King Caratacus 1st Cent A.D. COMPLETED

[vlpbruce]

Thanks Paul. I was looking at the site, and there are way too many I want to paint. It looks like I can get them in the states.
Great work on the helmet.

[deafpanzer]

WOW! More amazing work! Is there a way you can turn my chest into that? That will make my wife VERY HAPPY... believe me!

[bullardino]

Yikes, this is ferkin fantastic... Outstanding job Paul.

[Leon]

What Luigi said Paul.This coming along a treat.

[Paul P.]

Glad you could drop by Dogfish

Bruce i shall wait in anticipation

Andy cheers mucka, yep you can get a chest like this, first stop eating any crap, eat high protein low carb meals. go to the gym at least 6 times a week for about 1 to 2 hours at a time and lift heavy weights. The gyms ok its the food that got me, soooooo boring

Luigi and Leon thanks muchly

[Paul P.]

Cheers Dicky ill send the picture back to you, twas a great reference although i thought the wig was a bit OTT


Started on the clothing and made the shirt with a lace up front part, also added a Torq around the neck, a sign of his Kinglyship,







Then started on the armour, this would have been made from boiled leather





And finally Taz is back, guess what he wants

[bullardino]

Magnificent job Paul

[Paul P.]

Many thanks Luigi

Dicky cheers Bud, i have discovered some new techniques and purchased a very useful tool which has enabled me to make things easier and more accurately.

Heres a few more pics of the progression of the armour











As you can see i changed the detail on the shoulder pieces and started the chest piece detail. eventually he will have 2 cross chest belts, and that doesnt mean they are angry, one for the sword and one for the shield which will be on his back.

Paul

[Leon]

Paul that is some excellent sculpting .Looking forward to your next update.

[bullardino]

Great job, Paul. What tool did you get?

[Paul P.]

Cheers Leon and Luigi always love yer comments

Luigi this was one of the tools i got, very simple really, much like a small cake decorating tool, but you can push the clay through this and make many different shapes. great for doing decorative scroll work



So here is his armour just about complete, ive added the side straps and buckles and the cross belt for his sword, one more to add for the shield and then the hair to do and this will be ready for firing











i shall make the sword, shield and arms after this has been fired as its getting quite difficult to hold without touching some of the detail

[Leon]

Excellent work on the straps and buckles Paul .This is really a joy to follow.

[deafpanzer]

WHOA! My wife wanted to know why did you cover his manly chest?!?! But believe me I am grateful you did...

Once again... beautiful sculpting work!

[moramarth]

Firstly, I'm utterly in awe of your sculpting skills!
I was a bit baffled by the helmet, as it wasn't pointy enough for a Montefortino, but too pointy for a Coolus type.  But a bit of looking around brought me to an example which appears to be related to the one you made, which interestingly does retain its fabric padding. It's on page 16 of this book:
www.google.co.uk/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=isbn:0850456061

WHOA! My wife wanted to know why did you cover his manly chest?!?!

If Mrs Deafpanzer appreciates muscular Celts, she might like the chap in the middle...

But believe me I am grateful you did...

Oops! Sorry!  Too late...

Regards,

M

[bullardino]

Some more fantastic sculpting, Paul. All those details look perfectly suited to the rest, it all ties together in an awesome bust.

[Paul P.]

Many thanks for the comments Leon

Andy sorry mate tell your wife she will have to get you a gym membership

M cheers mate, the helmet is in the style of a Montefortino but with a bit of decoration, as you probably know the Montefortino came in various shapes including a pointy top, but heres what im heading for



Cheers Luigi, hopefully the shield will tie in with the body

[moramarth]

M cheers mate, the helmet is in the style of a Montefortino but with a bit of decoration, as you probably know the Montefortino came in various shapes including a pointy top, but heres what im heading for

You're right about the Montefortino helmets, my memory isn't what it should be and I'm well out of date with most recent finds and research.  But I'm still a bit worried about the helmet you've chosen as I can't find a provenance for an original.  Another supplier describes it as Viking:
www.outfit4events.com/czk/product/6194-viking-helmet-with-ornaments/
I'd be thinking more Post-Roman, as it has features similar to the Sutton Hoo helmet, which were in turn derived from Late Roman types.  I'm mainly looking at the combined nasal and eyebrow component; IIRC Simon James posited designs utilising this feature passed into Roman use from Persian helmets, and there (if my dodgy recall is to be trusted) the earliest example was found with the dead Sassanid in the Tower 19 mine at Dura-Europos, which would make it Mid 3rd Century A.D.?

Regards,

M

[Paul P.]

Hi M thanks for your input its really appreciated. just about all the information i get for my figures of this era comes from Dr Jody Joy who is the head of the ancients dept at the British museum. I wanted something a bit different for this bust other than the standard celtic helmet, And your right in saying that there probably isnt a provenance for the style. However they would have taken many things from the Romans from tools to clothes to armour and there have been many variations on Celtic helmets from various tribes. I dont think that this style of helmet is to far removed from what could have possibly been worn and i think it adds a touch of free hand to the figure, he was a great King after all and would want to stand out from the rest

[moramarth]

Thanks for your swift reply.

just about all the information i get for my figures of this era comes from Dr Jody Joy who is the head of the ancients dept at the British museum.

Yeah, I'm well out of date - I wasn't familiar with his work; you've got yourself a really useful contact there.

However they would have taken many things from the Romans from tools to clothes to armour

The other way round, mostly.  The Romans were inveterate borrowers, IIRC one of their historians said the only item of military equipment the Romans invented themselves was the Pilum (and he was probably lying, they weren't going to admit it was the despised Etruscans who came up with that).  But you're right about it being a two-way traffic, as Dr Joy has shown Celts did incorporate Roman elements into their work (for that matter, the Early Germans started making copies of Roman equipment after they came into contact, in particular the Gladius that the Romans had themselves copied after they met it in Spain).

there have been many variations on Celtic helmets from various tribes. I dont think that this style of helmet is to far removed from what could have possibly been worn

 That's true; one things for sure, one can't be too dogmatic about anything in antiquity, if you take a fixed position on anything evidence to the contrary will immediately be found in an excavation, or re-interpreted from something that's been languishing in some museum's reserve collection for decades...

Regards,

M

[nicusi]

Very well sculpted, Paul, a fine detailed face. I'll imagine how it looks painted, I suppose will be gorgeous. Keep it on!
Cheers,
Nicolae

[Paul P.]

Nicolae, thank you my friend, unfortunately i wont get to paint this for a long while, still got Boudicca to finish

So had a crack at the right arm, im going to make this the arm that holds the helmet as ill have his left hand holding the handle of his sword, more work to do on the hand, i find hands very awkward to do to get them to look right







The main body has now been fired, sculpey comes out of the oven still maliable but when it cools it goes to a porcelain hard finnish, but during the cooling it can still be moved slightly if needed

[Paul P.]

Hi all

just finished the shield. ive done a round shield as opposed to the long shield, mainly because i depict him riding a horse so a round shield would be more practical







sword next

[vlpbruce]

All I can say is WOW!!!

[Paul P.]

All i can say is THANKS THANKS

[Leon]

Ditto on the WOW Paul,the shield and arm look perfect.

[bullardino]

[Paul P.]

many thanks for all the wows guys very much appreciated

heres a few progress pics, first the sword, i also added a dagger, and secondly i have added ring connectors to the sword strap as a means of connecting the scabbard to the strap







on the final stages now

[vlpbruce]

This just keeps getting better and better.

[bullardino]

Apr 10, 2014 18:43:25 GMT -5 vlpbruce said:

This just keeps getting better and better.

[deafpanzer]

T-H-I-S I-S S-O S-IC-K-!-!-!