Sculpting a WWII Japanese pilot 1/5 scale
07-12-2013, 11:49 AM
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Sculpting a WWII Japanese pilot 1/5 scale
I thought it was time to add another pilot to the cadre of Best Pilots WWII 1/5 scale aviators. Follow along as I create Imperial Japanese multi-ace Saburo Sakai!!
As with all Best Pilots, I intend to sculpt this with as much realism as possible, in terms of facial features and accurate gear. Now I have never sculpted or even sketched an asian person before. So one of the main goals of this sculpt was to arrive at a natural representation of a young asian man. I want this to be “realâ€Â. Definitely not some WWII-era US propaganda version or a caricature version of a Japanese pilot screaming “Banzai!â€Â. My philosophy is if the model looks like the real thing, then so should the pilot.
So, the research starts and one of the reasons I chose Saburo, besides the fact that he was one hell of a warrior pilot, is there are lots of photographic references of him. Also, he was well liked by all accounts by all that met him... even old adversaries.
As with all Best Pilots, I intend to sculpt this with as much realism as possible, in terms of facial features and accurate gear. Now I have never sculpted or even sketched an asian person before. So one of the main goals of this sculpt was to arrive at a natural representation of a young asian man. I want this to be “realâ€Â. Definitely not some WWII-era US propaganda version or a caricature version of a Japanese pilot screaming “Banzai!â€Â. My philosophy is if the model looks like the real thing, then so should the pilot.
So, the research starts and one of the reasons I chose Saburo, besides the fact that he was one hell of a warrior pilot, is there are lots of photographic references of him. Also, he was well liked by all accounts by all that met him... even old adversaries.
07-12-2013, 11:55 AM
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RE: Sculpting a WWII Japanese pilot 1/5 scale
My initial rough sculpt went well, however, myself being Caucasian, the more I worked on the eyes, the more incorrect they looked. I wasn’t understanding them. Then I did some research to learn the correct anatomy of the Asian eyelids and things started falling into place. I did not realize that the Asian eye has a fold of skin that covers the eye lid and eye lashes! Once I understood the structure, it started to look right
The photos are in sequence below to show the progression.
The photos are in sequence below to show the progression.
07-12-2013, 04:50 PM
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RE: Sculpting a WWII Japanese pilot 1/5 scale
Now if we can just get Top Flite to release a Giant Scale Zero ARF that would be perfect for your Pilot, and to go along with their other Giant ARF's ie: P-51, P-40, P-47, Corsair, Spitfire and FW190!
07-12-2013, 05:20 PM
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RE: Sculpting a WWII Japanese pilot 1/5 scale
ORIGINAL: dasintex
Now if we can just get Top Flite to release a Giant Scale Zero ARF that would be perfect for your Pilot, and to go along with their other Giant ARF's ie: P-51, P-40, P-47, Corsair, Spitfire and FW190!
Now if we can just get Top Flite to release a Giant Scale Zero ARF that would be perfect for your Pilot, and to go along with their other Giant ARF's ie: P-51, P-40, P-47, Corsair, Spitfire and FW190!
An 80" 1:4.8 scale (IMAA LEGAL) BF109E ARF would also be nice.
07-12-2013, 06:28 PM
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RE: Sculpting a WWII Japanese pilot 1/5 scale
ORIGINAL: SrTelemaster150
An 80'' 1:4.8 scale (IMAA LEGAL) BF109E ARF would also be nice.
ORIGINAL: dasintex
Now if we can just get Top Flite to release a Giant Scale Zero ARF that would be perfect for your Pilot, and to go along with their other Giant ARF's ie: P-51, P-40, P-47, Corsair, Spitfire and FW190!
Now if we can just get Top Flite to release a Giant Scale Zero ARF that would be perfect for your Pilot, and to go along with their other Giant ARF's ie: P-51, P-40, P-47, Corsair, Spitfire and FW190!
An 80'' 1:4.8 scale (IMAA LEGAL) BF109E ARF would also be nice.
07-12-2013, 11:38 PM
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RE: Sculpting a WWII Japanese pilot 1/5 scale
Ahhhh Boyington... is that you Boyington?
Cool model subject. It would be nice to see it in a nicely detailed Zero.
I have your Pappy figure for my TF Corsair and my only comment would be, after seeing it in person and dry fitting the parts, Im not that happy with his pose. His left hand is resting on his leg and he is slightly turned to the left. I would prefer his left hand/arm separate from his body in a way that the modler could put it on the throttle or console or up high enough to give a hand signal which would be different. The pose gives the impression he is not that engaged in flying the plane. Nice casting and work otherwise, he is light and well detailed.
Cool model subject. It would be nice to see it in a nicely detailed Zero.
I have your Pappy figure for my TF Corsair and my only comment would be, after seeing it in person and dry fitting the parts, Im not that happy with his pose. His left hand is resting on his leg and he is slightly turned to the left. I would prefer his left hand/arm separate from his body in a way that the modler could put it on the throttle or console or up high enough to give a hand signal which would be different. The pose gives the impression he is not that engaged in flying the plane. Nice casting and work otherwise, he is light and well detailed.
07-13-2013, 03:55 AM
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RE: Sculpting a WWII Japanese pilot 1/5 scale
Thanks for the interest and comments guys! Don't worry about thread hijacking Dasintex. This is RCU after all... this thread could end up talking about how much aileron differential to put in a Pietenpol! Lol.
Hey Chris, thanks for offering your opinion on the pose of Pappy. I wanted to touch on my thought process of posing these pilot figures. The first thougth is to make them look like they are gritting their teeth as they squeeze the trigger on their machine guns! However, when you think about it, when are the pilots in a model cockpit viewed the most? On the ground! That is where the air show spectators and our flying buddies really notice how cool the cockpit and the pilot looks. If the pilot is gritting his teeth and straining to a G-load... sitting there on the ground, he is going to look like he ate some bad Mexican food! Lol!
So with that thought, I try to pose the pilot so they will look natural on the ground as well as in the air. WIth Pappy, I purposely made him lean to the left so that he could look around the big long nose the Corsair! As for the positioning of the arms etc. That gets into a whole structural and casting issue that would make things more expensive. However, unlike the "Barbie-doll" style pilots, you can be sure that my pilots will stay in the position you put them in after a flight!
Here are some pics of Pappy in Frank Harris/Kyle Goodwine's Top Gun entry the F4F Wildcat (Pappy did fly Wildcats, just not in combat). If he looks like he is not that engaged in flying the plane is open to opinion, but I think in the one shot he seems to be fixated on all those trophies!
Again, thanks for posting and your interest in the "build" guys! Now I'm going to go do some flying!!!
Hey Chris, thanks for offering your opinion on the pose of Pappy. I wanted to touch on my thought process of posing these pilot figures. The first thougth is to make them look like they are gritting their teeth as they squeeze the trigger on their machine guns! However, when you think about it, when are the pilots in a model cockpit viewed the most? On the ground! That is where the air show spectators and our flying buddies really notice how cool the cockpit and the pilot looks. If the pilot is gritting his teeth and straining to a G-load... sitting there on the ground, he is going to look like he ate some bad Mexican food! Lol!
So with that thought, I try to pose the pilot so they will look natural on the ground as well as in the air. WIth Pappy, I purposely made him lean to the left so that he could look around the big long nose the Corsair! As for the positioning of the arms etc. That gets into a whole structural and casting issue that would make things more expensive. However, unlike the "Barbie-doll" style pilots, you can be sure that my pilots will stay in the position you put them in after a flight!
Here are some pics of Pappy in Frank Harris/Kyle Goodwine's Top Gun entry the F4F Wildcat (Pappy did fly Wildcats, just not in combat). If he looks like he is not that engaged in flying the plane is open to opinion, but I think in the one shot he seems to be fixated on all those trophies!
Again, thanks for posting and your interest in the "build" guys! Now I'm going to go do some flying!!!
07-13-2013, 06:13 AM
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RE: Sculpting a WWII Japanese pilot 1/5 scale
ORIGINAL: Fly4Real
So with that thought, I try to pose the pilot so they will look natural on the ground as well as in the air. WIth Pappy, I purposely made him lean to the left so that he could look around the big long nose the Corsair! As for the positioning of the arms etc. That gets into a whole structural and casting issue that would make things more expensive. However, unlike the ''Barbie-doll'' style pilots, you can be sure that my pilots will stay in the position you put them in after a flight!
So with that thought, I try to pose the pilot so they will look natural on the ground as well as in the air. WIth Pappy, I purposely made him lean to the left so that he could look around the big long nose the Corsair! As for the positioning of the arms etc. That gets into a whole structural and casting issue that would make things more expensive. However, unlike the ''Barbie-doll'' style pilots, you can be sure that my pilots will stay in the position you put them in after a flight!
07-13-2013, 11:55 AM
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RE: Sculpting a WWII Japanese pilot 1/5 scale
ORIGINAL: Prekin
It is a great idea to make Japanese pilot. So the last, what is missing is a Russian pilot.
It is a great idea to make Japanese pilot. So the last, what is missing is a Russian pilot.
Nice job by the way. Your work is exceptional as usual. Keep up the good work.
07-13-2013, 12:03 PM
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RE: Sculpting a WWII Japanese pilot 1/5 scale
ORIGINAL: Fly4Real
Thanks for the interest and comments guys! Don't worry about thread hijacking Dasintex. This is RCU after all... this thread could end up talking about how much aileron differential to put in a Pietenpol! Lol.
Hey Chris, thanks for offering your opinion on the pose of Pappy. I wanted to touch on my thought process of posing these pilot figures. The first thougth is to make them look like they are gritting their teeth as they squeeze the trigger on their machine guns! However, when you think about it, when are the pilots in a model cockpit viewed the most? On the ground! That is where the air show spectators and our flying buddies really notice how cool the cockpit and the pilot looks. If the pilot is gritting his teeth and straining to a G-load... sitting there on the ground, he is going to look like he ate some bad Mexican food! Lol!
So with that thought, I try to pose the pilot so they will look natural on the ground as well as in the air. WIth Pappy, I purposely made him lean to the left so that he could look around the big long nose the Corsair! As for the positioning of the arms etc. That gets into a whole structural and casting issue that would make things more expensive. However, unlike the ''Barbie-doll'' style pilots, you can be sure that my pilots will stay in the position you put them in after a flight!
Here are some pics of Pappy in Frank Harris/Kyle Goodwine's Top Gun entry the F4F Wildcat (Pappy did fly Wildcats, just not in combat). If he looks like he is not that engaged in flying the plane is open to opinion, but I think in the one shot he seems to be fixated on all those trophies!
Again, thanks for posting and your interest in the ''build'' guys! Now I'm going to go do some flying!!!
Thanks for the interest and comments guys! Don't worry about thread hijacking Dasintex. This is RCU after all... this thread could end up talking about how much aileron differential to put in a Pietenpol! Lol.
Hey Chris, thanks for offering your opinion on the pose of Pappy. I wanted to touch on my thought process of posing these pilot figures. The first thougth is to make them look like they are gritting their teeth as they squeeze the trigger on their machine guns! However, when you think about it, when are the pilots in a model cockpit viewed the most? On the ground! That is where the air show spectators and our flying buddies really notice how cool the cockpit and the pilot looks. If the pilot is gritting his teeth and straining to a G-load... sitting there on the ground, he is going to look like he ate some bad Mexican food! Lol!
So with that thought, I try to pose the pilot so they will look natural on the ground as well as in the air. WIth Pappy, I purposely made him lean to the left so that he could look around the big long nose the Corsair! As for the positioning of the arms etc. That gets into a whole structural and casting issue that would make things more expensive. However, unlike the ''Barbie-doll'' style pilots, you can be sure that my pilots will stay in the position you put them in after a flight!
Here are some pics of Pappy in Frank Harris/Kyle Goodwine's Top Gun entry the F4F Wildcat (Pappy did fly Wildcats, just not in combat). If he looks like he is not that engaged in flying the plane is open to opinion, but I think in the one shot he seems to be fixated on all those trophies!
Again, thanks for posting and your interest in the ''build'' guys! Now I'm going to go do some flying!!!
07-13-2013, 08:29 PM
#14
RE: Sculpting a WWII Japanese pilot 1/5 scale
But! He still needs a hand on the throttle to taxi or take off...
Anyway just my $0.02. I was looking at the figure trying to decide if I want to do surgery to relocate his arm position. Ive made 4 figures before but you know how much work goes into these.
Keep'em coming!
Anyway just my $0.02. I was looking at the figure trying to decide if I want to do surgery to relocate his arm position. Ive made 4 figures before but you know how much work goes into these.
Keep'em coming!
07-15-2013, 04:38 PM
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RE: Sculpting a WWII Japanese pilot 1/5 scale
how about some RAAF Aussie pilots? 1/5 to 1/4 scale in full body would be very good.
"Bluey" Truscott & Clive "Killer" Caldwell spring to mind.
"Bluey" Truscott & Clive "Killer" Caldwell spring to mind.
07-17-2013, 10:36 AM
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RE: Sculpting a WWII Japanese pilot 1/5 scale
Given enough time, Imight get around to all of the suggestions I've had for pilot subjects, however Imay need an extra set of hands! Thanks for the interest guys!
With the facial features pretty well set(of course as time goes on I will probably do some tweaking - I can't help myself!)... it is on to the goggles. The aviation goggles are challenging because they are geometric and mirror images of the other. I found that making the lenses from soda can aluminum and the frames from wire, makes this a lot easier to work with than soft Sculpey clay. Clay is great for organic stuff, but the precise geometric stuff gets too fragile and easy to dent. The ring attachment from the goggles to the goggle strap is actually snipped off bit of spring from a ball point pen. Love it when I found objects fit the bill! Recycling at its best. Also, if you can zoom in, note the texture on the goggle straps. I think I mimicked the actual article's texture pretty good. It was simply done by dragging a fine bristle brush vertically then horizontally across the surface. The little textures are what make the pilots so much fun to paint and will do a lot of work for you when a wash is applied! Also knocking in a little of the flying helmet. It seems they had a kind of "bill" that could be lowered or snapped to the upper forehead area of the helmet. Note the back side of the snap on the bill. Also am knocking in the fur inside the helmet flaps and Saburo has both eyebrows now!
With the facial features pretty well set(of course as time goes on I will probably do some tweaking - I can't help myself!)... it is on to the goggles. The aviation goggles are challenging because they are geometric and mirror images of the other. I found that making the lenses from soda can aluminum and the frames from wire, makes this a lot easier to work with than soft Sculpey clay. Clay is great for organic stuff, but the precise geometric stuff gets too fragile and easy to dent. The ring attachment from the goggles to the goggle strap is actually snipped off bit of spring from a ball point pen. Love it when I found objects fit the bill! Recycling at its best. Also, if you can zoom in, note the texture on the goggle straps. I think I mimicked the actual article's texture pretty good. It was simply done by dragging a fine bristle brush vertically then horizontally across the surface. The little textures are what make the pilots so much fun to paint and will do a lot of work for you when a wash is applied! Also knocking in a little of the flying helmet. It seems they had a kind of "bill" that could be lowered or snapped to the upper forehead area of the helmet. Note the back side of the snap on the bill. Also am knocking in the fur inside the helmet flaps and Saburo has both eyebrows now!
07-17-2013, 04:08 PM
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RE: Sculpting a WWII Japanese pilot 1/5 scale
Very nice, coming along very well. It amazes me how you capture the facial characteristics along with the uniform items.
07-17-2013, 08:39 PM
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RE: Sculpting a WWII Japanese pilot 1/5 scale
Just remember that Saburo Sakai was a JNAF aviator. Most would not know the difference but there were differences between the JAAF and JNAF flight uniforms. Like I said though, most would not know the difference and just the fact that there is now an option to have a Japanese pilot figure besides the one that Dave Platt offers, and it is also done to closely resemble an actual Japanese ace, is a great thing. He would look good in that 1/5th scale Tony or better yet, that new Ki-45 Nick that Dave Andersen is developing. See this link: http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_11203194/tm.htm
07-18-2013, 01:48 PM
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RE: Sculpting a WWII Japanese pilot 1/5 scale
Excellent point...the JNAF included naval aircraft like the Zero, Raiden, and the George. the Army aircraft included the Tony, Oscar, Tojo and the Frank