Weeks 50 and 51 (22 June 2003 - 5 July 2003)
Unnatural Lusts
Greddick shuddered and his cold grey skin crawled as it always did, even when it wasn't as cold as tonight. He could feel the book drawing close, and he wanted nothing more than to hold it in his hands. Thinking of it, he tightened his grip on the knife in his right hand, the knife with the chain set into the pommel. . . .
The chain clanked with every step of the being it was attached to, a squat figure with skeletal limbs (all but the one with the tripod pegleg) and a guttering eerie candle for a head. With a catlike ease that seemed impossible for the grisly assemblage, the thing leaped up onto a broken column and pointed slowly, its other fist clenched as in rage.
Greddick could see it now. He noticed nothing else as he reached forwards, stretching his hand as far as he could, farther than seemed naturally possible. The only sound was the quiet creaking of old bones and dry wood.
I've got two weeks' worth of work to post as we near the one-year mark on the Mini-A-Week project. This is my Games Day Baltimore 2003 entry into the Battle Scene category.
I started out with the gallows horse on the right, which I'd built from an old lead Citadel horse, some balsa wood, a plastic skeleton, and a book from the Mordheim sprue. It hadn't done well on its own in last year's GD, and I thought it deserved better treatment. Working on advice from damn near everybody I know (brighten the reds, work on the bone), I straightened a few things out and added some mushrooms to the base to make it look as though they grew up at his every step. I also added in a miniature skeleton hanging for the larger skeleton to hold onto, and a large metal jaw device for the large skeleton himself.
I knew that I wanted to use the gallows horse in a battle scene of sorts, but I wasn't sure what to use as equally odd opponents. I hit on the idea of a candle-headed servant to lead the way, and decided to build one.
I started out with a Skaven torso, then drilled out the bottom and added two wires for leg armatures. I sculpted the kilt, the left skeletal leg, and the right pegleg (using pins for the tripod), while the left leg is from a Space Ork sprue. The arms both came from plastic skeletons, and I sculpted on the shoulderpads. I also sculpted in the bare ribs. I sculpted in the neck area, and inserted a piece of haft from a plastic spear to serve as the candle. I drilled it out, inserted a small piece of wire for the wick, and sculpted on the flame. I added the collar last. The pillar is a chunk of wooden dowel, to which I added the severed head (from a Space Ork sprue).
I'd originally intended to use my Mordheim wizard as his owner, but realized he wouldn't stand up to scrunity in competition, and I couldn't bring myself to strip him. I dug out an old Necromunda guy and replaced his shooting hand with a Skaven hand. I tacked on the ring at the end of his knife, which was cut from a plastic weapon. The chain is hobby chain of some kind. (Thanks, Jason.)
I started the board by sketching out what I planned to do, first on paper then on the surface itself. I used balsa wood as a top layer, both to give the piece a little overhang and to be able to cut out places for the miniatures to stand. Briefly, I put down a layer of five-minute liquid epoxy where the road goes. The cobblestones are made of green stuff, which sticks well to epoxy but not to wood. The fallen column is more dowel, with a small hole cut into the top and a balsa door to cover it.
The stone eye surrounded by teeth was a side project I was working on. It fit right into this project, though, so I used it in place of a nameplate
The wall section is sculpted from Sculpey and given a layer of sand and some balsa beams to show the are that had been the inside. I added on a fallen plank with a grub and the treasure chest, which is a GW bit.
The door in the road was made from balsa wood, with the knotholes textured in. The post is sculpted from green stuff, as is the tentacle.
A couple miscellaneous scenes follow.
Here's the view from the the reacher's point of view
Here are some giant worms feeding. . . .
I hadn't intended to really compete, as this isn't up to GD standards, but I was a bit disappointed that I didn't make first cut. Still, it was a lot of fun to do, and I always enjoy the reactions my ideas get.
Back to week 49 (15 June - 21 June 2003)