Tuesday 15 March 2016

Curtgeld from StephenS - Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (40 Points)

I present Sir Edmund Hillary, whom embodied the spirit of a true adventurer in the mid-20th Century. He is most famous for being the first person to reach the top of Mt Everest. He was also the first person to reach both the North and South poles and summit Mt Everest. Truly a man that liked to test the limits no matter the elements or risks. He also seems to have not been a fan of the warmer climates.



Importantly, he was also the perfect excuse to paint up some of Bob Murch's lovely Pulp Figures for the first time. These guys are a real treat to paint and, I hope they will find a home among Curt's own collection of these characterful models.

I say these guys, because of course, Sir Hillary climbed with Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa mountaineer. It was obviously a team effort and it would cruel to separate them, so Curt gets an extra model!  =)



I mocked up a few different bases, but my wife, who has trekked the Nepalese Himalayas, said these were the closest match to what she remembered of the lead-up to the base camp. Sir Hillary isn't carrying the heavier gear that he had when they made the ascension on 29th May 1953. The actual expedition had over 400 people, including 362 porters and 20 Sherpa guides. Which is why Sir Hillary is travelling light at the moment.



I tried to match the colour scheme to a photo of the two, which I've included for comparison.



Thank you very much to Curt for organising such a fantastic challenge, and all the long hours that must go on behind the scenes to make it such a success. Thanks as well to the Minions, who stepped up and helped carry the load. This was my first challenge, and I enjoyed it immensely. Thank you again everyone.

Cheers,

Steve
Wow. These are wonderfully marvelous figures Stephen and an excellent interpretation of the Risk Taker theme. I'm a big fan of Bob's stuff and always have a great time working on his figures and I can plainly see you have as well. I love the archival photograph and how you've used it as your muse - fabulous. Thank you so much and I hope you join us again for the next Challenge season.

15 comments:

  1. Excellent choice, and lovely figures.

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  2. That is fantastic. Brilliant risk taker.

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  3. Great choice, fantastic work on these 2

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  4. These two are a great choice - all the great risk takers are out in force in this Challenge! Great brushwork as well!

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  5. Replies
    1. Mind , just where will you stores he terrain...

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  6. Great choice of Curtgeld figures Stephen :)

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  7. What a wonderful tribute to two intrepid souls Stephen. Great choice for the theme and Curt will treasure them I'm sure. I know I would!

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  8. Great choice and great painting Stepen. I am with Curt with linking the figures to the historical photos. I am 1/4 Kiwi and my grandfather was a big admirer of Sir Edmund. As well as his exploring feats, he has done an awful lot of humanitarian work for the Nepalese.

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  9. What an excellent choice. A Kiwi and Nepalese hero! Which one got to the top first? They never told anyone. Excellent!
    Really great work.
    cheers

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  10. Excellent work there! And a superb choice of subject!

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  11. Wow! Nice work on the Curtgeld! ;)

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  12. Lovely work Steve. Great imagination and then using the reference photo for the colour scheme just finishes it off nicely.

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