PiliPili Miniatures - New Release

[Guy]

SP-03
Tirailleur Senegalais, 1914
1/9th scale resin (200mm)
Sculpted & painted by Lee-Van Quang

Historical Note:
The Tirailleurs Sénégalais was a corps of the French Army recruited from the
French possessions in West and Central Africa. Formed in 1857, these
indigenous troops served in a number of colonial wars including the conquest
of Morocco (1907-1912).
But their largest contribution came during WWI, when more than 200,000
'Sénégalais' fought for France. 135 000 were sent on the Western Front.
30 000 perished and many more wounded or invalid.

PiliPili web-site
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[Sambaman]

Interesting subject for sure! Are the lines on his face some sort of native scarification? One small thought as well, the tassel in back feels like it should be hanging more perpendicular to the floor. I can't see the back so I could be wrong.

Jay H.
OKC

 

[Anders Heintz]

Man, we just can't get away from Obama for 5 minutes!

 

[Steve]

Senegalese

Two things: Anders my friend, you have some stones. I like that.

Jay, consider this: a figure is a representation of a live human (this one is anyway), and as such can be considered a still of a dynamic subject. People move; free hanging objects on a moving person also move. How do we know the brother has not just slammed to attention and his tassle is still quivering? I would tend to give the nod to Mr. Le Van on the basis of massive experience and expertise. Just a thought.--

 

[vergilius]

amazing bust !

 

[quang]

Thank you guys for your comments.

Jay: You're dead right about the angle of the tassel.

As a matter of fact, the tassel is a separate part and the modeller can adjust it as he feels.
The position of the tassel is all relative to the angle of the entire bust on its pedestal base. I should have corrected it but was too lazy.

The deep lines are indeed the marks of ethnic scarification, a common practice in Africa at the time, as can be shown on several contemporary paintings and photographs. Here's a modern example:

Steve and Vergilius: Thank you for the kind words.

Anders Heintz: You wouldn't think of McCain if I were to sculpt an aging white man. Or would you? Just consider this and draw your own conclusion.

Quang

 

[Tarok]

Hey Lee-Van

Lovely work. The tribal scarification on the bust is, IMO, quite on the conservative side - be that as it may it suits the face. Scarification is still very much practiced throughout Africa.

I really love the West African fleshtones you achieved. What did you use?

Groetjes

Rudi

 

[jacksparrow1979]

Stunning! Just the kind of thing I've been looking for. A 100% buy for me. Wouldn't mind seeing the option of adding an Adrian helmet to him to replace the hat.

 

[Bluesking]

What a bust !!!! tHERE WILL BE A LOT OF THESE ON NEXT YEAR'S COMPETITION TABLES.

Your Mojo was fully in play with this one Elwood

 

[tonydawe]

Lovely bust Quang. A very interesting bust of just one of the colonial forces fighting on the Western Front.

Cheers

 

[IIICorps]

...A 100% buy for me....

A 100% pass for me. I have no interest in the subject, but I can admire and respect the abilities of the sculptor and the painter. Excellent work.

 

[Dan Morton]

Excellent!!! Great sculpting!

All the best,
Dan

 

[Anders Heintz]

Anders Heintz: You wouldn't think of McCain if I were to sculpt an aging white man. Or would you? Just consider this and draw your own conclusion.

Such an ignorant assumption! Im not going to fall for your 'own conclusions' trap.

The sculpt looks like Obama, nothing more, nothing less. It's not a dead ringer but close enough to carry a resemblance. If you did sculpt an older guy who looked like McCain I would say the same thing.

 

[GARD9]

Excellent work Quang.

Mine are already on the way. Can't wait! This should be fun.
As I understand it, the scarring is in some ways like the markings of a war plane or tank. Some stand for tribe, family, or region. Some are like badges or reminders of some feat or fallen family or friend. Some are like kill marks. Shocking at first site but, a source of pride and dignity for the wearer.
As Rudi said, still very much practiced today in Africa (and by some kids in my neighborhood).
Very cool Quang.
Thanks,
John

 

[JBoisson]

Anders Heintz: You wouldn't think of McCain if I were to sculpt an aging white man. Or would you? Just consider this and draw your own conclusion.

Quang[/QUOTE]

Quang, only if you sculpted him with that early-stage dementia look in his eye!
John B.

 

[bonehead]

Nice one Quang! Yes, mojo fully in play........

Mike

 

[Centaur]

Dear Quang again- you realised it- really beautiful work, better than I was thinking, you bring the pendant to the australian- ebony and ivory- Thanks my friend

 

[quang]

Thank you friends, for the kind words.

As for the scarification, no doubt there were social and religious origins but IMO its first purpose was purely aesthetic. It's still prevalent in Africa indeed but not so common as 50 years ago. HERE's a fine article about it .

Concerning the skin tones, I used oils over a light olive green acrylic (Vallejo) undercoat. The light green undercoat is essential as it gives the general 'tone' to the skin (keep in mind that what we call 'black skin' can vary from very dark to light brown with hues ranging from blue-black to red-brown). Here's a photo of my palette with the different mixes.

Any more questions? Just shoot.

HTH,
Quang

 

[megroot]

Excellent creation Quang.
I really like it.

Marc

 

[Roc]

Very nice indeed.
Thanks for sharing.


Cheers
Roc