DD is essentially on the home stretch. The forearms/gauntlets w/clubs have been cleaned and fitted, and the clubs have been "tapped" to accept what will either be brass wire or monofilament line.
The finishing of the reworked neck musculature is all but done. I have impaled the subject on a brass rod for painting: once the painting is completed, and the subject permanently mounted on the angel, I will decide if filling of the hole is necessary--or even possible! Finally, the slight gap resulting from the repositioning of the torso, exacerbated by shrinkage of the torso vis-à-vis the legs unit, has been filled and finished.
This is coming together quite nicely! Movin' right along. . .
31 March 2012
29 March 2012
BaneLegions available from CMON!
A week ago, I posted a somewhat cryptic postscript to my brief review of Creoda the Gúthwulf. Today, I am happy to announce that the BaneLegions are now available in the US from CMON!
Congratulations to both concerns! And much continued success to you both!!
Augie
Congratulations to both concerns! And much continued success to you both!!
Augie
26 March 2012
"Moondirge" -- . . . I'm hairy high and low. . .
Well, I might end up getting more "adventurous" with my work on the lycanthrope of the hour. . .
In a brief session, using a slightly modified mix of MS, I was able to successfully reproduce M. Carrasco's hair texture. Not exactly, mind you; but close enough where it will blend seamlessly once paint is applied.
Of course, one step forward. . . I may have a bit of resculpting to do on the pelvic joints if I can't achieve the muscular "flow" I have envisioned once the thighs are fully fleshed out.
Stay tuned. . .
In a brief session, using a slightly modified mix of MS, I was able to successfully reproduce M. Carrasco's hair texture. Not exactly, mind you; but close enough where it will blend seamlessly once paint is applied.
Of course, one step forward. . . I may have a bit of resculpting to do on the pelvic joints if I can't achieve the muscular "flow" I have envisioned once the thighs are fully fleshed out.
Stay tuned. . .
25 March 2012
Daredevil - Prep: The Angel (3) - Final Clean-up and Re-detailing. . .
. . . has begun! I estimate this will take anywhere from 2-5 weeks, especially given that next week is essentially a write-off due to Q1- end at work. But. . . if I can bring the angel in by the end of April, then DD should be off the bench, if not primed, by Memorial Day.
Movin' right along. . .
Movin' right along. . .
"Moondirge" -- First Steps
The latter part of the evening was spent trying to get our lycanthrope up on his hind paws, as it were. And I am happy to report that the mission was accomplished.
By next weekend, I should have the pose locked, and the pelvic girdle rebuilt. So much for the easy part. The most difficult aspect of this project will be recreating the masterfully executed subtle texture and fine detail of the fur and hair. This will be largely "hit or miss" until I suss out M. Carrasco's technique.
I'm off to a great start, and I hope that things continue to progress as they have been. Images to follow in a fortnight or so.
FOLLOW-UP. . . The pose has been locked, and the gluteals roughed- in: the figure can now stand on its own. Thus the "conversion" work is, in effect, done! Henceforth, it is just a matter of texturing and finishing, finishing and texturing until the figure is ready to be moved to priming. . .
There may soon be two loups-garous by M. Carrasco on the painting bench. . .
By next weekend, I should have the pose locked, and the pelvic girdle rebuilt. So much for the easy part. The most difficult aspect of this project will be recreating the masterfully executed subtle texture and fine detail of the fur and hair. This will be largely "hit or miss" until I suss out M. Carrasco's technique.
I'm off to a great start, and I hope that things continue to progress as they have been. Images to follow in a fortnight or so.
FOLLOW-UP. . . The pose has been locked, and the gluteals roughed- in: the figure can now stand on its own. Thus the "conversion" work is, in effect, done! Henceforth, it is just a matter of texturing and finishing, finishing and texturing until the figure is ready to be moved to priming. . .
There may soon be two loups-garous by M. Carrasco on the painting bench. . .
24 March 2012
Daredevil - Prep: Scarlet Swashbuckler (2)
DD is now assembled and pegged, save for the forearms. This includes the repositioned head. There is still a fair share of clean-up and detailing to be done, but it is effectively on the home stretch.
23 March 2012
"Moondirge" -- Crawling. . .
I might begin to sound like a broken record in quite short order, but I must reiterate that this is one exceptional kit! Gross clean-up, consisting of removing what are most likely the pour sprues, has been completed, and all pieces duly checked for fit. AFAIC. . . TOP MARKS!
I might be over the moon over the quality of the sculpture, the casting, and the packaging; but. . . [you knew this was coming, didn't you?]. . . since first seeing this kit, I thought to myself, "The pose. . . why pose this magnificent beast as a quadruped?" And so the project has begun. . . at least in my mind -- for now.
Tentative fitting using clay as an adhesive has confirmed the validity of the premise, and I am excited as all get-out!!! Rather than bore you with words, this cover art has provided some visual grist for the mental mill:
It's a great place to start! More to follow. . .
PS--I've only just recently picked-up the book, but from what I've read, it ought to be a good one!
UPDATE - 24.03.2012. . . The right hand is actually a half-fist, with the proximal phalanges reduced to a flattened plane that rests on the ground as the front "leg" of the tripod (i.e., fist- walking, as in orangutans). This will either have to be built-out, or the hand resculpted in its entirety. As a clenched fist is a good fit with what I have envisioned, I opted for the former. There is a bit of a problem in that the right hand, as truncated, is not in scale with the left, but I will hopefully be able to work around this and not have to resculpt the entire hand. Stay tuned. . .
I might be over the moon over the quality of the sculpture, the casting, and the packaging; but. . . [you knew this was coming, didn't you?]. . . since first seeing this kit, I thought to myself, "The pose. . . why pose this magnificent beast as a quadruped?" And so the project has begun. . . at least in my mind -- for now.
Tentative fitting using clay as an adhesive has confirmed the validity of the premise, and I am excited as all get-out!!! Rather than bore you with words, this cover art has provided some visual grist for the mental mill:
It's a great place to start! More to follow. . .
PS--I've only just recently picked-up the book, but from what I've read, it ought to be a good one!
UPDATE - 24.03.2012. . . The right hand is actually a half-fist, with the proximal phalanges reduced to a flattened plane that rests on the ground as the front "leg" of the tripod (i.e., fist- walking, as in orangutans). This will either have to be built-out, or the hand resculpted in its entirety. As a clenched fist is a good fit with what I have envisioned, I opted for the former. There is a bit of a problem in that the right hand, as truncated, is not in scale with the left, but I will hopefully be able to work around this and not have to resculpt the entire hand. Stay tuned. . .
Daredevil - Prep: The Angel (2a) - Re-staging (cont.)
Just completed my third readjustment of the "perch". . . hopefully, it is the charm and not the third strike! Everything else is coming along nicely, albeit incrementally. . . and not always sequentially. For example, I decided to reposition the head -- after I had already permanently attached it! The stock subject figure is simply too symmetrical--which makes the whole pre- sentation appear like a strawberry tootsie-roll pop about to tip over! A symmetrical attitude would have worked splendidly on an open air structure (e.g., gargoyle--yes, I was tempted, but I'm already working a gargoyle into the Moon Knight presentation. . . ); but unless I was willing to completely resculpt the wings of the angel (NOT!), I would have to work with what is before me--and never forget that I am dealing with a blind subject!
Stay tuned!
Stay tuned!
BaneBeasts: Creoda the Gúthwulf
I received the titular kit, sculpted by this fan's favorite, Allan Carrasco, yesterday, and Maelstrom Games has - if anything - raised the bar even higher--on themselves, I might add! This is simply a spectacular casting (7 pcs. + plinth) of a spectacular sculpt, packaged accordingly. . . [wistful sigh].
Rest assured that you will be seeing more of this fellow in the very near future. In the meantime, I will refer you to its webpage. . .
ENJOY!
PS--I will hopefully have some very good news forthcoming for fans of the BaneLegions. . .
Rest assured that you will be seeing more of this fellow in the very near future. In the meantime, I will refer you to its webpage. . .
ENJOY!
20 March 2012
Daredevil - Prep: The Angel (2) - Re-staging
The secondary prepwork on the angel is now on its way to being done. . .
First step was to re-stage the angel. And by this I mean adding a pedestal. This was accom- plished with a Reality in Scale product from their Pedestal Set, acquired from the good folks at Military Miniatures Warehouse--AWESOME PRODUCT. . . AWESOME SERVICE! The pedestal was undercut per my usual, and leveled. The angel was tapped and tentatively mounted with 1/8" tin solder.
Next, I pegged both of DD's legs, and I glued the right wing in place. I dealt with some of the re-detailing of the feather-work prior to gluing, but I am not overly concerned as this is a sculpture exposed to the elements. Once I work out the preliminaries in the mating of right foot to wing, I will glue the left wing in place, and address the left foot's fit to the wing.
Stay tuned!
FOLLOW-UP - 21.03.2012. . . I was forced to change the approach somewhat: the left wing is now permanently attached. I then fitted the legs to the wings and adjusted DD's pose to my satisfaction. Next, I packed the areas under the balls of his feet with MS to establish his "perch": that is now curing. Once that is done and all checks out, I will begin to refine the details and surface finish on DD's feet and the coverts along the respective humeri. All in all, I'm quite pleased. . .
First step was to re-stage the angel. And by this I mean adding a pedestal. This was accom- plished with a Reality in Scale product from their Pedestal Set, acquired from the good folks at Military Miniatures Warehouse--AWESOME PRODUCT. . . AWESOME SERVICE! The pedestal was undercut per my usual, and leveled. The angel was tapped and tentatively mounted with 1/8" tin solder.
Next, I pegged both of DD's legs, and I glued the right wing in place. I dealt with some of the re-detailing of the feather-work prior to gluing, but I am not overly concerned as this is a sculpture exposed to the elements. Once I work out the preliminaries in the mating of right foot to wing, I will glue the left wing in place, and address the left foot's fit to the wing.
Stay tuned!
FOLLOW-UP - 21.03.2012. . . I was forced to change the approach somewhat: the left wing is now permanently attached. I then fitted the legs to the wings and adjusted DD's pose to my satisfaction. Next, I packed the areas under the balls of his feet with MS to establish his "perch": that is now curing. Once that is done and all checks out, I will begin to refine the details and surface finish on DD's feet and the coverts along the respective humeri. All in all, I'm quite pleased. . .
18 March 2012
Daredevil - Prep: Scarlet Swashbuckler (1)
This is a relatively straightforward kit: clean the contact surfaces carefully, dry-fit repeatedly, glue, and fill. That's it! Depending on the quality of your casting/s, this will either be a non-issue. . . or a non-starter! Fortunately, my castings are such that it is essentially a non-issue.
I have assembled the legs, and reworked the join with MS: the legs are now curing. The "billy club" holster is given rather short shrift; but more curiously, it is on the right(!) leg. While the holster in its various design iterations has appeared on either leg, if at all, canonically it be- longs on the left leg. I decided not to swap legs; instead, opting to enhance and build-out the holster as provided.
Finally, the mounting pegs on the balls of the feet were ground off.
More to follow. . .
I have assembled the legs, and reworked the join with MS: the legs are now curing. The "billy club" holster is given rather short shrift; but more curiously, it is on the right(!) leg. While the holster in its various design iterations has appeared on either leg, if at all, canonically it be- longs on the left leg. I decided not to swap legs; instead, opting to enhance and build-out the holster as provided.
Finally, the mounting pegs on the balls of the feet were ground off.
More to follow. . .
17 March 2012
Daredevil - Prep: The Angel
Work on the Angel has commenced. . .
The first thing was to clean-up the numerous nubs and such that prevented the fit of the compo- nents from being anything but marginal. This helped some, but there is still work to be done.
Second, I pinned the wings and the rt. forearm. As much as I dislike pinning figures, there was no way around this, especially as these parts are slated for repositioning.
The last step in this opening round was the repositioning of the wings. The wings as provided are essentially in a trussed attitude. That, along with the absence of any pedestal to the funerary sculpture, allows the subject to overwhelm his perch. In short, the angel is undeniably under- sized; but only because the design of the monument was underdeveloped.
The first thing done to increase the presence of the monument, if only visually, was reposition the wings to a displayed, albeit inverted, attitude. The inverted wings provide for the subject to become the focal point of the work. By carefully staging the sculpture, and thus creating a forced downward foreshortening, the sculpture should appear larger than it actually is, thus restoring balance--and credibility--to the presentation.
To be continued. . .
The first thing was to clean-up the numerous nubs and such that prevented the fit of the compo- nents from being anything but marginal. This helped some, but there is still work to be done.
Second, I pinned the wings and the rt. forearm. As much as I dislike pinning figures, there was no way around this, especially as these parts are slated for repositioning.
The last step in this opening round was the repositioning of the wings. The wings as provided are essentially in a trussed attitude. That, along with the absence of any pedestal to the funerary sculpture, allows the subject to overwhelm his perch. In short, the angel is undeniably under- sized; but only because the design of the monument was underdeveloped.
The first thing done to increase the presence of the monument, if only visually, was reposition the wings to a displayed, albeit inverted, attitude. The inverted wings provide for the subject to become the focal point of the work. By carefully staging the sculpture, and thus creating a forced downward foreshortening, the sculpture should appear larger than it actually is, thus restoring balance--and credibility--to the presentation.
To be continued. . .
15 March 2012
Knight Models' Daredevil (KMV019)
I picked-up this kit (8/500), KM's premier release in their Marvel Knights series, at last year's (2011) Atlanta Show. I'm not a big DD fan per se, but the design of this kit simply won over this fellow New Yorker.
This is a multi-media kit: DD is cast in white metal (6 pieces); and the funerary sculpture of an angel, which serves as the titular subject's 'pedestal', is cast primarily in resin (3 pieces), with two pieces (r. forearm and plinth) in white metal. One would expect that with casting #8, that the quality would be exceptional--and it was relatively so. . . at least where the subject figure was concerned. The funerary sculpture? Not so much. Nonetheless, one of the better KM's I have purchased.
The funerary sculpture of an angel--this is what "sold" me on the kit. It is also what almost made me want to sell the kit once I got it home and carefully inspected it! The casting was no better than a "C"; actually closer to "C-": the fit was marginal, and there were numerous obvious air voids. While the modelling of the angel was perfectly adequate, there was not a true line to be found in the geometric portions of the sculpture. And while admittedly a subjective evaluation, the design evinced an indolent simplicity.
I initially decided to discard the angel, and create a new "pedestal". An elaborate and suitably gothic Celtic cross headstone was my first choice; or a gargoyle, or the ledge of a highrise with a stained glass rose window as a backdrop. But ultimately, the inherent dualism of angel and devil prevailed, and I reconsidered. As you might have gathered, the lion's share of the work on this piece will be focused on bringing the angel "up to speed".
More to follow. . .
This is a multi-media kit: DD is cast in white metal (6 pieces); and the funerary sculpture of an angel, which serves as the titular subject's 'pedestal', is cast primarily in resin (3 pieces), with two pieces (r. forearm and plinth) in white metal. One would expect that with casting #8, that the quality would be exceptional--and it was relatively so. . . at least where the subject figure was concerned. The funerary sculpture? Not so much. Nonetheless, one of the better KM's I have purchased.
The funerary sculpture of an angel--this is what "sold" me on the kit. It is also what almost made me want to sell the kit once I got it home and carefully inspected it! The casting was no better than a "C"; actually closer to "C-": the fit was marginal, and there were numerous obvious air voids. While the modelling of the angel was perfectly adequate, there was not a true line to be found in the geometric portions of the sculpture. And while admittedly a subjective evaluation, the design evinced an indolent simplicity.
I initially decided to discard the angel, and create a new "pedestal". An elaborate and suitably gothic Celtic cross headstone was my first choice; or a gargoyle, or the ledge of a highrise with a stained glass rose window as a backdrop. But ultimately, the inherent dualism of angel and devil prevailed, and I reconsidered. As you might have gathered, the lion's share of the work on this piece will be focused on bringing the angel "up to speed".
More to follow. . .
03 March 2012
Holy licensing!!!
Though it had been rumored for some time, this weekend's Scale Modelling Fair in Leganés (SP) was the setting of one of the most anticipated "reveals" in the biz: Knight Models has acquired the DC and the LotR licenses!
http://www.spanish-team.com/foro/viewtopic.php?t=10445&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=1218
Let's see what you do with 'em, caballeros! Hopefully, the new product lines will inspire improved production and QC values!!
PS--No word on the future status of the Marvel and/or Star Wars product lines.
http://www.spanish-team.com/foro/viewtopic.php?t=10445&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=1218
Let's see what you do with 'em, caballeros! Hopefully, the new product lines will inspire improved production and QC values!!
PS--No word on the future status of the Marvel and/or Star Wars product lines.
Killer Croc - Intro
The regulars in the readership know what a committed fan I am of Smart Max's product line, especially their SMOG 1888 series. Superb design and sculpture; VG+ to Excellent casting; and above all, creativity and imagination to . . . well. . . the Max!
One of the largely unsung perks of this line is their adaptability to other subjects. Last year, as most of you know, I kit-bashed two kits of Mister Honk to create a Great White Ape of Barsoom. This was the first of many conversions that are on the drawing board.
My second excursion into the realm of Smart Max conversions will revolve around the Canopic Beast, a fantastic sculpture by one of my favourite SM sculptors, Allan Carrasco, who also sculpted Mister Honk and Divio Juckal. While hardly as ambitious a project as its predecessor, it is quite challenging in its own right: my goal is to convert the Canopic Beast into Waylon Jones, bka Killer Croc, Batman's reptilian nemesis.
The project is underway. To date, I have attached the tail, the head and the mandible; reduced the length of the jaws by about 5mm; and "fleshed-out" (using MS) the jaws and the chest. This project is off to a great start!. . .
One of the largely unsung perks of this line is their adaptability to other subjects. Last year, as most of you know, I kit-bashed two kits of Mister Honk to create a Great White Ape of Barsoom. This was the first of many conversions that are on the drawing board.
My second excursion into the realm of Smart Max conversions will revolve around the Canopic Beast, a fantastic sculpture by one of my favourite SM sculptors, Allan Carrasco, who also sculpted Mister Honk and Divio Juckal. While hardly as ambitious a project as its predecessor, it is quite challenging in its own right: my goal is to convert the Canopic Beast into Waylon Jones, bka Killer Croc, Batman's reptilian nemesis.
The project is underway. To date, I have attached the tail, the head and the mandible; reduced the length of the jaws by about 5mm; and "fleshed-out" (using MS) the jaws and the chest. This project is off to a great start!. . .
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