Corps.Natty's First Ever Custom

[Corps.Natty]

Hi Guys,

I'm a new member here who's just gotten into collecting, and I thought I would try my hand at making a custom figure - from scratch.

Now just so you know, this is only the fourth time I’ve worked with clay before and only my second attempt at modelling in 1/6 scale, so bear with me. I'm only 15 so don't be surprised if this looks hideously wrong.

I'm using cheap air-drying clay (the worst kind I know!) to make the head for my figure which is: John Simm as DI Sam Tyler from the BBC cop/sci-fi drama 'Life on Mars'.

I started out by fashioning a basic head out of clay, and then defining the main features until it formed a reasonable likeness.

I then refined the details bit by bit until I was happy enough to let it dry out a little. Once I was satisfied I went back and carved some of the finer details repeatedly and sanded it all down.

This is where it gets really weird! Not wanting to have to sculpt the neck, as well as the hollow inside that would allow my head to move, I took a saw to an old Action Man head my brother had lying around (BTW, that’s GI Joe for all you Yanks out there) and cut off the entire face! After doing the same to my clay head and grafting the two together I was left with something that looked alright. :chew

So, without further ado, here it is:

I started the painting phase by laying down a basecoat of burnt sienna and bult it up in layers from then.

So, there you have it for now. I still have to go over a lot of the details but to be honest it looks a lot worse on camera that it does in hand - really messy, and thats made even worse by the flash.

Once I get this done I plan to buy a body and repaint and dye a few clothes I have. Then who knows? hopefully I'll be able to start a Gene Hunt figure and follow it up with the rest of the cast. After all, you cant have Sammy without the 'Gene Genie'!


Nathaniel

 

[Les Walker]

Interesting work so far. Can you post some pics of the character from the show for us ignorant Yanks who don't have access to the BBC?
Looks cool though! Welcome in!

 

[Corps.Natty]

Thanks Les, I'll try and post some reference after school tonight.

 

[Roc74]

Dont know whothe character is, but sculpt from someone who has not worked with clay too much before, is very good. Great start, keep at it!

 

[DarkAngelDTB]

Hiya buddy.

Great work there on the John Simm head. I think you have got him almost spot on there apart from maybe his nose maybe slightly long and too wide at the tip.

Great work though. I would definitly recomend getting either some prosculpt or super sculpy. thats what I use. you get such a better finish to the clay and its so much easier to use.

all the best.

Dean

PS. For all you not in the know. Here is the man in question.

 

[Lord Vicious]

This is the first time you sculpted a head? Very nice work, buddy!!

 

[Corps.Natty]

Hiya buddy.

Great work there on the John Simm head. I think you have got him almost spot on there apart from maybe his nose maybe slightly long and too wide at the tip.

Great work though. I would definitly recomend getting either some prosculpt or super sculpy. thats what I use. you get such a better finish to the clay and its so much easier to use.

all the best.

Dean

PS. For all you not in the know. Here is the man in question.

Thanks for the comments everyone, its great to have someone appreciate your work.

Today's been an eventful one, not least because we had to walk from school down to Blackburn cathederal for our school's Easter service. Brr it was cold...

No, today, after school and following Dean's advice I stripped my head of that messy paint-job and started work defining the facial features more. This meant hours of labourous work sanding and sculpting with the pointy end of my compasses!

I have:

• added more clay to the bottom of the chin and raised the lips slightly to make the mouth more evenly positioned
• sanded down the cheeks and jawbone to make the head 'skinnier'
• brought the sides of the nose a mm in on both sides and thinned out the tip to closer match John's
• resculpted the eyelids and given the lower lids a more set back look

It all goes to make a much more realistic sculpt. I'll be finishing the hair and posting pics tomorrow.

On a side note I'll also be ordering some super sculpey and Character Options' 12" Doctor tomorrow. I've heard the horror stories about lack of articulation for this piece, but I won't be putting it in any dramatic poses anyway. Besides, with a quick repaint the Doctor's jacket will make a perfect leather one for Sam!

That reminds me - John Simm also played the Master in series 3 on the 'new Who', so anyone not familiar with LoM might recognise him from there.

Nathaniel

 

[Rogue Trooper]

Pretty darn good for your 1st attempt, ive yet to watch life on mars but got it ready to watch ondemand. With some improvement it willlook gogd but patience in the virtue.
Ah, i remember those day of having ot go to the church service from school, pretending to sing and being bored but a great skive.

 

[DarkAngelDTB]

Really looking forward to your updates Nathaniel. getting face scultps right is SOOO hard. I have tried and its not an easy thing. For a beginner your skills are spot on. Just takes lots of practice and hard work and you will be doing perfect likenesses in no time at all.

the trick is to get as much reference you can and just surround yourself with it.

I am just catching up on life on Mars. Didnt watch it first time round but am wathing the repeats on Bravo. Love it. Are you going to have a go at Gene Hunt too?

Dont know if you lot over the pond know but a US version of Life on Mars is also in the works. Not sure who is starring in it but it could make for an intersting adaption.

Looking forward to seeing your new pics Nathaniel.

Dean

 

[Corps.Natty]

Sorry guys, no new pictures for you tonight I'm afraid. I've just redone the hair and sideburns. I'll post pics in the morning

 

[Corps.Natty]

Okay every here's the new pic you've been waiting for... Don't know if you can tell what Iv'e done from this single picture but it is a lot deifferent than before:

'My name is Sam Tyler, I had an accident and woke up with a grey face'

 

[Corps.Natty]

Hi again, finished painting this morning and I just managed to snap a few quick pics!

The second one compares the head before and after the resculpt. You can easily see how much better it looks.

I ordered some Super Sculpey online yesterday but the delivery will be delayed thanks to some awkwardly scheduled bank holidays. It means I'll have to wait until Thursay for it to arrive

Still, that means I have plenty of time to get this head perfect and start preparation for my next sculpt - Philip Glenister as DCI Gene Hunt. Hopefully that will be even better! After that I hope to make figures of the rest of the main LoM cast and I might even make a few from Ashes to Ashes (the 2008-1981 spin-off)

Anyway, advice and constructive criticism is welcome. I'd love to know wha you all think about it, especially you Dean.

Nathaniel

 

[paulcarson]

I think its a great attempt. You can see the likeness there and with a little bit of smoothing off I think you're onto a winner . Would make a good Master figure too.
Now Gene Hunt , well I'd love to see what you do with the old Gene Genie !

Well done mate !

 

[Corps.Natty]

Thanks Paul, sorry I haven't posted for a while - I just haven't been able to do anything waiting for my Sculpey.

Still, when it arrived yesterday in it's little green box I just couldn't wait to get sculpting!

I'm working on Gene Hunt at the moment as fans of the show should see. It's about 80% done at the moment, I just need to reine a few details around major features, and that wont be too difficult to do with my sculpey! (If you haven't already guessed, I love it!). Here it is so far:

I've also done a quick bit of Photoshop work to show how it might eventually look. I haven't changed any of the features, just added a bit of colour and shade - as well as the rest of his head, obviously...

As soon as that's done I'll be moving on to DI Alex Drake from Ashes to Ashes played by the lovely Keeley Hawes.

By the way, did anyone watch the final episode last night on BBC1? Absolutely brilliant! Definately up there from the best LoM eps... :chew

Anyway, as usual, any advice would be much appreciated!

Nathaniel

 

[Corps.Natty]

Well, it's a week since I last updated and I thought it was about time I showed you my latest work, DCI Gene hunt from the BBC's fantastic sci-fi / drama series Life on Mars.

He's not quite done at the moment, i'll be reworking the brows and clearing up a few blotches around the mouth but all in all I'm pretty happy with him.

I'm out most of the weekend so I wont be able to sculpt 'til Monday but in the meantime I think I'm going to dye and paint a few bits of clothing for the final figures. Then I'll be starting work in my Keeley Hawes sculpt. I've got 2 weeks off now so I should have plenty of time to get it all done!

Same things apply... Any advice would be much appreciated.

Please?!?

 

[Corps.Natty]

Re: Corps.Natty's Life on Mars Customs

Well its over a week since I last updated and theres a lot to show you. My Sam Tyler custom is almost done and i've done a little more on Gene Hunt.

I've altered this twice in the last week, first adding sculpey straight onto the painted head (oops). BIG MISTAKE! The end result was horrible, even after painting, so i decided the only thing or it was to completely strip the sculpt and try and salvage what was left.

I resculped the chin, cheekbones, ears, sideburns, forehead and added a new neck and ears. After seeing what i'd done my Mum said that I might as well start again because it looked so messy! I assured her that the surface itself was perfectly smooth enough and I began to paint it up.

Looks better doesn't it? Heres a shot showing how it has progressed with each resculpt.

I've also done some work on Sam's clothes, a repainted 10th Doctor jacket in black acrylic for a more leathery look as well a dyed and lightly painted shirt ( WIP people!! - WIP!! )

This pic is probably closest to how he should eventually look:

Anyway, comments would be appreciated as well as any thoughts on what to do next...

Nathaniel

(PS. I know the head is a bit big for the body but it'll have to do. I think I might pad out the tops of the shoulders to even that out)