Thanks for the comments, guys.
Right, time to get on with the arms and hands
First we need an armature wire, which will be drilled into the shoulder. As I mentioned in my ‘rant’ to Gerry, I do like the various separate parts to have an unambiguous fit if the figure is for sale, but it’s equally important during the sculpting not to have the armature waving about in space. So the first thing I do is to create a square, tapering hole in the shoulder, which will form a square peg when we apply the Milliput of the armature. This ensures that when the arm goes in and out it can only fit one way. I then drill though the hole and insert my twisted copper wire.
I did the same for the other side and positioned the arms roughly for starters. I have left the wires over length and I will trim them once I am happy with the proportions
As I have already said, hands are the most difficult of all to sculpt, but they are a bit easier if they are gripping something because you can use the object as a base to keep the putty in place. Luckily we need a lovely big chunky 6” shell for our guy’s left hand. I have some shells 3D printed in resin, and because it will be preferable for it to go in the oven when I cook the hand I did a trial (when SWMBO was out
); all my fears of melting or stinking were proved to be groundless, thank goodness.
I need a positive fix of the shell to the arm so I have drilled the end of the shell. I have made sure it is sitting properly on the shoulder – I will probably add some clay to the shoulder afterwards to improve the impression of weight.
I Vaselined the arm sockets then inserted some Milliput, making sure it goes all the way into the plug hole.
Then I put Milliput all around the armature wire and poked the end of it through the Milliput into the hole.
I did the same with the other arm and left it overnight to cure
Once it had cured I carefully wiggled the arms out of their sockets
I carved away the excess Milliput, in particular at the shoulder joint and the hand area, and I defined the cuff position.
I've created a sort of spatula shape as a foundation for the hand.
In keeping with my ‘inside out’ approach I am going to work on the hands first and cook them solid before I do the sleeves themselves.
So that will be the next installment, but I've just had my mojo sabotaged by spending a combined 90 minutes on hold to a windscreen replacement company who let us down yesterday and can't give me another appointment until NEXT SATURDAY!
I've come over all Victor Meldrew
I don't BELIEVE it!