Sunday, August 22, 2010

Round Up the Usual Suspects - 1

I will close out the figures part of the IPMS Nationals with a few of the many excellent pieces that caught my eye. Certainly this bust of Wolverine from Marvel Comics' X-Men is a stellar example of the quality of craftsmanship out there. I don't know if this is a kit, but the sculptor did a magnificent job of capturing Wolverine's ferocity. The modeler's finishing job of painting, coloring and shadowing was equally outstanding. I thought the glare of the ceiling light on the other side of the curtain made for a cool image. I was very happy with the resulting photo.

I particularly liked the finish on the werewolf's tongue in the above piece! It looked so real. And the drool was nicely disgusting, too. Again, I don't know if this was a kit and how much was the original sculptor or how much was the modeler, but the end result is amazing.

King Kong was another nicely finished figure. The little Fay Wray was well done, too.

Every convention has to have the perquisite "Chick-in-Chain-Mail" entry in the figures contest. It's a Science-Fiction/Fantasy staple and since the majority of modelers are male, models of scantily clad Amazon women are a staple, too. While there is something totally illogical about going into combat in a metal bikini, it is nice to look at. In retrospect I suppose it makes about as much sense as the Picts painting themselves blue and fight naked. I know what I'd prefer to look at....

Historical figures are very much a staple of IPMS conventions. There are lots and lots of plastic, resin or metal figures available (one of the few exceptions to the "majority plastic composition" rule IPMS) covering virtually the entire range of human history. The Spartan Hoplite (above) and the armored knight (below) are but two examples.

I hope you all enjoyed the figure round-up. Next we'll look at some aircraft models.

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