Ulama

By Adrian Hopwood Full gallery at the end of the Article Company - Roberto Chaudron Price – £34.00 Scale –1/9th scale Material – Resin Code – RC-BU01 Sculpted by – Roberto Chaudron A brand new range being brought into the U.K. by El Greco Miniatures, from the hands of a very talented French fellow, these are all fantasy orientated, but absolute little gems. I think this one’s based loosely on the African women who place multiple rings around their necks – certainly the skull structure is sloped more than a European face. Perhaps some of the other inspiration comes from the artwork done for the Star Wars films ( the first one, that everyone slated ) with the clothing of the Princess Amidala and her retinue. Just my thoughts, but something to look at if you want to gain a few painting ideas, or even for a little alteration or two. I think some of the SW fashion ideas came from Korean styles, so that too might be an avenue to explore. What ?……. Oh, the model……. Sorry, I should talk about that really. Sculpting is good, if I were to sight any area as being weak, then it might be the hair, but a lot of that is covered anyway, so I don’t think it will matter all that much. I do think that when you get this piece you’ll look at the components and wonder why areas like the ears are only hinted at – but it all becomes apparent once you start cleaning up the parts and having a dry run – it’s because such areas are going to be very well hidden, and the sculptor is thinking what he’s doing, rather than trying to render everything all at once. Casting – welcome to another planet ! Someone good is doing this, and the headdress parts are amazingly thin, considering that they’re perfectly formed. One lay-off here is that there’s quite a few breather pips to clean off the tips of the castings, but the resin is soft and easy to work, so it’s more time consuming getting it right, than any real hardship. The pips are there so that the parts cast perfectly, so it’s not as if they’ve no rhyme or reason to be where they are. Details on the surface of the model – the headdress, the clothing, decorations etc. are very clearly sculpted and have transferred from the mould very well indeed. But what I like most is that it’s definitely a female subject. Sculpting women is completely different from a male subject, and so many sculptors just seem to have problems rendering a convincingly feminine countenance. Not so here, the planes of the face are smooth and curve softly – it’ll be a bugger to paint, because of the lack of wrinkles, hard edged planes or sunken cheeks, but then that’s why rendering female subjects is just that little bit more satisfying. The sculptor’s given the painter a good start though. Hopefully we’ll get to see a few of these knocking about at the shows – it certainly deserves to sell well. The model is available from Matt and Celine at El Greco Miniatures at the address below, or by visiting their website. Adrian. El Greco Miniatures 63 Glebe Drive Brackley NN13 7BX United Kingdom Phone: +44 (0)1280 840364 Email:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Home Page: http://www.elgrecominiatures.co.uk