Building: The Mummy

This was a small project, much smaller than my usual size. The Mummy stands just about eight inches high, compared to my usual figure height of 14-20 inches tall. This was an experiment, and overall I enjoyed the new challenges of working with Super Sculpey at such a scale. Unfortunately, I did not snap photos of the armature or foil-covered stages, but that won't hinder things very much. Despite the post order, this piece is older than the Mechanic and was constructed after the Captain.

1. The blocking stage. This is the first layer of Sculpey with a few anatomy details laid atop the initial layer. It's always a good way for me to get a feel for how much foil is actually needed before I get into any detailed sculpting.

2. Smoothing and more blocking; this time it's the clothing. The pose has changed a bit as well.

3. After moving further along with the clothing detail, I had to stop and plan out the method I was going to use to set the bandages in place. Cutting too deep would make them appear too thick, and if they were too lightly carved in, they would easily get sanded away.

4. The pants and belt, along with the shoulders, have gotten some seams. The tie is also now in place.

5. I finally discovered the perfect tool for carving the bandages - the long needle from the first post (#6 in the first photo of various tools). After I'd sharpened it to a fine point, it was slow going while etching the lines in place. My hands aren't the most steady things anymore, so it got a little hairy at times.

6. Since the face had finally gotten its bandages, the mustache and cigar could also be added. The cigar is on a small length of wire and can be removed at any time; this was useful for painting, as always.

7. Whoops! Looks like you've dropped something. Oh, it's your hand. Yes, during baking, the left had somehow decided to drop straight off. Thankfully it wasn't otherwise damaged, but the break was too messy to glue. What to do, what to do...Oh, I know!

8. After creating a tinfoil sling, I added new Super Sculpey to the broken area (circled in red), repaired the bandages, and put the figure back into the oven for 15 minutes. The result was a successful reattachment. The new clay was lighter and the hat got a bit darker, but other than that, it was smooth sailing.This is a useful technique for filling in cracks, though if you're following the instructions on the box, Super Sculpey shouldn't crack during baking.

9. Sanding and base coats. Not much else to say.

10. The sanding is done, and more base coats have been added.

11. Still more coats. Moving on.

12. Now some shading has been added, plus a bit of the detail work like buttons and the belt buckle.

13. The shading of the bandages needed some varied tones of gray to give it a more natural look. A second tone had been added to the shirt for shading and seams, too.

14. The painting is mostly finished now; only a little more to go.

15. The final shot, with multiple views (which were strangely missing before now); the Mummy is now completed. This character is actually so massive that, if I'd sculpted him to scale with the others I've done, he would have needed to be about 24-27 inches tall, and his shoulders would have ended up 14-18 inches wide. I'd always wanted to sculpt him, but I haven't exactly got room for something so huge. Working at a smaller scale was a fun change. The other characters from his story could be sculpted to scale with this smaller version, however, but they would be an even greater challenge. I don't know if I'm capable of sculpting tiny details on 4-6 inch high figures.

Well, that's it for this Mummy adventure.