discussion Achilles and Hector - A Pair of 1/10 Busts

[Guest]

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My next project will be a pair of busts by Young Miniatures, representing Achilles and Hector of the Trojan War, though these are actually depictions of Brad Pitt and Eric Bana playing the roles in the movie 'Troy'. I didn't much like the film - all ninja fighting and a ludicrously macho Brad, but I have just read 'Homer and the Aether' by John Cowper Powys, a sort of paraphrase of 'The Iliad' which I really enjoyed.

I decided to start with Achilles, as he looked slightly easier:

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A wonderfully thought-out bust, making painting a bit easier than it would have been if things like the head was sculpted with the helmet, for example. The costume is very much a Hollywood re-invention, but I don't really mind that - Achilles dark and brooding, Hector the shining hero.

I've made a start on the head:

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This got increasingly difficult as the temperature rose and the paint began to curdle, so I had to stop with the hair just blocked in. The helmet will cover a lot, though it's quite loose-fitting, and the neck will be buried to quite a depth in the cuirass, hence the darker colouring.

 

[Neil Merryweather]

well it looks like there's a nice finish on theses castings
and he looks like Brad Pitt-what's not to like? :thumb2:

 

[Lee Drennen]

Peter. Very nice

 

[Guest]

Neil - I've no excuses with Young Miniatures castings - they're usually perfect, so any failure is down to me alone. I managed to break the nose-guard off the helmet while struggling to fix the comb. It's glued back on, filled and sanded, but it may have compromised the ribbing. Damn!

Lee - Thank you. I worked on the face a bit more as it got a cooler - lightening some of the lines and softening the shadows. We're terrible wimps in this country when the temperature hits 30+ celsius (86f to you in the US).

 

[Jim R]

Hi Peter
He looks good. Very Brad like.
Jim

 

[scottie3158]

Looks like we are in for another treat.

 

[Guest]

Jim - Thanks I thought I'd had enough of Brad after doing a 'Fury' figure.

Scottie - No pressure then!

 

[monica]

they look nice ,you can see the brad look to him,

 

[Guest]

I shall join the assembled masses.

 

[Guest]

Monica. - Hi. They're both quite scary and I'm just going to do my best to get a good finish rather than slavishly follow the colours on the box art.

John - Take a pew.

 

[SteveH]

Morning Peter

Lovely start on the Hollywood pair, there is a resemblance and you have caught the look of Achilles well.

The bodies and weapons will be impressive, with all the leather and metal, that will be worth the wait as the weather cools a little with thunderstorms due any time!

Enjoy the day and hopefully not too much curdling with the paints!

Thanks for the painting guide too.

Have a good day and keep everything hydrated, I have just watered all the pots, even though we have thunderstorms forecast for 9 am.

Its a clear sky so they will have to dash in from somewhere?

Regards

Steve H

 

[Guest]

Morning Steve from a thundery Kent. The storm started during the night and we've had heavy rain, but no drop in temperature - another 30+ forecast, dammit. At least the plants won't need watering today.

On to the helmet today, which I primed and sealed last night ready for dry-brushing. The join where I re-attached the nose-guard is a bit of a mess, so more work needed there.

 

[Guest]

The helmet:

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I've decided on more colour for this one, hence the brighter metallics and blue comb. The helmet was first painted black, then sealed with matt varnish. I next dry-brushed on several layers of Vallejo Bronze, then painted in the shadows and outlines with Matt Black. The final stage was to add highlights with Old Gold and pure Gold. Once the head was in the helmet, I finished off the hair.

Just as I finished a Spitfire flew low over the house, which I took as a sign of approval (the £3000+ round trips to Dover have resumed).

 

[Tim Marlow]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, your metallics are fantastic....

 

[Neil Merryweather]

can't see the join............. :thumb2:

 

[Guest]

Tim - Thank you. I certainly enjoy painting the,.

Neil - The nose-guard repair went reasonably well. Interestingly, looking at the box art I noticed that theirs was broken as well - there's a faint line there and some bumpiness. Makes me feel better.

 

[outrunner]

Lovely job going on there Peter.


Andy.

 

[Jason Crausby]

Lots of very very good stuff there Peter but the comb is superb!
Jason.

 

[Guest]

Andy - Thanks that man.c.

Jason Thanks also. The comb was easily painted by dry-brushing the blue over a black base, then re-drawing some of the lines with black.

 

[Guest]

I've done a bit more work to the head, mainly softening the lines around the eyes and tidying up the helmet:

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I'll leave it alone now.