So what Wiki tells us about Bust Bust is a sculpted or cast representation of the upper part of the human figure, depicting a person's head and neck, and a variable portion of the chest and shoulders, usually located on the base. Bust is usually made from marble, bronze or other durable material. Even in our figure s world, we meet the designation Bust. Here, however, this designation is not so strictly limited, and we can see different busts. Often, however, it is not a bust, but rather a half-figure. Here we can find the standard look of the bust. As one hand bust as two hands bust will still fall into the "bust" category. No matter what bust will, preparation will always be the same. Focus on 1 COPYRIGHT Milan TAIKO Dufek
I unpack the model box and check the content. I will also check the number of parts and their quality, or damage. It may happen that some parts are missing or very damaged, broken, unkempt, etc. It has only happened to me once. Do not be afraid to contact the manufacture of the bust. Damaged parts will usually replaced from the manufacturer. Nowadays, bust are casted from resin or metal. Metal models are more and more extruded by resin to reduce costs. Resin beautifully copies the details, but unfortunately it is very fragile. Metal is harder, but durable. Personally, I would imagine a bust, where large parts such as a torso, hands or head were cast from resin, and small parts like feathers, parts of weapons or ornaments were cast from metal. Focus on 2 COPYRIGHT Milan TAIKO Dufek
As I mentioned earlier, the busts are casted. Therefore, we can find a dividing plane, larger bends or surface inequalities on all parts. All this must be removed. My usual working tools are: scalpel with interchangeable tips, various shapes of rasper, model pliers and a razor blade. Focus on 3 COPYRIGHT Milan TAIKO Dufek
I remove larger casting extensions with a razor blade. It could be tedious and lengthy, but all the time I have the model and the saw under control. When using modeling pliers, it may happen, I split a piece of the model and that would be a shame. That's the reason why I use the pliers at least. However, may suit somebody. I remove the rough parts by scalpel then and dividing plane on the model by file. I do not use any electric tools. I do not have complete manage my work and any errors are very hard to fix. Focus on 4 COPYRIGHT Milan TAIKO Dufek
I have all parts cleaned and now I have to stuck together. Before it, I have to consolidate it. The consolidating of the model is called "pinning". This means, all the parts which to be glued, I will drill a hole and insert a piece of metal wire. This wire, together with the glue, will guarantee a strong connection. I use a hand drill and various sizes of drills for drilling. Again, I do not use an electric drill. I do not have complete manage my work and any errors are very hard to fix. I usually drill 1-2 holes. It depends on the size of the part and size of the area where it will be drilled. The paper clips are me favorite wire. I must also remember that the model will attached to the wooden base. In this case, I use a stronger wire. I glued all the parts together by canoacrylate glue and then glued by two-component glue to the wooden base. I need a really strong connection that will keep a trips to the exhibitions. Focus on 5 COPYRIGHT Milan TAIKO Dufek
There is a little trick how to drill opposed hole in the exact location. I take parts where I need to drill a opposed hole (1). I put a piece of Tack-It (2). Thepush it till does not fall out (3). Attach the part with the already drilled hole and push slightly together (4.). A fingerprint from the enclosed part (5.) appears in the Tack-It mass. Use a needle to mark the location where it will be drilled (6 and 7). I drill a hole (8). Insert a metal wire and adjust its length (9). I fit parts together and just gluing (10). Focus on 6 COPYRIGHT Milan TAIKO Dufek
Occasionally, some parts do not fit exactly at each other. There is a gap between them and the adhesive surface is too small, insufficient. In this case I use the twocomponent Magic Sculpt to fill the cavities. I ruddle the second part by water or linseed oil to keep the sealant on the part, and push both parts together. I remove extruded sealant and divide the parts. I keep out of the bust to next day to dry. Thanks to the sealant, the adhesive surface is increased. Focus on 7 COPYRIGHT Milan TAIKO Dufek
Another way how to mark opposite hole is by oil paint. First, we will drill the holes into first part. By toothpick and oil paint, we mark both drilled holes. We push two parts together. The oil paint will transferred to the second piece and marks the place, where we will drill. Then just drill the holes, insert the wires, and gluing two parts together. Focus on 8 COPYRIGHT Milan TAIKO Dufek
In some cases, the bust is glued straight to the wooden pedestal. More often, a resin piece to be attached to the bust and then blued to the wooden pedestal. I personally cut off these block and use only a small piece of them. I like it more. Before I start to complete the bust together, I check if I get a paintbrush to all places. In some cases, I paint parts separately. Therefore, have to be everything prepared perfectly efore, so that there is no error when gluing. Focus on 9 COPYRIGHT Milan TAIKO Dufek
After completing the bust, I will check the connectioins and repair the gaps. I use double-component Magic Sculpt for repairing. The mixing ratio is 50:50 (Magic Sculpt:Water). Works very well. The corrected passing is smoothed with a wet brush or by a file after hardening. What base to choose? That s a question. Personally, I choose several pieces of pedestals from my stock which could be used and putting them in one row. Then I will attach the bust to each pedestal and evaluate. Gradually I take off one by one and finally I have the one, I like the most. I choose by feeling and overall appearance. Focus on 10 COPYRIGHT Milan TAIKO Dufek
When I have the bust ready-made and glued to the wooden base, it's time to take a spray gun or spray in my hand. Even as, the last step before painting, it is to protect the base from dirt or damage during painting. For this purpose, I'm using a glue tape that I will cover the base. The remaining parts cover Tack-It. It's time to start the compressor and shake the spray. I used a white spray at first, but I switched to a spray gun and white color. Not only did, my favorite base Citadel s spray sneak so was unbearable, but I also had to go to the balcony. Now I can handle everything at my desk. Base color will unify the surface of the model and show any errors that we have overlooked before. I remove errors and repaint them again by basic white color, if I find such mistakes. The color property is, that it highlights any surface roughness on the model. I have seen some beautifully painted models where was a small dividing plane or a poorly repaired surface. This reduce the overall impression of the model at all. Focus on 11 COPYRIGHT Milan TAIKO Dufek
As the last step before the painting of the model, is pre-shading. For this purpose I use dark blue and beige colors from Tamiya. I spray the model from the bottom with a dark blue color and then a beige color from the top by a spray gun. It's better to do it this way, because I'm getting access into poorly accessible places. I also tried black-and-white pre-shading, but there was too much contrast. This combination suits me and do my work easier on the next steps. In this article I described How to prepare the bust before painting. I believe, this article will help beginners to prepare the model well and advanced ones found some new tricks. Personally, I consider, that preparing the bust is very important step before painting. Do not underestimate it. Focus on 12 COPYRIGHT Milan TAIKO Dufek