WIP Critique Plague Doctor 1650

[Gaudin]

Hi All,

Allow me to present my recent work - Plague doctor. I thought this theme has been untapped and being a medic myself it felt kinda close in a strange way.

1/10
green stuff mixed with magic sculpt, copper wire, sculpey firm as base and some GW plastic for the hat.

It was my first experiment with the mix, turned out very pleasant to work with, holds edges well, also its very easy to smooth into glass surface with vaseline (even with finger) so it doenst require any polishing after. Downside is that it doesnt behave nicely when cut/sanded due to rubber effect of greenstuff.

Bust is in 3 parts, the scarf will be attached to head rather than torso to streamline the parts

Please critique away
Sleeves still remain detached as I may rework them, but at this stage my eyes are too tired to see how - so please suggest.
The wooden cross isnt truly historical, it isnt however a far stretch of imagination to assume a christian doctor would wear one. Current one i dont like and it will be redone. Its fully detachable and optional.

 

[Gaudin]

Loosely based on 2 historical sources (below) - one is an original manuscript - probably the only good one availiable
Doktor Schnabel von Rom ("Doctor Beak of Rome"), engraving by Paul Fürst, 1656
and another is an original outfit held in a museum in denmark.

As medical thought of the time went, the belief was that plague was caused by miasma/putrid air so if you seal yourself in a suit and wear a mask - you will be fine. The leather mask's beak was filled with flower petals, herbs and incense. Eye sockets were protected by red-tinted glass to ward off demons. They would use a long stick to examine bodies and direct corpse carts.

Needless to say, fleas were able to get anywhere they wanted and plague marched on, killing thousands.
Being a plague doctor was unpleasant, dangerous, and difficult. Their chances of survival in times of a plague epidemic were slim

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Interesting subject. I have had one of these in mind myself. Contemporary drawings of such suits its actually comon. Or at least more common than one might think.

Cheers
Janne Nilsson

 

[captfue]

Interresting piece, I like the background information you gave with this. It helps to understand the subject.

 

[PHIL WALDEN]

Dimitry,you've got a very interesting subject here.It's period l enjoy studying..
The sleeves,l think if you have a close look at the print drawing that will show you all you want to know the way your sleeves should fall..it will be good to see the finished work..
good stuff Phil..

 

[Gaudin]

Phil, Anthony - thank you very much

Janne - yes, there were alot of period drawings I sifted through, but most look rather goofy, like a potato sack on the head or a scarecrow
I obviously discarded all carnival masks from the start.
The sources I chose seemed most realistic and sinister enough to make a good character

 

[Nap]

Hi Dimitry,

This is a very unusual piece and a veritable test of painting black and leather, how are you dealing with the lens? I would certainly love to paint one of these when finished so if you do casts keep me one .

Good to see the references , there is a "doctor" in the York Dungeon , and boy is it realistic ..coming complete with plague victim and stench and smells .

Not sure about the cross but like you say very possible ...have you thought about extending the project to include an arm holding the stick they carried as well ?

Keep us all posted on this please

Nap

 

[Martin Antonenko]

Rare and interesting sujet and very well made!

Bravo!!

 

[MCPWilk]

Please release this as a kit. Done in Bronze resin it would make a good desk ornament as well.

hapy Xmas,

Mike

 

[Gaudin]

Hi Dimitry,

This is a very unusual piece and a veritable test of painting black and leather, how are you dealing with the lens? I would certainly love to paint one of these when finished so if you do casts keep me one .

Not sure about the cross but like you say very possible ...have you thought about extending the project to include an arm holding the stick they carried as well ?

Nap

yep, the original plan was to include an arm with a stick to make the bust "ala carl reid " style but I was mindfull of my limitations and chose to revisit subject when I am more skilled

The way I was going to suggest the lenses would be small circles of clear plastic toy packaging tinted with red wash - that should look ace with properly painted leather. there is great scope to paint lots of scuffs and weathered leather, I am glad you like it

 

[Parkadge]

Good work. I have mixed magic sculp and green stuff in the past and and by altering the ratio you can get it to behave nicely when cut/sanded

The plague doctor is a fascinating subject

 

[housecarl]

Something a bit different, and nicely done.
Carl.

 

[smeagolthevile]

Are you going to release this as a kit? I ADORE and go NUTS for strange and odd subjects and this fits both of those! Plus its very nicely done!

Any chance you will release it for sale?


If you want some criticism on it though, re-do the brim of the hat. The way you did it looks WAY to static, it would be alot less stiff and have a bit more of a dynamic to it

 

[megroot]

Great, like this strange subject.

Marc

 

[Gaudin]

Are you going to release this as a kit? I ADORE and go NUTS for strange and odd subjects and this fits both of those! Plus its very nicely done!

Any chance you will release it for sale?


If you want some criticism on it though, re-do the brim of the hat. The way you did it looks WAY to static, it would be alot less stiff and have a bit more of a dynamic to it

Glad you like it

I thought hard about the hat - from what I can tell it would have been made of a thick felt and as such will be quite rigid - it certainly seems so in any reference pictures I have seen so it cant be similar to musketeer hat - more like rigid bowler hat , the pictures don't show it too well but the hat has a degree of concavity that reflects the pull of gravity on the brim.

I haven't planned a release yet everything is possible - if anyone interested to produce it please message me.

 

[billyturnip]

What a great subject and very well done. I remember seeing an illustration of one of these in a book when I was really quite young and it giving me nightmares.

Roger.

 

[sarouman]

I love the whole thing on one is a bit macabre but on the other are so artistic!
Although it reminds me quite Assasin Greed because lately was playing in the ps3
Too good on something that is not easily

Alexandros

 

[Gaudin]

Hi everyone,

This bust will be available soon so watch the news ( and you can see my painted version in Painting forum)

http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/plague-doctor-1650.54571/

 

[Uruk-Hai]

What took you so long?

Cheeers
Janne Nilsson

 

[Gaudin]

one needs a good kick up the backside and a bit of luck with someone to produce it.