HOW TO DO IT: SCULPT A FIGURE

My method of making figures is a bit unusual as I sculpt in pewter. I was taught how to do this by my late father, Charles Stadden, who made thousands of figures, from the early 1950s to the mid-1990s, including figures for Tri-ang Hornby, Subbuteo, and Scalextric. The following steps illustrate how I sculpted a figure of very own Chris Leigh, to celebrate his 70th birthday. His colleagues provided me with lots of photographs from various angles, along with a rough estimate of his height. I usually place as many photographs as possible onto a single sheet of A4 paper, so they are easily accessible at any stage during the modelling process.

exceptional scenery, and a satisfying level of playability. Jack Anziani’s ability to shun the planning stages won’t work for everyone, but there’s no denying his eye for detail and exceptional ability to model a cohesive thread throughout this patchwork of model making royalty. And then, of course, there’s that tramline, served by some of the most beautifully lined trams you’re likely to see.

LNWR Webb ‘Coal Tank’ 0-6-2T, No. 7655 (built by Brian Tole) alongside Paul Bambrick’s beautifully painted backscene in this very convincing level crossing scene.

A final check of the model revealed I had missed off some hair details, which I rectified. The model was then sprayed with Halfords White Primer.

To roughly reshape the torso, I added pewter and smoothed it using a soldering iron. I used a drill with a large cylinder head burr to remove hair and began sculpting the torso - more pewter was added for the gilet.

I decided that the best starting point would be a pewter casting of one of my Albert Einstein figures - a similar size and shape to the lump of metal I needed to work from.

More metal was added for the camera and strap before I roughed out the arms and mug. I set to work sculpting these additions with suitable sized burrs - this is where the figure really takes shape.

For the face I used my finest drill burrs, then I added the finer details to the body. At this stage, I would usually create a mould, but as this was a one-off commission I progressed straight to the painting.

Using a hacksaw, I cut off the arms and took a slice out of the neck. The head was bent into the desired position and a small amount of pewter was melted onto the neck - securing it in place.

The face was sculpted using smaller burrs, and I started to shape the clothing with details such as pockets. It can take two or three attempts to get faces right, but I was happy with this one straight away.

Above: A very appealing Sheffield Corporation Tramways tram, built by the late Vernon Cunningham.