character of the piece. It also helps to identify those areas that might be more difficult than others.

Here are a the first views of the sketch. I also added a piece of wire to represent one of the hoop earrings he will be wearing.

Slow but sure

I'm finally back at it. Here's a quick update on the small amount of work that's been done the past few days.

Coming next: Pyle's Pirate

On the heels of the trapper will come this 1/10 bust of a pirate based on a sketch by illustrator Howard Pyle. I've always wanted to do a bust based on this sketch in hopes of at least capturing the spirit of Pyle's drawing.

Although I found two other sketches this one is the main inspiration for the bust. Pyle's pirate had that look that went on to firmly establish themselves in print and film that continues today.