Here is another of the figures in the 1/48 WWII line. These first few are being made to hammer out the exact look of the line, the balance between realism, character and utility. For me this is the most technically demanding type of sculpting, which is why it appeals.

The mind is designed to perceive irregularity in context. Finding a wonky teacup in a jumble of crockery is difficult, spotting it when it’s laid out in a row of perfect ones is easy. As things become more correct smaller and smaller faults become noticeable because we see imperfections by contrast to the background. It’s a sort of feedback loop, the more exact you make the figure the more exact it must be. This cycle continues until the limit of perception is reached. Half the time spent sculpting a figure like this is in making it precise. With historical figures the challenge is even greater, since real rather than imaginary clothes and equipment must be depicted.

It follows naturally, most people can’t see the degree of precision until a figure is compared, side by side, with one not as precise, or with a photo of an actual person. The most sublime artifice is invisible.

This particular figure is an attempt to depict a more distinctive anatomy, a thin, wiry fellow and a continuing development of ways to depict the clothes so as to make them look lived in without striking the viewer as too odd. I’ve adjusted the helmet cover, for example to show the distinctive shape of the German helmet. In actual photographs the cover often tends to obscure but since the helmet shape is an important indicator I decided for the sake of character I should depict the cover in a way that makes the shape clear. The result is a cover which is still realistic but happens to show the shape better.

I should add - I know the helmet and smock get loops, they aren't on this model because it isn't done, these pictures were taken to show the client the size of the cast pieces I made, the gas mask holder, canteen, mess kit, shovel and grenades. I'll be adding the loops when I finish it.

This entry was posted by Tom Meier on Friday, October 13. 2006 at 16:16. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own blog.

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  1. Rob W. says:
    #1 2006-10-13 17:10 (Reply)

    Nice figure, he has a lot of personality to him, looks like he has had a tough time.

    Can we have a wood elf with an MG42 :-)

    Rob

  2. Jonas D says:
    #2 2006-10-15 10:36 (Reply)

    Hi Tom,
    I really love your miniatures! It's amazing, what detail in scale can be done on them. I am a sculptor myself and (I have to admit) learned about your work just some time ago. I really take it as inspiration, so I couldn't write all my questions here. I also would love to show you some of my work so you can comment on it.
    But I do have some questions to ask here:
    - I suppose you work mostly with a magnifying glass, do you?
    - What tools do you use for achieving the complexity in your faces and details? I suppose there are some scalpels included, aren't there?
    - I would love to see a picture of a just-started miniature, to see where you put your accents when starting off. Is that possible?

    Gretts from Germany
    Jonas

  3. Tom says:
    #3 2006-10-16 20:51 (Reply)

    - I suppose you work mostly with a magnifying glass, do you?

    I use a wide-field dissecting microscope with two magnification powers 2.5X and 5X. I find it superior to a simple lens or a binocular magnifier like an Optivisor because it doesn’t require the eyes to converge. I used to get eyestrain after working with an Optivisor for years.

    - What tools do you use for achieving the complexity in your faces and details? I suppose there are some scalpels included, aren't there?

    I use two simple tools I made myself for nearly all my small work. One is a blunted #11 Exacto blade, used as a spatula, the other is a wood dowel with a loop of wire in one end and a sewing needle with a bent tip in the other. I use scalpels for cutting off excess material but I don’t carve figures in epoxy, I model them, that is I push on a soft material rather than cut away a hard one.

    Detail is not just laying a fine line down, that part is relatively easy. It’s also getting the shape right and doing it fast if you work in epoxy. When the object is problematic such as showing the shape of a body under a complexly folded garment this can be difficult.

    - I would love to see a picture of a just-started miniature, to see where you put your accents when starting off. Is that possible?

    Several people have asked about this and I suppose I’ll have to get around to it sometime, though I don’t think it will communicate much


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