Review Imperial Concubine from Linjo Models

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Hi to one and all on PF ,

At last I have been able to sit down and do this review , my apologies to Linjo for the delay ...work has been chaotic!!!.

It was good to get a parcel from our friends at Linjo , one of the models inside was the Imperial Concubine Yang and this is what we shall have a look at in this review .

First though lets have a bit of background information on the chosen subject , to do this we are digging deep into the Chinese history , one of the four beauties of Imperial China who was not only extremely pretty but also very clever , rising from the daughter of a minor official to become one of if not the most powerful woman in the Tang dynasty .

She caught the eye of the emperor Xuanzong , she rose from a village girl to become the 1st class Concubine , as a result her family also became more powerful gaining high positions within the Chinese court.

After seveal years the people began to suffer from corruption and a rebellion resulted , the final outcome being the execution of Yang herself by the emperor to calm the people, as Yang hung swinging from a tree on a hill the emperor hid his anguish and sorrow in his long dragon robe sleeves.

After a time the emperor sent out his eunuchs to get her body which had been wrapped in a fragranced cloth , this was all they found as the body had decomposed , on seeing the cloth the emperor wept bitterly and continued to mourn his loss of the beautiful Yang so much that he could not look at the moon as it reminded him of her .

She awas born in 719 and was executed in 757 , a beauty of the 1st degree , her story still has an impact on the Chinese people today.

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Lets have a look at whats in the box fellow planeteers

Subject title: Imperial Concubine Yang (Tang Dynasty)

Scale: 200mm

Parts: 11

Material : Resin

Sculpted by : Chunmei Zhou

Box Art by : Songhui Liu

Reference: LJ20018


As always the model comes in the distinctive and very strong black cardboard box , with the parts which are cast in a cream resin all being secured between 2 thick pieces of foam ....

Always good to see the care that Linjo take on their packing and presentation

Consisting of 11 parts , these being the torso , the head , the hair flower , the hair combs (x 2) the earings (4 pieces here) a chain for use as hair decoration and a simple pedastal base.

Initial viewing will I am sure bring a comparison to a Pegaso bust and this is not a bad thing IMO as the quality is equal to if not better than that one .
The subject pose might also be a concern for some as a breast is left exposed (as seen in statues and pictures) for me personally not a problem , if its not to your taste then a simple use of sculpting putty will solve that and you will still have a great display model .

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Lets start now with the largest of the pieces ...the torso

Our subject is wearing a silk kimono draped over her shoulders very softly , allowing the sculptor to display her beautiful and defined body , the shoulder area looks particularly feminine . her left breast is exposed , not to everyones taste , but in keeping with the period and subject .
The kimono is beautifully done with some fine undercuts particularly wher it meets the flesh , folds are also nicely formed , her breast is also well done , nice detail is included , this will no doubt make painting a pleasure ...especially if you choose to leave the breast exposed .
Around the neck is a finely defined pearl necklace which has 3 drops also on it . all tiny but well detailed , the neck area has a nice fit when the head is dry fitted .
There is a casting plug to deal with ...no problem as with other bust from Linjo ..snips and sanding pads and there you have it .
Underneath there is a hole for the base to fit ..very cleanly finished with fit being tight .

The finish on the torso is silky smooth ..all over , absolutely no mould lines ..no matter how hard I looked ...WELL DONE Linjo.

The kimono itself gives the modeller the option to either paint it plain or put designs on it ...I will go for the designs ....flowers , peacocks ..get referencing folks ...she was at this time a Consort so yellow would have been a colour available to her (normally reseved for the Imperial family very likely to be used) .

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Moving on now to the head itself ,

This is a really nice piece of sculpting facial features are very feminine indeed , and looks lik e she was ..beautiful , the nose is delicate , lips sensual and even the eyes have a feminine look to them.

Her cheeks are softly defined , painting will have to be delicately done ..a good reference is the actual boxart itself , ears are also nicely sculpted .......all the details could not have been seen by your scribe without the casting matching the top quality of the actual sculpt ..so a big from me to the caster and the sculptor .

The hair is in the typical period style worn up and high on the head , and adorned with combs and jewellery , hair strands are finely done , which again will be brought out by delicate painting ..no size 5 Kolinsky in use !!

There is a fitment point for the hair flower ...a clean finish when in place .

Casting plugs are evident this time running along the underside and back of the neck ...be careful when removing these from the back .

Fit of the head into the neck area of the torso is clean and with no gaps or filler being seen or needed .

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Finally lets look at the remaining pieces , the hair decorations (the flower , the 2 combs and the pearls , then we shall have a word about the earrings and the base itself .

First the flower , this is again similar to the Pegaso bust , it is a really cracking sculpt with all the petals being individually defined extremely well together with the flower centre ..all thi swill really come to life with painting , the 2 combs which insert into holes in the hair style are again well done , there is a small chain to be used to simulate the pearls she wears in her hair ..be careful when you fit these ...it goes without saying do this before painting !!!

The earings are all cast on one piece of resin and will need extremely careful removal as they are very delicate , some might find it easier to replace these using wire and sculpting putty as they are quite fiddly ..especially if you have hands the size of shovels like I have .

The base itself is the standard small pedastal type with a little sanding needed , fit is as stated tight into the underside of the torso .

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Now one and all .......my final thoughts on this release:


This is a subject that will no doubt be compared with similar ones but the quality ,presentation ,casting and sculpting are all as we expect from a professional company ..FIRST CLASS.

There could be some concern with the lack of attire but this is a personal choice , it is a subject that portrays one of the four beauties of China ...lets hope we see the rest , even if we don't , this will make a great companion piece to the other female bust of the Qing woman that Linjo have previously released here is the link to my review of that :

http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/qing-dynasty-woman-from-linjo-models.40427/watch-confirm


Finally lets have some pictures of the painted model form Linjo's website

In the UK it can be got from El Greco of course at a cost of £30 plus shipping

Note El Greco are the sole distributor in UK

Phone: +44 (0)1280 840364

Email: [EMAIL][email protected] [/EMAIL]

Home Page: http://www.elgrecominiatures.co.uk


or direct via the Linjo website at www.linjomodels.com or contact them by e mail at [email protected]


This was a pleasure to get and to review .

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[redarmy27]

Excellent work. The skin tones are excellent. Also the work you did on the kimono is outstanding. I personally hate painting yellow, but you really pulled the color off!

Great work,

Jake

 

[Jazz]

Nice model but not as good as the Chinese lady from Pegaso IMO. Very nicely painted though and a nice review as always.