2nd JAWS project: Breaching Bruce Bust by FML

[MaulFan]

One thing I'm not a fan of which I'm sure Les'll not do with his, is this one takes and odd shape from the tip of the nose to the dorsal fin, it reminds me of the head flopping over the back end of the Orca more than the breaching shot, there's a curve like the head is bending downward, doesn't give the appearance of shooting up out of the water.

 

[Les Walker]

Actually, I like this bust very much. The paint job is boring, but I like it a lot structurally.
I hadn't planned on that much of the shark showing, that much with the fin. That is a LOT of material there. A lot. Costly to sculpt and to castup. And now you can see the teeth. No way to do that but one at a time. Hence my cost estimates. That will not be a cheap item to repro. No way.

Must think hard about this.... I almost wish I had bought this one, and revised it...
But I can sculpt all that, but now, I feel like a number 2. Someone's done it already.

Add in what I plan to do with paint, and this is gonna be one time consuming project. It has to be worth it for me to even start it.
To be honest, my ideas are a bit humbled now. That is a bigger project than I had envisioned. I will need to prepare better than I have.


That is a one-off also. Making multiples is gonna make it even harder.

Plan just what I want to do. Plan a base or no base, or like this one, how it sits on a shelf.
Get enough material to sculpt it.
Sculpt THAT, in essence.
Get LOTS of mold material. Big molds.
Mold it. Probably have to remove the lower jaw to do so.
Get a LOT of casting material. Don't think I can hollow cast that for sure.
Might can, but not sure how.
Cast the parts.
Clean and fit those parts.
Make teeth.
Cast teeth. LOTS of teeth, More teeth than I even thought.
Paint the busts.
Add the teeth.
Paint around that work.
Final polish work, touchups, etc.
Shipping costs figured to all of you.

I need to really think about what I want mine to be now.

 

[paulcarson]

I'm sorry to have given you all that extra work Les , and the headache of trying to figure out where to go with it.

 

[MaulFan]

Les, if it's any comfort, that piece is listed in the auction as 4/75, so that one is reproducable too.

Whatever you decide with this project, you've got my support. If it's too daunting, don't worry about it. I think it's safe to say, having Hooper, Brody and Quint figures is the cake of our JAWS efforts, and anything beyond them is extra icing on top, but doesn't take away any value from those figures. As they are, standing together on a shelf, they shine as beautiful figures and a permanent reminder of the friendship and teamwork poured into making them what they are.

 

[Trevolver]

just to put things into perspective, I was part of a private commission for a Maximus 1/4 scale statue that just now is going out to the people who were involved. I think I got into it before I started with Sideshow, so it's been a long road to getting that project finished, and there were a lot of bumps along the way of getting it cast and shipped. My point being....it was just a 1/4 scale figure, and most casters were flabbergasted at how much material it required to cast them out.

Bruce would be a MONSTER to make in 1/6 scale and to break down for molding and what not, let alone paint. Certainly something to think about for a while. Even making just the one would be so difficult....but, it can obviously be done....I just can't imagine doing it!

We'll support any decision you make, Les
Trev

 

[pjam]

You guys have all echoed my thoughts as well.

Let's face it

THIS IS A MONSTER!

I'm now thinking a Les modded recast of that piece might be a good way to go. What to recast it in I don't know but we are basically asking Les to do a full PF, even a SSC full design team takes a looong time to figure that all out -- and yes, the casting materials and such -- a very large task...

The teeth and jaw pieces alone, Yikes! Plus inner mouth and all that..
You know, I'm not so sure we need a full solid recast. it's super heavy and expensive...

Maybe, just maybe we should at least consider if it would be cool for Les to buy a piece from that Guy and do his thing with it.

Then, consider some kind of hollow cast, like jabba or something, maybe even a rubber cast. I bet Shawn at Soveriegn may have some ideas on how to do that as he has become a master at rubber casting...

Anyway, just a few thoughts...

Les, Bro. I think maybe you have too many barrels on ya, mate. I know you can do it and do an amazing piece but, Damn, that is asking alot from us!

Isn't it? And, after reading you last post, I just think all options in the direction of expediency should be explored.

Anyway, like Trev and the crew have expressed, any route you take is the route I, and I'm sure all of us, will follow.

 

[MaulFan]

I've had me an alternatative come to mind, and maybe it's equally beyond reasonable, but what about like a scaled jaw, kinda like that promo pic of the 3 guys framed by a great white jaw?

 

[Wor-Gar]

I'm sorry to have given you all that extra work Les , and the headache of trying to figure out where to go with it.

Yeah, I kind of thought this was a benefit to see a mock-up actually done. Too bad it seems to have had the opposite effect.

There's always the possibility of doing a smaller section of the shark, like I've cropped below. No need for dorsal really, and also cutting the piece off closer to the bottom of the jawline would help support the piece.

Obviously the mouth and TEETH are the really time consuming part to this project -- that's why it's called JAWS, right? -- but every little bit less to do helps I would think.

Maybe having the bust rolling over on his side -- you know, a 45 degree angle much like when Brody's on the mast and Bruce is rolling over below him -- maybe that could also help if, say, a portion of his mouth was "under water". A few less teeth to worry about.

Anyway, Les it's up to you, man. Ultimately you'll decide what works and at what cost. All I want is some form of Bruce 'bust' to go with my figures, and I'd love that bust to come from you. The whole "JAWS" thing and all. Just seems right somehow that mine has "Les Walker #1" written on the bottom. Or maybe "Les Walker made this special for Greg"... or maybe "Les Walker thinks Greg is Da Bomb"... something like that.

I hope we can figure out something.

 

[Wor-Gar]

OK, for those curious if this Bruce bust would work with their figures, I did a proper compare based on the guy's ebay specs for the shark (7 inches tall) and PS'd a ruler against Brody to show the scale...

Obviously way too small as a viable option. This bust is more 1/7th or even 1/8th scale.

Les: Hopefully that makes you feel better about not having a "wagon trail" before you.

No one's done a 1/6th Bruce yet.

 

[Les Walker]

Yeah, that helps, but...now you can see it will be even bigger! So, again, off the the plans. I have actual Bruce measurements here somewhere. When I find them, I will post and we can discuss the best base aspects.
NO WAY a fin will show. Too much material and space. I always envisioned something that can fit on the same shelf with our guys.
So, this will take more thought.

I am not out! NO WAY! Just have to think it through. Good we saw this. We needed to. Makes us realize how cool one will be though.
SEE! It is a great idea! Now everyone wants one!

And Greg, how about this one on your bust:

TO GREG...INADVERTANT SAVER OF REPUTATIONS! YOUR FRIEND, LES
(Inside joke...)

 

[Wor-Gar]

Yeah, that helps, but...now you can see it will be even bigger! So, again, off the the plans. I have actual Bruce measurements here somewhere. When I find them, I will post and we can discuss the best base aspects.
NO WAY a fin will show. Too much material and space. I always envisioned something that can fit on the same shelf with our guys.
So, this will take more thought.

I am not out! NO WAY! Just have to think it through. Good we saw this. We needed to. Makes us realize how cool one will be though.
SEE! It is a great idea! Now everyone wants one!

And Greg, how about this one on your bust:

TO GREG...INADVERTANT SAVER OF REPUTATIONS! YOUR FRIEND, LES
(Inside joke...)

Thanks, Les, I'm glad to help in any way I can. Always.


So, back to the bust issue, in terms of what part of the head and how much we see....

Here's some possibilities, I think I posted this before but hey...

I think this one above is pretty good. No dorsal, keeps the bust simply to the actual head, and has a nasty mouth wide enough to eat your figure and wide enough to make painting simpler.

This one is good in that I like the slight roll in the water, the head being off center, but I think the mouth might be too closed to work with easily. Then again, perhaps this helps hide some detail inside the mouth that would otherwise (like the one above) have to be sculpted and painted.

And this final shot of course IS the image I've always had in my head. It would have to be a little more submerged to lose the dorsal, but the gaping mouth and the slight roll to one side really captures this specific moment in the movie. Also works for the Chummin' Brody moment.


And if I really want to scare Les with size, look at this pic...

That guy must be a Liliputian.

 

[MaulFan]

Take this view, maybe roll it a bit more to the side, maybe not, but cut out the lower jaw and just have some water flowing into the mouth so you only have the upper jaw, and the effect of the visual should still be there while minimalizing the design a bit from a construction standpoint.

 

[Wor-Gar]

I think that might be a good solution, and actually something I spoke to with Les about some time ago. But now, seeing the scale of recent mock-up, maybe that idea is more realistic.

Something like this in terms of rolled with water in the mouth, not the body length showing...

I think if you can visualize the body submerged and the head in that position but up out of the water, that could relieve some exhausting detail work.

Plus, add a smoked glass base and the reflection you'll get would look a bit like water in his mouth reflecting his teeth so it looks like it's under the water.

 

[MaulFan]

Out of curiousity, I assume we all have the Sideshow maquette here, but is there anyone who doesn't?

 

[Wor-Gar]

Out of curiousity, I assume we all have the Sideshow maquette here, but is there anyone who doesn't?

I don't have it. I had to let it go at the time, short on funds.

But Les' bust is what I really want to replace Bruce's presence in my collection. I want something in scale that can be placed WITH these amazing figures. Obviously a 4 foot 1/6th scale complete shark is out of the question.

But getting the head just right, meaning getting the right angle in the "water" to create an expression and attitude, that is what will make this bust a real character out of the film.

 

[MaulFan]

One thing I love about Bruce's desing is the eyes and how there's almost a sense of personality looking at it, like there's thought process running through the shark.

 

[Wor-Gar]

One last note here, as long as there's some energy, I scaled the ebay bust to proper size relative to Brody...and here's the size you'd get...

Versus the actual scale of the ebay piece relative to Brody...

As you can see, this bust is gonna be mammoth to really look right with our figures...so perhaps considering an easier solution to all the detail work is more realistic right now.

Clearly having an accurate bust raised up like the mock-up is just too much -- too big, too heavy, etc. A more submerged head with no dorsal visible is the way to go. The sheer size of the head means having Bruce submerged as low as possible, past the gills, is probablt a good idea too. Maybe cut the head just behind the eyes even.

I like the "rolled in the water" idea with part of the lower jaw "beneath the water". I think it saves the effort to make the bottom jaw with all those teeth.

I think it's important that we settle just how much of the head will be seen because that has everything to do with the time and effort this bust will create -- and the simpler it is, the more likely Les can manage it with all his other work and the better it will fit in with our figures (meaning a smaller footprint on the shelf). Also, to minimize the head to some degree, meaning submerging more, will make it smaller to ship, and therefore save even more money.

That said, here's some other angles to consider:

The side roll:

Slight side roll with mouth wide but maybe more submerged:

Just peeking out, side roll very submerged:

Very submerged with mouth closed (or maybe just upper teeth showing):

These shots are shown just to consider how much of the actual head and mouth we see.

Love to hear what others think?

Trying to see just how much we're gonna see of the shark is much like Spielberg during the actual making of.

 

[pjam]

I guess I always had this image fixed in my mind Greg...

I'm not really interested in any roll poses.

Again, I'll leave it up to Les as mentioned.

 

[paulcarson]

Whoa ! I go to bed for a few hours and miss out on all this great stuff !

Some interesting ideas there , I'll be happy with whatever the final consensus is . Just to have something like this on a shelf itself would be totally JAWSome !

Sean, I thought about getting the Sideshow maquette at the time and still do, but there is something "off" about it . Add to that I just didn't have the available space at the time . It is a good representation of the shark, but unless I see one for a good price ( dream on ... ) I'll just be going for the head. What would be a cool addition would be the 1/6 scale oxygen tank to put in its mouth ! " show me the tank, show me the tank...blow up ! "

Makes me all pumped up to see Mr Quint now too ! But thats another discussion for another time ( and another thread ) .

 

[MaulFan]

What would be a cool addition would be the 1/6 scale oxygen tank to put in its mouth ! " show me the tank, show me the tank...blow up ! "

Indeed, I've periodically checked eBay for scuba tanks, even something remotely close, but no luck, most diving stuff I see is like snorkling level.

As for the maquette, ya it's not 100%, I'd probably have thought twice about him if I hadn't struggle for a long time to have a Bruce design full body shark, but having tried a multitude of times to make my own and even contacting McFarlane about the possibilities of them elaborating on their half shark with a full body, I'd all but given up on the idea of ever having it until Sideshow.

I think you bring up something worth thinking about with this JAWS shark head design though. It would add versatility if the mouth opening could accommodate a 1/6 tank but not be done so it only works with that, gives you more display options.