Sculpting Miniature Military Figures With Kim Jones (A Schiffer Book for Hobbyists) [Paperback]

Kim Jones (Author), Douglas Congdon-Martin (Author, Photographer)

Book Description

Series: A Schiffer Book for Hobbyists | Publication Date: September 1994

The art of creating military miniatures is centuries old. From the pharaohs of ancient Egypt to Frederick the Great to thousands of hobbyists today, this art form has fascinated us. In this new book Kim Jones takes the craftspeson step-by-step through the process. The figure is an American cavalryman of the late 19th century. Sculpted from epoxy putty on a brass armature, Kim brings an incredible accuracy and realism to the figure. While this book will be of primary interest to those involved in the hobby of creating military miniatures, it will also be of great help to all who use this flexible and exciting medium. Each step of the process is explained in photographs and words, so even the beginner will be able to carry out the project, while the advanced sculptor will learn some valuable insights from one of the best.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Schiffer Pub Ltd (September 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0887406262
• ISBN-13: 978-0887406263
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,813,237 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Beginners modelling book, May 26, 2008

By 

danny boy "dbswongv" (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sculpting Miniature Military Figures With Kim Jones (A Schiffer Book for Hobbyists) (Paperback)

This book is good for introducing beginners to the hobby of sculpting figures in general, not necessarily military figures. It focuses on a single demonstration of sculpting a 120mm figure in numerous photos which show each stage with clarity.
What disappoints is the quality of the sculpting which detracts from the book's true value. The final figure has a face which appears to be a caricature and not realistic at all. The anatomy and pose of the figure are also poorly rendered as can be seen on the cover page.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good book, October 14, 2007

By 

Some guy from VA (VA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sculpting Miniature Military Figures With Kim Jones (A Schiffer Book for Hobbyists) (Paperback)

This book includes nothing but captioned photos, showing creation of one figure from beginning to end. Only brass rod and epoxy putty is used, plus a few home made tools, described in detail btw. Perhaps one third of the pages are b&w, but it does not detract from the message - pictures are clear enough, and there is little color to see anyway.

Figure is in 120mm scale, and there is no advice for other scales. Creation of the model is explained step by step, illustrated by large number of photos. There is very little text, which I think works very well in this case.

True to the title painting is not described, although the figure is shown painted at the end.

I wish there was some additional advice covering variations of how the figure is created. For example, figure has an open mouth, it would be nice to see an additional picture "and here's how to make one with a closed mouth". Similarly, I'd be curious to see how to make a helmet, bare head, armor, etc. These things are esp. important to a novice sculptor, which this book seems to be aimed at. But: even as is this is a very useful book for those who want to try their hand at sculpting figures. My copy was published in 1994, but it stood well to passage of time.