Image: Front view

Image: Back

Image: Left side

Image: Above/right

Image: Looking up

Image: Say it isn't so, Master Chief!

by Tim Fusco

For those unfamiliar this is a life-size bust of the last SPARTAN, Number 117, known to Halo/Halo2 fans as the Master Chief. He is wearing his Mjolnir Armor suit.

This bust (mannequin torso, actually) is hollow cast resin with some areas reinforced with expanding insulation foam. When I got this "kit" it was a mess! The casting was horrible, there were holes in it, and there was a huge crack from the top of his head all the way down his side. Over the better part of a year, I have patched, rebuilt, reformed, and re-sculpted various sections to create what you see before you. Then came the fun part...finishing. What my 1 mega-pixel camera cannot really catch is the depth of the paint scheme. I base coated the Chief with a dark olive drab. Then I sponge painted over that with a standard olive drab followed by a medium green creating a great mottled look with a lot of depth. The final touch was done by dry brushing the chief with green zinc chromate for highlights. The armor section was clear coated to give it the shiny look it has in the game. His visor was done using standard Testor's copper and then the recessed areas were given several coats of Crystal Clear for a deep shine. The darker sections around the torso and neck were done with a mix of gun metal, black, and rust. For weathering I pulled out my Tamiya weathering master pastels using the lighter shades on the darkly painted areas and the darker earth tones for the green areas of the armor.

The Chief is supported on a 1 3/8" wooden dowel painted copper and bolted on to the wood base.