Metal Gear The Boss Sculpt WiP

[cloudfilter]

Some work in progress shots of my The Boss from MGS3 figure.

I don't normally post wip stuff but I've been discussing her on another thread so I thought I should put something up.
My first project using castilene after only doing Super Sculpey in the past, it feel pretty good to work with but is really shiny in places so it's hard to see detail on shallow curves like trying to shape the upper lip and photographing it turned out to be pretty fiddly, too.
She looks a lot wider in these shots than in hand for some reason. Flattening of perspective from the zoomed telephoto lens maybe?

I've been working from MGS3 screengrabs and photos of Charlotte Rampling
At first I thought that I only needed to make a Rampling sculpt and stick a bandana on it but it turns out the back corners of her jaw looked really wrong for the Boss so at the stage my head is at now I'm trying to give her Rampling's exact eyes and mouth with a thinner jaw and thinner sharper nose. The back corners of her jaw still look massive in these shots and I've already shaved off a good 2-3mm from when I had her accurate to the Rampling photo above.

 

[karamazov80]

Very nice. Significantly better than HT's prototype.

 

[Mr.E]

I had now idea until now, that she was based off of Charlotte Rampling. Wow.

 

[Demimatt]

Looks really good. Can't wait to see more.

 

[TonyMeis]

Looks great! Agree on if the lips can be a bit more narrow. Might be the lenses....

 

[krec9]

Nice start.

 

[Uncanny Web-Slinger]

Excellent, if only HT could do as good

 

[Rock83]

That looks really good.

 

[krec9]

Her chin might need some work should be a little longer you plan to add more hair ?

 

[cloudfilter]

Thanks guys! I'm adding a bit to her chin, and I think I'll start from scratch on her mouth again.
Do you mean the top or the back of her hair, Krec? I might put a bit more on top but I'm keeping it inaccurately short at the back for articulation and because I'm not a good enough sculptor yet to add more hair wisping out without it starting to look really solid and lumpy. I thought I'd go for quality over screen accuracy on that one.

 

[Jack D]

I never knew who that lady was before MGS but damn is she sexy.

 

[saiko1]

I also didn't know whom she was or that she was based on a real person, but that totally makes sense.
She looks like she's off to a great start, Cloudfilter.

Castilene eh? Mhmm I'm not a good sculptor but it looks fun to play with. How does it feel as opposed to Sculpey?

 

[cloudfilter]

At room temperature it's harder than SS Firm but soft enough that a lot of the time I don't bother heating up my tool to work details, which I like.
I found getting the first rough head shape much much quicker in this than in SS Firm, scooping soft hot lumps out of my wax pot ( https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140364685649?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649 ) and working them with my bare hands, holding the head close to my desk lamp bulb to keep it soft and warm.
It's really nice to have a solid lump for a head rather than working over a pre-cooked lollypop shape like I used to have to do and as you can see I've even hollowed it out to preview it on the body, fitting right over the neck peg. I couldn't have done that in clay, it wouldn't have been strong enough to carry on working on a hollow head.

The only real problem so far is the shininess I've mentioned, I've got really poor visibility for her mouth and philtrum and I wish this stuff had the same gorgeous matte grey texture as SS Firm.

I've been disappointed that I can't pour this wax into a mould without getting lots of bubbles in the cast. I think I need a pressure pot to do it properly. But of course I couldn't have poured clay into a mould either so that's no real biggie.

 

[LoneWolf]

Great custom, cloudfilter. I am glad you shared this with us, I'm sure a lot of MGS fans will be interested to see your final sculpt. I hope you offer it up for sale.

Thread bookmarked!

 

[TonyMeis]

Great custom, cloudfilter. I am glad you shared this with us, I'm sure a lot of MGS fans will be interested to see your final sculpt. I hope you offer it up for sale.

Thread bookmarked!

Me too!

 

[LoneWolf]

Merry Christmas! Any update since your last post, no matter how minor the update is?

 

[cloudfilter]

Well, I'm getting much more pleased with her now; I've thinned the face a lot and re-done her mouth from scratch. I'll see if I can grab a couple of quick photos without having to dig my tripod and lamps out again.

 

[logan25]

This is shaping up nicely, looking forward to new pics

 

[cloudfilter]

 

[krec9]

Looking damn good.