Sunday 30 September 2012

A blast from the past - Sculpting my own models


I’ve previously mentioned a period when I wasn’t painting minis but in truth there’s rarely been a time when my hobby activity wasn’t related to mini painting in one way or another. I want to showcase some of the work I produced in this period as although it was produced during a time when I moved away from mini painting it ultimately led me back to the hobby with a renewed enthusiasm. 

Most relevant to this blog was the time I spent making Dr Who action figure customs. This was something that my mini painting experience equipped me for particularly well and it didn’t take too long for me to shift from customising to sculpting from scratch. It’s through sculpting that I became aware of the many online hobby communities and blogs that are out there. As a direct result I reconnected with the wider on-line mini painting community and started this very blog.

My sculpts were very much made as action figures hence the neutral poses and rather basic paint jobs. I started sculpting with green stuff as it was familiar to me it and It’s the only epoxy putty I’m not highly allergic to! Once I began trying to sculpt an entire figure from scratch I made the shift to Super Sculpey Firm and found myself on a very steep learning curve. 



Scratch built Dr Who action figure sculpts


My focus when sculpting these figures was on developing my technique and trying to capture a likeness (with varying results!). I then decided to try sculpting a couple of busts and found these far more creatively rewarding. I brought an element of design to these that I’d purposefully avoided with the figures. Painting the busts was also a more rewarding experience. I began to call once more on my mini painting experience in an attempt to create something more fully realised than the paint jobs on the action figure sculpts. Both of the busts I produced are my own re-imagined designs of classic Dr Who monsters.



Scratch built Silurian bust
Scratch built Sea Devil bust

It was just after finishing the Sea Devil bust that a fellow member on a Dr Who fan forum made me aware of the then newly released mini of the 11th Doctor sculpted by Steve Buddle. You can see where that led me by going to the start of this blog - my hobby interests had come full circle.

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