Rob: The pleasure is mine Rob to share this all of you and you have been very supportive to me since I joined the forum which really helped me stretch myself. Yes I llike the guy on bonnet the best as well. He is going to be fun to paint! I am probally going to have to close their hands or resculpt them whcih I am looking forward to. That is probally going to be my next frontier sculpting my figures. I will probally start with AM heads, biits and hands and sculpt the torsoe, legs and arms with Apoxy Sculpt and wire. Being able to create my own poses and figures at will would grant me God Like Powers!!!! Hahahahhahahahha!
Jason: Steve first of all Jason I appreciate all the thought you put into your response! I served in a Vulcan Gun Crew durng the first Gulf war and I pulled on that experience for this emotional peice.
The Horch along with the Chevy and my AS 42 have all been built as seperate pieces and will be initially displayed that way will ultimately go into a North Africa Oasis Diorma where the the Iltalians and Germans will be at breifly stopped at an oasis Well and the LRDG patrol will unexpectly on all parts crash the party. The name of the Dio is tentalively" Unexpected Guests". I wanted to capture the moment right before this unexpected violent encounter with all three common gun trucks respresented.
I hope that makes sense and sheds more light on a murky subject whish is my creative subconcious.
The figure on the Bonnet is a perfect fit and he is designed to sit on a Jerry can but he looks so natural there that even his boot heel curls arond the bumber. I like him very much and I also like he is the only figure in a differnet uniform which accentuates his aloneness is that makes sense.
Also during the hottest part of the day there is no shade. Vehicles and structures do not provide them unless it is early or late in the day and the angle fo the sun is just right. It very surreal and the last think I ever wanted to do was to get on the ground where the sand fleas and rock spiders and scorpions are. As far as the rifles Jason they never leave your hand ever. You sleep on them, you point with them, you lean on them, you cry on them, you rely on them for you life and your buddies life, and every spare moment is spent caring for them. The figure is using the rifle to steady and support his crouched postion and the figures are provinding security and what I envision is that they are on a rise on a desert where often it so flat and appears featurelsss and you can see the curvature of the earth which I beleive is about 8.5 miles, but the dips and depressions can hide huge elements of men and equipment. The two rear guys are providing scecurity while the two front guys are hydrating.
I hope this makes it more clear what I envisioned and of course I am pulling form my own experiences which colors the piece. Thank you for taking the time to comment it is always welcomed!
Wayne: Hey there you are it not like you to not be present during a desert themed piece! Thank you Wayne for the kind comments and the depresion is still a work in porogress I am going to see if I can add some stands of static grass and more rocks and sand. I had to let it set up overnight and get a fresh perspective today.! I have lots of equipment and stowage and figures to do. I also have some wildlife and maybe a skull or two to add or wreckage in the bottom of the ravine. My head is roiling with the possiblities this morning!
"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance. That principle is contempt prior to investigation."
Herbert Spencer