Hi All,

I was hoping to do something on a bigger scale to give my poor eyes some rest but this was a project that I wanted to start some 2 years back and it was a good project. So its back to 1/35th and also to styrene.

The vignette was inspired by a photo by Dan Mccullin in 1968 which captures a tender moment in a terrible war. It shows a Marine chaplain helping an old Vietnamese lady out of harm's way. Its always moments like this that inspire me coz for me a non-combat dio/vignette has a more meaningful story than a combat one. A tender human act in the inhuman act of war.



As mentioned in my other post for those seeking reference to some great "mood" photos of the Vietnam war do have a look as the above came from here as well.
Vietnam scenes by various photographers

To start off I had to get a feel of the old lady which I hope to sculpt so for me drawings always help. At this point I decided to add an additional figure as well to ensure that the viewer understood the vignette better. This was a Marine trying to get the Chaplain to hurry up.


2 figures were used. The left one came off DML's Marines Tet Offensive unmolested by Dr. Frankenbum. The right one (used as a Marine Chaplain) has a body that came off Academy's M113 ACAV set and a lower body from the DML Marines Tet Offensive.


Modifications had to be made to the Marine Chaplain. Most figure converters will be familiar with this method, I believe CP uses it as well. But for those who are unfamiliar with conversions, a small wire stub is inserted at the joints where the position of the arms need to be modified.



You can see where cuts were made at the joints and because of the change in arm positions gaps from the original will be created.


These gaps will be filled with epoxy putty once the position of the arms are final. Sanding down and modifying partially the cloth folds will be required to conform to the new arm positions.


Next comes the main character, the Vietnamese Granny. A wire frame is made to get her right dimensions. I used a approximately 5 head length body and to make sure she was ok I used the Chaplain for a comparative check.


The 3 figs are then positioned as per my earlier drawing to see how they fit each other.


Next work begins on Granny.

Seeing the title, I thought you're doing a Super Gran figure :lol: . Remember that show? ... where a granny acquired a super power from an accidental science experiment.

Jokes aside, I'm really looking forward on this build. I like dioramas depicting the humanity side of war.

On to Granny. Her basic body shape and head was built up over the wire frame. At this point she does seem to have a younger woman more shapely body but this was done to act as a base for her baggy clothes or Ao-Dai based on the photo. I left her arms and feet for last as I need points to hold while working on shaping and bulking the rest of the body.



Closeup of the basic shape of her poor head no thanks to Dr. Frankenbum. From here on the nose will be built up, eye sockets deepened before adding her eye slits and eyelids. Mouth will be built up. Her sunken cheekbones filed down and eyebrows added.


A test fit was necessary before bulking her up to make sure she isn't too big or too small vs. the Marine Chaplain.


Slight sanding down of her cheekbones and adding the top of her Ao-Dai. Its not a rule but its best to work on one-half of the body first before proceeding to the next. Patience is the key.


Sanding down of her top which will be fine tuned later. Work has begun on her pants and the front slip of her Ao-Dai. The head is gradually built up and sanded down concurrently. More sanding and adding on will be needed.


Thats it for now. Thanks for viewing.

Hahaha... I taught you are scupting Super Gran as well.... :lol: :lol: :lol:

Progress looks good and the sculpted figure is excellent. Looking forward for more progress.

Not an easy to sculp the human figures ya bro :rolleyes: very well progress,can't wait to see the final product :)

What's that theme to Supergran again? :lol:

Nice & interesting subject there and as usual, a nice piece of work too, CK.

Give granny a beanie hat? That ought to complete the airlift scenario. ;)

Look forward to more.

Cheers and happy modelling :)

:D :lol: Yeah I do barely remember Super Gran but can't quite remember where I watched it. Must be Nickelodeon. For some reason, Super Gran reminds me of Scrappy Doo with his, "Ta daa da daa! Puppy Power!" or in this case "Ta daa da daa Granny Power!".

Thanks guys, I'm just as curious to see how this one turns out coz its so hard to create a mood in dios. What looks good in a photo or creates an emotion when viewing may not always translate well to a 3-D dio/vignette....well not in Dr. Frankenbum's case anyway. :)

tauke Bum,

whoaaaaaa... now u're into supergrand plak ke.. hehe

at first when i saw you posted the photo, i think it's only a joke but i was wrong..
you advancing too fast my friend, salute for that and good luck for the granny. She might be super granny but her bone are still fragile .. hehe

when i saw the pic of the granny and the round thingy beside granny's head, it occuer to me that u can copy the face my putting the head beside british coin and copy the queen's faces .. hehe

.........FOR THE QUEENNNNNN..............

Ask and ye shall receive...

:lol: :lol: :lol:

All Hail the Queen & Super Gran. For God, Queen and Country :P

Sil you better jaga, if you insult Super Gran, Hitman will have a new kaki to look for you. Just check out Xamel's reproduction of SuperGran's theme song. :lol: :ph43r:

tauke bum,
now that u've mentioned about insulting granny, i will figure something good this time... hehehe

make sure none of the product used are bought from TESCO aahhh.....

ops..off topic la plak

btw, i knew that song..used to sing it when SUPERGRAN hit our TV ...

super gran super gran....

i wonder why the lyric didnt include hitman...

:lol: :lol:

Yeah, that song brings back memories of that show. Used to watch it despite saying it was a silly program. :lol:

Back then takde Hitman leh. Otherwise, sure to be in the song. :lol:

Cheers :)

Its back to Flying Gran but this time its painting the GI and the Chaplain.

Here they are with just their uniforms painted with highs and shadows. Equipment, boots, belts and faces not painted yet. Flak jackets with just the basecoat no highs and shadows.
I've tried to vary the color of their uniforms even on the individual. Pants being darker than shirts and the chaplain having a darker green shade (assuming his uniform has less battle/weather exposure) vs. the GI whose uniform and flak jacket are more lighter, faded green and olive drab. I guess they don't show up in the pics much.



Helmets before painting in the leaf camo pattern. The one on the left is the Chaplain which is darker green like his uniform to show less weathering and the one on the right which is more faded is the GI. I've painted the lower portion darker and the top portion lighter to give it more depth and to show the effect of UV rays from the sun on the cloth cover.


The guys with their flak jackets shaded. Boots, belts and faces still unpainted.

Equipment shaded in as well:


Closeup of shading on the equipment:


Closeup of shading on flak jacket:


Granny's head is done but her arms and legs need work but unfortunatley work will have to stop for now until the Merdeka GB is over. Thanks for viewing and all comments welcome.

Nice paint work on the clothing and equipments.

Can't wait to see granny. :)

Jason...

asked any you shall receive..

:lol:

anyway...
i'm also waiting to see the Granny.. :D

kuman

CK,

Nice shade on the figures. What paint do you use? Vallejo?

Thanks Ms. Park, Ms. Biel and Ms. Theron. :)

Its was mostly Vallejo, Charlize. The trouble with the Vallejo greens is that they come off to strong, almost an unnatural green especially their Flat Green. So I had to tint them down with Vallejo Brown Sand or Flat Brown and to get a more khaki tint I used Tamiya's Khaki mixed with Vallejo's greens. In fact most of the uniforms and especially the equipment and flak jackets received different amounts of Tamiya Khaki mixed in with Vallejo's Flat Green, German Cam Green and Dark green.

You should try base of vallejo's US uniform green and add tints as preferred.

Flying Granny continues......Beware lots of pics ahead.

Work on Granny




Granny & 1 bedroom slipper done:



Collars made with Bondite added to the Marines



Marines faces done:
"Come with me if you want to live (in Arnie's voice in Terminator 2)


Chaplain singing "She ain't heavy she's my sister...."


Next to the base.

Ice-cream making time.


Soil added for texture & color.


Just thought I'd share with you my rubble collection. :)


Rubble added.


Test fit


Washes n Highlights added.


Remember these old wooden stools.

.....and this old enamel mug used by our grandparents for brushing teeth to making teh o.


Base done.


Thanks for viewing. All comments welcome. Here's the link for the completed dio:
Completed Dio Photos

beachbum,

excellent work, look forward to see the finished product.

what? no furry bunny slippers for granny?