Sculpture--Udet Bust

[Augie]

Less than 24 hrs. later, and there is now a fully assembled bust before me!

Things went A LOT quicker and smoother than anticipated, and all that remains to be done is the flight suit--and final wrap-up. Of course, "wrapping-up" sometimes takes as long as everything that preceded it , but it ain't over, until it's over.

I'm going to let the colors "settle down" for a day or two before tackling the flight suit. In the meantime, I'll try to post an ABD image as soon as most of the oil sheen burns off (less than 24 hrs.).

Until then. . .

[Augie]

As you can see, all that remains to be done is the flightsuit, the balance of the hair, the pedestal, and mounting it on its display base.

Perhaps by the weekend. . . A~

[AAC Cadet Leader]

Great to see some 3-D art going on here. Hope to see more of it.
How big is your Udet, Augie? In inches, that is.

[Augie]

Good morning, AAC.

Actual height of the bust itself is 2.35", with an overall ht. (including pedestal) of 3".

At the so-called "1/12th" scale (a scale convention used by commercial figure miniaturists/modellers that rarely has any basis in reality), this is a "baby" . The smallest scale that I will execute my originals is 1/10th, and I prefer 1/8th at the low end. Without getting into a long discourse, actual height depends on what proportional convention the sculptor selects to work in: I prefer the "natural" scale of 7 1/2 heads; most of my miniaturist colleagues elect the 8-head convention, which makes for a slightly smaller bust.

Udet is the first of two bust "resculpts" that I will do as my introduction/initiation? into the period. A dear friend presented me this weekend with a mint (still wrapped!), in-the-box kit of the Dragon/DML Dr.I with the bust of MvR, so that head is now on the bench undergoing reconstructive surgery. My final "resculpt" project (also in-progress) will be of Eduard's 1/16th/120mm MvR: new head, cap, Geschwaderstock, leggings, slight reanimation. . . PLUS the addition of a certain four-legged companion. After that, all stand-alone pieces will be originals. First up? I'm leaning strongly toward a full-length sculpt of Immelmann in 1/12th scale. . .

Thanks again! I should have images of the completed bust up within the week.

Augie

[karrart]

Originally Posted by Augie

After that, all stand-alone pieces will be originals. First up? I'm leaning strongly toward a full-length sculpt of Immelmann in 1/12th scale. . .

Thanks again! I should have images of the completed bust up within the week.

Augie

Looking good!
20 odd (very odd....)some years ago I did a 1/6 Boelcke- this kind of work can be fun. The main problem I had back then was a lack of good photos. Today I'd do a much better job on the likeness.
After sculpting hundreds of figures in the last 35 years, I've just about decided that 1/8 is my favorite- not too big, not too small.
The last figure work I did was almost 10 years ago..... and I like your Udet more! But it is rather inspiring and has me thinking "hmmmmmm.......maybe I ought to try one more for old times sake....."
Robert Karr
www.karrart.com

[Augie]

Good afternoon, sir!

And while the magazine (FSM, Jan/Feb 1985) itself is long gone, "Is my chin black" remains safely esconced in my T/L series Knights of the Air. I was then JUST beginning to think of a career as a sculptor, and it was quite inspiring. . . STILL IS!

Boelcke's a toughie. The man visibly ages before you, and it would be nigh unto impossible to render him without a chronological fenceline. Udet presented a similar, albeit less dramatic, challenge, visibly bearing the wear and tear of his service.

By way of clarification, while 1/8th is my preferred "low-end" on busts, for full-figures, I prefer 1/12th scale with 1/8th running a close second.

"hmmmmmm.......maybe I ought to try one more for old times sake....."

ABSOLUTELY!!!!!

Thanks for the kind words!

Augie

[Rich74]

Augie,

I'm enjoying watching your Udet bust come to life.
I especially like how you stained his face with oil. Nice touch.

I hope you'll share Immelmann with us.
Any future British aces in the mix?

Keep up the good work!

[Augie]

Hi Rich,

Thanks for the kind words and support.

That is certainly my intention. As you know, the research is in the early stages, and I don't foresee getting the Adler von Lille on the bench until late Spring at the earliest. In the meantime, the research continues and I get to experiment with tertiary colour mixes. . .

As to the British aces, as of this writing no--but ya never know! I've got a couple of "Yanks" on the tentative list, and a Canadian, but the game is barely underway.

Off to paint a flightsuit!

Augie

[MicroSculpt]

Augie:

I've been working along similar lines as you. Likenesses of WWI aces. I think you will find some of them more of a challenge than others. While we are blessed with good photo coverage of many German aces, the British were not into publicizing their aces (Try finding a wide variety of shots of Mannock!).

I have found it helpful to use frames captured from video clips to augment my photo references. A head turning frame by frame can reveal a great deal about the subject's features. I ended up resorting to this method on my Immelmann.

Great work! Look forward to your future projects.

Cheers!

Tom

[gipsymoth236k]

I bought this Udet bust along with the "Du doch nicht!!" D.VII model. Very nicely done!

Regards, Gary Sewall