Step By Step Sculpt Part 01!

I haven't had much time to do any commercial sculpting over the past year or so, been to busy with other model making projects. However, I have just started my second job for Wild House Models. Last year I sculpted their Captain Kass figure, as part of the Stasis Pod crowd-funded kit. Due to the limitations of the pose for that kit and also the extremely streamlined outfit that she was wearing I found it quite a difficult sculpt and although I was reasonably please with the finished figure, I felt I would have liked to spend more time on it, had it not been on a tight deadline.

Usually I don't show sculpts I am working on until they are publicised by the clients, however, Wild House Models have already published the reference artwork for the two new figures that I am working on so this time I can put up photos as I go along.

I have always sculpted using epoxy putties, either Kneadatite Green/Yellow (Greenstuff) or more recently ProCreate, however I have been keen to try some polymer clays for some time, as working with a medium that remains workable indefinitely, until you bake it, certainly has it's appeal. So I have decided to step into unknown territory with this one. I am sure I will still end up using ProCreate on some parts of the model, but I aim to use polymer clay for the majority of it.

Lets get to it! Firstly, we need to take a look at the artwork that I have for reference. The two figures are a doctor and a nurse. I shall be aiming to get the doctor figure (male) finished first and then following it closely with the nurse.

It is often easier to work on more than one figure at a time, as it allows you to carry on working while a piece you have finished is setting. Of course, with the use of polymer clay this may change, but for now I will start both figures together.

These figures will be designed to interact with a medical console and it is important that they are posed to fit it well. Wild House Models sent me the master 3D print of the console so that I can get some measurements of it and work out the exact posing. Unfortunately they need their masters back so that they can go for mould making to make the kit. Rather than take a few measurements and then hope for the best, I decided that I needed to make a quick maquette to use as reference. There was no need for any real detail on this so I just hacked it together from a few pieces of scrap styrofoam. As you can see from the photo, it matches the dimensions fairly well, and when I get to the finishing stages of the figures I will be able to pose them against it with some confidence that they will fit the finished kit...

As these are quite large figures, compared to the scale I normally work in, I have used some thickish copper wire for the armature. I bent two loops of wire and placed a straight piece up the middle, then soldered them together.

To get the armatures the correct size I use my Figure Size template. I recently added the 1/24 scale figures to it, especially for this job.

To add strength, and also bulk out the models, I used some Sylmasta A+B Modelling Putty (very similar to Milliput) and a little ProCreate.

In my next post I will actually start work with the polymer clay!