Reality In Scale 35129 – Praying Madonna Statue
Reality in Scale is a niche manufacturer ( see HERE ) who makes a wide range of diorama accessories including a number of statues of which this of course is one. This one is a religious statue of a Madonna praying and while I must admit to not knowing enough about european religions to know the best place to use one ( I have seen examples in Italy and of course South America ) it does provide a very nice focal feature for a diorama.
This measures 81mm tall on its plinth and is almost good looking enough to use straight from the box ( though I’m not sure how I would explain the colouring ). It comes in a small, solid clear case that ensures it arrives intact with just the two parts, base and statue. The base has a delicate carved look design around it and the statue whilst similar to the cover art isn’t exactly the same, having her hands clasped palms together and lower, and having less of a shawl.
The underside of the hands needs a little tidying up but other than that the moulding is faultless and I’d love to do one of these as a plain carved stone statue at some point though I believe most of these were carved from wood and painted. I had thought that maybe this could be cut from the base and used as a religious figure but only if you want a 192cm ( 6′ 3″ ) nun. Bugger.
As there are only two parts to this there’s no challenge to the assembly, and though no painting guide is given the cover art on the case gives a good indication of the colours to use, and I’m sure that there would be plenty of reference photos of similar pieces on the web. The face is very beatific so will be a bit of a challenge to paint as there aren’t the sharp cheekbones, heavy set eyes and open mouth that resin head manufactures like to do.
All up a very nice little piece that could add a great deal of interest to a small diorama, as things like this can add some real interest to an otherwise ordinary scene.
Click images to enlarge ( opens in new window )
Roadside shrines in Catholic countries were pretty common but usually within a small shelter, not just a statue. Would suit Poland, France, Italy (and maybe Bavaria, unlikely diorama location).
Yeah I’ve seen photos of small “christ on a cross” and madonna statues in shrines but they always seem to be small, this one in 1/35 would scale out at almost 3m tall so I wasn’t really sure where you’d have one that big. Might have to hit google later on today and see what I can find.
Well that was easy, should have looked sooner. These appear to very common in many of those countries, mainly in front of larger churches and town square type areas.