Dream Project Completed

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bwildfong

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2004
Messages
488
Location
Cambridge, Ontario
Hey all !

Over on Gray's thread about "dream projects you'll never complete", I posted a message about a dream project that I actually did complete; a recreation of Edmund Hillary's classic photo of his partner Tenzing Norgay on the summit of Mt. Everest. I took the figure to a local show this weekend (Ajax XXIV in Ajax, Ont. Canada) where Bryan Gray took a shot of it. I hope the insertion works here ...

Ajax%20Show%20048.jpg


If you can see it, I hope you enjoy it. Any and all comments appreciated.

Cheers,

Brian
 
Brian,

That is truly awesome! I have a project, many in fact, but I am going to have to try it now seeing yours! I think you did a really nice job.

Joe
 
I really like that. The jacket really has the whole polartech winterwear look to it. What scale is this?

Francesca
 
I saw this figure on the weekend and it is absolutely fantastic!
Brian even had the little strings on the kangaroo pocket zipper on it (and no, they
weren't painted on!) Imagine that, in 54mm!

Truly a great project!

-Alex
 
That is awesome indeed. Again, the talent here is fantastic. I love the subject matter of this one. A very historical event and one that I would suspect the mainstream companies to ignore. Just really really great!

Thank you for sharing that.

Steve
 
Dear Brain,

A very interesting subject and a job (model) well done! Hope to see more of such models from you.

regards :)
 
Ahhh here is another dream project coming true. And what an excellent painting overall. You really did a great job Brian.
 
That is too cool (literally!). I'm always excited to see non-military subject matter but this one has to go to the top of the list. Well done.
 
Brian,

If I can be a bit forward, I was wondering how that figure did in the competition? I noted that there were a lot of military figures in the background and I share Janne Nilsson's comments about it being a non-military subject. It seems that the military subjects get most of the votes at the shows I've been to (typical model shows that is) So I'm curious how it did against the military figures.

Please, I hope no one takes this wrong, I love military subjects, in fact my modeling as a whole is mostly military, but as a historian I know there is a wealth of subjects that are interesting that are non-military and I think it's great when you have examples such as this one.

I really like the looks of the parka as well, but I'm really digging those pac boots! The only thing missing is the black sky and the howling wind! Just really awesome!

Best Wishes
Steve
 
Brian,

I rarely use superlatives but this is simply FANTASTIC!

The subject, the sculpt, the presentation, everything just clicks. I particularly appreciate the realism of the creases, the rendering of the blue nylon and the WIND (yes, Steve, it's there. Look at the flags.)

One of the most inspiring pieces I've seen in a long, long time.

(y) (y) (y)

Do us all a favour and show us more pics.

Best wishes,

Quang
 
Brian , from a not so great photo I see an awesome figure. i wonder what 'd see if the pic was better. Great work man

Stephen Mallia
 
Joe, Francesca, Alex, Matt, Steve, Anders, Wong, Xenofon, Janne, Leigh, Steve, Quang, Gray and Stephen (Whew!):

First off, thanks very much for all of your very kind comments! It's always a little daunting the first time you post your work for a worldwide audience; in retrospect, I know I really needn't have worried too much - the supportiveness and enthusiasm of the PlanetFigure community is amazing, so once again, my thanks, and I'm glad you enjoyed my little project.

Now to some specifics:

The figure was built from a "skeleton" of old Historex parts, and so the scale is roughly 54mm. The clothing was applied using Milliput sculpted with dental tools, sharp toothpicks and moistened paintbrushes, rough edges being smoothed with a Scotchbrite pad. I've never done such extensive sculpting of wrinkles before - the original photo of Tenzing shows alot of it, due to the winds on the summit blowing the thin cotton windproof pants and jacket. Lots of the detail (ropes, drawstrings, etc.) was added using thin copper wire and lead sheet (flags, straps).

The most challenging part of the whole figure was building the oxygen set carried on his back - can barely be seen in the photo, but was vital piece of equipment in a round figure - I lucked into a good reference photo of the set to work from.

Hopefully, I'll post up some more photos of the figure "in the round" once I get them taken - for now, I was simply blown away by the fact that someone (thanks, Bryan Gray !) liked it enough to take and post some shots of it !

Again, folks, thanks for all your encouraging comments - hmm... what's next, once you've reached the top of your personal Everest ?!

Cheers,

Brian
 
Uh, oops, that last post (a feeble attempt at humour) was from me. You're right, Quang, there are always more ways to challenge oneself artistically in this hobby (or in life!) - I appreciate the philosophical outlook you bring to this hobby. OK then, perhaps Annapurna, naked !? :lol:

Brian
 
Hi Brian.

That's frickin' awesome. The pose, the look, the groundwork, the paintjob. Man that's nice!

Andy
 
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