Modifying a Razors Eedge Serenity Malcolm Reynolds "Mal" Bust

S

Styrofoam_Guy

Well-Known Member
I have one of the Razors Edge Mal Bust from Serenity. I think it is a good sculpt but needs a better paint job. I recently decided to try my hand at sculpting and thought that converting the bust into a statue is an easy starting point.

Here are some images of what I have done so far. To me the most important point is to get the pose right. I have gone through several different sculpts repositioning the legs to try and get something that looks right.

http://www.alexkung1.com/scale/serenity/200903/0330/033004.jpg
http://www.alexkung1.com/scale/serenity/200903/0330/033005.jpg
http://www.alexkung1.com/scale/serenity/200903/0330/033006.jpg
http://www.alexkung1.com/scale/serenity/200903/0330/033007.jpg
http://www.alexkung1.com/scale/serenity/200903/0330/033008.jpg
http://www.alexkung1.com/scale/serenity/200903/0330/033009.jpg
http://www.alexkung1.com/scale/serenity/200903/0330/033010.jpg

The leg thickness and the feet are not finished yet as I wanted to be sure the pose was the best I can get it before proceeding.

Any comments on the pose to make it better would be appreciated.

Items that I have already discussed with friends
1. The right arm is not straight so he is not aiming and firing at someone.
2. The left arm is behind his back. Again not a pose of someone who has quickly drawn his weapon.
3. His coat is covering his holster so again it is not a quick draw and about to fire.
 
Last edited:
Cool. Sorry about the crappy work, but here's the things I see you could do.



Cut the right arm at the elbow and at the shoulder. Angle the upper arm bit a bit more opwards and angle the lower arm a bit more downwards, so the arm becomes more straight.

Remove the left arm completely and resculpt a more action posed arm.

Lift the bust from the legs more on the right, maybe lowering it a bit on his left side, to give him less of a tilting look.

Turn the right foot a bit more forward.

Perhaps give him a more aggressive pose by angling the legs differently. Now it looks more like a calm, leaned back stance. To make him more aggressive, pull them more towards his left. (right in the picture.) You gotta make him lean forward, not lean back.
 
Most of the calm, leaned back pose comes from the original bust. The pose is a bit odd and I decided to work with it. When I get it done I will probably make casting so I can convert several busts and if people want to convert their own bust that would also be an option.

I am not opposed to more modifications later (as I get better at sculpting figures and getting proportions right) and I would be up to making the pose more dramatic.

For now it is baby steps in learning how to sculpt. I am posting here as others have loads more experience at sculpting figures then I do.

What did you mean by turning the right foot more forward? Right now it is inline with the right arm.


Thanks for the input.

NoHumorMan said:
Cool. Sorry about the crappy work, but here's the things I see you could do.



Cut the right arm at the elbow and at the shoulder. Angle the upper arm bit a bit more opwards and angle the lower arm a bit more downwards, so the arm becomes more straight.

Remove the left arm completely and resculpt a more action posed arm.

Lift the bust from the legs more on the right, maybe lowering it a bit on his left side, to give him less of a tilting look.

Turn the right foot a bit more forward.

Perhaps give him a more aggressive pose by angling the legs differently. Now it looks more like a calm, leaned back stance. To make him more aggressive, pull them more towards his left. (right in the picture.) You gotta make him lean forward, not lean back.
Click to expand...
 
Styrofoam_Guy said:
What did you mean by turning the right foot more forward? Right now it is inline with the right arm.
Click to expand...
Yes. Hmm... how to explain this. Well, basically... when looking at the figure from above, the foot should be turned about 30 or 40 degrees towards the front of the figure... maybe not even that much. Your current pose is the standard "shooting range" stance, which you wouldn't get into when going into a real gun-fight. In the live situation it's all about action and the pose with the foot angled similar to the outstretched arm spells calm and controlled - no danger.

Best way to make changes, if you plan to cut it apart is to drill holes and insert pins to hold the pieces together and then use magic sculpt to close the seams.

Wouldn't recommend the molding. If people want a Serenity Mal statue, they should buy the bust and do their own conversions. Don't bite the supplier, in this case Razor's Edge.
 
NoHumorMan said:
Wouldn't recommend the molding. If people want a Serenity Mal statue, they should buy the bust and do their own conversions. Don't bite the supplier, in this case Razor's Edge.
Click to expand...

I don't think the busts sold very well as you can still get them and the price has even been reduced to $19-24

I think the sculpt was well done just that photos of the bust do not do it justice. Part of it can be the limitations of painting a mass produced item. Once people saw the photos it seems they decided not to buy.


When I said making castings I meant only the bottom half and not the entire figure. This way people would have to buy a bust if they wanted to do their own conversion :)

A bit more work for the modeler but as you said "Don't bite the supplier" ;)
 
Styrofoam_Guy said:
I don't think the busts sold very well as you can still get them and the price has even been reduced to $19-24
I think the sculpt was well done just that photos of the bust do not do it justice. Part of it can be the limitations of painting a mass produced item. Once people saw the photos it seems they decided not to buy.
Click to expand...
Yeah... I've been holding off too because I was a bit bummed by the look of the sculpt and especially the paintwork. Though, I do still plan to get one and make the necessary alterations.

I'll rework his shirt folds and definitely do something about that malformed left arm.

Styrofoam_Guy said:
When I said making castings I meant only the bottom half and not the entire figure. This way people would have to buy a bust if they wanted to do their own conversion :)
A bit more work for the modeler but as you said "Don't bite the supplier" ;)
Click to expand...
I'm glad you said that and glad I misunderstood your intent. I got a little anxious which is why my response may have been a little harsh. I apologize for that. Doing customizing option parts is a cool idea. :thumbsup
 
His calves are too short and his thighs just a hair too long. Here's a trick to proportioning them correctly. Measure the distance from his armpit to the tip of his middle finger (unbent, so you'll need to make some tricky measurments). That distance will be same distance from his inseam to his ankle bone, and the knee joint will be same distance as the measurment from his armpit to elbow.

Another trick is to not try to flat out sculpt his pants. Start with a naked leg. It doesn't need to be detailed. You just need the basic muscular shape. Borrow some artists anatomy books from the library. Once you have the naked leg, take thin slices of your sculpting compound, and build up the pants. You shouldn't need to add any to the areas where the fabric would be pulled taught like a bent knee or flexed thigh.
 
NoHumorMan said:
Yeah... I've been holding off too because I was a bit bummed by the look of the sculpt and especially the paintwork. Though, I do still plan to get one and make the necessary alterations.

I'll rework his shirt folds and definitely do something about that malformed left arm.


I'm glad you said that and glad I misunderstood your intent. I got a little anxious which is why my response may have been a little harsh. I apologize for that. Doing customizing option parts is a cool idea. :thumbsup
Click to expand...

No problem as I understand the problem with recasters

TridCloudwalker said:
His calves are too short and his thighs just a hair too long. Here's a trick to proportioning them correctly. Measure the distance from his armpit to the tip of his middle finger (unbent, so you'll need to make some tricky measurments). That distance will be same distance from his inseam to his ankle bone, and the knee joint will be same distance as the measurment from his armpit to elbow.

Another trick is to not try to flat out sculpt his pants. Start with a naked leg. It doesn't need to be detailed. You just need the basic muscular shape. Borrow some artists anatomy books from the library. Once you have the naked leg, take thin slices of your sculpting compound, and build up the pants. You shouldn't need to add any to the areas where the fabric would be pulled taught like a bent knee or flexed thigh.
Click to expand...

Thanks for he tips as I have gone back and modified the proportions. I am starting with a sort of naked leg or something that looks very tight.

Round 3
http://www.alexkung1.com/scale/serenity/200904/0405/04051.jpg
it might be camera optics playing tricks but the right leg does not look right in this photo while holding it in front of me it looks much better then before.

http://www.alexkung1.com/scale/serenity/200904/0405/04052.jpg
http://www.alexkung1.com/scale/serenity/200904/0405/04053.jpg
http://www.alexkung1.com/scale/serenity/200904/0405/04054.jpg
Right leg proportions look much better in this photo

http://www.alexkung1.com/scale/serenity/200904/0405/04055.jpg
http://www.alexkung1.com/scale/serenity/200904/0405/04056.jpg
 
Haven't updated in a bit so here are some more progress shots. Adding folds to the pants and boots. Next is the detail on the boots

Thanks to a member for supplying some excellent reference photos

http://www.alexkung1.com/scale/serenity/200904/0419/04191.jpg
http://www.alexkung1.com/scale/serenity/200904/0419/04192.jpg
http://www.alexkung1.com/scale/serenity/200904/0419/04193.jpg
http://www.alexkung1.com/scale/serenity/200904/0419/04194.jpg
The recess in the right leg is for the gun holster strap
http://www.alexkung1.com/scale/serenity/200904/0419/04195.jpg
Of course the coat length is not finished yet
http://www.alexkung1.com/scale/serenity/200904/0419/04196.jpg
 
Hmm been a bit since an update but lots done.
The sculpt is done
http://www.alexkung1.com/scale/serenity/200906/0601/060101.jpg

This is before some final clean up
http://www.alexkung1.com/scale/serenity/200906/0601/060104.jpg
http://www.alexkung1.com/scale/serenity/200906/0601/060105.jpg
http://www.alexkung1.com/scale/serenity/200906/0601/060107.jpg

Moulded in one shot (not enough clay to do a proper box)
http://www.alexkung1.com/scale/serenity/200906/0601/060110.jpg

Slicing open the mould and trying to remove the master was not kind to the master due to some severe undercuts. I sort of knew it would happen but wanted the detail that way
http://www.alexkung1.com/scale/serenity/200906/0607/06071.jpg

My poor master. The back of the leg ot the back of the coat was where the deep undercut was.
http://www.alexkung1.com/scale/serenity/200906/0607/06072.jpg

First cast turned out OK
http://www.alexkung1.com/scale/serenity/200906/0607/06073.jpg

I poured partial halves to remove as many air bubbles before closing the halves and pouring the rest. That is why there are various colour resins
http://www.alexkung1.com/scale/serenity/200906/0607/06074.jpg
http://www.alexkung1.com/scale/serenity/200906/0607/06076.jpg
http://www.alexkung1.com/scale/serenity/200906/0607/06077.jpg

Oop slight mould shift there I will have to be a bit more careful lining up the halves when casting
http://www.alexkung1.com/scale/serenity/200906/0607/06078.jpg


Next up, mating it to the Bust and then puttying and painting.
 
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