[Re-]Sculpture--Richthofen Bust

[Augie]

INTRODUCTION

A dear friend, after seeing my rendition of Udet, graciously presented me with a mint kit of Dragon/DML #5903— Manfred von Richthofen’s Dr.1 with 1/12th scale bust!!! Needless to say I remain dumbstruck, as I had never anticipated ever seeing one of these puppies ever again. Christmas came early this year!

Prepwork proceeded much along the same lines as the Udet bust. It was interesting to see the evolution of the design and production of these busts. Whereas Udet was essentially a two-piece casting, MvR—the first of the lot—was provided with separate arms. The molds are still relatively simple, but, IMO, more suited to the demands of the task. Aside from the cap (which again will not be used), the one thing both offerings share in common is the superb quality of resin and casting.

More to follow. . .

[Augie]

My rendition is based on the series of photographs, drawn from a variety of references, taken during MvR’s convalescence following the incident of 6 July 1917. “Secondary” images include a number of the well-known portrait shots. Magic Sculpt and Aves Apoxie White, both two-part epoxy-putties, will be the mediums employed in this project.

The Torso. There was little or no work done to the torso. The only area of concern was the rather loose fit of the head to the collar. This was easily remedied with a shim of epoxy putty along the collar line of the head, and pressing the head into place. The excess was trimmed off, but care was taken to preserve the “shim” as a readily-apparent distinct layer: this will later be painted as white to represent the “under-collar”.

Any additional work was largely cosmetic in nature: touching-up here and there (e.g., restoring a small section of collar-piping that probably broke off during demolding), spot-filling, and [minimal] reworking of the drapery to taste.

The Face. As before, Mike Good has not evinced himself as a portrait sculptor of note. In all fairness, some—though not all!--of the shortcomings might be a consequence of the molding & casting process; but if this is the case, it raises some other disturbing questions. Regardless, I do feel Mr. Good “nailed” the eyes, and thus qualifies the head for a “resculpt”.

Aside from the eyes, Richthofen’s defining features were the cheekbones and a strong jawline/chin. Most of the facial work will be defined by the correction of the slab-sided face with which we are provided. Once that is accomplished, it is just a matter of “filling in the blanks”, integrating the re-conformed underlying bone ("cheekbones") and muscular (superficial masseter) structure with the rest of the face. In so doing it is necessary to broaden and “shift” the chin slightly to the left, and broaden the nose (NOTE: the nose is the one facial feature subject to the most lateral shrinkage during casting, hence usually requiring sculptural compensation on the master). Finally, the lips will be reworked to address the hypo-protrusion of the lower frontal face.

Once that is completed, one should immediately notice that the forehead will require some attention; however, this is best left until the next step.

That's it for today. All that remains is to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving--may it be enjoyed in good health and good company!

Augie

[Augie]

The head/face is just about done (images to follow shortly), and the time has come to consider the bandage.

Given the relatively poor quality of the images, any surface detail of the bandage is largely "burned"; hence it is difficult if not impossible to determine the material of the bandage, and more importantly how it was applied and secured. It does not appear to conform to any of the then-standard methods by which dressings were applied to the head, most notably the absence of at least one wrap around the jaw. Also there does not appear to be a point where the bandage is secured and/or tied-off.

Hence, it appears to me that the head "bandage" used on MvR was either an adhesive "plaster", or perhaps even a light plaster skullcap (cast). I am leaning towards the latter as it would have provided some protective features, as well as providing immediate access to the wound area.

Any thoughts, comments, etc. are welcome and appreciated.

More to follow. . .

[Tim West]

Cool projects, thanks for sharing!

The bandage photo is the best side profile I could find for MvR. I agree that in the image it appears that the "cap" has some rigidity to it. In the copies I have, you can see some detail of the guaze or bandages. Also you can see atleast 2 layers of material....where the cast was cut. The bottom piece looks to be softer than the one covering it. This supports your view.

Anyhow cant wait to see him done.

[Augie]

Hi Tim,

Thank you for your kind comments. And thank you and the Aerodrome community for allowing me to share my work with you.

Originally Posted by Tim West

. . . Also you can see atleast 2 layers of material....where the cast was cut. The bottom piece looks to be softer than the one covering it. . .

PRECISELY! That's what got me thinking. There is the apparently rigid, whiter, gauze "shell", and then the ends of what I interpret to be muslin dressings peeking out from the edges. In other images, there is what appears to be some space between the edges of the "skullcap" and the head.

Regardless of how I end-up depicting it (soft vs. hard), the approach will be the same: at this point, I plan to model the dressings in situ on the head, and then make a removable skullcap. No, no. . . I'm not going "action figure" ; but it will make painting easier when the time comes, as well as allow me to keep things in their proper perspective and proportions.

Not too much longer now. Thanks again!

Augie

[Augie]

As with Udet, the head is provided “topless”, with the cap being a flush fit to the demi-head. Thus the first step is restoring the top-half of the skull, the cranium.

Once the full head was restored, I began [re]sculpting in earnest. The initial rough-in was done systematically in the following order using Magic Sculpt: cheeks, jawline, nose, chin, mouth, and forehead. The face was then worked per normal with motortool and #12 X-acto blade. With the right side of the face (left to viewer) now all but done, I took the first tentative steps with the bandage: the compress over the wound is now tentatively in place.

To date. . .

Augie

[Tim West]

Nice, he looks fleshy now. MvR seems thin but still had those jowel<sp> thingies going on.

[Augie]

Hi Tim,

It is interesting--at least to me--how the studio shots are much more "thinning", and some would say "flattering", than the "on-site" shots. The studio shots suggest a longer and leaner face than the latter appear to support.

Having said that, the left side of the face still needs to be pared down some, and that, once done, should pretty much wrap it up.

In the meantime, I roughed-in the "skullcap" earlier this evening, allowing it to air cure. Just a few minutes ago, I was able to pop-off what will be the head bandages, popped it back on, and the bandaged head (2 pieces) is now curing in the oven.

Thanks again for your interest and your observations!

Best,

Augie

[Rich74]

Augie,

Another bust!
This one should pair nicely with your bust of Udet.

I enjoy seeing your creative process.
Looking forward to the next update.

Rich

[Augie]

The second of hopefully many, my friend; though whomever does follow will be my work from the proverbial ground, up.

Yep, you guessed it! This will be the second in a pairing of Germany's top aces in the Great War. I've managed to secure a couple of red-dyed, black-"footed" pedestal bases that should make for an attractive presentation.

The bandage is now in Phase 2 reduction and everything is falling into place rather nicely. I'll try to post an updated image in the next few days.

THANKS!

Augie