The autosavant/lexmechanic WIP #4 (almost finished!)

"I'm completely operational, and all my circuits are functioning perfectly."

The lexmechanic is painted, but it is not finished yet. I've applied way too much gloss to the robe via inks, acrylic mediums and varnishes and now I'm struggling to make the surface a bit more matte. This is not the first time I have this problem, so it's about time to find some solution. Usually pigments mixed with matte varnish give a very matte finish (in fact, it gives a very rough, dirty finish, which is also not very good). A few layers of (pigment+varnish)-based wash seem to kill the gloss a bit, but it's not enough and of course it change the colours. Perhaps adding a bit of talc to the mixture would do the trick?

Anyway, please let me know what you think ! Thanks!

Cherub WIP #2

Hello!
The cherub from the previous post is almost ready for painting. I've decided to use a kind of scroll/banner (not sure yet) to attach it to the base. It looks a bit strange, but I think that I like it.

And now - a bonus:

Silicone madness and some good BeeSPutty Plastic

Hello!

Despite being focused mostly on my scientific activities, I've managed to find some time for the hobby.
Firstly, I've done some minor work on the female character, that is, I've replaced her leg with a more slim one. Then I tried to make a mould to copy the model and it did not go well.

I failed to degas the silicone enough and I ended up with air bubbles in recesses. Here is an example:

As I really want to make a good copy, I'm going to just acknowledge my failure and try again. This time I will devote more attention to the process, making layers of silicone instead of pouring the whole mixture at once. Hopefully, the effect will be better this time.

But there are also some good news! I've finally received a longed-for silver envelope from Masq-Mini, with a new BeeSPutty Plastic (Grey Firm) inside. I was very excited, since I had a really good opinion on the normal BeesPutty (you can find the reason for it here ).

I have a limited experience with bakeable putties, so I can only compare BeeSPutty to Green Stuff or Miliput. And clearly, I cannot say that it's better or worse, as it is just a different type of thing.

The Plastic BeesPutty lacks the sweet honey smell of the regular one, but this is probably the only unambiguous drawback I can think of. Some would say that it could be more sticky etc. but then again, this may be an advantage in some contexts (for example, you can easily cut the soft putty without deforming it and so on). Needless to say, the best option is to use many kinds of putty. This is exactly what I'm doing while sculpting this little thing:

So far, it took me only two evenings. I believe that one more evening will suffice to finish this little guy. I know that the wings are kind of rough, but it's just a sort of an exercise model, so presumably I will leave it as it is.

Now, there is a question of how to attach it to the base. Mayhap I will just use a wire and hope that nobody will notice... or maybe, you have a better idea?

Thanks for reading and cheers!