At last I’ve got my MkXV1e Spitfire commission to the stage where it can be seen! I usually sculpt animals, so this commission has been a bit of a change….but I like a challenge!
Next, I’ll be taking this original wax sculpt to the company who are going to mould it for me and then after a ‘tech-wax’ meeting, where any forseeable problems can be spotted and sorted, the original wax will then be ‘put under rubber’.
The Spitfire has been made in several parts which will be moulded separately, and then reconstructed after each bit is cast. I’m going to produce this in cold-cast pewter, which is a resin cast which has a layer of finely ground metal powder on the surface. When it comes out of the mould, it’s rather dull and lifeless, but after wire-woolling and then buffing on a bench grinder with a polishing mop and compond, it is transformed! I then coat it in liquid black wax and buff again to a shine. I’ve given the Spitfire a subtle texture which will provide a ‘key’ for the wax in places, and this will contrast with the polished pewter.
I wasn’t really sure how to create the stand for the Spitfire when I first started. I didn’t want a typical model aircraft stand, but something more ‘sculptural’ and shapely. I used the front dial from our broken stereo as the starting point and tried to create a ‘whoosh’ shape which also has a lovely curve whatever angle it is viewed from. It also obviously has to be able to support the Spitfire when it’s placed on top, so there will have to be an armature in place inside when the stand is cast.
Once all the parts are cast and assembled, the whole thing will be mounted on a lovely piece of stone which I got from the quarry down the road via Natural Stone Direct. I’ve been commissioned to make four of these MkXV1’s so I have four pieces of sandstone which have come from the process of making stone chimney pots. These lovely ’roundels’ of stone are the inside, the core, of the chimney pots and perfect for the Spitfire base.
More soon as each stage is completed….
