The Iron Man
Once the torso and head were designed and built,it was time for limbs to be made. My intention was to stick with the"steam age" influence for his arms and legs,so connecting rods and simple hinges were the chosen forms.
Fig 1. Torso with limb attachment bosses
Fig 2. Digger style arms
Fig 3.Con-Rod thighs and piston calves
All the parts were Prototyped in Balsa foam from which Silicon rubber moulds were made,these were then filled with polyurethane casting resin to make the final pieces. the fore-arms and "digger" hands were made from plastic-card.
The Painting Process/Finishing
The figure was primed as 9 seperate parts Head,Torso,2 upper legs 2 lower legs 2 upper arms and 2 fore-arms with hands. At this point I discovered that Halfords brand primer does not like to adhere to Resin (it flaked off once dry!!) Therefore a specialist resin primer by Vallejo was used (after an extensive tooth-brushing of the cast parts first).Once the primer was dry,everything was sprayed a Mid-Dark Grey. At this point I embarked upon the dark art of weathering,adding dust rust and wear and tear to the figure,There is a Bi-Monthly magazine available devoted solely to this subject.
Fig 4. The Iron Man with rust,scratches and metallized highlights added.
Fig 5. The hands received more extensive weathering.
I also realised I would need a companion for Mr Iron to give him scale and a little context,so a tiny Hogarth in Duffel-coat was made from Fimo and painted with acrylics.
The Iron Man.
Complete with Battleship Chain "wings" on his back
His feet are supposed to look like Ingots of "pig" Iron.
So there it is! I hope you have enjoyed looking at the "build" progress and as always any comments or criticism's are welcome...
Ed Allen 2012
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