"Ahab's Secret"--Preliminaries (2)

Re: the title of this posting--and thread--this is but a working title that might change before it's all said and done. The final title will largely depend on how the background story develops--and IF I can pull off a slick bit of SFX. . . but that is still quite a ways away. . .

The evolution of this piece is far exceeding expectations--both in results and time invested. Assuming I can maintain this rate--and the Muses cooperate, it should be ready for priming in a few weeks!

Since my last follow-up yesterday evening, I have filled and Phase 1-refinished the join of the detached [left] leg: the figure is now pegged and mounted on its work-base. I have also decided to discard the cross, and remove what appears to be a missal (or some like book) attached to the hatband--neither item quite "fits" with the persona of Ahab. The "missal" will simply be ground-off and the hatband carefully restored [DONE!].

The cross, however, a rather prominent "prop", would appear a bit more problematic. I decided to replace it with a whaler's lance--a very "special" lance as we shall see. This has already been [all-but] completed using a length of 1/16" d. brass rod, with the character- istic leaf-shaped head hammered flat and shaped with sanding disk; and the socket formed from MS, and shaped with file and sanding disk. Fitting is more or less done, but will be revisited before priming to make sure all is as it should be.

All that will then remain to be done on Ahab will be the embellishment of his pegleg. I am considering adding 2-3 columns of sperm whale- teeth tips as an overt nod to the "alternate" nature of this depiction.

Pics to follow. . .