Author Topic: sculpting a 1/32 scale German aviator  (Read 5325 times)

Offline kellerkind

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Re: sculpting a 1/32 scale German aviator
« Reply #15 on: July 11, 2020, 02:53:42 PM »
Step 4

After the first baking, you can now start to build up the volume. You don't need large quantities for this scale and it is sufficient to roll a small ball of BeeSPutty between your fingers and then put it on your thumbnail. You can get by with this small amount for a while and if the mass is no longer usable due to the constant immersion with the modeling tool, you simply roll it again to a new ball and have a clean, smooth amount again. The placement on the thumb nail has the advantage that you don't lose focus all the time (after all, we're all slowly getting to the age where we're completely stuck without a headband magnifier) ​​if you take new modeling clay out of the pack and always slightly warmed it, i.e. has softer mass available. I generally prefer soft masses. I am more of a “stroker” than a “carver” and like to work with a small, soft brush to smooth out details or to shape them at all.
At the same time as the volume is built up, you also start modeling the figure's clothing. Here, at the latest, you should have made a decision about what the figure should wear later. So what comes next is a boring, but at least lengthy process of applying - see if it fits - and reapplying modeling clay. Again, you should always check whether the proportions are not out of control. Unfortunately, this happens faster than you think and nothing is more frustrating than scratching a beautifully modeled part off a figure and having to make it new just because it has become a little too thick!
BeeSPutty adheres wonderfully to surfaces, but problems can occasionally arise with the smooth wires of the arms, as the mass does not want to hold up. Here you help yourself with some turpentine substitute, which you spread on the wires, then apply the modeling clay and then, after everything is completely covered, wetted again with the solvent. Then you should let everything air out for a day, otherwise the mass would be too soft to be processed further. Fortunately, there are enough other construction sites that you can dedicate to.

Something else about the tool used:
If you model a lot, preferences for certain tools will emerge over the years. That was also the case for me. I have always used hooks and blades. Both dentist's cutlery and correspondingly good quality. It is not advisable to save here. No one who wants to work even halfway professionally should work with inferior tools. Nowadays it is easy to get such things online. When I started years / decades ago, you still had to rely on flea markets and your luck.
For a while I held modeling courses with a good friend (Dennis Zarnowski), in which we developed a tool for the participants, and which I have been using myself ever since: the "Mass Shifter MKI" or, lovingly called "Captain Hook“. For me, it combines all the advantages of different tools. The small blade is perfect for removing material or smooth edges, such as To model belts or sharp incisions on the figure. The hook also allows me to reach unfavorable locations and makes wonderful folds with its curved shape.
For our second course we then developed another tool: the "MKII mass shifter". Again, two useful things have been summarized: the kinked flat round tip for removing and applying modeling clay, and the end with the loop for smoothing / leveling surfaces. Since both tools have a wooden handle, they are extremely light! An advantage that should not be underestimated when working on small objects.
In addition, there is a cheap school brush for "gently stroking" the modeling clay (with and without solvent), as well as some rubber brushes, so-called clay or color shapers in different degrees of hardness. In a few exceptional cases, additional tools are added, but they are not used permanently.

There is nothing more to say for today ...
Martin

Offline kellerkind

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Re: sculpting a 1/32 scale German aviator
« Reply #16 on: July 11, 2020, 02:55:21 PM »
step 4 more pics

Offline kellerkind

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Re: sculpting a 1/32 scale German aviator
« Reply #17 on: July 11, 2020, 02:55:44 PM »
step 4 more pics 2

Offline FAf

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Re: sculpting a 1/32 scale German aviator
« Reply #18 on: July 13, 2020, 02:22:19 AM »
Really interesting to follow! I'm still amazed by what can be done! 😮👍

/Fredrik

Offline kellerkind

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Re: sculpting a 1/32 scale German aviator
« Reply #19 on: July 23, 2020, 03:01:33 PM »
Step 5

And it continues with the "Private Angel". One or the other may remember last week. I was going to build the volume of the figure step by step. This continues today. So I take a little BeeSPutty off the thumbnail with the tool and attach it to the appropriate position on the figure (I usually use the blade for this, with which I cut narrow "slices" and then lay them flat). Then I have the opportunity to press the whole thing in with the tool or alternatively roll it carefully onto a thin log / brush handle. This is always recommended in places where you can only work with little pressure (e.g. free-hanging arms, or something else that would otherwise be destroyed by too much force). I also like to start putting on the first folds of clothes at this early stage. These are made from small modeling clay "sausages" and "melted" with the environment, that is rolled or carefully pressed on (there are modeling tools that have a small metal ball on each end and that is wonderfully suitable for this!).
When I've finished a certain area (e.g. the pants here), I smooth the surface with a brush to see how it all works. As a solvent, I mostly use “sterillium” (something difficult to obtain in these times), isopropyl alcohol or simply water (turpentine substitute is not used here, as it would dissolve the whole thing too much). I keep the water in a stamp pad - so the brush is only moistened and not soaked. After smoothing, I press in the trouser seams with the end of the blade and go over it again with the brush.
Since the figure is built on an aluminum wire, you can carefully bend aside the part that is disturbing (here the left arm). Just don't do it too often, otherwise it will be gone at some point!
Up soon,
Martin

p.s. many thanks to follow me here in this little SBS

Offline kellerkind

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Re: sculpting a 1/32 scale German aviator
« Reply #20 on: July 23, 2020, 03:02:18 PM »
step 5 more pics...

Offline LuckyLuke

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Re: sculpting a 1/32 scale German aviator
« Reply #21 on: July 23, 2020, 06:09:19 PM »
Superb work Martin !
Very interesting to watch, thank you for the updates.

Luke

Offline RAGIII

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Re: sculpting a 1/32 scale German aviator
« Reply #22 on: July 23, 2020, 09:43:12 PM »
Lovely Sculpting. I am really enjoying watching this one come together!
RAGIII
"A man has to know his limitations": Harry Callahan

"Don't slop it on" Lynda Geisler

Offline kellerkind

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Re: sculpting a 1/32 scale German aviator
« Reply #23 on: August 03, 2020, 11:51:19 AM »
Step 6

The fur collar is attached to the figure. For this I roll a sausage from BeeSPutty, press it flat on the table and fasten it (by lightly pressing it on with a tool) to the figure. The collar, as it is very thin and will later be folded up, can be made in three ways.
First: You form a flat piece of modeling clay on the figure and bake it out.
Second: You use a two-component modeling compound and wait until further processing after curing.
Third: Do it like I do (laziness wins!): Completely model the collar flat on the figure and then carefully bend it up (before baking).
Anyway, the whole thing happens in at least two steps. First substructure, second fur structure. I manufacture this structure with the hook end of the tool, in which I easily stick many times side by side into the modeling clay and thus create the structure. If the fur should become a bit fuller, you could also pierce the mass with the blade side of the tool and create a slightly more voluminous variant by turning it slightly. But that fits more with fantasy figures or with larger areas. With our little collar, it would be too much of a good thing.
I mark the positions of the buttons with the small ball tip of the tool. In my opinion, it always seems more alive when the buttons sink slightly into the surface than if you just put them on.
After completing this step, I bent the left arm back into position and started shaping it. Again, carefully rolling on / pressing the modeling clay onto the wire and then further processing with a hook, blade and brush. So, everything as usual!
It continues with the hands, since these two lie directly on the figure and do not hang freely, that's not a hit. First of all I take a piece of mass from the thumb nail, press it onto the side of the figure base, cut it to the exact size with the blade (palm including fingers) and then attach the piece to the arm. Now I shape the back of the hand a little and stab the blade three times at the front end to work out the four fingers. Then everything is rounded off. The thumb is placed on the side as a separate sausage and adjusted. The first hand is ready! The second is made in a similar way, except that you start here with a thicker lump, since the hand is clenched. Otherwise as already described: Determine dimensions, press on, insert finger gaps and level everything with a brush - done! Funfact clothes on the edge: You should keep the proportions of the hands as far as possible and also measure! Unfortunately, it happens too quickly that the hands become much larger than they are entitled to. And something like that distorts a beautifully made figure!
I put a pair of gloves under the left hand of our private Engels, which he had just taken off after an exhausting flight. They are made just like the hands themselves. Only that their dimensions are slightly larger than that of the hands.
The next step is the hat. Here we first need a surface on which we can work later. So, rolled a sausage modeling clay around the head and straightened the edges with the blade. I don't do more of it at first.
I can still put the seams on the pilots back. Since this is a thick coat that usually has double seams, you can easily overdo it. Long sausages are rolled again, rolled on at the appropriate point and "fused" to the surface.
Up soon,
Martin

Offline kellerkind

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Re: sculpting a 1/32 scale German aviator
« Reply #24 on: August 03, 2020, 11:52:07 AM »
step 6 more pics 1

Offline kellerkind

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Re: sculpting a 1/32 scale German aviator
« Reply #25 on: August 03, 2020, 11:52:32 AM »
step 6 more pics 2

Offline RAGIII

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Re: sculpting a 1/32 scale German aviator
« Reply #26 on: August 04, 2020, 12:36:25 AM »
Remarkable Talent Martin! I Know I said this before but I Love watching your processes!
RAGIII
"A man has to know his limitations": Harry Callahan

"Don't slop it on" Lynda Geisler

Offline Monty

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Re: sculpting a 1/32 scale German aviator
« Reply #27 on: August 04, 2020, 04:00:38 AM »
This is an amazing demonstration on the "Black Art" of figure sculpting - said in a way there seems to be stunning magic and class turning into an amazing creation! Well done, and Thank You for explaining the process to us, you have talent indeed! Regards, Marc

Offline gbrivio

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Re: sculpting a 1/32 scale German aviator
« Reply #28 on: August 04, 2020, 07:27:53 PM »
Thank you for sharing all these wonderful tips and techniques: it's interesting and useful, and also to whom is not attempting figure sculpting it's highly instructional.
Looking forward to see the finished figure.
Ciao
Giuseppe

Offline kellerkind

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Re: sculpting a 1/32 scale German aviator
« Reply #29 on: August 21, 2020, 02:57:06 PM »
Hello boys and girls, here comes the last two steps at once:

Step 7

The hat consists of a small ball of modeling clay which, after being pressed flat between the fingers, is placed on the head and pressed down. The folds are pressed in with the hook and the circumferential seam is first pressed in with the blade around the cap plate and then baked out. Now you roll a very thin and long sausage (preferably with a steel measure on a smooth surface) and carefully insert it into the "groove". As the modeling clay is very soft, caution is advised and it is advisable to "stroke" the whole thing with a brush moistened with white spirit after the first fixation.

One more thing about the figure's left arm. It may not be noticed, but somehow I didn't particularly like the arm position. I therefore put the figure in the warm oven for a few minutes to warm it up and then almost completely separated the arm from the body with a sharp scalpel and let everything cool down again. Then cut some material on the inside and carefully bent it back to the body in the new position. The use of aluminum wire has already paid off here. Although it is relatively soft when working, it is perfect for such cases. If the wire were thicker and / or made of another material, one would run the risk of destroying the figure when it was bent. I.e. It would probably open up somewhere. And you really don't want that! Incidentally, the gloves were also dropped during this conversion, since they looked a bit out of place.
Now that the figure has been baked more or less for the last time, I have modeled all further details with "green stuff". This mass is a so-called two-component mass. I.e. You mix the two components (yellow and blue) together and you get a (green!) Mass that remains processable for a certain time frame and then hardens at some point due to chemical processes. I like to take this mass for the last details on the figure, because I really appreciate its toughness and stickiness.
As a more or less last step, our private is now being prepared for the molding. Certainly one can mold such a figure in one piece. But the more undercuts a figure has, the faster the shapes wear out. So I decided to pour the right arm separately. And here, too, the fantastic quality of Bessputty helps you to do everything without causing much damage. So, the figure again in the warm oven for a few minutes, with a knife cut the arm on the shoulder down to the wire and let it cool. Now carefully turn the arm and cut through the aluminum wire. To get a good fit later, I use a ball end mill to mill two small recesses in the upper body. I put a little "green stuff" on the matching counterpart (the right arm), coat the recesses in the upper body with release agent (e.g. vaseline) and press the two together. So I get a kind of connector quickly and precisely.