The Bust Saga (part 1)

Marko Paunović, 10th April 2021

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If you are a bit older and from Zagreb, you probably remember Saga o Pičekima? If not, the joke will elude you. Well, hopefully beside the Croatian pun, you will like the rest of this saga. Goran and Marko will take you on a miniature painting journey while they build and paint one and the same bust for their Admin Challenge. Why call it a saga? Because everyone who knows them knows this will take a while to finish.... They chose a bust by Crecy Models that comes in two options – as King Ladislav Jagellone and as Grand Master of Teutonic Order Ulrich von Jungingen. Goran and Marko will do different versions...

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MARKO: When an announcement about this bust (King Ladislav version) hit me on FB, I knew I had to pick it up ... And Goran didn't need much persuasion either. As soon as he agreed, the idea of a new Admin Challenge was born for the FB group Miniature Painters Croatia ... In fact, Goran proposed it, and given (at that time) the situation of calming down with Corona and decreasing numbers of infected, we decided to work exclusively on Wednesdays during Hobby Corner on Wednesdays - motivation, learning, socializing, who knows, maybe we'll make a video clip or two... Before any serious work, I like to assemble things I'm about to use (in this case, the clean and uncluttered table is a big help) ...
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GORAN: In this Admin challenge, I chose to build my bust as the Teutonic Grand Master. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to go to the hardware store to get some kind of rod with which to attach the bust to the stand, but I will try to do it by next time.
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MARKO: The first thing I noticed in this set is that the crown will be difficult to separate from the "core" without damage. For some reason, the crown has an "podium" on the entire lower part that needs to be removed, and it seems firmer than any part of the crown.
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The first thing that came to my mind was a circular saw on my Proxxon. However, as soon as I started, albeit at the lowest ratio, the resin started to melt from the heat, and the vibrations were strong as well.
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So I gave up that option and tried it with a very sharp scalpel. This was accomplished with a great deal of care not to force the blade through the material.
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GORAN: I started working on the bust by using several types of scalpel blades to remove debris and artifacts from what I assumed to be a prototype cast, which, I also assume, was made by 3D printing in resin. Then I started to remove the large debris on the cloak of the bust, which took me the most time, because it is an irregular surface with a lot of curvature and unevenness.
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MARKO: Since Goran described the removal of the excess material, I will omit that part. The last thing I did was drill a hole in the bottom of the bust and the same on the makeshift wooden base.
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The idea is to do the painting with this base - even if I get paint on it, who cares, and when I'm done with the work, I'll put the bust on the plinth I intend to use.
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GORAN: In the end, I glued the cloak holders and decorative shields, and the helmet visor, which came off as soon as I stored the figure in the box, so I’ll have to come up with some more permanent solution to attach it.
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  • CSSR 1986 Diorama part 7
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