20th Georgia Infantry, Gettysburg 1863

[garyjd]

I also added the soldiers hair and roughed in the upper body of his frock.

 

[garyjd]

back view.

 

[Dan Morton]

Gary - I went back and read the whole SBS. Great figure and super sculpting, as always! The folds above the rolled-up trousers - oh, that's nifty! And the ones on the back upper part of the coat - perfect!

Pork pie hats and the Jackie Gleason show - that goes back a few years, folks.

I would never have thought of using those tricks with Sculpey, copper wire reinforcing in the hat brim, using the "bowl" to form the hat crown, holding the coat tails away from the body, etc. Neat! I'm working on a Japanese cavalry officer now and I was wondering how to hold part of his fur coat away from his tunic and trousers - I'll try Sculpey and remove it with hot water after the Magicsculpt has air set.

Questions -
(1) Could you summarize or give some examples of when and more importantly why you'd use the different types of putties? I've used Sculpey, A+B, Magicsculpt, Kneadatite, etc. Haven't used Aves. I know when to use Kneadatite, but I tend to use Magicsculpt for everything else.

(2) Do you ever allow Magicsculpt to partly harden and then work it into final shape? How long and at what temp.? I need to do that on a part of the Japanese officer, I think, and I've never tried it.

all the best,
Dan

 

[Guy]

Excellent work Gary.......I do so enjoy your sbs's and hope this figure will be a commercial release someday.

 

[garyjd]

Originally posted by Dan Morton@Jul 3 2005, 07:55 AM
Questions -
(1) Could you summarize or give some examples of when and more importantly why you'd use the different types of putties? I've used Sculpey, A+B, Magicsculpt, Kneadatite, etc. Haven't used Aves. I know when to use Kneadatite, but I tend to use Magicsculpt for everything else.

(2) Do you ever allow Magicsculpt to partly harden and then work it into final shape? How long and at what temp.? I need to do that on a part of the Japanese officer, I think, and I've never tried it.

1. A lot of the times I use whatever is handy although most if not all putties have their own individual strength and weaknesses. A & B is very good, though it's been a bit since I last used it for sculpting an entire/majority of a figure. I find it's best to let A&B cure a full 24 hours before resuming work, that is unless you place it under a 40-60 blub to "speed cure". It is not the best thing for rolled out flags as A&B is not as strong in thin sheets. It's great for coattails and such that are rolled thin as they can be "backfilled". It's terrible for carving as it's almost like rock in on thicker areas of the figure, i.e. torso, legs, arms etc. Aves is good. It's strongest qualities IMHO are it's carving abilities and fast cure rate. Rolled out sheets are very rubbery and do not drape or hang like A&B. Magicsculpt has decent carving abilities, but not as good as Aves. Rolled out Magicsculpt sheets are rubbery, but drape better than Aves. Magicsculpt also is #2 to Aves for carving. Magicsculpt is probably best for flags. It has a cure rate better than A&B but not like that of Aves. The rambling now ends.

2. You can allow parts to partly harden before doing some work, but magisculpt has decent carving ability that allows it to be done after curing. If you want to have a coat lifted away from a vest or shirt, after attaching the portion of sheet that's the coat put a ball of sculpey or a hardened "leftover" of putty underneath in the position you want. Once the lifted part cures you can then go in and backfill giving the piece more strength. At that stage you can sand, carve, or file whatever folds you need.

I hope I answered your questions if not expand on them and I'll try again. Good luck.~Gary

 

[callum]

Excellent work as ever Gary.

Regards Callum.

 

[garyjd]

Thanks Callum, I appreciate it.

Here is the figure with the partially completed equipment tacked in place.

 

[John Long]

It looks good Gary. It has wonderful character. The hat is excellent. Something about the frock coat seems odd to me though. It doesn't appear that it would button all the way down. Perhaps a rear view might show that the coat is gathered more in the back. Is this the case?

 

[garyjd]

John, Thanks, and you're right. It's a part of the figure that has me scratching my head. I will either add more folds to the skirts of the coat or move them in closer. Thanks for the observation buddy.~Gary

 

[garyjd]

Almost a rear view showing what is done on the knapsack.

 

[John Long]

I'd say you're on the right track with adding more pleats to the skirt. It probably wouldn't take much.

 

[Guy]

Super looking figure Gary........I love the pose and the character he has

 

[yeo_64]

GREAT WORK so far,Gary !!! I'll be looking forward to the next steps in your SBS. Cheers !
Kenneth.

 

[Roy]

He's looking great so far Gary...I'm sure you'll find a solution to the frock coat. Even if there is a little folding back of the edge of the coat, down both edges where the button holes and buttons would be, and perhaps some subtle gathering of material pulled in at the belt. Whatever you come up with, I'm looking forward to seeing the result.

All the best.

Roy.

 

[T50]

Hello Gary
The figure looks great so far.
I can't believe how clean your 'in-progress' work is...

I love the hair you put the head. The pose is
great, too. Will this one have a companion
figure next to it?
Looking forward to seeing it all finished

Taesung

 

[garyjd]

Guys, Thanks for all the kind words and suggestions, they have all been helpful.

Taesung, Thanks for sculpting the head that inspired me to sculpt this figure.~Gary

 

[garyjd]

Here most of the slings/straps are complete on the figure. I used a file to make a channel for the haversack strap. This was done to help create the illusion that there is some weight in the haversack. I also worked in a patch pocket on the left side of the coat. The collar was added before the belts and straps and it covered most of the shirt collar. The frame buckle on the waistbelt was made from plastic strip and putty.

 

[garyjd]

A little more of the coat skirts were built up on either side to make it look more like an opened coat.

 

[garyjd]

A little more work has been done on the knapsack.

 

[garyjd]

full figure. I still need to clean up the Dragon 1/32 rifle.