EXCITING news indeed!!!!

http://culttvman.com/main/frazettas-death-dealer-coming-from-moebius/

This is a COMPLETE--and certainly unexpected--surprise!!! I just hope it is produced in styrene and not resin. I will be updating with details as they become available. . .

FOLLOW-UP 26.07.2014 - Straight from Comic-Con: 

http://ink361.com/app/photo/ig-772832756904272802_417401063

First things first: apparently the first of a series. And they will be model kits, not pre-paints! Over- all, DD looks good--though I am a bit concerned over the apparent omission of the mail hauberk: granted this may still be a w-i-p. If not, not likely to be a deal-breaker. The particulars have been blocked out of the shot, so the medium, scale, etc. remain unknown. Re: scale, if I had to guess, I would say 1/12th or thereabouts. Finally, the general consensus as of this writing is that they will be in styrene.

UPDATE 28.07.2014 - As of this writing, this will be a styrene kit!

UPDATE 01.08.2014 - With SDCC '14 the better part of a week behind us, a bit more "news" has begun to make its way onto the WWW. . . In no particular order: the info tag didn't reveal much other than it was to be a 2015 release. The hauberk is indeed present, with finely engraved "ring mail". HOWEVER. . . given that the display model apparently was neither the master nor a proto- type, one has to wonder how much of the manifest detail on the display model will be carried-over to the production kit?! 

Allow me to elaborate. . . scrounging through the Web, I found 2 better pictures on a FB page: one revealed the mail hauberk; the other revealed that this was a finished(!!!) kit. . . AND the com- ments revealed that this apparently was a 1/12th scale (another site cited 1/16th) resin kit sculpt- ed by Joachim Lindman for Swede Creations/Pagan Art (cf. here). I remember seeing this kit back in the late 90s--1997, if memory serves--and IIRC, it was marketed as "Dark Rider".

So at least I got the scale right! Now, the question is: will Moebius stick to this scale?  And, is the SC/Pagan Art kit going to be the basis of the new one? Or, was it simply used as an expe- dient "kagemusha"?  Stay tuned. . . 

UPDATE 09.08.2014 - Straight from Moebius' FB page. . . 

Even though most of you have seen elsewhere what we announced in San Diego, the short list for 2015 is a Fantastic Voyage Proteus, and the first in the Frank Frazetta line, the Death Dealer. Both plastic kits, both at least a year out with no scale or pricing to be announced until early 2015. . . 

UPDATE 30.12.2014 - This will explain the matter of the SC/Pagan Art kit. . . There will hopefully be more news in the New Year. . . 

UPDATE 27.02.2015 - The latest projected release "date" is Q3-2015. . . Great way to herald-in the Fall--and a very nice nod to the advent of Samhain. Also, Jeff Yagher is supposedly sculpting the master. . .  

"Mean Machine" Angel - Prep 2

With Hisssss Honor, Judge Death, preparing to step down from the bench--painting-bench that is!--the time has come to begin the selection process for his replacement. . .

As much as I would have liked to have continued a 'judicial' theme, I need a break from the Dark Justices; so the frontrunner, as of this writing, is "Mean Machine" Angel.

Picking up where I had left off, much of the prepwork has already been done. In fact, the general clean-up part of the prepwork was all-but-completed back in February. What remained to be done was the detailing and tweaking of the stock castings to suit my vision of the piece. . . and adapting the groundwork to my chosen display base.

The groundwork is now close to being done. First things first, I modelled-over the 2000AD logo with MS; and thinned the "base" down to the terrain. Next, as I am mounting it on a square dis- play pedestal, I squared-off the sides of the base to the appropriate dimensions. Now all that remains is to add the four corners of the terrain once it is mounted permanently to its display base.

Stay tuned!

FOLLOW-UP 20.07.2014 - Groundwork is done!!!

Judge Death - Painting (IX): Wrapping-up, pt. 2

18.07.2014 - Final fitting of Death to the groundwork.

22.07.2014 - The feet are done! As are the chest "stitches". All that now remains are the clawed fingers on the elbow and knee pads and the helmet. Getting there. . . 

23.07.2014 - The knee pads are done! Now to decide whether to transfer Hisss Honor to the display base; or finish the elbow pads before making the move. . .

25.07.2014 - The week is finally over! Regrettably, there is no way that I will be slinging any paint tonight. So. . . after carefully assessing the pros and cons of transferring Death to his permanent pedestal at this time, the Chief Justice of Deadworld has been relocated and integrated onto the groundwork. I will hopefully be able to begin finalization of the groundwork sometime this week- end. Stay tuned!

27.07.2014 - The groundwork--painting--is now all-but-done! All that remains are the final touch- ups once the colours settle to visually integrate the subject with its setting. NEXT: the elbow pads!

Judge Death - Painting (VIII): Groundwork

15.07.2014 - The groundwork has been undercoated (Vallejo Medium Sea Grey), and a grisaille of Van Dyck Brown (oils) has been applied to integrate the groundwork to the display base, as well as get an idea of the tonal values to strive for.  

16.07.2014 - The first drybrushing (oils) session is in the can. . . This establishes the basic tona- lity within the various textures. I will let this set until the weekend, when I can hopefully begin to work on the battered, gilt stone eagle. As with Dredd, this will be the most challenging aspect of the execution: how to best depict weathered and battered gilt stone? 

17.07.2014 - Phase 1 of the painted gilding is now done. The overall tones might be somewhat darker than I had hoped; but as a "base coat" I think I am just about where I want--and need!--to be. I will probably start working-up the colours tomorrow, and hopefully be all-but-done by the end of the weekend. 

21.07.2014 - Painting of the groundwork is now essentially done. Finalization will take place once the figure is permanently attached.

Judge Death - Groundwork

I am too tired to put the brushes to work today--in fact, I don't see myself slinging any paint in earnest until next weekend. However, there is still the matter of the groundwork to be addressed.

Session 1 of the groundwork is now done, with the base enhancements curing in the oven. I think there is a good chance that Session 2 might be behind me before the eod today. DONE That leaves Session 3 that will hopefully tie everything together before I subject the setting for Hisss Honor to primer.

Stay tuned. . .

14.07.2014 - The groundwork has been primed and permanently attached to the display base. Hopefully it will start getting some paint over the weekend. And with that, all that remains is to wish Un Joyeux Quatorze Juillet à tous mes amis français!

Judge Death - Painting: Intermezzo - "Alasss, poor Jossssseph. . . !"

The skull has been mounted and permanently attached. The claws will be refinished during final wrap-up.


As I said, still loads to do, but coming together quite niccccccely. . .

Judge Death - Painting (VII): Wrapping-up, pt. 1

Let there be no misunderstanding: there is still LOADS to be done. Having said that, by my cal- culations, there are no more than 12-15 hrs. worth of work remaining on Hissss Honor. Essen- tially, a long weekend. This does not take into account the groundwork, which at this point is being reconsidered; but even if I were to stick to the original plan, this is no more than 2-3 full sessions away from primer.

09.07.2014 - The skull is done! The buckle and the left hand are done as well. All items are now under the lamp. . .

10.07.2014 - The right hand is done. . . 

11.07.2014 - Intermezzo

12.07.2014 - Final finishing outlining and touch-ups are underway. . . (This is actually the most critical "step" of this figure. To think that you've got it covered during the initial paint, or that you can knock-it out in one final step, is sheer folly. . . !!!). 

17.07.2014 - The chest "stitches" have been undercoated with Reaper Golden Blonde.

Judge Death - Painting (VI): Right Pauldron

Judge Death's right pauldron is a caricaturish pterodactyl, obviously the Deadworld's counterpart of the Street Judges' eagle. And it is brilliantly rendered in miniature, provided as a one-piece(!) casting.

I modified mine slightly as I wanted a more natural drape to the tail; and if you recall I had some restorative repair work to do on the right leg of the pterodactyl. I only mention this to underscore the fact that this is a rather fragile and delicate piece. Thus, once I had it undercoated (Vallejo GoldBrown), and stained the dorsal surface of the pterodactyl (underside of the pauldron) with a Raw Umber/Mars Black grisaille, I went ahead and permanently attached it to he figure. I'll be the first to admit that I probably jumped the gun on this one, but it's definitely workable--and much safer!

This first phase was concluded by applying the aforementioned grisaille to the ventral surfaces and quickly blocking in the values throughout the morphology of the flying reptile. Once it is completely "dry", I will "block" in the oils. 

This--and all the DWC figures I've worked on to date--require one to think outside the box, and dig deep into the "bag of tricks" for techniques and approaches that have long been mothballed. This alone makes them a 5-star "canvas" for this miniaturist!

More to follow. . .  

UPDATE 08.07.2014. . . Phase 2 of the right pauldron is done! A bit tight to work around in spots, but nothing to fret over. I definitely recommend painting the dorsal surfaces first and then permanently attaching the pauldron before proceeding with the rest. . . if for no other reason that it will integrate much more readily with the figure rather than looking like a separate little model attached as an afterthought. 

Judge Death - Painting (Vc): "The Greens", pt. 3

Session #3: the cartridge belt. 

As a continuation of Session #2, the cartridge belt was painted with the same base colour as the elbow pads, but modified with Chrome Green Oxide and but a touch of Raw Umber. Shading was done with Mars Black, Raw Umber, and Green Umber. Highlights were varied (read: secondary stippling) to create more of a mottled, worn effect to enhance the visual flow. Final detailing will be undertaken once the oils are dry.

Judge Death - Painting (Vb): "The Greens", pt. 2

Session #2: the elbow pads. 

Death's "greens" are significantly more worn/weathered; hence, the knee pads will be the 'green- est' of the "greens". The elbow pads were painted using Raw Umber Light as the base colour, modified with Raw Umber; and applied as a glaze over the green undercoat, allowing the latter to modify the hue of the former. 

As with the knee pads, this step simply addresses "the background". The clawed fingers will be addressed in a follow-up session. 

NEXT: The cartridge belt. . . 

Judge Fear - Prepwork: First Steps (cont. #2)

The padlock has been relocated and all undercut areas have now been filled and remodeled. The right arm joint seam has been filled and faired. I have also begun working on the left gin trap.

Movin' right along. . . 

UPDATE 03.07.2014. . . Phase 1 of the left gin trap is finally behind me. "Finally" because I quit counting how many times I had dropped the @#$! jaws after the fourth time! Though there are undoubtedly easier modelling approaches to these contraptions, I wanted to see how it would be to model/sculpt one from MS, and it is just the thing! Most of the detail work still remains to be done, but at least the basic framework is behind me. . .

Judge Death - Painting (Va): "The Greens", pt. 1

"The Greens"--the ancillary equipment of the Judges--will be tackled in three primary sessions, and--in this case--any number of follow-up sessions. . . 

On the slate for today: the knee pads. As with Dredd, the base colours for all the green gear will be formulated around Grumbacher's Pre-Tested Chrome Oxide Green (Opaque), but with a touch of Greenish Umber to taste, further modified by varying amounts of Raw Umber and Raw Umber Light.

The knee pads (read: the background) are now done. What follows will be addressed in the follow-up sessions: the rolls on Death's pads are replaced with clawed fingers! I have yet to decide what will be the predominant tonal hue on the dismembered digits.

Little by little, Deathhh livesssssssss. . .

Dredd takes the Long Walk. . .

 Just saw this on DWC's FB page (posted yesterday). . . 

Judge Dredd takes the Long Walk into the Cursed Earth!!!!!

Judge Dredd in 70mm was our second 2000AD release at Dark World Creations and we are very proud of this figure.

However our production mould for Judge Dredd is no longer serviceable so we will be retiring Judge Dredd in 70mm. We have decided NOT to make another set of production moulds for this figure and to discontinue him instead. So we are casting our last batch of Judge Dredd's so there will be a limited units available!!!

Many thanks
Rin

Needless to say, if you want one, you'd best not tarry. . . 

UPDATE 12.02.2015. . . DWC has but 10 kits left in stock. This means that after these are gone, you will be at the mercy of your retailers' remaining stock and/or the whimsy of eBay.