Broken Down Angel

By Adrian Hopwood Full gallery at the end of the Article Company – Grey Matter Price – £9.99 Scale – 54mm Material – Resin Code – Sculpted by – Sean Dabbs Kindly sent in for review by Sarah and Tim at Grey Matters, this is a simple but effective offering depicting an angel down on her luck. I’ll deal with the sculpting first, and in places I have to say it’s superb. The wings for a start are both heavily detailed and very well sculpted – someone’s good at feathers ! Other areas are pleasing too – the face looks feminine, the clothing drapery is o.k. and small details – such as tears in the clothing and that little cross have translated well from master to casting. The casting is all that you’d expect from Grey Matters, it’s sharp and renders all that the sculptor has done. I feel there are a couple of points that are weak though – the eyes might be awkward to paint, as they are deep set and the pupil is depicted in a similar manner to how a classical sculptor would do things – a small hole - which defines the direction the eyes look in and so hems the painter into what he is able to do with a brush. Filler is an option I suppose, bit it’s a very small area, and getting just that point filled won’t be easy. The hands too are not perhaps the sculptor’s strongest point. Neither hand is too bad, they just look small in comparison to the face, and the figure’s right hand is rendered better ( in my opinion ) than the left. Otherwise, it’s a pleasing enough kit, there’s little to do regarding clean-up – some flash to get rid of between the legs and on the example I have here, there’s a very small amount of filler needed to smooth up a dimple on the arms above each elbow. The fit of the wings onto her back is very good, and some modellers might fill the very slim line where the two parts join. Personally I’d leave it as it is, simply to have a definite line where the two areas separate. The wings themselves are different lengths. It’s only slight, but this I believe is intentional, as the model depicts one fallen and thus damaged – so her wings show the fact. Are there changes I’d make ? One certainly - that being to remove the hem of her slip at the back and re-sculpt one that drapes over her heels or feet. The one on the model is a little thick and hovers somewhat. I think this is a moulding limitation, and is simple enough for most modellers to fix. Suggestions for the company – market those wings as a separate item - because I feel sure that someone will want to use them as a conversion addition on a 28mm figure. Whilst I’ve pointed out a couple of places on the model that might be less than perfect, I do feel that the sculptor has done a good job of the face. It’s unmistakable female, rather than as seen from so many others – a male face and body with bumps added to the chest – and looking closely at the face, I can see how she could be painted in very pale flesh-tones to depict an angelic looking character, or perhaps with more shadows and definition under the cheekbones to give her a slightly “bad” appearance. Once again a thank you to the guys and gals at Grey Matter fro the sample, this model being available for £9.99 plus p&p at the website address below. http://www.greymatterfigures.com/ Adrian.