Japanese Ronin 90mm sculpt

[Roy]

Hello guys...I thought some of you might be interested in this 90mm figure that I've been working on for the last little while.
He's a Ronin..and I've chosen to show him on his travels, so he's a bit the worse for wear...the idea is that he's taking a short break on his way up a slight incline, maybe pondering on his past.
Any way He's using a long naginata for support with his right hand and perhaps reaching for a water container with the left.
I've done a fair bit to him and will add more pictures as I have time.

Any comments are more than welcome of course. And if there are any questions I'd be pleased to answer whatever I can.

I'll start with the basic wire mannequin.

 

[Roy]

As you can see, it's very basic, just some twisted wire.
The picture below shows the basic pose with some putty added.

 

[Roy]

The next pic shows the torso and legs fleshed out..you'll notice that the wire for the arms has been removed and I've inserted a little wire mount for the head.

 

[Roy]

Here I've added a very basic head shape at the angle that I needed. Just to get the attitude right.

 

[Steve Lennon]

Roy, I was looking at this on your web-site earlier. Very impessive mate, well done.

 

[Roy]

Thanks for looking Steve. Hope you'll watch his progress.

The next step I made was to add the facial details.
You'll see that the face has been filed slightly and the eye-balls added,

 

[Roy]

and they are cured before adding the eye-lids.

 

[Roy]

Then the lower lids are added.

 

[Roy]

Now there's a little work to shape the nose and I've removed a little material from where the mouth is going to go so I can work that area easier......

 

[Roy]

Here's the next step with the mouth detail applied...not so frightening now..

 

[Roy]

There are still a few little additions to be done to the face...the sides of the nose and the area just above the eyes...but I'll show the ears next..I like to drill small holes so the ears adhere well and I get a small depression for them which I find enables them to look reasonably integrated with the head rather than sitting on it...if you know what I mean.

 

[Roy]

another couple of pics showing the ears finished...and the small additions to the face as I mentioned above...cheekbones, sides of the nose,mouth....

 

[Roy]

Now I'll move down to the feet...I like to get them done fairly early as it seems to help balance the proportions of the figure...
I file away the bulk of the foot so it's left flat..

 

[Roy]

Then add the bulk and volume of the foot and sculpt all the detail while the putty is still soft...

 

[LCoote]

That's a fantastic looking head Roy! You've captured the age and Japanese character perfectly.

 

[Roy]

Next I work some shape up onto the lower leg and add a little flesh (putty) to spread the heel area...

 

[Roy]

Here you can see his very economical footwear...the sandals are added in two stages..first the sole..then it's cured under a lamp..then thin pieces of putty are applied for the strapping and given a little texture to make them look like straw material..

 

[Roy]

Now to adding the trousers...I wanted them to look lived in, as this fellow has been walking and sleeping in them for some time...they are pulled up and tucked into the belt so as not to impede his walking...I sculpted them in four sessions...first the front, then the rear of the left leg...and the same for the right...as there were a lot of folds, breaking the work into smaller, more manageable sections tends to help.

A view from the front..

 

[Roy]

and another from the rear..

 

[Roy]

Next I added some leg wraps...tied at the top and bottom....to add protection but without the incumberance of the large trousers...

a look at the front...