BLUE WHALE from CANON

[carlos filipe]

Designed by Kyoichi Shimazaki
Model reduced to 25% of original size. The diorama base measures around 90mm (roughly 3’’).

[carlos filipe]

Building the whole body would make a big model and still remained the question of producing an interesting model. So I opted for a little diorama of a playful giant. An adult blue whale can reach up to 30.00m (100ft).

[carlos filipe]

Whilst building the model I couldn’t help thinking where the boundaries for paper models. I use several media in my works. Never had to think about it when I was into plastic, but with paper I sense a set of strict rules over my shoulder.
50 years ago, I glued my models (hand drawn) with a sticky glue with the consistency of honey. If I would build a flying kite I would ask my mother a little of flower to mix with water, that was the perfect glue for (in a direct translation) silk paper, eventually rice-paper.
Now everybody (well, almost everybody…) uses Pepakura, Rhino or other 3D computer programs. There’s even a spray to balance the acidity of the paper (it still amazes me, I’m still searching for it…).
There’s no doubt we came a long way.
But mixed media….

[carlos filipe]

DESCRIPTION OF THE WORK:
Assembled the kit following the instructions, but removed the tabs and glued new ones from the inside. I always do it and in a model this size it was even more important.
Still have difficulties with gluing parts on frames. They always cave in the middle and honestly haven’t understood what am I doing wrong. Since is an organic piece, not a industrial form, the problem was not that bad., but had to putty the depressions.
When sanding the paper around the frames, this got eroded, something only clear to see after the first airbrushing. I changed from Humbrol putty to Vallejo, fattened a little around the frames, finally I got an acceptable shape.

[Texman]

That is a really remarkable piece of mixed media work Carlos. Very well done!

[carlos filipe]

Hi Texman, thanks for the suport.
They call it a blue whale but in effect the skin color on the back is a dark green, almost black with grey spots. The belly color is off-white with some tones of greenish yellow (crustaceans incrusted, I believe). The blue comes from the haze, when looking at the whales from far. I tried to correct the color and add the spots that Canon designer didn’t included. The spots are done using a reverse technique: first you paint the color of the spots and then mask them so the second color can be applied. The model is so tiny and I was a little careless, they became a little oversized.

[carlos filipe]

The base is a piece of insulation foam 30mm thick cut with a hot wire. I created an irregular shape, fluid like water and the hole to attach the whale was off-center to give a tension between void and full. In the final base (ruined the first with fingerprints over the medium gel…) that off-center location is somewhat lost, but it is still there.

[carlos filipe]

The waves were done pressing my thumbs and then using a tool handle to add different ripples to a calm sea.
Sealed the base with Windsor & Newton fixative spray for pencil. Then airbrushed with Tamiya acrylic, Prussian blue, followed by a darker shade with the addition of some drops of black. To give the impression of the rest of the body of the whale I airbrushed a little bit of the ocean surface. The whale is supposed to be almost on the vertical, but the light refraction should show a distortion.

[carlos filipe]

When dried set the model in the hole and secured it with acrylic medium gel from Windsor & Newton. Then applied ripples to the surface of the ocean with a stiff brush dipped in the medium gel and covered the sides also. Milky white at first, slowly starts to become transparent, except where it is thicker (around the whale). Couple of days later started with the water driping form the body. I bought for this purpose a product form Faller (woodland Scenics has one similar too) called “Water effects” but it turned out to be medium gel…
Over a plastic bag wrapped and stretched around a box I spread lines of that water effect and let it dry. It becomes transparent like and sticky as cellophane. Cut to size piece by piece and attached it to the whale with a dab of medium gel. It requires patience as it dangles loose and will stick to your fingers if by chance you touch them. After curing for a couple of days I just applied acrylic white paint with a stiff brush and dry brushed the ripples.
I’m afraid I overdone the water cascading from the mouth, but I was looking for movement in the scene.

[carlos filipe]

Can’t remember who suggested another challenge, to increase the size of a model and superdetail it. I got hooked on that idea and started cutting another blue whale, this time in A3. The cheek that in this present diorama measures 45mm (1.75’’) will measure 360mm ( 14’’).
I have no idea of how long it will be…