1/35 scale civilians -- figures

[Malachi Constant]

PS -- Further to Dave's notes, a "Rosie the Riveter" type would be much more appropriate to the WW2 era that I've set for the shop ... but Mr. Mudgeon says she's WAY too butch and scary ... and he definitely likes Lucie better! 

Cheers,
Dallas

[Malachi Constant]

Well since this is the forum where its cool to offer constructive criticism--  IMHO she looked really good until the makeup went on.  Why is a tomboy wearing makeup at a garage?    I'll buy the premise of a female helper, its a good visual gag.  And I'll accept the tight pants and low cut T shirt, even though it might cause a scandal for a female to be seen like that in the 1930s, outside her home.  But the makeup ... too much.

(clip) ...

The fact that you have a female helper is a nice visual surprise, don't want to negate it by overdoing or making her out of place or otherwise not-believable.

Dammit, Dave! 

Yup, now I have to learn figure sculpting ... dammit, dammit, dammit!

Why?  Well, after reading your danged inconsiderate remarks (ie, correct and to the point) ... I had to go do a little searching ... and look what I found in the photos below!  Ginger Rogers as my Tomboy in the 1940 film "The Primrose Path" ... and a nice little tow truck too.

Dammit, Dave!  (all nastiness is purely tongue-in-cheek!) 

PS -- We'll have to entertain ourselves with Lucie in the shop till I figure out the sculpting bit!

Thanks!
Dallas

[DaKra]

Adding that movie to my Netflix queue, those are great screen shots!   A Hollywood Tomboy isn't meant to be realistic, but there's still a certain consistency to Ginger and her surroundings; with her 30's clothing and cap, she looks perfectly natural sitting next to Henry Travers in a tow truck.  (Funny how Ginger's cap is a dead ringer for Mudgeon's.)

Russ mentioned his "rule of consistency" and I think he's right.  A scene flows when everything belongs to it, when something doesn't, it sticks out like a sore thumb.     

Glad you took my nitpicks in the proper spirit.  I'm looking forward to seeing your progress.   

Dave

[Malachi Constant]

A Hollywood Tomboy isn't meant to be realistic, but there's still a certain consistency to Ginger and her surroundings; with her 30's clothing and cap, she looks perfectly natural sitting next to Henry Travers in a tow truck....

Russ mentioned his "rule of consistency" and I think he's right.  A scene flows when everything belongs to it, when something doesn't, it sticks out like a sore thumb.     

Glad you took my nitpicks in the proper spirit.  I'm looking forward to seeing your progress.   

Dave

-- Last thing first:  definitely in the proper spirit ... I'm really glad you inspired this search ...
-- Next:  I don't have the technical or artistic skills to do "photo-realistic" modeling ... maybe one day I'll get there and I'll want to give that a try ... meanwhile, my current aim is what I call "realistic caricature" ... bit of an oxymoron, perhaps ... but my goal is this:  while the viewer immediately recognizes the scene as a miniature, it is sufficiently engaging  to draw the viewer in and "watch the play unfold" ... a bit like a stage production, where the backdrops only have to set the scene enough to allow the suspension of disbelief.
-- In that regard, Ginger's "Hollywood tomboy" character is perfect ... cute, sweet and full of the charm that draws you into the scene.
-- The full movie (The Primrose Path) is on you-tube ... I've started making screen shots so I can see her at all the appropriate angles.  Have a variety of dental tools on order which should arrive any time now ... so I'll probably try sculpting a head ... and if/when that fails, Hornet makes some 1/35 female heads without hair, so that's an easier starting point.  I also have a couple surplus 1/35 females here who may just loose their heads in this venture.     (Where's the maniacal surgeon smiley?)

Meanwhile, Lucie will get finished ... provide some amusement as construction continues ... then, I suppose, one day I'll have to sculpt Tim & Al from "Tool Time" so I can put her in an appropriate setting!  One day, we'll just refer to her as the "warm up" act.

Cheers,
Dallas

[Malachi Constant]

Okay, so how hard can it be?    Printed some reference photos ... both large enough to see and actual working size ...



Stuck a lump of Magic Sculp on the end of some styrene rod and let that set up for a few hours to create this fancy armature ...



Think I saw some heads like this at a pre-Columbian art exhibit somewhere ...



Meanwhile at the sci-fi convention ...



Girl needs a forehead ...



Head shape is getting close ... will add jaw line after this hardens ...



Tiny little speck of a head at lower left is about actual size on a 19" monitor ... will let all this harden up, then go back and file, sand, carve and do more putty.  Looking vaguely human at this point, which was actually my minimum goal for first attempt at shaping a head ... but hopeful that it can be worked a bit closer to desired shapes, etc.  We shall see ... worst case scenario, lump of clay hits the bin and we call it practice! 

Cheers,
Dallas

[eTraxx]

Isn't that Popeye the Sailor? 

[Ray Dunakin]

Looks like you're on the right track, although I think you could have just started with Lucie (or one of her clones) and changed the clothes, etc. Of course this way you get the experience of sculpting the figure from scratch, and the extra bragging rights that go with it.   

[Malachi Constant]

Isn't that Popeye the Sailor? 

Hmm ... kind of a cross between Popeye and Squidworth Tentacles, eh? 

You know ... you watch those Creager sculpting vids, and she makes it look kinda easy ... shaping the eye sockets with her thumbs ... pinching the shape of the nose with her finger tips.  Then you go to work on something this size, and it's like you're threading a needle with mittens on! 

Ray -- Thanks for the encouragement ... holding the "clone" option as Plan B for the moment ...



Meanwhile, a bit of carving and shaping produces ... "The Blob" ... phase II.

A little more shaping perhaps, some ears and eyes ... we'll see if it works! 

Cheers,
Dallas

[eTraxx]

That's actually starting to 'shape up' .. pun intended

[Frederic Testard]

He's looking like a mix of Fantomas



and of the emperor Palpatine.



Nice job.

[Malachi Constant]

Well, I think we've finally left the realm of sci-fi characters and started moving toward a human visage ... will continue to make refinements and adjust contours (shape of mouth, cheeks, etc) ... until we get something approaching a likeness.

Cheers,
Dallas

[Malachi Constant]

Slowly making progress ... or, if nothing else, continually changing the shapes! 

Cheers,
Dallas

[Philip Smith]

nice progress Dallas! Really taking shape now.

Philip

[Ray Dunakin]

Dang, that's looking good!

[Frederic Testard]

It's nicer and nicer, Dallas. Hope you didn't misread my previous post. Was intended to be a joke.