YAF (Oh no not another one zzzzzzzz) Clive look away NOW

Well these are "sons of Plastiman" - The red one was another mock up made from plasticene, I rather liked him but needed one a tad smaller for El Edrig. I got a big lump of modelling clay from a Todo Cien shop, thats like a 50p shop. Of course I have not followed anyones advice nor plagiarised nothing wot others have done on this forum. Just like "Ole Blue Eyes" I done it my way.


Ok Clive , you go to work I'll take the commissions.

Carl thats not a modified Edrig you see, I think it came like that.

What the hell happened to your Edrig. It looks likes it's been in a fight with something.

You say it came like that...It must be one of those 'distressed' models.

Great figures though Patrick.

Oh and happy saints day for tomorrow in case I forget.

Oh , you noticed the smokebox hmmmmm. A case of drilling holes for handrails in the wrong place, then deciding I could infill with silver solder , then dropping it when it was still red hot. Had to do some panel beating to get it from square to round again. Of course I lost the paint in the process too. I've got this idea about making it a bit Spanish looking . You can blame David Grantham for that. It helps explain the driver who came over on a 747 from Ecuador to seek his fortune with just $1 in his pocket and high hopes, made his fortune by selling counterfeit CD's on the streets of Madrid, sold his "chain" for a huge profit to a Morroccan African and bought and has started to operate a preserved "via estrecha" in Northern Spain for his "retirement".

This is all incognito cos his 3 wives, 14 kids, MILs and various uncles and aunts are still awaiting the promised airfare to bring them over.

And he would like to meet Madame Benet very much.

Nice figures Patrick. not in clives class yet but i think they must be related to these two, my first go at it (still no better!);



Mikey

They're good Mikey, and they have hands and feet !!

Thanks for the explanation Patrick it's all clear now....
But at least the wheels turn on your Edrig.....do they?


And those figures Mikey are better than what I could do. Plasticard ok, People no.
Chacun son truc.

Good work Patrick! Is that bake-in-the-oven type stuff or does it cure on its own over time etc? I'd be interested to see it spray-primed, the facial detail looks interesting but the sheen of the material sort of masks it?

Ha caught you looking Clive !

Its a air cure clay,(€1.80 for a good sized block) takes a while for the body but limbs are about 12 hours. Its got a pipe cleaner skeleton so shouldn't be too brittle. He now has hands and feet, in the pics the face was very much like the "straw man" from Oz. I have built up his cheeks a bit and given him a chin now . Next job will be to do some fine filling and smoothing, before I have a go at colouring him in. I was going to use my "artist" acrylics - do you think I should use a spray primer first ?

The clay is v.much like terracotta and is matt when it dries, very hard tho'. I will have to test a bit to see what happens if it gets wet, don't want a blobby.

Overall it's a fun project so I am taking it fairly easy but I am having fun doing it and I suppose that's what we are all about. So far I am pleased and my wife is very impressed with my little man.

Patrick

Patrick, I'd spray prime it first - my own personal preference is grey, but whatever suits you really. For one thing, it's a great key for acrylic paint to hang on to, also it picks out the detail so aids painting.It will also show up any imperfections in the moulding, which whilst you might consider that an annoyance, is also beneficial because it shows quite obviously where filling/sanding etc is needed.

The air-drying clay I've used before (not for a figure, I would add) didn't take kindly to being out in wet weather for a sustained period, but should be ok if you're keeping it out of the wet. The spray-primer, if you elect to go down that route, should help to seal the porous surface.

But the main thing is, you're enjoying doing it! Only, keep posting pics mate!

Clive, need yer help here. Poor Pablo has had his arms cut off and they need to be altered a tad.

the as yet unopened Milliput seems to be hard, can it be softened a bit so's one can mix it ?

Thanks bud.

Hmm, tricky - this stuff does have a shelf life, which from my own bitter experience can be further shortened by keeping it in a consistently warm, dry atmosphere, e.g. a south-facing conservatory

You could try breaking off a small piece and kneading it for a good few minutes with wet fingers to see if that softens it. Not sure if it would work with the hardening part though, but worth a go I guess - failing that, its 'buy some more' time, sorry mate.

Or, I could send you a sufficient amount through the post? Mind you, it'll probably get cordoned off and subjected to a controlled explosion once the Feds see it go through their X-ray gismo... happy do try though, should you wish.

Thanks Clive, it may be beyond redemption but as I only need a small amount I can probably salvage some from the middle. (It seems to have "crusted" ) Pity, it took me forever to get some and even longer to get it to spain - funnily enough it slipped through in a coat pocket - I had forgotten all about it - I ended up taking it back to UK as well. It finally came over in a big suitcase.. I can get Green Stuff quite easily but have not seen milliput locally.


As an aside Clive - have you ever travelled with a reflective yellow jacket ? on your trips to Belfast. I was actually offered and got "staff discount" at Pret a Manger in Stansted on one occasion. I did get another"staff perk" that same day but can't recall what it was but the yellow jacket was the reason.