Dog bronze casting inspection prior to patina application

First inspection of the metal phase: I used a sharpie to mark the areas of the bronze that needed revisiting. The metal chaser will take use an assortment of tools to clean up the areas I noted. Once the metal detailing is up to my standard the patina phase will begin. The client has chosen a traditional brownish patina.

Wax positive pulled from the mold

Today I visited the foundry for the wax inspection. I found several minor areas that needed revisiting. There where several cavities I marked with the felt marker that needed filling. Overall it looks very good. The next inspection will be the metal inspection. After they pour the bronze and get it close to finish, I will revisit the foundry for a detail inspection. They estimate 3-4 weeks to complete the wax chasing, ceramic shell; pour.  

The dog sculpture made it safely to the foundry. The process should take about 8 weeks to produce the bronze casting.

Chavant NSP hard clay used for sculpting a life size dog model sculpture

This video will show you a better view of the completed dog clay model.

Life size dog sculpture ready for foundry

The dog sculpture is finally ready for the foundry. Applying the fur texture too quite a while to complete. Nevertheless, I am very pleased with the results.

Though most people viewing the sculpture will never look underneath to peak at the belly area, it was important to me, not to cut corners.

Dog fur texture created with a hot wax tool

The image shows the results of using Gile's Precision Waxer. The tool was designed for wax carving; however, it works great on oil based clays. Chavant NSP hard is my clay of choice and since the NSP clay is composed of a higher percentage of wax components it leaves me with cleaner textures.

Click on image for a detailed view

Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier bust is ready for molding

Well the head/bust section of the wheaten terrier has been detailed. I was not happy with the results I was obtaining with the dental tool; therefore, I modified one of my hot-wax tips in order to created the dog's coat texture. 

I will commence on the remaining sections tomorrow. Mike & Barb, please review the completed sections and send me instructions if we still need tweaking.

As you can see the coat is very detailed. Thousands of individual hair lines are being created one at a time.

This bust would make a beautiful stand alone piece for displaying on a table. Similar to my English Bulldog bronze bust.

To view detailed images, Please click on any of the images