elanlane13

Hellcat Pilots build log part: The Fourth
 
It was time to commit the body of the Fleet Air Arm pilot to the 'oven of terror ' (TM), so the clay could be baked before going on to the next stage. The title 'oven of terror' has nothing to do with the culinary skills of any member of the Lane family, but more to do with the feeling of nervousness I get when committing a clay master to the heating process. I had several problems with cracking when I initially used Bees Putty. However, after consulting others who had used the putty successfully, I learned that the trick was to leave the figure in the oven after it was turned off until it had cooled down. This had resulted in several bakings that had gone well.
 
Unfortunately knowing what to do is an inefficient foil to rank stupidity. I placed the master in the oven and retired to the computer to do some Elan13 Miniatures admin. I didn't set a timer, because they are for sissy's, allegedly. After the requisite 30 minutes baking when the oven should have been turned off, I was still doing admin...after another 30 minutes I was still doing admin (probably playing a game by now, but let's keep that between the two of us). Suddenly it dawned on me I had forgotten to turn the oven off. Language that would only be appropriate for a lads night out in the 1970's filled the house as I rushed into the kitchen. Fortunately I remembered not to open the oven door once it was turned off, but I did have a worrying time while waiting for the oven to cool.
 
Clearly the modelling gods were with me as the only effect to the figure was that it was a rather darker colour than usual, but there were no major cracks! Huge sighs of relief all round.
I could now begin the next stage which was adding the life preserver. I decided to do sculpt this in an open position, to show off some of the detail of the shirt and give a layered effect to the piece. The work was carried out with Magic Sculp epoxy putty. (I get mine from Sylmasta in the UK.) The smudgy snaps below show this done and the beginning of sketching in the left arm.
I do feel rather guilty about the lack of information about the US Naval pilot. Since we last saw him, he has moved on and now has a torso and head. The snaps below show this. The head is baked but the rest is still un-cured clay. This was a good job because those straps around his thighs are in the wrong place and will need fixing. More of that in Part: The Fifth.




 

Hellcat Pilots build log part: The Fourth
 
It was time to commit the body of the Fleet Air Arm pilot to the 'oven of terror ' (TM), so the clay could be baked before going on to the next stage. The title 'oven of terror' has nothing to do with the culinary skills of any member of the Lane family, but more to do with the feeling of nervousness I get when committing a clay master to the heating process. I had several problems with cracking when I initially used Bees Putty. However, after consulting others who had used the putty successfully, I learned that the trick was to leave the figure in the oven after it was turned off until it had cooled down. This had resulted in several bakings that had gone well.
 
Unfortunately knowing what to do is an inefficient foil to rank stupidity. I placed the master in the oven and retired to the computer to do some Elan13 Miniatures admin. I didn't set a timer, because they are for sissy's, allegedly. After the requisite 30 minutes baking when the oven should have been turned off, I was still doing admin...after another 30 minutes I was still doing admin (probably playing a game by now, but let's keep that between the two of us). Suddenly it dawned on me I had forgotten to turn the oven off. Language that would only be appropriate for a lads night out in the 1970's filled the house as I rushed into the kitchen. Fortunately I remembered not to open the oven door once it was turned off, but I did have a worrying time while waiting for the oven to cool.
 
Clearly the modelling gods were with me as the only effect to the figure was that it was a rather darker colour than usual, but there were no major cracks! Huge sighs of relief all round.
I could now begin the next stage which was adding the life preserver. I decided to do sculpt this in an open position, to show off some of the detail of the shirt and give a layered effect to the piece. The work was carried out with Magic Sculp epoxy putty. (I get mine from Sylmasta in the UK.) The smudgy snaps below show this done and the beginning of sketching in the left arm.
I do feel rather guilty about the lack of information about the US Naval pilot. Since we last saw him, he has moved on and now has a torso and head. The snaps below show this. The head is baked but the rest is still un-cured clay. This was a good job because those straps around his thighs are in the wrong place and will need fixing. More of that in Part: The Fifth.




 

Hellcat Pilots build log part: The Fourth
 
It was time to commit the body of the Fleet Air Arm pilot to the 'oven of terror ' (TM), so the clay could be baked before going on to the next stage. The title 'oven of terror' has nothing to do with the culinary skills of any member of the Lane family, but more to do with the feeling of nervousness I get when committing a clay master to the heating process. I had several problems with cracking when I initially used Bees Putty. However, after consulting others who had used the putty successfully, I learned that the trick was to leave the figure in the oven after it was turned off until it had cooled down. This had resulted in several bakings that had gone well.
 
Unfortunately knowing what to do is an inefficient foil to rank stupidity. I placed the master in the oven and retired to the computer to do some Elan13 Miniatures admin. I didn't set a timer, because they are for sissy's, allegedly. After the requisite 30 minutes baking when the oven should have been turned off, I was still doing admin...after another 30 minutes I was still doing admin (probably playing a game by now, but let's keep that between the two of us). Suddenly it dawned on me I had forgotten to turn the oven off. Language that would only be appropriate for a lads night out in the 1970's filled the house as I rushed into the kitchen. Fortunately I remembered not to open the oven door once it was turned off, but I did have a worrying time while waiting for the oven to cool.
 
Clearly the modelling gods were with me as the only effect to the figure was that it was a rather darker colour than usual, but there were no major cracks! Huge sighs of relief all round.
I could now begin the next stage which was adding the life preserver. I decided to do sculpt this in an open position, to show off some of the detail of the shirt and give a layered effect to the piece. The work was carried out with Magic Sculp epoxy putty. (I get mine from Sylmasta in the UK.) The smudgy snaps below show this done and the beginning of sketching in the left arm.
I do feel rather guilty about the lack of information about the US Naval pilot. Since we last saw him, he has moved on and now has a torso and head. The snaps below show this. The head is baked but the rest is still un-cured clay. This was a good job because those straps around his thighs are in the wrong place and will need fixing. More of that in Part: The Fifth.




 

Hellcat Pilots build log part: The Fourth
 
It was time to commit the body of the Fleet Air Arm pilot to the 'oven of terror ' (TM), so the clay could be baked before going on to the next stage. The title 'oven of terror' has nothing to do with the culinary skills of any member of the Lane family, but more to do with the feeling of nervousness I get when committing a clay master to the heating process. I had several problems with cracking when I initially used Bees Putty. However, after consulting others who had used the putty successfully, I learned that the trick was to leave the figure in the oven after it was turned off until it had cooled down. This had resulted in several bakings that had gone well.
 
Unfortunately knowing what to do is an inefficient foil to rank stupidity. I placed the master in the oven and retired to the computer to do some Elan13 Miniatures admin. I didn't set a timer, because they are for sissy's, allegedly. After the requisite 30 minutes baking when the oven should have been turned off, I was still doing admin...after another 30 minutes I was still doing admin (probably playing a game by now, but let's keep that between the two of us). Suddenly it dawned on me I had forgotten to turn the oven off. Language that would only be appropriate for a lads night out in the 1970's filled the house as I rushed into the kitchen. Fortunately I remembered not to open the oven door once it was turned off, but I did have a worrying time while waiting for the oven to cool.
 
Clearly the modelling gods were with me as the only effect to the figure was that it was a rather darker colour than usual, but there were no major cracks! Huge sighs of relief all round.
I could now begin the next stage which was adding the life preserver. I decided to do sculpt this in an open position, to show off some of the detail of the shirt and give a layered effect to the piece. The work was carried out with Magic Sculp epoxy putty. (I get mine from Sylmasta in the UK.) The smudgy snaps below show this done and the beginning of sketching in the left arm.
I do feel rather guilty about the lack of information about the US Naval pilot. Since we last saw him, he has moved on and now has a torso and head. The snaps below show this. The head is baked but the rest is still un-cured clay. This was a good job because those straps around his thighs are in the wrong place and will need fixing. More of that in Part: The Fifth.




 

Hellcat Pilots build log part: The Fourth
 
It was time to commit the body of the Fleet Air Arm pilot to the 'oven of terror ' (TM), so the clay could be baked before going on to the next stage. The title 'oven of terror' has nothing to do with the culinary skills of any member of the Lane family, but more to do with the feeling of nervousness I get when committing a clay master to the heating process. I had several problems with cracking when I initially used Bees Putty. However, after consulting others who had used the putty successfully, I learned that the trick was to leave the figure in the oven after it was turned off until it had cooled down. This had resulted in several bakings that had gone well.
 
Unfortunately knowing what to do is an inefficient foil to rank stupidity. I placed the master in the oven and retired to the computer to do some Elan13 Miniatures admin. I didn't set a timer, because they are for sissy's, allegedly. After the requisite 30 minutes baking when the oven should have been turned off, I was still doing admin...after another 30 minutes I was still doing admin (probably playing a game by now, but let's keep that between the two of us). Suddenly it dawned on me I had forgotten to turn the oven off. Language that would only be appropriate for a lads night out in the 1970's filled the house as I rushed into the kitchen. Fortunately I remembered not to open the oven door once it was turned off, but I did have a worrying time while waiting for the oven to cool.
 
Clearly the modelling gods were with me as the only effect to the figure was that it was a rather darker colour than usual, but there were no major cracks! Huge sighs of relief all round.
I could now begin the next stage which was adding the life preserver. I decided to do sculpt this in an open position, to show off some of the detail of the shirt and give a layered effect to the piece. The work was carried out with Magic Sculp epoxy putty. (I get mine from Sylmasta in the UK.) The smudgy snaps below show this done and the beginning of sketching in the left arm.
I do feel rather guilty about the lack of information about the US Naval pilot. Since we last saw him, he has moved on and now has a torso and head. The snaps below show this. The head is baked but the rest is still un-cured clay. This was a good job because those straps around his thighs are in the wrong place and will need fixing. More of that in Part: The Fifth.




 

Bryan, the two Hellcat pilots will become part of the Elan13 Miniatures range. The aim of this series is to show the different stages from concept, through sculpting to casting, box art and finally bringing a product to market. 
 
Yours
 
Robert

Completed!
 
No.41 Squadron RAF, Summer 1941.
This MKIIa was donated to 41 Squadron by the 1st Canadian Infantry Division.
Pilot:  Pilot Officer Henry Lloyd Maurice Young, RCAF.
KIFA 10/28/1941.
 
Commonwealth War Graves Commission information:
https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/2407239
 
** I took artistic licence by adding the 4 kills since they made the model look nicer****
 
build log:
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

Competing with my Mustang build is this wonderful kit.
 
Red Baron by The 3rd Placer, on Flickr
 
Red Baron by The 3rd Placer, on Flickr
 
Red Baron by The 3rd Placer, on Flickr
 
Red Baron by The 3rd Placer, on Flickr
 
Red Baron by The 3rd Placer, on Flickr
 
Red Baron by The 3rd Placer, on Flickr

Hellcat pilots build log. Part: The Third   The smudgy snaps below show more progress with the Fleet Air Arm pilot. I have worked on his shirt and refined some of the detail on the shorts. As with the shorts, his shirt is made of cotton so some liberal creasing was added. I was fairly pleased with the progress, but my smugness was soon shattered (if you can shatter smugness) when I realised most of this work will be invisible once his life preserver is added!   I have also included some snaps of progress for the US Navy pilot. He has legs! As will be seen in the next couple of instalments, they may not stay as they are depicted here however.   All sculpting is still using Bees Putty, with only the head of the FAA pilot baked so far. This means changes are relatively easy to make if proportions or equipment look wrong. As an experienced sculptor this never happens....or perhaps it does...often.
 
In response to Tim's enquiry, Max is right so far only Bees Putty has been used for sculpting, over a Magic Sculp and wire core. This is a clay, which has to be baked in the oven to harden. As mentioned above this has the advantage of enabling changes to be made fairly easily. However, it has the disadvantage of detail being lost by less than dexterous application of a wayward digit. This happens often, but is worth the initial frustration and gnashing of teeth.
 

Hellcat Pilots build log Part: The Second
The second part of the build log (with accompanying smudgy snaps) shows the development of the Fleet Air Arm pilot. After basic mannequin build up I always sculpt the head next. While proportion is key to a figure, for me the head is the most important part. If its wrong the whole figure will feel wrong. The head was sculpted using Bees Putty. I wanted a bearded face, to make the figure a little different and ensured I had reference for this. If a commercial piece is being sculpted accuracy is important. Any error will be criticised by someone!
The head helps also with proportions. A standard figure should be 7.5 heads tall (heroic figure 8 heads tall). It also begins to give the figure attitude and helps develop the pose.
 
The next step was to add more detail to the legs. This pilot wears shorts so the legs needed detail and were built up with Bees Putty. Once the legs were done the shorts were added, again with Bees Putty. Some work was also done to correct the position of the crotch. The actual shorts are made from a cotton which creases a great deal so it was important for this to be represented.
 
In the third part I will update on the US Navy pilot and realise I have wasted my time with some detail work !
 

Bryan, the two Hellcat pilots will become part of the Elan13 Miniatures range. The aim of this series is to show the different stages from concept, through sculpting to casting, box art and finally bringing a product to market. 
 
Yours
 
Robert

Bryan, the two Hellcat pilots will become part of the Elan13 Miniatures range. The aim of this series is to show the different stages from concept, through sculpting to casting, box art and finally bringing a product to market. 
 
Yours
 
Robert

Bryan, the two Hellcat pilots will become part of the Elan13 Miniatures range. The aim of this series is to show the different stages from concept, through sculpting to casting, box art and finally bringing a product to market. 
 
Yours
 
Robert

Hellcat pilots build log. Part: The Third   The smudgy snaps below show more progress with the Fleet Air Arm pilot. I have worked on his shirt and refined some of the detail on the shorts. As with the shorts, his shirt is made of cotton so some liberal creasing was added. I was fairly pleased with the progress, but my smugness was soon shattered (if you can shatter smugness) when I realised most of this work will be invisible once his life preserver is added!   I have also included some snaps of progress for the US Navy pilot. He has legs! As will be seen in the next couple of instalments, they may not stay as they are depicted here however.   All sculpting is still using Bees Putty, with only the head of the FAA pilot baked so far. This means changes are relatively easy to make if proportions or equipment look wrong. As an experienced sculptor this never happens....or perhaps it does...often.
 
In response to Tim's enquiry, Max is right so far only Bees Putty has been used for sculpting, over a Magic Sculp and wire core. This is a clay, which has to be baked in the oven to harden. As mentioned above this has the advantage of enabling changes to be made fairly easily. However, it has the disadvantage of detail being lost by less than dexterous application of a wayward digit. This happens often, but is worth the initial frustration and gnashing of teeth.
 

Thanks for explaining the rationale behind it Robert.  I'm looking forward to trying out my "skills" in the not-too-distant future, lots to learn without a doubt but then that's part of the challenge isn't it?! 

Hellcat pilots build log. Part: The Third   The smudgy snaps below show more progress with the Fleet Air Arm pilot. I have worked on his shirt and refined some of the detail on the shorts. As with the shorts, his shirt is made of cotton so some liberal creasing was added. I was fairly pleased with the progress, but my smugness was soon shattered (if you can shatter smugness) when I realised most of this work will be invisible once his life preserver is added!   I have also included some snaps of progress for the US Navy pilot. He has legs! As will be seen in the next couple of instalments, they may not stay as they are depicted here however.   All sculpting is still using Bees Putty, with only the head of the FAA pilot baked so far. This means changes are relatively easy to make if proportions or equipment look wrong. As an experienced sculptor this never happens....or perhaps it does...often.
 
In response to Tim's enquiry, Max is right so far only Bees Putty has been used for sculpting, over a Magic Sculp and wire core. This is a clay, which has to be baked in the oven to harden. As mentioned above this has the advantage of enabling changes to be made fairly easily. However, it has the disadvantage of detail being lost by less than dexterous application of a wayward digit. This happens often, but is worth the initial frustration and gnashing of teeth.
 

Hellcat Pilots build log Part: The Second
The second part of the build log (with accompanying smudgy snaps) shows the development of the Fleet Air Arm pilot. After basic mannequin build up I always sculpt the head next. While proportion is key to a figure, for me the head is the most important part. If its wrong the whole figure will feel wrong. The head was sculpted using Bees Putty. I wanted a bearded face, to make the figure a little different and ensured I had reference for this. If a commercial piece is being sculpted accuracy is important. Any error will be criticised by someone!
The head helps also with proportions. A standard figure should be 7.5 heads tall (heroic figure 8 heads tall). It also begins to give the figure attitude and helps develop the pose.
 
The next step was to add more detail to the legs. This pilot wears shorts so the legs needed detail and were built up with Bees Putty. Once the legs were done the shorts were added, again with Bees Putty. Some work was also done to correct the position of the crotch. The actual shorts are made from a cotton which creases a great deal so it was important for this to be represented.
 
In the third part I will update on the US Navy pilot and realise I have wasted my time with some detail work !
 

Thank you all for the further feedback.
 
Tim; I'm using Bees Putty 100g, grey, tripple firm for these two figures.
 
Max; For 1/32 figures wire around 0.50mm should do. I must admit for this project I used the wire that was wrapped around a roll of chicken wire that I bought! The key is enough rigidity balanced with enough flexibility.

Thank you all for the further feedback.
 
Tim; I'm using Bees Putty 100g, grey, tripple firm for these two figures.
 
Max; For 1/32 figures wire around 0.50mm should do. I must admit for this project I used the wire that was wrapped around a roll of chicken wire that I bought! The key is enough rigidity balanced with enough flexibility.

Brilliant work Robert, you really should provide the option of a figure without the life preserver, I'm sure there'd be a market for it.

This just leaves me speechless. This is pure art. 
 
It's nice to have sharp figures done by 3D printing, but this is a different level of amazing. The hair and beard is so life-like, and the face on that figure is so expressive, and the creases on the shorts are so effective and realistic. It looks like thin fabric!  I don't even plan on building anything British Pacific Fleet but I would like to buy this figure and paint it! 
 
Richard
 

I'd say you've done this before.  Your detail and drapery is fantastic.
 
Sincerely,
Mark

Brilliant work! Certainly puts my scuplting efforts to shame!
 
Craig

Wonderful stuff Robert, I have real ambition to do some sculpting so your tutorial will be bookmarked and printed out for reference.

Hellcat pilots build log. Part: The Third   The smudgy snaps below show more progress with the Fleet Air Arm pilot. I have worked on his shirt and refined some of the detail on the shorts. As with the shorts, his shirt is made of cotton so some liberal creasing was added. I was fairly pleased with the progress, but my smugness was soon shattered (if you can shatter smugness) when I realised most of this work will be invisible once his life preserver is added!   I have also included some snaps of progress for the US Navy pilot. He has legs! As will be seen in the next couple of instalments, they may not stay as they are depicted here however.   All sculpting is still using Bees Putty, with only the head of the FAA pilot baked so far. This means changes are relatively easy to make if proportions or equipment look wrong. As an experienced sculptor this never happens....or perhaps it does...often.
 
In response to Tim's enquiry, Max is right so far only Bees Putty has been used for sculpting, over a Magic Sculp and wire core. This is a clay, which has to be baked in the oven to harden. As mentioned above this has the advantage of enabling changes to be made fairly easily. However, it has the disadvantage of detail being lost by less than dexterous application of a wayward digit. This happens often, but is worth the initial frustration and gnashing of teeth.