Scratch-sculpted Civilians 1/35

[John Everett]

I'm sculpting a series of civilian figures in 1/35. They will include heads, but the neck holes will be left open to easily accommodate Hornet heads.

My favorite method, and I've tried most of them, is to cobble together a standard plastic figure, shaved down, and then add the clothing with polymer baking clay (Sculpty Firm, grey).


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[Return_To_Kit_Form]

Hey looking good so far. Do you have any problems with the steyrene melting when you bake the sculpey?

Cheers,

Brett T

[Leon]

Nice work on the sculpting John.Very nicely detailed.

[danb.]

Great work John i have tried sculpting some figures and just cant get the creases in clothing right is it best to apply thin layers at a time for the creases ? keep up the hard work buddy

Dan B

[TRM]

Nicely done John!!! Taking some notes if you don't mind!!

[deafpanzer]

Figure looks fantastic! Sight of the swimming pool is so tempting...

[John Everett]

Mar 23, 2014 6:28:36 GMT -5 Return_To_Kit_Form said:

Hey looking good so far. Do you have any problems with the steyrene melting when you bake the sculpey?

Cheers,

Brett T

Not if the temperature is kept below about 95C/200F. The plastic can soften. But so long as the figure is placed in the oven in his final, upright(don't lay him sideways or inverted)position, the hardening of the clay offsets the softening of the styrene. One downside to the polymer baking clay is that it's brittle after it's cured. If you happen to drop the figure, he's not going to survive.

"Great work John i have tried sculpting some figures and just cant get the creases in clothing right is it best to apply thin layers at a time for the creases ? keep up the hard work buddy

Dan B"

The best thing to do is just pick up some clay and start working with it. I tend to do the top half first, then the bottom half. But there are a hundred ways to do this. The more you practice, the more you can control the clay and put the wrinkles where you want them. There's no formula to it. You just need to bang away and find what works for you. In my case I like to cover the armature in a thin layer of clay rolled flat and then work in the creases where things would bunch up and cut away material in spots where the cloth would be stretched tight. There's no substitute for just sitting down and doing it.

[John Everett]

I've also begun work on another female figure.

Polymer clay over a plastic armature. The gloss is from baby oil. It softens the polymer clay for a couple of hours and makes fine details easier to apply.

[Steve Zuleski]

Wish I could do this, great work!!

Cheers, Ski.

[wing_nut]

I'm with ski. I am envious of the guys that do those incredible scratch builds but more so of guys that can sculpt figure. Oh yeah, that last one reminds me I gotta get the wife to do more upper body exercise... keep those muscles toned.

[John Everett]

Thanks for watching, gentlemen.

Sculpting is like any modeling skill. Practice a lot and you'll get better at it.

My first face. Not quite ready to be a Star Trek villain. 

This is 15 minutes and a lump of polymer clay stuck onto the end of a sprue. There are no other structural elements. The trick with the baby oil helps to blend all the edges without making the clay turn into pudding. I just place a drop on the work mat and touch the end of a colour shaper into the oil. Give it a minute to soak into the clay.

Profile view isn't too bad at this early stage.


Cheek bones and face developing.


Just like painting, achieving symmetry can be a problem. I think he's sad because he's so ugly.


In the end, my preferences are running toward polymer clay over epoxy putty. One big factor is that the polymer clay will still be workable in the morning. This wouldn't be true of epoxy putty.

With a subject this small, most of the work is simply a matter of using a sharp blade to shave off those spots which look too fat and adding tiny dots of clay where things look too thin. And of course, lots and lots of practice.

[deafpanzer]

Nice work on the head... LOL about being sad part.

[John Everett]

An update on my first face.




This will be used to produce resin castings. I can then use the castings as a base for additional facial features and extras like hats and hair.

My hope is that a generic base of resin will make feel better about cutting it up for modifications.

[Leon]

Great work John,keep it coming.

[kaytermarram]

Love your sculting style! Being a sculptor myself, I am not comfortable with sculpey to bake but your results speak for themself! Love the wrinkles a lot, very subtle and deep enough to look ultra realistic. And how cool to sculpt the faces, too, instead of using presculpted stuff like the Hornet heads in 1:35. Top work!

Frank

[John Everett]

Looking at the date on this old thread, it's been a while since I've posted any figures.

I'll be producing a couple of welders for use in any sort of industrial setting or motor pool repair unit.
The general idea:








Here's where I'm at so far:









There's also this guy, which may have already been blogged here before?? ?? ?

[deafpanzer]

Way too cool... great start on those welder figures!

[Leon]

Figures are coming along nicely John.

[tobias5555]

What a cool work.

[kaytermarram]

The guy in the black overall looks so good, it could be a cool 120mm figure! As usual, you foldwork is top, very detailed, very realistic. And the new subject matter looks very promising. Keep it going, this will be fine!

Frank

[TRM]

Well done John!! Nothing wrong with having a good supply of civilians and welders!! So we will see a line of "Everett" kits soon?

[dennis]

Lovely work John, love the British Booby. The photo of the lady welder is a great source of background info. Please keep them coming.
Happy New Year
Dennis