[Open-Box Review] William Wallace by Kevin

Hi everyone , In our resin filled world we see many different subjects released , fantasy , fact, historical and fiction , the last is the area of the latest bust release from Nuts Planet . A fictional depiction but of a historical subject the release was announced here on PF

http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/new-release-of-nutsplanet-for-july.79438/

It is of course

Of course it is a version of the actor Mel Gibson portraying William Wallace in the 1995 film , in my opinion an enjoyable film , inaccuracies yes but great battle scenes!!

Of course its a fictional version and Wallace looked nothing like this in real life but like this:

his original sword is held at Stirling castle , over 2.5 m in length ...a feared weapon for sure

Wallace himself was said to be over 6'5" tall and a powerful and charismatic figure in real life , born in 1270 he led from the front so lets have some info on his military career

Sir William Wallace (from the Gaelic Uilliam Uallas) was a Scottish member of the lesser nobility who became one of the main leaders of the rebels during the Wars of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in September 1297, and was appointed Guardian of Scotland by an assembly of noblemen. He commanded the Scottish army until his defeat at the Battle of Falkirk in July 1298, when he resigned from his function. He was captured in August 1305 in Robroyston, near Glasgow, after the betrayal of the Scottish knight John de Menteith, and was handed over to King Edward I of England, who had him tortured and killed for high treason and crimes against English civilians.

There is a good article in 2014 which tells us that 3 skulls were found in London ..one is likely to be Wallace after analysis by experts from the National Museum of Ireland .

All three heads have visibly been dipped in tar and boiled for preservation, before being pierced by pikes or spears. According to the various tests and analysis realized on the three heads, two of the skulls have been proven by DNA, to belong to the brothers, John and Simon Fraser, while the third is strongly believed to have belonged to William Wallace. All three men were indeed condemned to being executed in 1305 and 1306, and many contemporary writers describe how the head of the three men were exposed at the same time atop the London Bridge, starting a tradition of gruesome dissuasion that was to continue for another 355 years .

Two of the skulls, turned out to have very similar genetics suggesting they were siblings. DNA comparison with descendants of John and Simon Fraser of Oliver and Neidpath, have confirmed that these were indeed the remains of the famous rebel knights banneret. All three rebels were in fact separately condemned to being hanged, drawn and quartered, an exceptionally cruel, long and bloody method of public execution. Convicts were fastened to a hurdle, or a wooden panel, and drawn by horse to the place of execution, where they were hanged almost to the point of death, but released while still alive. They were then emasculated, eviscerated and their bowels were burnt before them, before they were finally beheaded. Their bodies were then cut into four parts, to be exposed like the head, in different parts of the Kingdom. In the case of William Wallace, contemporary chronicles state that his preserved head was placed on a pike atop London Bridge while his limbs were displayed, separately, in Newcastle upon Tyne, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Stirling, and Perth. In the film our hero wears tartan here are a couple of modern version of the design

Also he carry's a very impressive sword based on the original

Here is a copy

this is Wallace as in The Edinburgh Dungeon

As we are looking at a particular depiction from the film lets have some pictures of Mr Gibson himself some good painting references

Release details are : Title: William Wallace Guardian of Scotland Reference: NP-B025 Scale:: 1/10th Material: Gray Resin No of parts: 7 Sculptor : Jun Sik Ahn Box art : Myeong-ha Hwang

As always parts are safely held between foam layers the smaller parts in a clear bag , a full colour version on the top with a group of 3 on the side with one showing where to fit the sword straps

Parts consist of the main torso , 2 hair pieces , 2 straps , the sword hilt and a base

Prep Torso ...Casting plug underneath to remove ( same position as all other releases), easy to do and get to . Hair pieces ...small plugs to remove and fit to head ...one sits proud , I would suggest perhaps putting it to the body more Straps...fit in place Sword ...small casting plug to cut off and fit to scabbard Base ...Fit if you decide to use it

Torso First thing to say is the surface of the resin showed no imperfections whatsoever , the underside being perfectly smooth as well...this has with all the reviews of busts I have done for Nuts releases a constant feature

Leaning very close to the film images , the sculptor has captured the look really well as I have come to expect from Jun-Sik , starting with the hair , long , straggly and entwined , very nice texture , strands sitting nicely on the neck , the hair swept back at the forehead being held by a tie to a pony tail ., under that we have an animals tail , again well shaped and detailed on the surface.

The pigtails are also well worked the ends being tied with a cord , there is as I said one that sits a little high so you might want to move closer

The Facial features are IMO the actor , perhaps the eyes are a little too level in shape and the cheeks might be a little too full looking at some pictures but it will paint well . The ears are well formed , small sideboards , nasal area has good definition particularly the nostrils , mouth is held tightly shut .

The clothing he wears again closely follows the film , folds are very naturally worked with the collar having a rough edging , the ends having cords . The armour has been very well defined , the individual plates are well shaped ( these were covered by material) , some however are torn to reveal the plate , rivets are one in each corner of the plates , at the neck area there is small stitching . The sword belt is exactly as seen , great undercuts, sharply cast , and pulling into the tartan material correctly The scabbard itself is ready to receive the sword hilt , then fitting the 2 small straps is needed as shown on the box side

The Tartan over his shoulder sits well and full , its tied together at the shoulder top , and has strong folds , again we see some tears and worn area's. The Sword Hilt is a real beast of a sword this has a good style and shape ...

I like the pommel the cross pieces have a nice decoration on the ends

The Base this is the standard pillar shaped one we have seen in previous busts and more than suitable for the purpose , fit is spot on to the underside of the torso ..I would suggest pinning as well

Final Thoughts Nuts Planet have again produced a quality subject , yes its not historically correct but who really cares the sculpting is first class , casting the same with minimal prep , this is a bust that will be a challenge to paint , lots of opportunities to get the textures of the cloth , tartan ( not too much!!) , leather and metallics ...a painters piece for sure .