Thank you my friends!
You get it right, Ben!
I sculpted almost everything but at least in a couple of cases I used directly the Italeri right hand almost just like they are... I say "almost" because I used hands casted in resin, and I enhanced the gaps between the fingers and some details engraving or bending the resin.
Some other hands are also from other figures, with the same modifications and some others which I will explain below.
The hand of the officer with pointing finger instead is sculpted in putty, inside the pointing finger there is a thin metal wire as support.
The soldiers hans grabbing the heads hair, and the right hands of the officers, are also completely sculpted...
Of corse there are different ways to sculpt the hands, like almost any other part of a figure, and in my opinion all are relatively easily when you learn the right trick, also because there are so many that is difficult to list all them and descibe accurately all the possible variations.
Of course we can use hands from other existing figures, it's easier than sculpt them, but considered how small are 1/72 hand in some cases not so much easier compared to sculpting, especially if you need a particular hand gesture or position... sometimes to get a good hand is more convenient and quicker even to sculpt it, instead than cut it from another figure.
And just like everything els, we can use existing hands just like they are, or modify them, or resculpting only a part... it depends from the situation to chosse one way or another, or a mix of all.
And of course it depends from the purpose and the effort involved in the work, sometimes is not possible or not worth to spend half hour or more sculpting just one hand, especially when there are a lot of figures to sculpt and we can use existing hands.
Now let's try to answer to Mr Cyrns...
actually I use a mix of different ways, it would be worth to make a tutorial but I have not enough time at the moment, and with the slow internet connection is a double problem.
Maybe is a good idea open a thread about "hands sculpting and conversions" in the forum, I guess many others can give many more hints.
I think to scuplt the open hands details is better to do in two steps, first molding the hand shape, and making the fingers at the end.
Usually I prepare a flat rough rigid shape (in plastic or metal or putty) so it work as support and prevent bendings when I sculpt the wrist and palm and forefingers, I apply a second layer of putty and with little incisions I create the gaps between fingers (eventually from both sides).
I add a bit of putty for the thumb at the end... sometimes I even do all the fingers in this way, a little cylinder of putty for each finger.
Sometimes instead I make all the fingers structure with copper or metal wire, placed in the right position and then covered with layers of liquid putty or glue... and complete the rest of the hand with putty afterwards.
Another trick to aculpt fingers, is possible also with putty, but is perfect with resin:
sometimes I sculpt just the simple rough shapes of hands with putty, or I use low detailed but well shaped hands from other figures to cast resin copies of them.
Both hardened putty and resin even better, can be easily engraved and refinished, much easily than plastic or metal, so I often carve the fingers shapes direcly in such kind of rough udetailed hands previously simply shaped.
The resin can be also slightly bended with heat, and this is ideal to put a hand in the right position.
Finally an unavoidable consideration concerning the use of something already sculpted from someone else, personally I always change as much as possible to customize and make it different.
Just like I would aspect from others who use my figures, a simple swap of hands or heads doesn't make a new figure but a conversion, but when the hands or heads are also modifed the conversion work become so radical that can be as valuable as the real sculpting.
When we follow this simple rule the pieces used become completely or almost unrecognizable in the new figure.
I don't mean to undervalue the figures completely sculpted from zero, which are something that no many can do properly... in fact my attempts in this way are far from be perfect.
But I don''t want to consider useless or not worth the figures partly resculpted neither, and neither those figures converted enough to create new useful subjects which are useful... and completely different from their sources anyway...
Both radical conversions and resculpting can involve a lot of valuable work and uncommon skills, despite of course are not the top as the figures sculpted completely from zero.
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