Oðindestroyer (I) - The left arm w/ helm; sabatons; Oðinsword

As I mentioned in the last posting, the helm has been hollowed out. In anticipation of what followed, I also cleaned-out and "squared" the left sight.

Well. . . since my last posting, I popped-off and took apart the left arm. This allowed me to rework the animation of the same, as well as integrate the helm with the arm, which are now a single unit. The helmet was pegged to the metacarpals with a piece of copper wire, but not before the ventral surface of the latter was reduced to nothing. This will allow me to model a more natural, animated hand, actually cradling the helm. I have roughed-in the fingers of the gauntlet, and restored the proximal lamina of the manica. My allusion to this specialized item of Roman armour is not made lightly, as the best way to visually describe the Destroyer within a historical context is as a crupellarius.

The left arm is now in the oven curing. Once it is done and cooled, I will rework the join of the arm to the shoulder plates unit--essentially creating a deeper ball joint to facilitate a more stable join.

More to follow. . .

UPDATE - 08.10.2011. . . Finishing the left arm has begun. Perhaps one--or two?--more putty sessions to get everything just so; but definitely over the hump. More importantly, I just transferred the figure to its working base. I will have to resculpt the feet, however, as these appear to have suffered disproportionate shrinkage (lateral compression) in the casting process. WIP images to follow shortly. . .

UPDATE - 09.10.2011. . . The feet (sabatons) have been roughed-in and Phase 1 reduction has been completed. . . the difference is night and day!

UPDATE - 10.10.2011 . . . When we last heard of the Oðinsword, the blank was curing in the oven. Since then, I have added the tang and the quillons; roughed-in the pommel; and the blade is now ~75% finished. The pommel (and whatever of the grip will be visible) will be attached to the hand; the blade/quillons unit will be a separate piece that will be attached to the hand via the tang.

Oðindestroyer - The Project

If not for the inordinate amount of redetailing awaiting me, this would be a relatively simple, straightforward conversion:

• Sculpt a bare head of the All-Father.
• Reanimate the left arm to have it holding the Destroyer helm.
• Sculpt the Oðinsword.

In short, something like this.

The new head has been roughly sculpted (in SSF), and fitted to the armour. Much left to do--beard, facial landscaping, eyepatch, hair, etc.), but definitely off to a good start. . .

FOLLOW-UP. . . The helm has been hollowed-out, and I have begun detailing of same.

FOLLOW-UP (2) - 02.10.2011 . . . The Oðinsword blank is now curing in the oven. Right arm has been pegged and fitted; rt. gauntlet has been tapped to accommodate the sword's tang. The left arm has been reanimated, pegged, and attached: though I have glued it in place, I am not sure whether this will provide me with enough room to effect the changes envisioned, so I may yet pop it off. The fingers of the left gauntlet have been ground off--they will be re-sculpted around the helm.

Oðindestroyer - Review of KM's The Destroyer

Knight Models' first release (according to KM, the second) in their "Tales of Asgard" series is The Destroyer (KMV-024). The master is from the hands of Rhee Hyun, his second work for KM.

This is a relatively simple, white-metal kit. Comprised of 4 pieces (body, helm, 2 arms) + ground- work, it is as "under-engineered" as it gets nowadays--and this is NOT a "bad thing"!

Sadly, casting quality has not improved one iota since this time last year . The metal is argu- ably softer, and the detail suffers accordingly. For example, most of the rivets will have to be re- fined, if not redone--five rivets were not even cast! Which brings me to the second strike: rough, grainy finish on the metal. I suspect that this is due to excessive use of talc as a mold release:
a conclusion supported by the missing rivets (talc would have filled the respective cavities); nu-
merous voids on the surface of the casting, some relatively deep and irregular; and the non- existence of many of the engraved lines delineating the segmented plate armour.

That's pretty much it in a nutshell. Regrettably, no surprises; however, since this will be a [some- what minor] conversion of the subject, most of the offending items will be dealt with in the course of the "upgrade". 

NEXT: The project.

Oðindestroyer - Introduction

It has been a VERY good Summer at the local cinema for Superhero fans! I have not seen GL, but I have seen the three Marvel releases: all different--but all VG+, or better!

For myself, the biggest surprise was Thor. As I have told several friends, it is--IMHO--the best of the prequels that collectively set the stage for next year's release of The Avengers. Don't get me wrong. . . the Iron Man films are still my favourites, but there was a very different dynamic, pace, and purpose at work with these.

But I digress. . . One of the more memorable "characters" in Thor was the Destroyer, Oðin's own, personal armour automaton. Those who wish a more in-depth background of the character can check out the Wiki entry.

The Destroyer is essentially lifeless until animated by the life-force of a sentient being. To the best of my knowledge, the only time that the Destroyer armour has been "worn" was when Oðin donned it to deal with Thor in the one-shot, Thor: Man of War (2008). There is some very inspirational art in this issue, and given what I knew about the movie when it was released, I was hoping they might take a brief detour in this direction. Alas, no, but it was probably for the best.

As you can probably well-imagine, the hobby-and-collectibles biz immediately gravitated to the character of the Destroyer. Surprisingly, one of the companies was Knight Models, with their first--and only release to date--in their "Tales of Asgard" series.

This kit (#109/500) was recently presented to me as a gift. Was I excited to receive it? YOU BET! Excited and grateful. Do I feel the same after having spent a week or so with it? Obviously I am ever-grateful for the thoughtful generosity manifested; but the excitement has been tempered considerably.

Full review to follow in the days to come. . .