Verlinden 1/5 English Archer Bust

[Deleted member 6559]

Lets see how we get on with this one then. Being a glutton for punishment, I'm going to attempt another 1/5 bust, this time Verlinden's dramatic depiction of an English archer. As you can see, he's been struck by an arrow, though if it had penetrated as far as the length of the shaft on the box art suggests he'd have been killed outright. He appears to be wearing the badge of John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury (a talbot being a hunting dog), a famous commander of the Hundred Years War.

The kit comes in several parts:



All well cast, but with some nasty mould blocks - removing the one on the helmet will be tricky. Also supplied was a length of plastic rod for the arrow shaft, but it was quite soft and bent double, so I'll use a more rigid alternative.

 

[Jim R]

Hi Peter
Another biggie. Quite an expressive face but understandable given the arrow in his shoulder.
Jim

 

[Steve Jones]

I hope the sculpt is a good one. Looking forward to seeing how this one turns out

 

[Deleted member 6559]

Jim - I think Verlinden should be applauded for having had a go at providing some extreme expressions. While they are not always completely successful, they're interesting to paint and test the skills.

Steve - A typical Verlinden sculpt. Not to everyone's taste, but I personally like them.

Before it gets too dark to photograph, here's where I've got with the head:



Tricky, but good fun. Lots to do yet.

 

[Steve Jones]

Glad you enjoyed the face Peter. I luv his look but he should have used Colgate

 

[Deleted member 6559]

Hi Steve. This wasn't too problematic for a change. It's funny that whenever Verlinden depicted Englishmen, of any era, they always gave them bad teeth.

 

[papa 695]

Nice work so far Peter.

 

[scottie3158]

Peter,
That is an excellent face mate up there with your very best.

 

[Deleted member 6559]

Ian - Thank you.

Scottie. Glad you like it so far. I thought I was going mad with the face on the Viking bust, since all of my usual techniques didn't seem to work. I was therefore very nervous with this one, but it has responded better to my usual approach.

 

[Richard48]

Hi Pierre.
Another Derek Holmes sculpt.I have the Military in scale magazine with his WIP on this one.The mail was made individually from wire i believe.He did everything in Miliput standard.Im sure you can beat this fuggly into submission with the paint and brushes.
Rich.

 

[Andy Belsey]

Great painting Peter. He's a bit of a Gollum, isn't he. He may have dysentery too? Not just that missing tooth to worry about!
I'm glad you're enjoying him.
Andy

 

[Deleted member 6559]

Ricardo - I keep forgetting Derek Holmes' name, but, yes, this is classically his. I was wondering how he did the mail on the Viking and I can see that it appears to be woven into a mat then applied to the figure - amazing.

Andy - Well, we can't all be good-looking Precious! As long as he has character. Not only dysentery, but I'm sure scurvy, lice, fleas and trench-foot as well.

 

[JR]

Peter .
Well he was probably right with the teeth, don't you just hate these modern films all with a mouthful of white teeth, but they were a crumbling mess .
Front seat please .

 

[Deleted member 6559]

Hi John.

Well British dentistry, or the lack of, is world famous. Actually it wasn't until people had access to refined sugar that teeth began to suffer. Prior to about 1500 it was very much a luxury, so only the rich had rotten teeth. Our man probably lost his in battle.

 

[JR]

Morning Peter .
Yes, thinking it I remember seeing that on a TV program about the arrival of sugar.
He's quite a size compared to 1/35 !

 

[Deleted member 6559]

Hi John - He's massive. I get quite an ache in my left arm from holding him after an hour or so. I had to put in an extra order for paint yesterday as I'm using so much.

 

[Jack L]

With all due respect to the original artist, you have certainly trumped the box art in my opinion.

 

[SteveH]

With all due respect to the original artist, you have certainly trumped the box art in my opinion.

Morning Peter,

I was really thinking that the box art is not a good reflection of the sculptor's efforts.

You have caught a very British complexion and given it a real face, unlike the poor box art.

Now you need much more paint!

It should be a good day painting, there is a lot of white in that tabard, a really big metal helmet and lots of natural fibres and leather.

Its grey awful and still cold here

You should have a fun day, just leave the little one on her own feet!

Have a good day

Regards

Steve H

 

[Deleted member 6559]

Jack - The box art is by Francois Verlinden himself, so I take that as a great compliment. To be fair, his faces look better close up - he had a tendency to put a layer of gloss varnish on the eyes, which caused unfortunate reflections.

Steve - Thanks as well. The pasty English complexion comes from looking in the mirror - especially at this time of year. Bit of a dull day here, so not sure how much I'll get done - babysitting tomorrow, so no painting.

 

[Deleted member 6559]

The head's finished: