For release at AMPS East 2011, Sept 23-24.

[tigerdio]

New from Minuteman Models comes MM-027 German Infantry Officer, 200mm bust. Sculpted by Chris Elizardo and painted by David P Ackerman.

The bust comes in 6 pieces.
1-Head
2-Left arm
3-Left hand with wistle
4-Righ arm with hand
5-Body
6-Base

It includes thread for the wistle rope, and foil straps for the winter cap/hat.

This bust will be release at the show and will be on our web site on 9/29/2011.

Hope you like him. Please support us if you can in any way possible, these are tough times for small guys like us!

Cheers,

Jose.T.Rodriguez
David P Ackerman
Minuteman Models
http://www.minutemanmodels.com

Note: David placed the binoculars a little higher than the photo, the modeler can place it lower if they want as they are separate from the bust. David also chose to paint the cap and it's interior in a different color instead of brownish, and mouse gray. Comes with painting guide photo.

PS. We fully understand our painting has not done this bust by Mr. Elizardo justice and we are sorry for that. We could not get a professional painter to paint this bust in time for the release at the AMPS East show. Mr. Elizardo is a professional "sculptor" who does much work for the toy industry and has his own web site at http://www.sculptorforhire.com/home.html. Also the person in the photo does have a bad case of acne if you were to inspect the photo closer and under a magnifying glass as the sculptor did. Thank you,

 

[tiger111]

Holy Crap !! This guy looks like he had a bad case of acne. This will not ever be on my "Have to have list".............never

You guys look like you are grabbing for a life preserver and the ship is sinking ; just to get a chunk of resin out there. I would recomend to hire a Pro Sculpter in the near future.

Go Big or stay Home.

I do not know what the heck someone was thinking on this.
Good luck with this paper weight.:thumb down:

 

[garyjd]

I would think constructive criticism would be more helpful. Then again that may be as constructive as you're able to get.

 

[gordy]

Holy Crap !! This guy looks like he had a bad case of acne. This will not ever be on my "Have to have list".............never

You guys look like you are grabbing for a life preserver and the ship is sinking ; just to get a chunk of resin out there. I would recomend to hire a Pro Sculpter in the near future.

Go Big or stay Home.

I do not know what the heck someone was thinking on this.
Good luck with this paper weight.:thumb down:

Well this is most unfortunate. Criticism is always welcome here but this is over the top and just nasty.

Why must people push the limits like this, right when times are running smooth and people are happy and having pleasant times?

Talk about slamming a stick in the spokes while this are running smooth... Are you trying to sabotage my site? Seriously, okay you don't like the piece, that's fine, but do you have to cross the line in such over the top fashion?

Say the manufacturer or sculptor contacts me to have your over the line post removed.. now I'm in the middle trying to appease a member claiming their "rights to post any thing critical" are "violated" and another member having their product excoriated.

Your passionate dissapproval of this piece is far beyond the average troll, but indicative what of a shill or agent provocateur would level on a target... Who is putting you up to this? What beef do you have with producer, or with planetFigure?

Your message has been quoted so editing your post won't change the quotes in case you want to walk back your comments.

I would think constructive criticism would be more helpful. Then again that may be as constructive as you're able to get.

Thank you Gary. Decorum is truly amiss here.

 

[Dr Force]

Agreed, constructive or simply no post.

I actually think the painting has not helped the overall look of the figure.

If you look closely you can see this has been a bit heavy with what looks like dry brushing rather than blending, so there is far too much of a change in contrast between the raised and creased material.

There are area's I like and there are area's I do not like but overall it's a bloody good effort (far better than I could ever sculpt). The concept is good, the binoculars are well done, the hat is also nice, however I would have like a tad more attention on the eyes and balance of the face.

Thanks for posting and good luck with this. and remember members are here to support you on this difficult and competitive journey

Dave

 

[dpaarts]

I wanted to reply to the post by tiger 111. A little strong maybe but at least you are passionate. The biggest problem with this bust is my painting skills. The bust its self really is not that bad. It has good animation and I like the subject. I personally have not met Chris the sculptor but if this is indicative of his sculpting we will produce more of his work in the future. It is good to hear criticisms both good and bad so that we can grow as a company and I can improve upon my painting skills. Respectfully David Ackerman Minuteman Models

 

[pinsel]

hello
The bust i surely not that bad and with good painting it has pontential.some modifications here and there may get an nice result
BUT
if you want to sell it,then get an other painter.this on an box art will drive off 99 percent of all potential customers.
even if you undercoat in only in whilte it will look btter that painted in an way like that.it looks like one of those ceramic presetation stuff one finds around.in the kind like such indians or harley dudes....
its not my cup of tea but i would not use this pics as box art.
may sound harsh,would buy the bust neverless and make some alterations.the fur on the cap is crude and the despatchers pouch is crude too.
what is weird is the very rough surface in the face,even more pronounced due to the extensive dry brushing...
cheers

 

[Chris Elizardo]

Hello Everyone,

While I think the paint work is awesome, way better than I could ever do, here are some pics of the bust unpainted. I appreciate constructive criticism and while I would never condemn anyone's efforts to create or to take a risk in bringing a new product to market, there will always be a few folks, whom for all I know are ten times the sculptor that I will ever be, that are willing to sling derogatory comments out, I guess it comes with the territory.

For the record I never intended the likeness to be an exact match to the reference art and this is only about my third military type piece.

Thanks for all the feed back
Thanks
Chris Elizardo
Sculptor
www.sculptorforhire.com

 

[Chris Elizardo]

I wanted to reply to the post by tiger 111. A little strong maybe but at least you are passionate. The biggest problem with this bust is my painting skills. The bust its self really is not that bad. It has good animation and I like the subject. I personally have not met Chris the sculptor but if this is indicative of his sculpting we will produce more of his work in the future. It is good to hear criticisms both good and bad so that we can grow as a company and I can improve upon my painting skills. Respectfully David Ackerman Minuteman Models

Hey David,

I'm definitely not a painter but I think you did a great job of painting him. I only wish you could post pics of all the small details I sculpted in.
Thanks for your efforts and thanks for investing the time and money into an new addition to the genre.

Thanks
Chris Elizardo
Sculptor
www.sculptorforhire.com

 

[JasonB]

Looking at the unpainted fig, it does look better than the painted effort. The paint job appears to be heavily drybrushed instead of highlighted and shaded. As far as the sculpting goes, there are 2 things that stick out to me that could have been a bit better. The front bill on the hat is too tall and square, and the map case appears too small and out of scale. The tunic/blouse may be a little form fitting below the belt as well. But the paint job definitely did it no favors. With a little work it could look good, and this should really serve as a good example of how a less than spectacular paint job can hurt an otherwise decent figure. It also is reason for manufactures to show at least a few of the pics of their figs in their unpainted form. Just as bad paint job can ruin a fig, I have seen some examples where I know the paint job probably makes it look better than it actually is, or some work has been done on it prior to painting.

As far as commentary and manufacturers asking that something be removed because they don't like it, I would say this. If they are going to put their product out there, they should be sure that its the best it can be, and be prepared for anything, whether it be constructive or just blatantly hostile. Personally, though I do think Tiger111's commentary was a bit harsh and nonconstructive, its no worse IMHO than a constant "good job" whether the figure actually deserves it or not. It might make someone feel good, but doesn't help them improve their product. It would be good to see something like this BEFORE its been cast and released so that perhaps some of the things mentioned could be corrected.

"I wanted to reply to the post by tiger 111. A little strong maybe but at least you are passionate. The biggest problem with this bust is my painting skills. The bust its self really is not that bad. It has good animation and I like the subject. I personally have not met Chris the sculptor but if this is indicative of his sculpting we will produce more of his work in the future. It is good to hear criticisms both good and bad so that we can grow as a company and I can improve upon my painting skills. Respectfully David Ackerman Minuteman Models"

Thats a good attitude to have,and exactly what I was talking about. Had everyone just said "good job", nothing constructive would have come from it.

 

[tiger111]

Well this is most unfortunate. Criticism is always welcome here but this is over the top and just nasty.

Why must people push the limits like this, right when times are running smooth and people are happy and having pleasant times?

Talk about slamming a stick in the spokes while this are running smooth... Are you trying to sabotage my site? Seriously, okay you don't like the piece, that's fine, but do you have to cross the line in such over the top fashion?

Say the manufacturer or sculptor contacts me to have your over the line post removed.. now I'm in the middle trying to appease a member claiming their "rights to post any thing critical" are "violated" and another member having their product excoriated.

Your passionate dissapproval of this piece is far beyond the average troll, but indicative what of a shill or agent provocateur would level on a target... Who is putting you up to this? What beef do you have with producer, or with planetFigure?

Your message has been quoted so editing your post won't change the quotes in case you want to walk back your comments.

Thank you Gary. Decorum is truly amiss here.

I just called as I seen it...... No regrets on my statements, Nor any beef with producer or sculptor at all. No take backs on my statements either. Truly, that was not nasty. I was just being honest.

Planet Figure is a top notch site. I love it .

Review all my other postings. I am not a troll. Was I harsh, well probably. I guess next time I will pull the punches and go with the flow. "atta boy coments" and be fake. NOT

However; Gordy I will do my best not to post over the top Negative comments again.

 

[Chris Elizardo]

Seems like the bill on the hat of my unpainted version is smaller that the painted version, is it me or does it seem that way to anyone else.

Tiger111

If you don't mind, you seem like someone that speaks from sculptural experience, do you have a site with sculpts of your own that I might check out, maybe I could learn something other than how not to pull punches in my commentary and tell it like it is.

Chris

 

[tigerdio]

Seems like the bill on the hat of my unpainted version is smaller that the painted version, is it me or does it seem that way to anyone else.

Quote=Jose
Hey Chris, I took another photo from the side and it does look bigger when looked at from the front but the odd thing is it looks just like your un-panted version from the side. I have included the photo for reference, could it be an optical illusion (the white makes it look longer than if it was painted in Mouse Gray)?

I could have also re-sized the photos wrong, causing the bust to look longer in height therefore the bill to look longer as well? I will look into it.

Interesting, what do you think fellas?

Jose

 

[JasonB]

It looks shorter in the second photo because the picture is taken from a higher angle, and we can see more of the top of the hat. That optically shortens it a bit.If you look at the hat on the real guy, the sides angle in more(they may even wrap around the sides a bit more) and looking at it from basically eye level, the top of the hat sticks up above the bill. I do think the white color would make it stand out more, but I think the size is the same on both busts.

 

[pmfs]

Would be great some pics without painting.

 

[Chris Elizardo]

Here you go....

Chris

 

[garyjd]

Tiger111

If you don't mind, you seem like someone that speaks from sculptural experience, do you have a site with sculpts of your own that I might check out, maybe I could learn something other than how not to pull punches in my commentary and tell it like it is.

Chris

Don't count on it Chris.

The work on your website speaks for itself. If military subjects are new a new thing for you these efforts like the others will grow with experience. ~Gary

 

[pmfs]

Hi Chris!

With this pics everybody can see your great work on the german officer.
Thanks!

 

[Hank]

Well...I like it very much....pretty cool looking