I’m sure some of you have heard of the Soviet Night Bomber regiment in WW2 that was made up entirely of women. If not, then let Sabaton explain!
The bust itself is a simple enough affair with head, body and some extra bits for the helmet chin strap, comm wire and the bit that I assume plugged into the aircraft.
I replaced the resin bit of comm wire with some brass so it was easier to shape but that was the only mod I made.
Doing a bit of research into the ‘Night Witches’ led me to this photo which I think the bust is based on.
I wanted to try a new technique (to me) on this piece- for this one it was painting the goggles to look like lenses rather than using something like ‘Glue n’ Glaze’. This is basically painting the inner frame, the leather that would be visible under the lenses and then using white to build up reflected light at a particular angle.
As luck would have it, the box artist (Kirill Kanaev)for this bust also features both this piece and a lengthy section in his AK published FAQ book on painting things like this so I had a good guide.
That did not mean I got it right though! From some angles and viewing distances it looks okay, from others less so. As I’ve mentioned before with techniques it is a learning and discovery process- and something I’m looking forward to trying again.
Love what you have done with pulling out the stitching details, piping accent, the helmet weathering and googles look great. The one thing that is not coming across in the photos and it might be just be a camera thing is the “softness” of her face if that makes sense. You’re a 1000x better painter than I and not sure how to pull off that “softness” look of a female if that makes sense, that is the only thing “missing”.
Karl that is an excellent job! The uniform looks fantastic, and the face does too. I painted a bust of a female Russian tank commander a few years ago and I had trouble getting the softer facial tones to look right. You’ve done a great job !
@Tank_1812 -Thank you for the nice comments- I’m glad you noticed the blue piping- easily my favourite bit to do! Its interesting you and @metalhead85 comment on the female face as I too struggled with this- probably more than any other part of the figure. This is only the third female bust I’ve ever done and I struggled with all of them. I’ve been reading up a lot on the techniques and different approaches vs. painting a male face. This bust taught me a few does and don’ts and your feedback also helps as now I know it is noticeable enough for viewers to comment on. I’ve actually got another female figure bust on the bench just now, readying it for some primer- I’ll be hoping to make a little more progress with getting the face right.
@metalhead85 - Many thanks for your comments buddy, very much appreciated. I don’t think I quite realised how difficult getting that softer look on a female figure was until I first tried it- easily one of the more difficult and challenging aspects of figure modelling- particularly if, like me, its mostly male figures that are the subject of your figure work.
Karl the more I look at the bust, the more I appreciate the job you did. The shading and highlighting of the uniform is very nice, very subtle. The leather helmet looks spot on, and the goggles do as well. The piping and awards look excellent too. I might have to get this myself. Very inspiring!
PS: I forgot that about 25-30 years ago I did Verlindens Russian female sniper in 120mm and had a terrible time doing the flesh tones. The female Russian bust I did a couple years ago came better.
I appreciate that Richard, thanks. The awards were beautifully sculpted and cast so I was able to identify them and that made painting them a whole lot easier.
