Mongo Mel
A Fixture
The character of Don Quixote is one of the greats in literature and this bust does him proud.
When I saw it, I knew I had to have it.
Specifications:
Manufacturer: Sculpt'Art31
Design : Cyril Roquelaine
Sculptor: Cyril Roquelaine
Painter: Jérôme Otremba
Scale: 200mm
Size 80mm
Ordering:
I promptly contacted Sculptart31 to inquire about the price and how to order one. The web site allows you to set up an account if you're located in Europe. Being in the United States, I had to contact them by email to handle the transaction. But this worked without any major problems and I was able to pay fior the bust using PayPal. The cost was 20 Euros for the bust and an additional 15 Euros for the shipping. This totaled out to just under $50.00 US. But the owner, Cyril, had told me that I could order a second bust without an increase in shipping cost.
SculptArt31 shipped my bust in less than 2 days after placing the order and it arrived about a week later.
The packaging:
The bust arrived wrapped in bubble wrap packed in a sturdy cardboard box. This was then packed in a larger cardboard box filled with Styrofoam packing material so everything arrived safe and sound.
The box had no box art and there were no instructions or painting guide included. The lack of instructions was not a problem since there were only two (2) pieces. While a painting guide really isn't necessary, a color copy of the site photograph would have been nice to have.
Of course if you ordered the bust on the internet then you have access to the color photo.
A word about the site photo. The painter did, in my opinion, a fantastic job on the bust. Especially the face. He really brought out the character sculpted in the piece.
It was a big contributing factor to my decision to purchase the piece.
The figure:
The bust comes in two (2) pieces: the head and body, and the helmet. It is cast in a green/grey color resin that lends itself nicely to clean up. The helmet is located with a plug on top of the head and a corresponding hole in the helmet. The only improvement I'd suggest would be having it keyed to orient the helmet properly.
A nice touch was that the casting plugs had been removed from both pieces, leaving little clean up work to do. There were a few tiny air bubbles in the body that will be simple to fill and no seams to speak of. There was a small area on the left arm that will need a little more clean up and patching to fix. It looked to me like a flaw that may have been the result of wear and tear on the mold. But still, just a minor fix.
There was a prominent gap where the helmet met the top of the head. But a little epoxy putty and some minor texturing should take care of it without much difficulty.
There was a problem with the helmet where the casting plug had been removed. I think it just slipped through the inspection process and if seen, would never have been shipped. I emailed Cyril and he immediately apologized and promised to send me a new helmet. This tells me more about the type of people I dealing with than anything else. For me, good customer service is the hallmark of a good company.
The only thing about the sculpt I didn't like was the neck. It looked a little thick down the right hand side. A better description might be that it looked too muscular. But it's a minor point and not very prominent.
One of the things I liked most about this bust is that is not done in the traditional look I've always seen in stage plays, movies and paintings. He doesn't have that wild eyed look you usually see and he had a more full face than usual. And the helmet isn't the Conquistador style often seen on the character.
A search of the internet turned up a photograph of an actor that has to be the inspiration for this sculpt. It is the actor Jean Rochefort from the Terry Gilliam film "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote ". Or more accurately, the documentary "Lost in La Mancha" about how the original film seemed doomed from the first day of filming.
Summary:
Great subject, very interesting sculpt of the character. Very little clean up and repairs needed.
Excellent customer service.
I'm happy I purchased this bust. It lived up nicely to my hopes based on the site photograph.
CraigWhitaker
When I saw it, I knew I had to have it.
Specifications:
Manufacturer: Sculpt'Art31
Design : Cyril Roquelaine
Sculptor: Cyril Roquelaine
Painter: Jérôme Otremba
Scale: 200mm
Size 80mm
Ordering:
I promptly contacted Sculptart31 to inquire about the price and how to order one. The web site allows you to set up an account if you're located in Europe. Being in the United States, I had to contact them by email to handle the transaction. But this worked without any major problems and I was able to pay fior the bust using PayPal. The cost was 20 Euros for the bust and an additional 15 Euros for the shipping. This totaled out to just under $50.00 US. But the owner, Cyril, had told me that I could order a second bust without an increase in shipping cost.
SculptArt31 shipped my bust in less than 2 days after placing the order and it arrived about a week later.
The packaging:
The bust arrived wrapped in bubble wrap packed in a sturdy cardboard box. This was then packed in a larger cardboard box filled with Styrofoam packing material so everything arrived safe and sound.
The box had no box art and there were no instructions or painting guide included. The lack of instructions was not a problem since there were only two (2) pieces. While a painting guide really isn't necessary, a color copy of the site photograph would have been nice to have.
Of course if you ordered the bust on the internet then you have access to the color photo.
A word about the site photo. The painter did, in my opinion, a fantastic job on the bust. Especially the face. He really brought out the character sculpted in the piece.
It was a big contributing factor to my decision to purchase the piece.
The figure:
The bust comes in two (2) pieces: the head and body, and the helmet. It is cast in a green/grey color resin that lends itself nicely to clean up. The helmet is located with a plug on top of the head and a corresponding hole in the helmet. The only improvement I'd suggest would be having it keyed to orient the helmet properly.
A nice touch was that the casting plugs had been removed from both pieces, leaving little clean up work to do. There were a few tiny air bubbles in the body that will be simple to fill and no seams to speak of. There was a small area on the left arm that will need a little more clean up and patching to fix. It looked to me like a flaw that may have been the result of wear and tear on the mold. But still, just a minor fix.
There was a prominent gap where the helmet met the top of the head. But a little epoxy putty and some minor texturing should take care of it without much difficulty.
There was a problem with the helmet where the casting plug had been removed. I think it just slipped through the inspection process and if seen, would never have been shipped. I emailed Cyril and he immediately apologized and promised to send me a new helmet. This tells me more about the type of people I dealing with than anything else. For me, good customer service is the hallmark of a good company.
The only thing about the sculpt I didn't like was the neck. It looked a little thick down the right hand side. A better description might be that it looked too muscular. But it's a minor point and not very prominent.
One of the things I liked most about this bust is that is not done in the traditional look I've always seen in stage plays, movies and paintings. He doesn't have that wild eyed look you usually see and he had a more full face than usual. And the helmet isn't the Conquistador style often seen on the character.
A search of the internet turned up a photograph of an actor that has to be the inspiration for this sculpt. It is the actor Jean Rochefort from the Terry Gilliam film "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote ". Or more accurately, the documentary "Lost in La Mancha" about how the original film seemed doomed from the first day of filming.
Summary:
Great subject, very interesting sculpt of the character. Very little clean up and repairs needed.
Excellent customer service.
I'm happy I purchased this bust. It lived up nicely to my hopes based on the site photograph.
CraigWhitaker
