Trifon Miniatures

120mm Michelangelo's 1st Pieta

Reviewed by  Dave Barry, IPMS# 46771

MSRP: $54.00 Website: www.gdcdreams.com.ar/trifon Trifon Miniatures is a newer company specializing in miniature figures and busts of historic and ScFi types between 54mm and 120mm in size. The owner, Guillermo Centeno is not only the sculptor but also paints his pieces for display (and very, very well I might add).. When IPMS had a chance to get a couple of his pieces for review, we jumped at the opportunity. The model consists of three pieces, cast in a smooth, milky white, semi-translucent resin. There is a main body piece, which is cast hollow to save weight and resin, a separate arm for Mary and a separate leg for the body of Christ. The resin is fairly soft and easy to clean up. There is one main seam line, which runs up the back of the main section, and disappears at the top of Mary's head. During the clean-up process, dozens of tiny "beads" were noticed in the seams and creases of the robe, but they just brushed off, leaving no air bubble pockets or other flaws. My example had one small air bubble in the top of one of the robe folds, and two tiny air bubbles in the tips of two fingers of the separate arms. They were filled with a CA glue/baking soda filler and sanded smooth, just a few minutes work. The arm and leg were attached with slow-set CA glue to allow for minor repositioning, no pins were needed as the parts fit very well. Painting started with a primer coat of Floquil Antique White, allowing 48 hours drying time. I then sprayed a coat of Tamiya acrylics, Flat White with 10-15% Buff (XF-57), thinned 50-50 with Tamiya acrylic thinner. Next came a coat of Buff, Clear Orange and two drops of NATO Brown, Thinned 20% paint, 80% thinner, and shot from below, catching the lower faces of the folds and creases. This was done because initially viewed pictures suggested a pale caramel color. Subsequent pictures revealed that the coloration depends on the flash used for the picture, as well as the interior lighting. I then added streaks of thinned light and medium grey by dragging a frayed piece of terrycloth towel dipped in the paint across the surface, wiggling it and trying to push the cloth, causing random patterns of streaks and spots. Next came highly thinned coats of flat white, mixed with tiny amounts of Tamiya Smoke and Clear Blue. Highly thinned means approximately 5% paint to 95% thinner, plus the addition of Clear Gloss, to slowly build up color variations, add some degree of gloss, and tone down some of the streaking. I plan to fill the hollow piece with plaster in a couple of layers, and epoxy it to a base of as yet undetermined material. Building, painting, and researching this model is a great change of pace from a steady diet of armor and military figures.