Pair of 1/48 scale British Navvys

[Ray]

These two guys were made as representations of a pair of 1/32nd scale figures I made several years ago. They're made in A+B, Magic Sculpt and a blend of Magic Sculpt and Green Stuff. I'll look forward to your comments etc. They are for the British model railroad market and will be cast in Pewter.

Ray

 

[alexwencho]

wow! cool.

Ray,

Very nice casual pose on both of those little dudes and the final painted figures will add a lot to any model railroad layout.

keep up the good work and good luck with the miniature rail guys,
alex wencho

 

[fanai]

they remind me pf the fabulous Phoinex ranges lovely charactor

Ian

 

[Jamie Stokes]

I can easily see these characters slouching about a hole in the ground, one fellow inside digging, while these tow look at some pretty girl walking by.....

Or perhaps just slouching about.......

Neat little figures

And in 1/48, the aircraft guys and the 48 scale armour guys might be interested too

Cheers

 

[Ray]

Alex,
Thank you for the encouraging note, as much as anything else the recognition of other modelers is invaluable to the process.

Ian,
Roy Link told me once-he may have been kidding-that the Phoenix guy actually sculpted his originals over his lunch hour. Figure making would sure be lucrative were it possible to make them over the lunch hour. Presently a 1/48 scale figure is taking me 6-10 hours from scratch to completion. So far this year I've managed six 1/32 scale figures (more like 8-12 hours of continuous work these) and only today finished my tenth 1/48 scale figure for the year. These may sound like larger numbers but not when considering that I've been putting in an hour or so before work most weekdays, and the better portion of Saturday and Sunday since mid January. Of course some procrastination is always necessary, which I can't very well count as time worked. lol

Jamie,
Thanks for the inspirational visual. Now do I try to sell the customer; one digging guy, or a pair of pretty girls?

A local friend of mine is very keen on making a WW1 pilot figure in 1/48 (we've started but have made little progress so far) and I am committed to several WW2 British 'Home Guard' figures, along with Royal Navy sailors and WRENS. These should be interesting, but will require a complete change of mind set from the casual civilians I've been doing this year. If all goes well with this military commission I may dabble a bit more in the field, perhaps first with a new 1/48 scale Mauser.


Ray

 

[Jamie Stokes]

Cheers Ray,
I reckon that a fellow digging as well as a pretty girl would also be welcomed to the market.

Its amazing how much digging type activities go on; freeing tank treads/ bogged vehicles, mucking about with ballast for railways, and fixing up runways, as a few examples.

As for a girl, a skirt to knee length with short sleeves would allow a lot of latitude for various eras, from mid 1930's right through to mid 70's, depending on how she was painted.....

So these lines of figures could easily be available across a broader range of market interests

I was interested to hear how long it takes to sculpt a figure from go to whoa.
Helps put my fumbling efforts into a perspective.

Great sculpting though, thumbs up for encouragement

Cheers

 

[Ray]

Jamie,
There are a couple other things it might have been well to mention concerning the time I spend making a new figure. First I suppose is that the times given are really only guestimates, I've planned, for years now, to time a sculpt start to finish but never quite remember to start the clock once the inspiration strikes. Besides I usually have 2-4 figures going at once when I'm really working well. I do a little on one; put him under the lamp to harden while working some on another and so on. This can be an oddly frustrating way of doing things as a couple of weeks, or more, might pass before actually finishing anything, but then all at once there is a big payoff with two or more figures finished up all in a day.
So what I do is estimate the time spent each day, some of this time is bound to have been somewhat less than productive, divide by anything completed and name that 6-12 hours which is probably reasonably accurate.

Also, unlike the figure you're working on I have several little cheats that help me progress faster than I might otherwise. First; I use cast bits for the hips and upper torso (more just the shoulders), saving a lot of time bulking up a wire armature. Second; I have, having done this for so long now, basic head, hand and shoe castings (I am in the habit of naming these armature bits too) that need only be refined for the particular figure being worked on. I couldn't really say how long it would take to produce a figure completely from scratch without these aids, and really wouldn't want to try it again. When I start work in a new scale-which I have to do sometime this year-I'll first make up the armature bits before attempting a figure, and use castings from these for the actual sculpt. Besides, increasing my productivity these armature bits also help me to keep things to scale, which is sometimes the most difficult thing for me to insure with a sculpt. Having some mass already in the armature makes posing easier as well.

I'm sure that a girl in a skirt will need making before the year is out, besides the WRENS and others already scheduled. The period will likely be 1940's or 50's as these are the ones I am currently making figures for. The hair style will probably be the thing that dates the figures more than anything else, though with a hat this may be less distinct, that is if the hat itself isn't too dated.

Ray

 

[Jamie Stokes]

Ray,
thanks for that info.

I'll drop a visitor message to your profile, rather then hijack the thread.

As for figures, yep, hair styles will date a lady rather distinctly; not every lady can wear a pony tail or a bun in all eras

The time estimate is probably a realistic average estimate.

As for the figures populating other then railways, well, if more of your work (Or anyone else's) can travel across the hobby spectrum, surely that can benefit the sculptor at the end of the day

cheers

 

[fanai]

Ray I used to do a lot more scultping but at moment working toward 3 huge armies for the mediterraean theatre in 20mm - just about finished so with your inspiration should start on som figures next month
Ian