#TOOCOOLTUESDAY: THE MODEL PERFECTIONIST : NO SMALL TIME HOBBY

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY! I have made this #BANNER using a series of promotional photographs that were commissioned by the #HAMMERFILMS  press office, during the publicity campaign of their fourth #FRANKENSTEIN film with Cushing, 'Frankenstein Created Woman' with Susan Denberg. It's true, while the good Baron was very great at making 'Monsters', Cushing was quite an accomplished and expert model maker. 

EVERYTHING FROM his model soldiers, used in his #WARGAME past-time, model aircraft, ships, boats, houses and theater's . . . particularly theaters. After Cushing's death all of his model work, was auctioned to help pay his DEATH TAX bill..a REAL horror story... of the eight or nine that still existed, displayed and fully functional in the attic studio workshop at his Whitstable home, some are now in the 'eat you heart out collectors' MEGA COLLECTION, of huge Cushing fan and director, Guillermo del Toro Gómez. Each of the theaters, consisted of a proscenium arch, scenery, tabs, curtains, actors, props and a fully operational lighting system, complete with lightning board. 

I HAVE LABELLED  the photographs, with close up images, so you can see the amazing eye for detail and authenticity that Cushing really had. Take a look at the handmade GOBO light, with different colored gels and working selection motor. The lighting positioned at the rear of the set in photograph C, a shows that colored lighting gel, was positioned over the lamps, so that the light source on the model stage, depicted daylight! I have no idea just how much the theaters sold for, but from his telephone bidding on the day, it's known their was huge interest in the theaters, and the 'lolly' that went under the hammer, was big bucks.

IF YOU LIKE what you see here at our website, you'll  love our daily themed posts at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE.  Just click that blue LINK and click LIKE when you get there, and help us . . Keep The Memory Alive!. The Peter Cushing Appreciation Society website, facebook fan page and youtube channel are managed, edited and written by Marcus Brooks, PCAS coordinator since 1979. PCAS is based in the UK and USA    

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY: A NEW TARKIN BUST TO SET THE STANDARD?

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY: BACK A YEAR OR TWO, it seemed we were seeing a new Peter Cushing bust every few weeks! Then along came Jordu Schell's Tarkin bust, and that certainly set the standard, and a time for pause... This weekend I came across the excellent work of Phillip Thomas Johnson. He has a Tarkin/Cushing bust work in progress right now, that i thought you'd like to see, because it looks . . .  outstanding and may have set a new standard.

I WOULD GO AS FAR to say, this is the best Cushing bust, I have seen yet. Granted, it's not complete yet, and I figure that the blue photograph included here, where his bust has hair, maybe a hair applied by photoshop, to give some idea what the finished bust would look like with a full barnet! 

THE SCHEL bust  has realistic skin tones, not a marble or stone effect, the eyes too are glass, and that is the one problem I have always had with this bust. It's a problem that even the most skilled artist, with mountains of cash behind them, have experienced...you'll remember the 'slightly off eyes' of the CGI Tarkin in Rogue One? This, for me, has always been present in the Schel bust too. Maybe there is something about the 'stone' gaze of a statue, with no colour, that makes the eye line more forgiving? I am not an expert, but that's how it looks to me. I can't wait for Robinson's finished results. What do you think? How do you think it compares to other Tarkin busts and figures?

ALL PHOTOGRAPHS of the Phillip Thomas Robinson Tarkin Bust are the property of the owner. You can find out more about Phillip's work: HERE!

ABOVE: THE CGI TARKIN FROM 'ROGUE ONE' (2016)

If you LIKE what you find posted here . . Please visit us at our daily themed posts at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE and help Keep The Memory Alive!

The Peter Cushing Appreciation Society website, facebook fan page and youtube channel are managed, edited and written by Marcus Brooks, PCAS coordinator since 1979. PCAS is based in the UK and USA and posts are made from both countries and
cross several time zones.