Charles Ewart 54mm

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Roy

A Fixture
Joined
Jan 20, 2005
Messages
1,595
Location
South East London, England
Hi guys..just thought you might be interested in seeing my version of this hero of Waterloo...it's been far too long since I posted anything here on my Vbench, so I apologise for that, please feel free to comment as you please.

and many thanks for looking at my work.

It's 54mm...and a first for me, as I've never sculpted a Napoleonic figure before...


I was given the opportunity to sculpt this piece by Classicae, and basically the brief was to make something 'other' than a mounted Scots Grey taking an eagle from a Frenchman...

I read a little about the event and found that Ewart was in his mid forties, around 6'5'' and built like the proverbial brick out-house at Hougomont...if there was one.

Apparently, after taking the eagle and being slashed at towards his groin, he parried a lance that was thrown at him, and luckily avoided a musket ball that was shot at him, Ewart was instructed by Ponsonby to get the hell off the field and take the booty (eagle) to the rear and get himself a few wee drams...Obviously, the security of the eagle from that moment was paramount, and should be carefully preserved, along with the regiments new found hero until at least after the battle.

Ewart reportedly followed these orders, although with 'extreme reluctance' and was seen to stand, overlooking the field of battle where he witnessed he's regimental comrades in arms get a severe lashing, eventually loosing around 600 mounted cavalrymen from the approximately 1000 fielded that day.

This was all approached in a very soldierly fashion after travelling for 2 days to arrive at the field, late at night before the battle commenced the following day...

With the above setting in mind (reluctantly and maybe regretfully over-looking the field)...I started work on the pose...I was asked if he could have his sabre drawn and also hold something in he's left hand..a natural item would be the captured eagle...so ...to get the pose I wanted, I used a 3D program..this enables me to get an all round look at the piece before I break out the putty...

See the image below...

sg001.jpg


using the above image as a guide, a simple wire armature was made and some Magic Sculp was applied with the basic proportions, although this was left rather rough to aid the adhesion of the Super Sculpey Grey.

sg004.jpg


In the picture above you'll notice work beginning on the trousers.
The cross-hatching on the unfinished leg is done with a scalpel to ensure good adhesion of the Super Sculpey Grey. It's also very important to ensure that no air is trapped as you apply the SS as it will come back to haunt you when the piece is heated to effect a cure. Any trapped air will find a way to the surface, and more often than not ruin your work with a swelling or bubble which will need to be repaired. fortunately, some care in initial application can avoid the majority of these accidents.

sg005.jpg


In the above pic, the basic work on the front of the trousers is complete, although the SS is still soft and workable, so changes can be made if needed.

sg006.jpg


Above is a quick look at the rear of the trousers. The SS is now cured using heat and some detail work can commence.

In the next few pictures you can see the seams and buttons added to the sides of the trousers. These details are applied with Magic Sculp once the Super Sculpey Grey has been cured...

sg007.jpg


sg008.jpg


sg009.jpg


The following is a close-up of the trouser damage, which I thought would be a plausible idea to include, just to show how close Charlie came to loosing his family jewels that day...

sg010.jpg



sg011.jpg


More to come in the next post...
 

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Hi Ivan, hope you are doing well, many thanks for taking a look...I've been using the software Daz3D for a couple of years now..you can find it here http://www.daz3d.com/ and the great thing is, it's free...

It really is a great help for setting up a pose and be able to look from all angles and check your work...it doesn't stop me from making mistakes, but it hopefully makes them less likely.
 
Many thanks Guy, John B and John G...for taking an interest in this sculpt, your comments are much appreciated...you can of course see the finished article elswhere, here on the Planet, but hopefully, in this thread, I'll be able to show some more of the steps taken to complete it in a little more detail, and it helps to keep my vBench more up to date.

Roy.
 
G'day Roy,

I love the story behind your figure and I look forward to seeing your progress with it. You've made a very promising start.

I was also intrigued by the 3D software you use, and I've downloaded the free program to try it for myself. Thanks for the tip, and keep up the great work.

Cheers
 
Hi Roy ... thanks for the tip buddy! I have always been amused with 3D graphics and this surely will be an additional toy ... will try it out! Keep the good work ... always like your little gems!

Ivan
 
Many thanks for taking a look guys, and of course for taking the time to leave a comment, they are all appreciated.

Really glad that some of you are intrigued enough to take a look at the 3D program, I'm sure you'll have some fun with it, as it's very useable...it's great for checking ideas for poses, and quick to implement changes.

I'll get some more pictures up here as soon as I find the time.

Thanks again.

Roy.
 
Cheers Brian, good to hear from you mate.

Here's another few pics, this time, of the work on the jacket.
I've also roughed in the girdle, although there is no detail as yet.

sg013.jpg


sg014.jpg


And a shot from the rear
sg017.jpg


Many thanks for taking a look.
 
Here are another couple of pics. The first showing the girdle.

sg017b.jpg


Here is some further work on the front of the figures jacket, adding the lace and the strap for the haversack.

sg021.jpg


Below you can see the haversack added, and the work on the turn-backs.

sg022.jpg


Many thanks foir taking a look.
 
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