Cartoon Bust — Veteran of the Royal Engineers, Portsmouth

A veteran of the Royal Engineers had served for twenty-two years. His family in Portsmouth wanted him remembered in the public garden where he had volunteered for another fifteen, and they wanted the beret badge reproduced exactly.

What they asked for

A cartoon caricature bust in a beret and uniform, roughly 1.5 m, with the badge hand-painted. Kindly rather than formal — the family were explicit that a stern military likeness would have been wrong for him.

Building it at full size

Built over a steel armature at 1.5 m. The badge came from a photograph taken in the 1970s, and it is the detail the family noticed first. We exaggerate proportion, not identity, so the set of the eyes and the shape of the jaw stayed faithful to the references.

The finish

Gloss-painted fibreglass with hand-painted uniform detail, sealed under a UV clear coat because the piece sits outdoors in a coastal town. Within about 5 km of salt water we would normally discuss 316 stainless for the frame fixings.

Installation

Mounted on a Portland stone plinth in the garden, bolted through. The site is sheltered, which helps both the paint and the fixings.

What it cost

1.5–2.0 m fibreglass surveys at $1,500–$4,900. This piece came in at $3,900 delivered and installed, eight weeks from 3D approval.