WIP Athena

[BRAN]

Hello planeteers,

On the bench today is the Athena bust, produced by Black Crow Miniatures.

The bust is composed of 11 elements

As we can see, the representation of the goddess is more of the "fantastic" style.

Before going further, I will give some elements about Athena that will guide me in my approach to this bust and in the painting.

According to mythology, Athena is the daughter of Zeus and Metis (an Oceanid), goddess of reason, prudence, military strategy and wisdom. Ouranos, the Starry Sky, warns Zeus that a son, born of Metis, would take his throne. Consequently, as soon as he learns that Metis is pregnant, Zeus decides to swallow her. A few months later, he feels terrible headaches. He then asks Hephaestus (replaced in variants by Prometheus, or Hermes) to open his skull with an axe, to free him from this evil. Thus Athena burst forth from Zeus' head with a mighty war cry, brandishing her spear and shield.

The ancient Greeks represented her thus:

 

[BRAN]

Without wanting to represent Athena as the ancient Greeks did, I would still like to remove some elements that are a little too fancy for me and modify some of the sculptor's options.

I start with the simplest elements to modify to reassure myself and begin the transformation process.

Initially the shield is represented with traces of blows on the front and back.

Since Athena is a goddess, I assume that she has a shield of great strength, in any case much stronger than a human shield, capable of resisting powerful blows. With Magic-Sculpt I fill in the traces of the shield to make it an "indestructible" and intact protection.

As seen in this picture, the arm was glued to the shield so that the straps are adjusted to the maximum. I pierced the hand and put a piece of paper clip that will be stuck in Athena's thigh and that will be used to support the weight of the shield, without risk of the arm coming off.

Since Athena is a daughter of Oceanid, I will use wave patterns to paint the inside of the shield to reference her origins.

In the last photo of my previous post, we see that the statue of Athena is represented with an owl on her shield. The motif to be painted on the front is therefore all found....

 

[BRAN]

The helmet and mane are glued together.

The latter was often made from horsehair, sometimes dyed or left as is. I don't know yet if I will color it or leave it black.

The spear comes in 2 parts, the tip is made of resin and the handle is simply a 10 cm long brass tube. The arm that holds the weapon is folded.

The brass tube is hollow.

This gives me the idea of inserting another brass tube of the same diameter as the hole to reinforce the weak attachment between the resin tip and the brass tube.

 

[BRAN]

The attachment of the second part of the cape is made by a single outgrowth in the center.

So I reinforce this attachment by inserting 3 small pieces of paper clips in part 2 of the cape.

I don't like the cape on the character's back. The top is positioned horizontally and the bottom vertically, which doesn't seem logical to me.

So I take my courage in both hands and with pliers I remove the horizontal part on a good thickness and in the remaining material, I sculpt with files and sandpaper the continuity of the vertical bands of the cape.

I leave the separation visible for the moment, because I will not be able to position the bottom of the cape until Athena's back is completely painted. To keep little color to the character and always as a reminder of its origins, the cape will probably be blue.

 

[BRAN]

Reste le plus dur, retirer la tête de Méduse au niveau de la ceinture, les serpents qui remontent jusqu'au cou et entourent la taille et le plastron visible. Avec ces modifications, elle devrait ressembler davantage à l'idée que je me fais d'Athéna, telle que présentée sur les statues de mon premier post.

The folds are in progress. They are made with Magic-Sculpt and then refined with sandpaper. I am also redoing the belt and the leather strips on the bottom of the bust, the seams were not sculpted evenly. I hope to be able to make them trompe l'oeil...

All comments are welcome, because I am still sanding alternately with modeling.

 

[Briggsy]

A very nice piece to start with and a brave desicion to make the changes, especially the cloak and her dress. I definitely think it is an improvement and some skilled work. I'll follow this with great interest.

Cheers Simon

 

[Malkie]

With the modifications that you have already carried out I think you are about to turn a good bust into a great one.

Malkie

 

[Nap]

Hi Bran

That casting looks really good , interesting about the cloak ...going to improve the overall look

Can’t waiting to see this started , do share the paint mixes particularly on the flesh ! ......I have a female waiting patiently

Looking forward to seeing the shield as well

Happy sanding and priming

Nap

 

[clubcat]

I have this model to do but I never considered the changes that you have made. That being said I think they do enhance the model.
If I have my myths straight, the shield was used by Perseus in killing Medusa, so may have been mirrored or polished. Medusa's decapitated head was then mounted on the shield and it became the Aegis. I believe it was Zeus's shield but she borrowed it on occasion....
Watching with interest. Good job so far.
Melanie

 

[NigelR]

Excellent conversion work so far, a lot of effort but worthwhile if it makes the end result true to your vision.

 

[Merryweather]

Wow, a very ambitious conversion but I share your aversion to the fantasy style of the original. I am currently reading Stephen Fry's book Mythos which makes me particularly interested in this.

 

[BRAN]

A very nice piece to start with and a brave desicion to make the changes, especially the cloak and her dress. I definitely think it is an improvement and some skilled work. I'll follow this with great interest.

Cheers Simon

Thanks for following Simon. The conversion is a bit daring I admit, but much less difficult than your A to Z construction work on 54mm.

 

[BRAN]

With the modifications that you have already carried out I think you are about to turn a good bust into a great one.

Malkie

Thank you very much Malkie, your words are motivating.

 

[BRAN]

Hi Bran

That casting looks really good , interesting about the cloak ...going to improve the overall look

Can’t waiting to see this started , do share the paint mixes particularly on the flesh ! ......I have a female waiting patiently

Looking forward to seeing the shield as well

Happy sanding and priming

Nap

Yes Nap, I will post pictures of the paint pots used for each element painted.

 

[BRAN]

I have this model to do but I never considered the changes that you have made. That being said I think they do enhance the model.
If I have my myths straight, the shield was used by Perseus in killing Medusa, so may have been mirrored or polished. Medusa's decapitated head was then mounted on the shield and it became the Aegis. I believe it was Zeus's shield but she borrowed it on occasion....
Watching with interest. Good job so far.
Melanie

Some versions differ concerning the Aegis, which is indeed a shield shared with Zeus. Its description and origin differ according to the sources, sometimes the shield is covered with the skin of the nourishing goat Amalthea, the skin of the giant Pallas or decorated with the head of Medusa and bordered with snakes....
As I will not know how to sculpt a head of Medusa on the shield, I will be content to paint an owl, sometimes the shield of Athena is also represented with an owl.

I will follow with great attention your version Melanie.

 

[BRAN]

Excellent conversion work so far, a lot of effort but worthwhile if it makes the end result true to your vision.

Thanks Nigel. I do indeed have a lot of difficulty painting a miniature if it doesn't match my vision of things. Unfortunately this has already led me to quite a few problems and sometimes I have completely missed parts. This is probably the price to pay for learning....

 

[BRAN]

Wow, a very ambitious conversion but I share your aversion to the fantasy style of the original. I am currently reading Stephen Fry's book Mythos which makes me particularly interested in this.

I don't know this book, if you have any interesting details concerning Athena or the Aegis, you can intervene at your convenience on this thread.

 

[MalcC]

Wow, I'm liking the subject matter and the sbs on the preparation work.
This is going to be a stunning piece.
Following with interest.

Malc

 

[clubcat]

I think the owl is great idea and the inspirational image is excellent.
Melanie