Hoist the Black Flag!

I recently began watching The Lost Pirate Kingdom (2021), a six-part docuseries released by Netflix.  This historical drama portrays the rise and fall of the eponymous early-18th century pirate republic based in Nassau, Bahamas, 1715-18. Think the historical version of Starz' Black Sails... FWIW, I would 'grade'  it a solid C: the fundamentals are mostly there, but there are some annoying unsupported conclusions, generalizations, and simplifications.

 

That being said, it did make me dig out my hidden map to the Rovers' Roost, and break out a couple of ip projects, one for each bench--the YM's Blackbeard bust (painting); and my Mary Read bust (workbench). 

 

I will bring you up-to-date on each project shortly; but I have made significant progress on Mary in the last two days.

 

Keep a weather-eye out. . .  

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Abraham Lincoln (75mm)

I have just received Zone Miniatures' 75mm resin full-figure of our 16^th President, Abraham Lincoln. As I indicated in my introductory posting, the figure was 3D-sculpted by Sándor Harsányi. It is based on a near full-length portrait photograph of the President in the NPG (NPG.79.151), by Thomas Le Mere, taken in April, 1863.

In the same posting, I indicated that this was "not the ideal base figure". I was wrong! I based my preliminary assessment on what I thought would be the engineering/# of component pieces of the figure, and the painted boxart. While the figure is comprised of 7 pieces, the design is brilliant(!), and very miniaturist-friendly! In like terms, the casting is exceptional! If this figure is characteristic of the quality of Zone Miniatures, then they deserve the highest rating--on all counts!!

ALVH v.2 . . . here I come!

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

ALVH. . . v.2

In Summer 2010, I plunged into Seth Grahame-Smith’s Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (NY: Grand Central, 2010). By the time I was half-way through the blockbuster tale, I had already con- ceived-of and started acquiring the elements of a 54mm rendition – conversion – of the title subject.

This was a difficult 2 1/2 year-long project, primarily-and surprisingly!-due to the unavailability of a larger (>/=75mm) figure of the 16^th President of the USA. While I am satisfied with the outcome, in retrospect, I was not satisfied with my “belief” in what I was doing. Thus, this subject was always on the “do-over for myself” list.

Over 11 years later, I stumbled across a resin, 75mm figure of Abraham Lincoln, 3D-sculpted by Sándor Harsányi, and released by the Hungarian figure company, Zone Miniatures. While not the ideal base figure, it is a marked improvement over Andrea Miniatures’ 54mm Undertaker, 1880s! It is now on-order.

In the meantime, I have read and re-read my bench log to re-familiarize myself with the then-project, and I now await the receipt of the figure to launch ALVH redux. . .

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Michael Myers - Prep 1

As I mentioned in my last posting, the figure components have all been assembled. Since then, I have re-engineered the attachment of the head to the torso; reworked the neck join; repositioned the left arm; and dramatically redesigned--minimalized--the base/groundwork, so that the viewer's focus is on the subject figure, not its setting. And today, I spent some time reworking the likeness of the subject: I'm about 50% done, and the difference is notable!

 

UPDATE - 06.11.2021. . . The eyes have been resculpted, and the head is now essentially done! I am still working on the coiffure, and tweaking the lines of the mask; but just about there. . .

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Happy Halloween!

I have now been retired for 7 weeks. While on the whole it has been everything I had anticipated, it has also been somewhat challenging. The ‘transitioning out’ process held some unexpected surprises, and it is just now that I am settling into my “new” routine. . .

And with Samhain upon us, it is time to share my latest projects with you. . . First, a modified Se- wart Seacraft 50-ft crewboat used in the Congo during the Simba Rebellion, a conversion from a 1967 Monogram 1/48th scale Viet Nam Swift Patrol Boat. I have been working on this since a fortnight before my retirement, and while slow-going, it has been very gratifying and enjoyable – though refer- ences are a bit hard to come by. . .

This obviously has nothing to do with All Hallows’ Eve. But with the October marathon of horror movies—and the streaming co-release of Halloween Kills (2021), it was time for my annual revisiting of the Halloween franchise. And that, in turn, led to my reconsideration of the Moebius 1/8^th scale, 2016 re-issue of the Polar Lights 1/10^th(?) scale Michael Myers – Halloween kit released in 2000 [nb: I have never seen the original release.].

The Moebius kit is comprised of 39 pieces + the lighting kit for the pumpkin, a very nice bit of lagniappe provided by Moebius. Overall, the casting quality is better than average, but the detail could be a bit sharper/better defined. Ah well, part and parcel of a large-scale injection-molded figure kit! The figure components have all been assembled, and I am now tweaking the drapery, etc. to my specs, as well as accurizing the kit to movie canon standards. . .

Stay tuned!

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003