Rencontre de patrouilleurs, 1916

[Dan Morton]

I probably should say SOME corrections made! The primer is still wet on this one, so I still have substantial cleaning to do and I may go back and sand in some places, but it is substantially finished. Some of the fingers look a little blocky and I'll go back and round them out, etc. One of the reasons they look blocky is the angles of the photos and the fact that in at least one case they're partly covered by fabric.

We have overcast clouds here in Omaha this morning so the colors are greyed out a bit - sorry!

Hope you like it!

All the best,
Dan

 

[jimias]

Great sculpting Dan.The pose you captured looks so alive as if the next second you ll take a look they will be down struggling!
Excellent!

 

[megroot]

Great sculpting Dan,

There is alot of action in it. Great work.

marc

 

[petit belge]

exceptionally good work Dan!

 

[quang]

Hello Dan,

Expressive poses like this one are rarely done (understandably because they're very difficult to 'pull off').

YOU have succeeded admirably. I particularly appreciate the slope of the groundwork/base to accentuate the off-balance stance of the two opponents.

You're a brave man, Dan. I tip my virtual hat off to you

Cheers,
Quang

 

[Dan Morton]

Dimitrios, Marc, Roger & Quang - Many thanks! I'm satisfied with the way it turned out. I think I could have gotten the pose a bit better. I wasn't trying for an exact match to the illustration, but I think I missed one important bit. The French soldier's knee and lower leg should have been almost between the German's two legs. My observation skills are still not what I want them to be.

Actually the things I like best in this are the faces of the two soldiers. I started with resin heads from Verlinden and Warriors and cut and puttied away. I added creases in the forehead of the German and reduced the size of his chin to something reasonable [it was ridiculous!]. With the Frenchman I started with the British paratrooper head (I think it's by Warriors?) and used the saw a lot! Then I gave him enough hair to be a respectable Poilu.

Quang - Did you see the illustration that I used as a basis? It's in an earlier post of the same title.

Now then - who wants to paint it?

All the best,
Dan

 

[georges64]

Hi Dan , a full action pose not easy to sculpt but you did it ! Bravo ! I hope painting comes very soon .
georges

 

[petermh]

Dan
excellent pose the figures relate to each other very well .Just one small point the german's right arm looks alittle thin below the elbow

 

[Dan Morton]

Peter - Many thanks! After checking it carefully from a couple angles, I agree, so I added just a small amount of putty in the thinnest part. Thanks for the tip!

All the best,
Dan

 

[Sambaman]

Dan,
the hands are MUCH better! They show much more action and intensity. Great action pose!

Jay H.
OKC

 

[Dan Morton]

Thanks Jay and thanks for the tip!

All the best,
Dan

 

[Dan Morton]

Georges - Many thanks! The painting will come about when I find a painter that wants to do it. These are the colors I had in mind for the uniforms. The German helmet probably should not be camo in 1916. Otherwise most things are right in both pics.

All the best,
Dan

 

[DaveCox]

Hi Dan,

Having already painted some of your pieces, I know the standard of your work close-up. The sculpting on this looks excellent, and the pose works well. It isn't easy to capture this kind of action in a 3-dimensional 'freeze-frame' like a model, so well done mate.
With the two figures locked together like that it'll be a real pain to paint though I reckon - count me out on this one!!!!!!

 

[Dan Morton]

That's quite all right, Dave. You will be busy shortly with the two figures of Ted Ball. I managed to prime the second last night and will leave him to dry over the week. I've noticed a couple of bits I want to sand and smooth but otherwise he's done. I will post photos next weekend when I'm back from my business trip.

I kinda thought that painters would not be eager to do this because of the closeness. On the other hand, it should be a bit of a challenge for anyone who dares it.

All the best,
Dan

 

[Marijn Van Gils]

Congrats Dan!

Great story and very dynamic composition! This is a very hard pose indeed, and I think you did great! Not too many people would even dare to try this...

Best wishes,

Marijn

 

[Dan Morton]

Many thanks Marijn! You are much too kind.

All the best,
Dan

 

[Christos]

I like this dynamic pose.It is full of energy!
keep up
christos

 

[Dan Morton]

Many thanks Christos! The vignette is in the mail to Jaime Gil Iglesias, who rose to the challenge! It will be very difficult to paint because it is fully assembled as you see it.

All the best,
Dan