WIP Master Box Edge of the Universe

[Kimmo]

I've been itching to get something going here on the site and finally got cracking on three figures from Master Box's Edge of the Universe series in 1/24th scale. The purpose of the exercise is to get some experience painting larger figures, as an added bonus, a friend graciously decided to become my patron for the project so I also get my first commission project under my belt.





I had originally wanted to do a bit of a build/review blog but decided to press on and just do some WIP updates as I want to get this done quickly. My general impression of the figures is a bit hit and miss. Plenty of potential and interesting poses, but the molding, fit and sculpting at times leave a lot to be desired. Not really a set for beginners as I think you need to have some experience dealing with poor fit and cleaning up bad seams, filling, plus some minor re-positioning and so on. Enough jibber-jabber, here's the scene almost ready for priming...






You'll notice the missing arm on our intimidating chap, I need to paint his shirt before adding the other side of his jacket, the collar and arm. I must admit that there is some rather clever engineering on this figure, yet the execution could have been better.

And a couple of shots of the base and counter top. Foam board and styrene on an oval MDF base skinned with styrene. The counter top is pewter sheet hammered out with the ends of three paintbrushes taped together then glued to foam bard. Rather tricky to make out the details as everything is white.






Next up is priming and base coats. Comments and questions are most welcome.

Kimmo

 

[Kimmo]

Made some good progress. Everything has been primed and base coated with the exception of our large lad. I had to paint his shirt before I could glue the remaining bits in place. Not much of it will be seen, which is a pity as the fold detail is rather nice. A tip for those who get this set, you will need to remove almost all of the "lump" at the back of his neck to get the collar piece to sit properly. This was one time I wish I had a mini chisel to help with the clean up of the undercuts.




Our four armed Joker in all his orange and red glory. The shades aren't quite that similar in real life, my camera leaves a lot to be desired sometimes.




And some views of the developing scene. I'm rather happy with the tones and so on.










A lot of work still to be done, but a very promising start I think.

Kimo

 

[T-34/85]

Great start, I have two of these sets and hopefully will get a go at them sometime soon.
Your base is incredible, very well done. I'll follow your excellent progress,
(I wish they would have included the six legged cat, )

Tom

 

[Kimmo]

Thanks Tom! Yeah, the cat would have been nice. Do take your time with clean up and dry fit everything. If you don't already own a scalpel and #15 blade, I'd highly recommend getting those. The small curved blade is perfect for clean up, replacing lost/missing seams and getting into tight spots when making undercuts. Fortunately the plastic is soft and you can burnish blemishes out with a chiseled toothpick rather easily. I just wish MB had put a little more thought into the production of these sets, they could have been real stunners.

Kimmo

 

[phil_h]

Base is looking good, and I'm looking forward to seeing some more progress
Phil

 

[Kimmo]

Thanks Phil! A little more work today; our chap is now fully clothed, armed and base coated. I decided against black leather pants as I want some variation.








Our four armed friend's face and helmet are mostly done. I decided to change the tone of the orange as it was just way too bright, a filter was slathered on which gives off a bit of a worn effect as an added bonus. I've also gotten a start on blocking in shadows and an overall light wash to accentuate detail and get some more pre-shading in the shadow areas going.




More tomorrow.

Kimmo

 

[Kimmo]

More progress today. Our Joker is starting to fill in nicely, still a bit to do.








And I've gotten a good start on the heads of the other two. I like working in this scale, definitely easier than in 35th, still a dark art which needs to be practiced. The photos don't really do justice to the shading. That's the biggest complaint I have with my camera, it doesn't do subtle or translucent well.










Hopefully I'll get more done tomorrow.

Kimmo

 

[Huw63]

I didn't know about these sets but I like what you're doing with them.

Cheers

Huw

 

[Kimmo]

Thanks Huw! These are neat sets. MB has a whole bunch of 24th scale figures, I'm thinking of doing the Satyr soonish, hopefully. The figures may need a bit of work to clean up, but the price point is pretty good. These are reasonably affordable sets to hone your skills with and to have some fun. Moving on to our lovely lass, I've gotten most of her outfit done, along with a good start on her hair.













More to come.

Kimmo

 

[Kimmo]

Making good progress and things are slowly coming together. I painted up the base except for the counter top, a coat of satin still needs to be added to the wood.




I got started on our imposing lad, getting the jacket mostly complete and the initial shading done for the pants. The straps and gear need to be done before I can go in and add final deep shadows and highlights.







And a couple of shots with our lass added. I'm liking the balance and tones.









More tomorrow.

Kimmo

 

[T-34/85]

Excellent work on this! Keep up the great work!

Tom

 

[Kimmo]

Thanks Tom! Almost at the finish line now, some clear coats, a touch up or two, a bit of work on the stool, then the hands and eyes and trying to decide what colour our chap's Mohawk will be.












This has certainly been different from what I normally do, but very fun and learned a thing or two in the process. Hopefully tomorrow will see this wrapped up.

Kimmo

 

[Kimmo]

Save for some clear coats and a spot more glue to make sure things stay put, this is now done.



















As mentioned, a fun project, if not a little off the beaten path for me. I'll get things cleaned up and get some good shots to post later on. Thanks for the comments, likes and to everyone who followed along.

Kimmo

 

[T-34/85]

Fantastic results!


Tom

 

[Kimmo]

Thanks Tom! A better set of photos have been taken and can be found here : https://www.planetfigure.com/threads/master-box-edge-of-the-universe.116665/

Kimmo