I've been giving serious thought to going to WF 2010 for about 3 months. In what capacity was always debatable, but I was not considering entering anything. . .
Those of you who know me are probably snorting. "Yeah. . . right," and I hate to say that you'd be right. In any event, with all the Murphy-isms that can derail the best laid plans as a cautionary disclaimer, I am as of this writing going to focus on the Wolf Man in the hope of having him completed by early May, and allow the "happy couple" to bask in each other's ip radiance for a few weeks.
This doesn't mean that I won't be dropping in on the BoF project in the interim: simply that the lion's share of my discretionary time will be focused on M. Talbot.
And with that. . . the clock's ticking!
Augie
Showing posts with label "Rebuffed". Show all posts
Showing posts with label "Rebuffed". Show all posts
14 March 2010
13 March 2010
"Rebuffed!": The Monster's Legs and Boots
As I mentioned earlier, work has commenced on the boots (image is of the ip reworked right boot) where no additional work was anticipated:
(click to enlarge)
Also, the finishing of the pants continues, awaiting the permanent attachment of the boots. Once I have attached the boots, I will post an image of the all-but-done lower half of the Monster in this thread.
(click to enlarge)
Also, the finishing of the pants continues, awaiting the permanent attachment of the boots. Once I have attached the boots, I will post an image of the all-but-done lower half of the Monster in this thread.
12 March 2010
"Rebuffed!": The Monster's Head--Graphic Update #3
(click to enlarge)
A quick entry to show you where the head is to-date. Provided I am not called in to work, I hope to have the scalp staples completed over the weekend, and noticeable progress made on the hair.
UPDATE--13.03.10
ALL the scalp staples and the left temporal hair have now been completed. I figure that by this time next week, the Monster's head will hopefully be done. . .
07 March 2010
"Rebuffed!"--Intermezzo
While I decide which aspect of the project will command my attention next, I've "worked a little here, worked a little there" on the following:
Stay tuned!
FOLLOW-UP
The Bride has to be next. . .
How tall was Elsa Lanchester? How tall was the Bride?? These are the questions. . .
I'll keep this brief, as it is late. Ms. Lanchester's male supporters in her iconic role were all approximately 6' tall. Karloff in full costume was approximately 6'4" in height--5-6" taller than in stocking feet. Yet the Bride is distinctly taller than all of them!
Elsa Lanchester was just under 5'5" tall. From everything I have read, Whale had her use stilts to elevate her height to a towering 7'!
Thus any posing of the Monster will have to wait until the position of the Bride's left arm is finalized and securely keyed. . .
UPDATE--10.03.10
- Put in the Bride's eyes.
- Roughed-out the deltoids on the Bride's left arm, and further adjusted the fit of the repositioned arm.
- Began work on the Monster's left hand, repositioning the first two fingers and fusing them.
- Began work on the boots. This was an area I did not expect to have to spend too much time on, but was I wrong!
Stay tuned!
FOLLOW-UP
The Bride has to be next. . .
How tall was Elsa Lanchester? How tall was the Bride?? These are the questions. . .
I'll keep this brief, as it is late. Ms. Lanchester's male supporters in her iconic role were all approximately 6' tall. Karloff in full costume was approximately 6'4" in height--5-6" taller than in stocking feet. Yet the Bride is distinctly taller than all of them!
Elsa Lanchester was just under 5'5" tall. From everything I have read, Whale had her use stilts to elevate her height to a towering 7'!
Thus any posing of the Monster will have to wait until the position of the Bride's left arm is finalized and securely keyed. . .
UPDATE--10.03.10
- The Bride's left arm has been fitted, keyed, and is ready to go.
- The Monster's right arm has been permanently attached, and I have begun to build-up the right shoulder with MS.
- The Monster's legs have been locked in place, and all cuts, etc. filled. I am reasonably certain that, save for extending the pant legs over the boots, the putty work on the pants has been concluded.
- Finalized the face. . . I now have Karloff as The Monster in The BoF before me!
- The Monster's right boot is now awaiting final reduction (of putty) and finishing. A dramatic improvement--as forthcoming images will attest--that will sadly go largely unnoticed.
06 March 2010
"Rebuffed!": The Monster's Head--Graphic Update #2
(click to enlarge)
UPDATE--07.03.10
EUREKA!!! Or should that be, "IT'S ALIVE!!!"
Just completed what are the final facial tweaks, and I am delighted! There will probably be minor "adjustments' once the hair and the bolts are in place, but I anticipate these to be minor, at worst.
This is my second 1/8 scale head of Karloff in an iconic Universal role, the first being the mummified Im-ho-tep. Ever a challenge. . . ever a pleasure!
03 March 2010
"Rebuffed!": The Monster's Head--Graphic Update #1
(click to enlarge)
UPDATE--04.03.10
The face is now 75% done, give or take. Most of the work this evening focused on the mouth and jawline, one of the few areas left as is by Pierce. I am very pleased with what is slowly emerging and any images at this stage are, by definition, out of context.
In addition to tweaking the mouth and expression, I enhanced the lower lids, and roughed-in the scarred area on the right cheek, as well as the two major staples on the forehead. I will probably concentrate on establishing the hairline and stitched incisions over the weekend.
UPDATE--05.03.10
The Monster's face is now all-but-done. Yes, there will probably be tweaking here and there right up to the moment I prime it, but for all intents and purposes, the face can be deemed "completed". . . or nearly so.
I've started enhancing the suture lines and plotting out the hairline. Keep in mind that this is no more the Frankenstein monster, than the Son of Frankenstein monster is the Bride's groom. Each installment in the Karloff trilogy was separated by four years from its predecessor: Karloff was not only aging (43 in 1931), but he was finally enjoying the rewards of his lifelong sacrifices for his art and craft. So in this reclamation, not only am I restoring/creating Karloff's likeness, but I'm converting the '31 semblance to the '35: in addition to the burn scars, the groom's hair is scorched short in the TBoF, thus revealing the full complement of scalp staples.
I'll try to get images up over the weekend.
The face is now 75% done, give or take. Most of the work this evening focused on the mouth and jawline, one of the few areas left as is by Pierce. I am very pleased with what is slowly emerging and any images at this stage are, by definition, out of context.
In addition to tweaking the mouth and expression, I enhanced the lower lids, and roughed-in the scarred area on the right cheek, as well as the two major staples on the forehead. I will probably concentrate on establishing the hairline and stitched incisions over the weekend.
UPDATE--05.03.10
The Monster's face is now all-but-done. Yes, there will probably be tweaking here and there right up to the moment I prime it, but for all intents and purposes, the face can be deemed "completed". . . or nearly so.
I've started enhancing the suture lines and plotting out the hairline. Keep in mind that this is no more the Frankenstein monster, than the Son of Frankenstein monster is the Bride's groom. Each installment in the Karloff trilogy was separated by four years from its predecessor: Karloff was not only aging (43 in 1931), but he was finally enjoying the rewards of his lifelong sacrifices for his art and craft. So in this reclamation, not only am I restoring/creating Karloff's likeness, but I'm converting the '31 semblance to the '35: in addition to the burn scars, the groom's hair is scorched short in the TBoF, thus revealing the full complement of scalp staples.
I'll try to get images up over the weekend.
02 March 2010
"Rebuffed!": UPDATEs
A picture might be worth a thousand words, but an hour (or two) at the bench is priceless!
Today's updates. . .
UPDATE--05.03.10
Today's updates. . .
- The Monster's head is now close to 70% done, with the facial "landscaping" well underway.
- The Bride and The Monster's torso are now filled with PUR. This allowed me to hollow out the neck socket on the latter, and peg the head to the torso. Things are quickly coming together. . .
UPDATE--05.03.10
- In addition to the work done on the Monster's head, I turned my attention to the neglected Bride. I shortened her neck by 7-8mm, and reduced the underside of her erstwhile bulging coiffure. The head is now pegged, as is her left arm: regarding the latter, I will have to rebuild her deltoid region to allow for the arm's new position.
01 March 2010
"Rebuffed!": The Monster's Head
The Monster's head is now 50-60% complete. Regrettably, I did not take ip shots to document every phase: if the stock head is Phase 0, I am now fast approaching Phase 3.
In lieu of photographs, allow me to recap:
In lieu of photographs, allow me to recap:
- Filled head with PUR. Reduced the hair, and removed both ears.
- Carefully separated lower half of face (jeweler's saw), and reattached 1-2mm lower: the upper lip was too shallow and the nose a tad short.
- Reattached the ears 2-3mm higher than the original location.
- Filled all gaps with MS and enhanced upper lids (nb: Karloff came up with this idea; used mortician's wax) with same. Began re-modelling the facial features.
25 February 2010
21 February 2010
"Rebuffed!"
The title of this thread is taken from the respective chapter title in the Bride of Frankenstein DVD. What I hope to be able to do is kit-bash the Moebius (M) and Aurora (A) kits of the Monster, and using Dark Horse's (DH) kit of the Bride, create the iconic scene when the Bride is first touched by the anxious groom for whom she was created.
The in-progress work on the Bride has already been covered on this site (see link above). Little new progress to report save that the elimination of the textured surface continues to go well, albeit slowly; and the new head is now in the final tweaking stage. The next major item to be tackled is the trademark hair.
I began working on the Monster earlier this week in anticipation of picking-up a the M kit this weekend. I've had an assembled OOB original A Frankenstein in my work drawers since I can't remember when. When I decided I would like to bring this scene to [miniature] life (hmmm. . . does that make me Pretorius or Frankenstein?), the first thing I did was carefully disassemble the A kit. All in all, the exercise was a qualified success; and I was able to recover all-but-intact the jacket halves, shirt, arms and hands. There will be some restoration required, but given what I am considering, it is nothing to fret over.
Most of you are familiar with my feelings about M's original release of the Monster--what was in the sizable box has given me no reason to reconsider. Having said that, the potential of this "monstrosity" was immediately apparent. To date, I have assembled the legs, boots, and head (nb: the head will be used as the core for a complete resculpt). The legs have been filled with PUR and separated at the pubis, so that I now have 2 separate legs. Once the legs have been cleaned, I can then provisionally peg the boots and begin repositioning the lower limbs.
This will obviously be a l-o-n-g term project. You can check on the progress by clicking on "Rebuffed" in the subject index.
Stay tuned!
FOLLOW-UP
The boots have been filled (with PUR, as has the head), pegged, and provisionally positioned. This revealed a major flaw in the sculpture: the left knee is unnaturally pointing inward (NOTE: actually both knees, but the right knee can be corrected without surgery)! To correct this, I bisected the left leg about 20mm above the boot-top crease (2-3 mm above the bulge of the kneecap), and pegged the two leg halves. Save for reducing excess plastic and resin that will get in the way of repositioning, the major surgery on the legs--save for scale adjustments--should be behind me.
FOLLOW-UP (2)
The legs have now been re-scaled. I ended-up taking ~16mm off the distal portion of the legs, and lowered the waistline by some 3-4mm: I arrived at these measurements using 8-head proportions based on a 24mm head. The difference is quite striking. . .
Finally, I began work on the head. . . the problematic head. It is admittedly a poor likeness, but I have to wonder what the master looked like? If only because with very little work, the semblance of Karloff emerges quite readily. . . but more on this in due course. In the meantime, I've reduced most of the hair, and removed both ears: the latter will be re-attached in their proper position 2-3mm higher than the original location.
UPDATE--23.02.10
The A arms have now been filled and scaled: I removed ~5mm from the elbow joint (2-3mm on either side). I am as yet undecided as to which set of hands I will use, but the A hands have a definite edge.
UPDATE--24.02.10
I fully intended to work on the head this evening, but I decided to begin some finishing work on the sweater front (for those unfamiliar with the A kit, the torso is a 3-piece assembly: 2 jacket halves and the sweater front), and re-animating the hand: I decided to use the A hands.
The hands will require a considerable amount of work to get "right". To date, I have removed the right hand at the wrist and pegged it. I've also begun to reposition and finish the fingers: so far I've removed 2 fingers and the thumb.
UPDATE--25.02.10
Before I can go much further, I will have to assemble the upper torso, and arrive at--the very least--a tentative pose for the Monster. To this end, I began reducing the excess drapery at the feet of the Bride. These were crude clips with some wire cutters to allow me to position her closer to the Monster: before I begin to finalize the staging, I will remove approximately 6-7mm from the bottom of the gown to bring her in line with the proportions dictated by her head. Finally, I have pinned and repositioned the Bride's left arm, moving it horizontally ~90°. I will post a close-up of the scene that inspired this project shortly.
The in-progress work on the Bride has already been covered on this site (see link above). Little new progress to report save that the elimination of the textured surface continues to go well, albeit slowly; and the new head is now in the final tweaking stage. The next major item to be tackled is the trademark hair.
I began working on the Monster earlier this week in anticipation of picking-up a the M kit this weekend. I've had an assembled OOB original A Frankenstein in my work drawers since I can't remember when. When I decided I would like to bring this scene to [miniature] life (hmmm. . . does that make me Pretorius or Frankenstein?), the first thing I did was carefully disassemble the A kit. All in all, the exercise was a qualified success; and I was able to recover all-but-intact the jacket halves, shirt, arms and hands. There will be some restoration required, but given what I am considering, it is nothing to fret over.
Most of you are familiar with my feelings about M's original release of the Monster--what was in the sizable box has given me no reason to reconsider. Having said that, the potential of this "monstrosity" was immediately apparent. To date, I have assembled the legs, boots, and head (nb: the head will be used as the core for a complete resculpt). The legs have been filled with PUR and separated at the pubis, so that I now have 2 separate legs. Once the legs have been cleaned, I can then provisionally peg the boots and begin repositioning the lower limbs.
This will obviously be a l-o-n-g term project. You can check on the progress by clicking on "Rebuffed" in the subject index.
Stay tuned!
FOLLOW-UP
The boots have been filled (with PUR, as has the head), pegged, and provisionally positioned. This revealed a major flaw in the sculpture: the left knee is unnaturally pointing inward (NOTE: actually both knees, but the right knee can be corrected without surgery)! To correct this, I bisected the left leg about 20mm above the boot-top crease (2-3 mm above the bulge of the kneecap), and pegged the two leg halves. Save for reducing excess plastic and resin that will get in the way of repositioning, the major surgery on the legs--save for scale adjustments--should be behind me.
FOLLOW-UP (2)
The legs have now been re-scaled. I ended-up taking ~16mm off the distal portion of the legs, and lowered the waistline by some 3-4mm: I arrived at these measurements using 8-head proportions based on a 24mm head. The difference is quite striking. . .
Finally, I began work on the head. . . the problematic head. It is admittedly a poor likeness, but I have to wonder what the master looked like? If only because with very little work, the semblance of Karloff emerges quite readily. . . but more on this in due course. In the meantime, I've reduced most of the hair, and removed both ears: the latter will be re-attached in their proper position 2-3mm higher than the original location.
UPDATE--23.02.10
The A arms have now been filled and scaled: I removed ~5mm from the elbow joint (2-3mm on either side). I am as yet undecided as to which set of hands I will use, but the A hands have a definite edge.
UPDATE--24.02.10
I fully intended to work on the head this evening, but I decided to begin some finishing work on the sweater front (for those unfamiliar with the A kit, the torso is a 3-piece assembly: 2 jacket halves and the sweater front), and re-animating the hand: I decided to use the A hands.
The hands will require a considerable amount of work to get "right". To date, I have removed the right hand at the wrist and pegged it. I've also begun to reposition and finish the fingers: so far I've removed 2 fingers and the thumb.
UPDATE--25.02.10
Before I can go much further, I will have to assemble the upper torso, and arrive at--the very least--a tentative pose for the Monster. To this end, I began reducing the excess drapery at the feet of the Bride. These were crude clips with some wire cutters to allow me to position her closer to the Monster: before I begin to finalize the staging, I will remove approximately 6-7mm from the bottom of the gown to bring her in line with the proportions dictated by her head. Finally, I have pinned and repositioned the Bride's left arm, moving it horizontally ~90°. I will post a close-up of the scene that inspired this project shortly.
09 August 2009
"Bride's head Revisited"
After a somewhat less-than-sure start, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! The face is now about 85% done and I couldn't be more pleased!!
As anyone who has attempted a likeness of Elsa Lanchester knows, this is advanced portraiture! Few if any of the commercial likeness truly do her justice: most appear to rely on one one or two trademark features to carry the day. In her role as the Bride, this is usually pared down to her hairdo and her eyes and/or full lips. But while these provide three of the four critical anchors for the exercise, they alone will not provide a convincing likeness.
I hope to be able to post images of the all-but-completed face by week's end. If all proceeds as planned, all that will remain to finish the head will be reworking the hairdo. It is the tousled fullness of the latter that provides the keystone to the alluring beauty that it frames.
As anyone who has attempted a likeness of Elsa Lanchester knows, this is advanced portraiture! Few if any of the commercial likeness truly do her justice: most appear to rely on one one or two trademark features to carry the day. In her role as the Bride, this is usually pared down to her hairdo and her eyes and/or full lips. But while these provide three of the four critical anchors for the exercise, they alone will not provide a convincing likeness.
I hope to be able to post images of the all-but-completed face by week's end. If all proceeds as planned, all that will remain to finish the head will be reworking the hairdo. It is the tousled fullness of the latter that provides the keystone to the alluring beauty that it frames.
01 August 2009
Dark Horse 1/8 Bride of Frankenstein
The so-called Bride of Frankenstein--as we all know she was intended to be the mate of the Monster--is one of my favorite Universal Monster characters. It is certainly my favorite of the Universal Monster films of the "Golden Age".
I already have GEOmetric's 1/4 scale bust of the Bride in-progress on the bench. Yet ever since I decided to immerse myself in my own version of a "Monster-Fest", I've been looking for a full-figure of the Bride. Yes, of course I have the Aurora classic (the PL reissue); but I was looking for a gowned Bride. The Horizon piece I don't care for at all; the Billiken offering, while arguably the best likeness of Elsa Lanchester, also doesn't do much for me, which is just as well as it damn near impossible to find and priced as a collectible. That leaves but one in 1/8th scale or larger: plainly, the full-figure selection is slim, and I, in fact, had resigned myself not to have a full-figure of the Bride in my "portfolio".
The other day I stumbled upon the opportunity to acquire a MIB Dark Horse 1/8 BoF cast in bonded (cold-cast) porcelain. In total candor, I like this kit little more than the ones mentioned above. But as the subject is not likely to be redone--and even if it were, who knows what would be foisted upon us--I decided to take the plunge after considerable deliberation, not lightly influenced by the most generous asking price.
So, what do we get for our money? Nothing less than a superbly cast, meticulously packaged figure comprised of 9 cold-cast porcelain pieces: 4 for the figure; 5 for the scenic groundwork (which will not be incorporated in my rendering). A couple of observations if I may: 1) The one-piece body is hollow/roto cast! This zero-compromise weight- and medium-saving measure is to be applauded; however, securing the figure to the base may prove problematic. And 2) Based on the Aurora-like instruction leaflet, this figure was originally [to be] produced in vinyl: I was not aware of any vinyl DH products.
And now for the subject of this kit. As I mentioned above, I do not particularly like this kit. Why? Very simply, the head/face is a very poor likeness of the subject. The sculptor, Michael Trcic, is an extremely talented artist with solid Hollywood credentials, so he was either off his game; this is really not his cup of tea; or the licensors (Universal) ensured that the likeness was off. The presence of jagged, broken dentition suggests the latter. In any case, I am currently remodelling the face with the goal of achieving a recognizable likeness of Ms. Lanchester.
Back to the bench!
03.08.2009
PS--I failed to mention that there is another aspect of this kit that might put some miniaturists off: the gown has an uneven grainy texture. I can't imagine that this surface texture was reproduced in vinyl IF this kit was ever released in that medium. I suspect that this was added to aid with the drybrushing of the kit: a "white" gown (I'll call it "white" for now) in this scale with a smooth surface and convoluted drapery would be a deal-breaker for most miniaturists of the genre. In any case, annoying yes, but if I can't find a way to work work around it, it will remain. UPDATE--I have begun to reduce the surface texture as, no matter how I attempted to rationalize its presence, there was no way it could be painted around. My approach will be broad-to-specific: I intend to begin with a general surface clean-up, followed by dividing the gown into 1-2" squares, and finishing each square in an orderly fashion. Once I get the overall texture reduced to a manageable relief, I will probably resurface the entire gown with glazing putty prior to the final finishing sanding. Stay tuned. . .
14.08.2009
If you are ever faced with having to surface-finish a heavily contoured surface, you can do no better than doing your gross reduction with Scotch-Brite's Heavy Duty Hand Pad #7440. I was beginning to doubt whether I could ever get the surface of the gown reduced to even a reasonable smoothness when I ran across the aforementioned product. Impregnated with a medium-grit AlOx abrasive, this will mitigate much of the pain and frustration of removing all the ill-conceived texture. My only caveat would be go slowly: this will remove A LOT if one is not careful!
Back to the bench!
I already have GEOmetric's 1/4 scale bust of the Bride in-progress on the bench. Yet ever since I decided to immerse myself in my own version of a "Monster-Fest", I've been looking for a full-figure of the Bride. Yes, of course I have the Aurora classic (the PL reissue); but I was looking for a gowned Bride. The Horizon piece I don't care for at all; the Billiken offering, while arguably the best likeness of Elsa Lanchester, also doesn't do much for me, which is just as well as it damn near impossible to find and priced as a collectible. That leaves but one in 1/8th scale or larger: plainly, the full-figure selection is slim, and I, in fact, had resigned myself not to have a full-figure of the Bride in my "portfolio".
The other day I stumbled upon the opportunity to acquire a MIB Dark Horse 1/8 BoF cast in bonded (cold-cast) porcelain. In total candor, I like this kit little more than the ones mentioned above. But as the subject is not likely to be redone--and even if it were, who knows what would be foisted upon us--I decided to take the plunge after considerable deliberation, not lightly influenced by the most generous asking price.
So, what do we get for our money? Nothing less than a superbly cast, meticulously packaged figure comprised of 9 cold-cast porcelain pieces: 4 for the figure; 5 for the scenic groundwork (which will not be incorporated in my rendering). A couple of observations if I may: 1) The one-piece body is hollow/roto cast! This zero-compromise weight- and medium-saving measure is to be applauded; however, securing the figure to the base may prove problematic. And 2) Based on the Aurora-like instruction leaflet, this figure was originally [to be] produced in vinyl: I was not aware of any vinyl DH products.
And now for the subject of this kit. As I mentioned above, I do not particularly like this kit. Why? Very simply, the head/face is a very poor likeness of the subject. The sculptor, Michael Trcic, is an extremely talented artist with solid Hollywood credentials, so he was either off his game; this is really not his cup of tea; or the licensors (Universal) ensured that the likeness was off. The presence of jagged, broken dentition suggests the latter. In any case, I am currently remodelling the face with the goal of achieving a recognizable likeness of Ms. Lanchester.
Back to the bench!
03.08.2009
PS--I failed to mention that there is another aspect of this kit that might put some miniaturists off: the gown has an uneven grainy texture. I can't imagine that this surface texture was reproduced in vinyl IF this kit was ever released in that medium. I suspect that this was added to aid with the drybrushing of the kit: a "white" gown (I'll call it "white" for now) in this scale with a smooth surface and convoluted drapery would be a deal-breaker for most miniaturists of the genre. In any case, annoying yes, but if I can't find a way to work work around it, it will remain. UPDATE--I have begun to reduce the surface texture as, no matter how I attempted to rationalize its presence, there was no way it could be painted around. My approach will be broad-to-specific: I intend to begin with a general surface clean-up, followed by dividing the gown into 1-2" squares, and finishing each square in an orderly fashion. Once I get the overall texture reduced to a manageable relief, I will probably resurface the entire gown with glazing putty prior to the final finishing sanding. Stay tuned. . .
14.08.2009
If you are ever faced with having to surface-finish a heavily contoured surface, you can do no better than doing your gross reduction with Scotch-Brite's Heavy Duty Hand Pad #7440. I was beginning to doubt whether I could ever get the surface of the gown reduced to even a reasonable smoothness when I ran across the aforementioned product. Impregnated with a medium-grit AlOx abrasive, this will mitigate much of the pain and frustration of removing all the ill-conceived texture. My only caveat would be go slowly: this will remove A LOT if one is not careful!
Back to the bench!
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