Sixth Army Group

[Tony Barton]

Since I posted this tutorial originally on OSS & OSW , and so many people have shown an interest , I thought I would take the liberty of posting it here as well , since it deals with a WW2 subject , and I know that you folks don't all make it across to the British forums . I have slightly edited and improved it in the light of comment and questions .

Last winter I read Peter White's moving account of his war , as a subaltern in The King's Own Scottish Borderers , fighting through Holland and Germany from September '44 until VEDay . As an account of the Sharp End , it takes some beating : " With the Jocks .." Sutton publishing .
Out in paperback : highly recommended .
I had been thinking of creating a Junior British Officer for some time , and since there were several photographs of the author in the book ( he's the one on the right in the photo below ), I decided to make him a real person , rather than one of my " types " .
What follows is a largely pictorial description of how I make a head .

I use Fimo , available in craft shops pretty well everywhere , at least in Europe . Sculpey is an good alternative , but I find it too soft for some jobs : it's a personal choice . There are also many other types of Polymer Clay on the market , and which one you use will depend on what you can get locally .
The mixture , Kneaded to an even colour before starting , is four parts Dark Flesh , to one part White , the white being necessary to prevent the head coming out too translucent when finished . This mix has been arrived at after several years experiment , so you'll have to take my word for it . Since I use the finished surface of the sculpt as the skin , without more than a thin wash of transparent paint , the colour and texture of this mix is the one I've found most satisfactory .
This is formed to a suitable blob and rammed hard onto a tile , which acts as an armature throughout the process : using a tile in this way , you don't need any other armature , which makes modelling so much easier .




This is then worked on with a small dental spatula : nearly all the work is done with this tool . The putty should stay in place on the tile securely :



At this stage I check dimensions with a pair of screw compasses : about 38-40mm between the point of the chin and the top of the head . It's very easy to make the head too big as you model more material on to it , and it's worth checking again as you work . I rough out all the basic forms , referring in this case to the photos in the book :



Everything is taking shape . I work in spasms of half an hour or so , take a break , and come back to it .



After several sessions , once I'm happy with the way things are going , I start to put in the fine detail , using the tools you see . The brushes are for smoothing , using the Sculpey diluent as a lubricant , The white brush is quite stiff , and used for polishing out tool marks , and the brown brush is softer , for more delcate work :



The fine finishing process takes quite a time , since it's difficult to change things once the first firing has been done . As the Fimo surface forms the actual finished skin of the head , it's vital to remove blemishes before firing . You can patch it later , but the repairs tend to come out a slightly different colour , so avoid it if you can :



The chopped off bristle-brush is for the stubble : you can get some very delicate surface detail using brushes .
Before firing , I carve off the hair , since I'm going to replace it with coloured Fimo :



Then , when you can't bear to do any more , it goes in the Baby Belling , which is perfect for firing Polymer Clays : about fifteen minutes at 125C :



Remove from oven , allow to cool , prise off the tile . You can now carve away any unwanted parts , and add more Fimo to shape the back of the head :







Now fire again to harden the added bits . You can fire the head many times , so long as you don't overcook it at any stage : I frequently put them in the oven seven or eight times in the course of finalising details .
Once the flesh parts are done , I hollow out the neck and mount it on a stick with some Blutack , and add the hair , mixed to a chosen colour .
One of the advantages of self-coloured hair is that it's very resistant to chipping when you handle the finished figure . The tissue paper is to stop my dirty fingers marking the neck whilst shaping the hair . The scribing and finishing of the hair involves all the tools and brushes :



There is a pic in the book showing Peter without a hat , which I used as a guide to his hairstyle , controlling and shortening it somewhat since he's eventually going to be wearing a hat :


The eyes are made by inserting soft off-white Fimo into the fired sockets ,
and carefully sculpting their curvature : the soft brush is very helpful here for the final polish .
The fire again to harden them .

Finally the modelling part is done : it looks a a bit weird at this stage , but that will be sorted out in the next phase .



Painting : this method applies equally to a resin head , or a repaint of a vinyl one , though in those cases you will have to pre-paint the entire head in a suitable light flesh tone before starting :-

First thing , before starting , is to wash thoroughly with detergent to "wet" the head : if you don't do this ( and this also applies to resin heads ) the paint will puddle all over the place , and not stick properly .
The paints I use can be seen in the pics : Liquitex for the flesh tones and hair , and Vallejo for the carmine and the blacks .

I generally start by using a matching brown to detail the hair , grading it down the back and sides from the coloured Fimo , and put in the eyebrows . Then I add the irises in black , establishing the " gaze " of the subject :



I've also put in the faintest stubble , by slightly washing the beard area with a tone matching the hair colour . This is done with very dilute paint , remembering to feather the edge to avoid a sharp line .

Then the skin tone : nothing too extreme with this subject : he's going to be in Europe in winter . This pic shows the colours I use , and they are diluted and dispersed with " acrylic matt medium " from W&N : this acts like a blender : you can also use acrylic retarder instead , the point being to prevent the paint , which is a VERY thin wash , drying in streaks or blotches :



You have to chase this around for a bit with a large brush , to get it even and avoid those blotches ; it's better to do several thin applications rather than one thick one . Once dry , he now looks like this :



Now the tricky bit : the eyes . There's no getting away from the fact that you need a steady hand , and a good OO brush for this job .
The irises are already defined in black : the shape here is very important : notice the actual shape made by the circular iris , overlapped at the top by the upper lid , and just touching the lower :




Next , select a suitable eye colour for your subject , and fill in the iris completely , save for a fine black line all round the edge . If you're feeling clever , you can add a little white to the colour and pick out the paler ring aroung the pupil and the radiating veins :



Lastly the pupil : I use Vallejo gloss black No.861 for this : position the pupil so that it just touches the upper eyelid ( if you want a relaxed expression ) , and by repeated applications build it into a little dome :



The more the pupil is covered by the eyelid , the sleepier the expression will be ; conversly , if there's space between the pupil and the eyelid , the subject will look alarmed ( or angry , or amazed , depending on what the rest of the face is doing ).


Here's the finished head :



There are one or two subtle additions : a little carmine around the eyes , on the inner edges of the lids , and flushed on the ears . I've also run a fine line of carmine darkened with black into the join between the lips . The edges of the hair have been fine detailed with a tiny brush , to blend the edges where hair meets flesh . The last thing is to flood the eye with gloss acrylic varnish .

Finally , here he is, finished , on the assembled figure , in normal parade dress : there will be another version later of him in his combat dress , but that , as they say , will be another story :







The figure itself is DML , as is the BD , with a few subtle modifications like the lining ( repainted ) and hooks on the collar . The hands are my own , also modelled in Fimo , and I mount them with cyano glue on cut-down DML wrist plugs .
The fabric badges were provided by friends ( Thank you Rob and Peter ) , and the Tam o'Shanter is made from Polyester Suede , a really useful fabric which has a nap on one side , mimicking woolen serge cloth : and you can get it in khaki !
The belt is homemade from folded 20mm cotton tape , with buckles from the estimable Mr. Elbourne ( britishbuckles@ntlworld.com ) and a slightly modified DML holster containing an Inglis automatic .

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[johnro6659]

That's probably the best tutorial on making a HS I have read! I still don't think I could do it (LOL) but my kid should be able to use it better than myself, he's pretty good at sculpting.

Thanks for posting!

[Sixth Vanguard]

Thanks Tony

I had read your post on the OSS board and am so glad you posted this here. I had to dig up some tiles from the garage and scrub them up in preperation for following along. Hopefuly I will soon be able to make something presentable, you make it all look so easy :-)

[Harro]

Absolutely, truely amazing! I am an absolute newbie in this hobby and I can hardly believe my eyes. A tutorial, but due to lacking skills I don't have the guts to give it a try myself.

Regards,

Harro

[Heeresbergführer]

Grüß Gott Tony,

Excellent HS tutorial!!! I spied it on the OSS and printed it out this past weekend. I was going to take my two girls and wife apple picking, but the weather wasn't cooperating. So we decided to have a craft day. My girls love playing with sculpey. I decided to give your technique a try. I had some Super Sculpey in my hobby desk and started sculpting. Here's my work-in-progress HS. Still have a ways to go to get it right, but I would very much appreciate any pointers from you, the master.






Horrido!

[Dougmo]

Thanks so much, Tony. Few would take the time or have the generousity to share their time-earned secrets. Very inspiring indeed!

[Tony Barton]

HBF , full marks for bravery , and you've got the right idea: you now need to refine the eyes and the mouth . Are you working from a photo ?
This needs a little more work yet .
You could start polishing the surface : have you got a suitable smooth brush ? You'll need to polish all those tool marks and fingerprints out , using some suitable fluid as a lubricant : I use the Sculpey diluent , but you can use mineral spirits if they are to hand .
Keep going , and never mind if the first ones you do are not great works of Art : it takes time and experience to get good results , but you are certainly tackling the process the right way .
One day I'll post some of my early efforts !

[Heeresbergführer]

Thanks Tony,

I'm just working from your pictures above and from several DML figures as reference, plus my own noggen in the mirror!!!

Question for you...how do you keep your clay so clean? Also, can you post some more detailed photos of the tools you use and their shapes? I'll have to find some Sculpey Diluent. I have plenty of brushes to work with. Any secret tips for working the eyes and mouth?

Cheers,
Patrick

[knochensturm]

WOW, great tutorial.

greetings Henri

[Tony Barton]

Here's a closer look at my tools :


From top left down : mounted needle in Fimo handle ( you can make your own tools )
Stubble brush .
Softer smoothing brush ( prolene )

Top right down : Mounted blade .
Spatula ( the most important : most of the head is done with this )
Tapered point : useful for nostrils !

Apart from the spatula , you could improvise most of these .

Now , the one thing I cannot teach you is the learnt knowledge of the Human Face : you are going to have to study photos , and real people , and if you can do it , draw them . The act of drawing actually trains the brain in the shapes the hand describes : eventually the brain learns the structure it's trying to create .
Unfortunately I don't know of a shortcut !
It's interesting that two really talented new sculptors I've recently been corresponding with both have a background in art & design : their brains and eyes are already trained .
The more practice you can get in pushing the putty , the better .
I really wish I could wave a magic wand , and you could skip the practice part , but the world isn't like that .

Do not despair : go and practice !

Oh , and since you asked , you do need to keep the work area pretty clean : I tend to honour this rule more in the breach than the observance , but every little fibre floating around makes a bee-line for the clay and sticks in it : I keep some forceps handy for picking them out.
Similarly , before kneading the clay to start , wash your hands , and once it's on the tile , and you've pushed into into shape , try to avoid touching it again unless you clean your hands first : use the tools .
It's very easy to get dirt buried in the surface : pick it out as you go , because it's going to show after firing . Similarly , keep your hands clean when handling the front half after firing : you'll soon get the idea once you've made a couple .
Between work sessions I cover the head with a plastic food pot , to keep the dust off it .
Most of mine get pretty grubby , but you can avoid the worst with a little care . Once fired , if the head gets dirty through handling , give it a wash .

Good luck , folks : I'll try to help if you get stuck .