Figure painting

[Roy]

He wrote Star Trek's "The City on the Edge of Forever".

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Alright, Rufus. Who the heck are you now?

Yes, that's Harlan Ellison, who will sometime in the future be remembered as one of the great writers of the 20th century.....

I will never try to guess who or what you may become in the future but I can't always figure what you are in the NOW.

I have but 1 nature, but many aspects.

I figure that's the way you like it.

I have never been more unsure of that than I am right now.

[G3750]

The other quote from Harlan Ellison that I like is: "the two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity."

George

[healey36]

I always thought methane was one of the two, but that would be a compound...

[Rufus T. Firefly]

I always thought methane was one of the two, but that would be a compound...

Methane is only present in meaningful amounts in the cow and other ruminant infested areas of the Universe,

[rogruth]

Oh I know who Harlan Ellison is and have read most of his older stuff and admire his writings very much.
I just didn't recognize the photo.
He is/was, if I remember correctly, very contentious in most of his public appearances.
I think he had a "discussion" with Frank Sinatra that almost came to blow in a pool parlor.
Now I don't think someones actions should affect what is thought of a persons work.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Oh I know who Harlan Ellison is and have read most of his older stuff and admire his writings very much.

I figured you'd know his work.

I just didn't recognize the photo.

Not a recent one, by any means.

He is/was, if I remember correctly, very contentious in most of his public appearances.

Mayhaps due to being at times controversial by asking the difficult questions and posing the more difficult answers that few wanted to hear or accept.

I think he had a "discussion" with Frank Sinatra that almost came to blow in a pool parlor.
Now I don't think someones actions should affect what is thought of a persons work.

Would not surprise me - always struck me a fearless sort that carried the courage of his convictions and was willing to shove them down your throat if required. I have many feet of bookcase shelf space occupied with is writings and essays.

He requires you to think. All too many people no longer do but the minimal amount required.

[Roy]

A figure question: what is the smallest scale, where figure models can be recognized strictly from facial features?

[healey36]

I've seen some 15mm (1/100) figures with sufficient facial features that combined with a pose are recognizable. The best of these IMHO are the ACW generals cast by Stone Mountain. Don't have any pics though.

Healey

[Roy]

I've seen some 15mm (1/100) figures with sufficient facial features that combined with a pose are recognizable.

1/100 is impressively small. I think I should have mentioned that I'm interested in modeling TV characters that are all wearing the same costume. Really, the face is all that distinguishes them.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

I've seen some 15mm (1/100) figures with sufficient facial features that combined with a pose are recognizable.

1/100 is impressively small.

Damned small! 1/48 scale is a bottom limit of visual tolerance for me.... Stone Mountain figures do seem very good! Good thing I can adjust my monitor to see them!

[chuck]

I've found base painting followed with washes/tints work best on decent figures. The eye will "fill in the blanks".

I have some Woodland Scenics pre-painted figures where someone tried (and is some respects succeeded) in painting their eyes (including the whites and pupils). They look like their eyes are about to pop out of their heads!

Nothing is going to fix insanely old/worn dies from the original Plasticville molds. They were "soft" to begin with and now they all look like they're suffering massive allergic reactions to bee stings or peanut butter. Use them as filler/background (as in way in the background).

[healey36]

This is the Plasticville kid I painted a while back...looks tolerable from a distance:



More detail than expected. Would agree with the allergic-reaction bit, lol. Block-painted and dipped.

Healey

[Roy]

Let me give a specific instance, to illustrate my question. There are cues, such as height, hair color and style. However, there's not much difference between Major West, and Professor Robinson. About what scale would I need to go to, to identify them just by facial features?

[chuck]

Overall face shape, e.g round, square, oval

Size/shape of nose

Eyes, narrow spaced, wide, sunken, protruding

mouth/lips, thin, full,

All of these elements get real dicey when you drop below 1/48. We are more inclined to fill in the blanks with what we think we see or what we think we are supposed to see. The clothing, body stance and hair are more likely to decide if the character looks like someone we "know".

Some of the action figures people are buying to put on a layout may be scale height but the proportions are wrong. The head is oversized to allow the sculptor more leeway in making the face look like Tom Hanks, or Daniel Radcliffe. The figurine of Marilyn with the skirt flowing up has more to do with the pose, the hair, and certain other anatomical features than it does with an accurate sculpture of her face.