Interlude: Sculpting Mikos

Quick update while working on the mutants. Some time ago my pal Keyan Sark asked me to sculpt a Miko (a Shinto shrine maiden) for different settings.

I found this beauty by Hasslefree, which could make a nice start:

Hoping it wouldn't prove that difficult, Keyan asked me if I could make it double, so he could have two converted minis, one for self and the other one to give away. Challenges. I like challenges.

And so I accepted. I'm easy, you know

First thing was fitting the hakama (the trouser/skirt) and the upper garment, to make them look right.

Volumes and stuff

Though they look like Arabian belly dancers in this pic

Getting the hakama right needed more than one attempt. More than two. More than a hundred, I don't know. I got stuck in the folds, but it finally worked. So then I had to sculpt more hair and the tiny bag (which I was told to put by the side of the mini).

Something in this fashion

The rear part of the hakama was also solved!

And a tiny Eldar-ish rune carved on the bag, as per request

So this was my part of the deal. Keyan's outstanding skills made her look like this:

Much better now

So you better check his blog! You'll find more (and better) pics there :)

Back to regular programming soon :D

RT Bestiary: Enslaver

I cannot get tired of repeating how such awesome people you can get to meet into this hobby. I have received several minis from friends along the years, and I myself as well have given away some; karma keeps flowing, whatever. But today, well, today I bring something totally different. My pal Rinahe (generous donor for some of the coolest stuff I had here in recent times!) took the following step and decided to sculpt a RT beast out from scratch just for my own particular bestiary. Wow. Just wow.

He chose to do the mythical Enslaver, back from the pages of the Rogue Trader manual.

No, not the flying spaghetti thing

Enslavers are psychic creatures that dwell in the Warp, coming to the physical realm to... well, enslave other beings, make them act according to their will and feed over their minds. For a more accurate description, I always reccomend Lexicanum.

Please let me show the sculpting process my pal went through. He took a walnut as a start point. Right. A frakkin' walnut served as inspiration and main body:

First shapes are given with DAS putty and the tentacles come from another (rather awesome) project he is carrying through right now.

For me the process is quite amazing. I mean, he insists to say that it's not like sculpting human faces or stuff like that, but I must give him the credit of having an idea and executing it in a way I hadn't expected!

So OK. I was given this glorious beast. I was officially in awe. A big thanks, man!!
Now over my shoulders came the responsibility of making justice to this insidious Xeno. Glups!

-Did... did you hear something, Bill? -Nope, man, relax, just the wind

According to classic fluff, Enslavers can change colour, but they usually are leather brown, with lighter tentacles and the so-called eye (though not really being an actual eye as we humans understand that organ) can be red, orange or purple.

Weird mutant octopus

Your mind belongs to meeeee...

'Yessss... kill all the huumans... Oh, erhm... and bring piiizza'

I really think the sculpt catches all the vibe of the original design, it's enormously great, and a real pleasure to paint!
Now I think it also provides a really interesting element for any scenario, so... I have to come up with one! The creature commands, we obey!

I have a plan (Pt.3)

OK, let me bring you Stage 3 of my plan. By now you have already seen the not-characters minis and the slightly converted ones. What else? As much as I looked for, I didn't find suitable minis for the rest of the cast. I was totally stuck! Stuck? Never! I came to the only logical solution: If the mini doesn't exist... I'll have to create it!

When I got better from the megalomaniac fevers, I begun to work. Of course this process I'm telling you has involved a several months period (forgive me for cheating, haha). In my original order to Hasslefree I had included some armatures; it was time to dare to sculpt!

I would begin with a simple pose and begin to add details. My character of choice for my first experiment was Chief Tyrol:

 

OK, I know, doesn't look like him. Gimme some time

A few weeks later...

Finally...

Not that he looks like Tyrol now...

...but I count on your indulgence and good faith

 

My second scratch mini would be Apollo. This was a character which gave me some headaches. I wasn't sure how to wear the mini or what attitude it should show. I have come to an understanding with these situations. When in doubt, just get to work, follow your instincts. That will be better than not doing anything.

 

Mr. Smartypants. Well, for now just Mr. Pants, nothing else sculpted

Doesn't he look like a... chef, or something?

I have serious problems scupting hands. The grey one is from a Zombicide mini

Kinda malformed guy, he doesn't fit in his Viper's cockpit!

 

A character I had been eluding for a long time was Laura Roslin. I give you my word, I didn't find any modern civilian middle-aged female. This was driving me crazy, I didn't feel like I would be able to sculpt that from scratch. I used a female body as a starting point:

 

Howdy! You most certainly aren't Laura Roslin!

The pointing finger was what made me choose this one. The commanding attitude, the pose. Of course, the first thing I had to do was to add some years to that body!

 

No matter what, still looking sexy

Now we're getting to somewhere...

The right hand pointing ahead was great, but the left one was a problem, didn't know for sure what to do with it. I finally added a case for her glasses.

 

Feelin' presidential

Now feelin' like dancin' a little

Can't say I'm satisfied with the result, but given my skills, it's more than enough!

One character left, the infamous Gaius Baltar! I thought it was time to take some risks, so I dared to give the armature a more challenging pose:

 

See how interesting I am. I'm frakkin' Dr. Gaius Baltar

Don't know why, but I tend to sculpt from the feet and going up

I still have to learn some things about tailoring. Not an Armani, but it will do

Didn't want to sculpt hands, so I used some plastic bits

Now on a retrospective, I think it was a mistake. Not only that hand is huge, but the purpose of this is to learn how to sculpt

One day I'll re-sculpt that hand

 But for the moment I'm done. The cast is complete!

BSG OST now, please

What's next? I don't know. If I spot better minis than mine, of course I will pick them to replace my puny attempts.

 

This is it (for the moment!). After this BSG hiatus, next week I'll be back to those unfinished projects I have on the workbench. Thanks for stopping by!

The Phantom of the Opera

Another different thing for a change (again)! Organ music, please!

[Daaaaa Da-da-da-da-daaaaaa...]

I had thought for a long time about doing this, and I finally got the chance. As the title suggests (ehm, maybe more than 'suggest'...), I am aiming for this guy:

 

I look angry because there is no mini of me all over the market

 

I needed to use a proxy, and I finally found it in the wonderful Andrea ranges. I would use this 54mm. Dracula:

 

No, I'm not going to sing

 

The kit looks his way:

 

I won't be using the bats nor the candelabrum

I was not specifically aiming at the Gerald Butler appearance, but that Bela Lugosi face was not exactly the look I was expecting for the Phantom of the Opera. Fortunately the mask would help me much indeed:

 

I also repositioned the hand

Here you can see the mask

I chose to paint and model on the go, in different steps. I had to paint the inner cloak as I would not reach it later. Onece glued, I could keep on converting the mini. As you can see, I softened a little the cheek marks to make him look a little younger. He had to be middle-aged, but not old.

 

I also wanted a gentleman's cloak, not a vampire's one

Some colour!

The scenic base also needed some attention. I tried to give it a damp aspect, being the underground tunnels of the Opera:

 

I tried to be a little bit atmospheric. I was listening the musical while painting

I then realized there was one thing about the Phantom that I didn't like. I had not been able to identify it. The 'old man' issue was still there, but I didn't know what was it. It finally appeared to be the shape of the head. The hair so stuck to the skull gave the man quite an older aspect. I added some volume:

 

Phase one. You are beginning to hear the music softly in your head

Phase two. In dreams he sang to meee, in sleep he came...

 
The rest was just a matter of painting the brocade on the vest and some other details:

 

That voice which calls for meeee, and speaks my naaaameee

And do I dreeeam agaaain, for now I fiiind...

The Phaaaaaaaan-tomoftheOpera is theeere, inside my miiind

 

I have enjoyed a lot (indeed) converting and painting this one. The pics somehow burn the colours, but there are different tones of black (the suit, the inner cloak and the outer cloak).

If only I could find a 54mm. girl properly dressed, I'd just love to do a diorama of the Phantom and Christine. Boat scene maybe or something like that. If you know any suitable mini, I'm open to all ideas :).

Finally, if for any chance you are not that fond of organ music, I'll leave you with this other version ;)

Hope you like it all!