Completed Critique Just some old thing.....

[Mike S.]

Beautiful piece as always Mike.

One of the things I like about Mr. Good's work is that he has a penchant for the subtle and sublime, and doesn't immediately go for the more obvious, typically splashy/garish choices in subject matter and execution.

 

[bonehead]

Again, thanks to everybody for the kind words!

Kreston, I have no idea. Does that help?

Honestly, once the figure is out of my hands, it is all up to the manufacturer. In addition to molding and casting, the manufacturer then has to get an example to a painter and then the wait for it to be painted and photographed, then making up labels for the kits. The process generally takes months.

Beautiful piece as always Mike.

One of the things I like about Mr. Good's work is that he has a penchant for the subtle and sublime, and doesn't immediately go for the more obvious, typically splashy/garish choices in subject matter and execution.

Mike, Thanks for noticing. And here I must declare that it is against my religion to do the expected. You will never see me do Napoleonic Grenadiers of the Guard. I must take the road less traveled - and generally do. This does not mean that i eschew colorful subjects. It only means that I eschew "the usual suspects".

I just gotta be me.....

Cheers!!

Mike

 

[Panzer]

Mike is it me? or do the arms look a little thin? great looking figure regardless!
Mrosko

 

[bonehead]

Mike is it me? or do the arms look a little thin? great looking figure regardless!
Mrosko

Thanks Mrosko!

So how do I answer this? If I say what I honestly think (Mrosko, its just you!), then it looks like I am in denial about the whole thing and it make his accusation, which I don't think is accurate, look valid. If I don't say anything, it makes it look like he is right because I refuse to address the issue at all. Once the accusation is made, it is already in everybody's mind and it will not go away. Whether it is true or not is irrelevant.

This is much like the old accusation:

Hey Mrosko, do you still beat your wife?

There is no answer he can give where he comes out of it unscathed - even if the accusation is completely untrue.

So, here is my explantion: The guy has baggy trousers and tight sleeves. That is not a "style" we are used to seeing. I went with my references that showed very baggy pants and tight fitting sleeves. The figures arms are proportionally thicker than mine. Okay, I am not a great example of physical development, but I am within "normal" limits. And the only place where the guys pants touch flesh at all is at that one knee.

Yeah, it looks "different" than what we are used to seeing. So I am asking others out there: do his arms look too skinny to you? And before you answer, take a look at a reference pic:

 

[Richie]

Hi Mike,
I think your proportions are spot on and very crisp, a great rendition to the reference picture.
cheers
Richie

 

[Kreston]

Looks fine to me. As you pointed out, the baggy trousers might lend to the illusion of skinny arms.

 

[Mike S.]

Sleeve and bodice styles during this period were deliberately cut tightly to the body, with both military as well as civilian clothes. There is nothing at all out of sorts with the arms as sculpted.

 

[frank h]

Hi Mike
Everything looks pretty proportional to me
I just Look at the overall sculpt

Fine sculpting Mike

Frank

 

[martinmack]

I would have to agree that the arms look fine to me. The oversized pants take a second look to get used to, but everything looks right.

 

[quang]

Hello Mike,

Good to see you're at it again.

The figure looks exciting, familiar yet with an exotic touch given by the baggy cavalry trousers with the 'fausses bottes'. Photo is of French Hussar trousers, not as baggy as the Cossacks'.

A small remark if you don't mind. Please note that the 'fausses bottes' (whose purpose was to simulate real cavalry boots as if they were worn with the trouser legs tucked in) were made from soft leather and came somewhat higher than on the sculpt. Also worthy of note are the differences in texture and drapery between the cloth and the leather.

Looking forward to see the next step.

Quang

PS: Which sculpting materials were used on this figure?

 

[Meehan34]

They remind me of this guy.

 

[bonehead]

Hello Mike,

Good to see you're at it again.

The figure looks exciting, familiar yet with an exotic touch given by the baggy cavalry trousers with the 'fausses bottes'. Photo is of French Hussar trousers, not as baggy as the Cossacks'.

A small remark if you don't mind. Please note that the 'fausses bottes' (whose purpose was to simulate real cavalry boots as if they were worn with the trouser legs tucked in) were made from soft leather and came somewhat higher than on the sculpt. Also worthy of note are the differences in texture and drapery between the cloth and the leather.

Looking forward to see the next step.

Quang

PS: Which sculpting materials were used on this figure?

Quang,

The figure is finished.

I used several different reference sources. The false boots are a feature that varied widely between my sources - everything from going up to the knee, to short (as shown) to completely absent. I went for the short ones. Strangely, the Opitz illustrations (which were my primary source) also show leather reinforcement inside the legs. His illustrations were the ONLY source that showed this detail - so I left them off.

Of all the projects I have done recently, this one was a subject where no two reference sources agreed. In that type of a case, I simply go with whatever feels right to me. At least nothing I have done here deviates from what was shown in one source or another.

The main reason I did this figure is because of the Opitz illustrations of the Cossacks in Paris after having dogged Napoleon all the way across Europe. The Parisians were captivated by the "exotic" (to them anyway) Cossacks and their wild and strange ways. That is also why I went for the mischievous grin and the moustache twisting. I wanted it to be a character piece that expressed good-natured mischief.

Thanks for the cool pics of the French Trousers. If I decide to do a second Empire French figure, I know who to contact!

The white areas are Aves Apoxiesculpt - may favorite sculpting putty. The details in gray are ProCreate. And of course, some castings from my scrap box. The picker chain is real gold! Silver chains were too heavy. Only gold comes in a weight delicate enough to work in $cale.

Cheers!!

Mike

 

[Meehan34]

It's good to see that critique is taken to heart.

 

[bonehead]

They remind me of this guy.

Mike, I can't touch that!

Mike, Steve, Quang, thanks guys!

Mike