Dragline

A few more.

This is a very special piece I painted for a good friend of mine. Joe is all about everything H.P. Lovecraft. The guy even looks like Lovercraft. He even lives in Providence RI for pete's sake! I play D&D at the comic store with friends twice a month and Joe is a great friend from that gathering. He is a great friend of us all at the shop and is also a bit of a high roller in the financial world. Joe keeps his eyes on Kickstarter and found this game that was being developed there based on Lovecraft lore and bought in. He went all the way and got this piece which really is the centerpiece for the entire thing. As you can see in the pictures this is not a MINI per se. But it is to scale as mini's do interact with it in game and that is how big Cthulu is. The price was high and my understanding is not many were produced but this thing is MASSIVE. It arrived late last year and I had a clean slate other than personal projects so I dove right in. Every technique I know has been employed on this behemoth. Airbrush fades, dry brushing, shades and washes. I went through a LOT of paint on this and Joe also bought paints i directed him to so I could complete it as you see here. It's also the first time I tried dynamic lighting for the two columns. There is an effect under the hands to show the glow of the magic infused runes on the columns as well as the columns themselves. So here is Cthulu who drives men mad at his very presence and wreaks havok across the globe. I hope you find it interesting.

Superb build in every way. I am very pleased to see a Maverick done so well.

Excellent decal work.

I'm sure he was thrilled. I would be.

I played baseball in college and even though I was a shortstop I think I could have managed that performance. Pathetic.

I have my computer [Linux] and phone [jailbroke] and one WiFi connected stick for movies/TV. I have IP masking for all of it and high security. If you have Alexa or any of that stuff in your house you are a fool. My car is completely analog as well. My Google participation is limited to Gmail. I use Duck Duck as a search and my browser is Mozilla. I simply don't feed the beast.

If only. I have a big driveway and the house in back uses it as an easement. But trust me when I say I looked out the window with dread in my heart.

Sounds unbearable... What you put up with is hard to fathom...

Looks like it's poised to leap into action. Cool build.

Woke to snow here in SE Mass. Still coming down fairly consistently. I hate shoveling......

I've seen this model butchered ten ways till Sunday. You managed to pull it off quite nicely. No loud colors and everything matt. Well done Sir!

Crickey that's a lot of rivets! Watching.....

Hot stuff right there. You buster yer bum on the little stuff and it paid off. Well played Sir.

Thanks for the likes guys, it means a lot. I'm not building cars like I used to these days as I've switched to figures, Warhammer and sci fi for the most part. My profile show my topics threads where you can see the figures I've been painting. My first one was this resin game piece. It's a lot smaller than this kit but it shows more detailed painting than this. If you have more questions about figure painting or acrylics I'll be happy to answer them if I know the answers.

Truly a great idea and well executed bro...

The Heck? Is it a kit? From your mind? We need to know..... Very cool.

I used Duplicolor white filler primer as a base. I like it because it is not harsh and dries very quickly. It's also a great barrier for hotter paints if you decide to use those types. The main paints are all acrylics by Vallejo and Citadel. There is a bit of a curve learning how to properly use acrylics effectively, but it's not an overwhelming one. It's all about balancing the paint with thinner to achieve smoother results while not drying too quickly. Acrylics dry very fast and they generally need a retarder so they don't dry too fast. I also use a wet pallet and first quality synthetic brushes to keep the paint flowing as well. I airbrushed the green and then highlighted it although it cannot be seen in these pics. The belly has a nice fade on it that is not visible and all the tops of the limbs [where sun would shine on] have that same lighter color. I just added a touch of yellow to the paint mix to lighten it a bit. The rest is largely hand painted with the exception of the pinball machine which is Duplicolor chrome yellow from a spray can. The teeth were first painted white and then a yellow wash from Citadel caused them to be as you see. I liked the effect and didn't feel the need to go further. The Jack O Lantern was primed white with the rest and painted Tamiya orange and then 98% Isopropyl alchohol was dripped from above to create the look it has. I hit it with a brown wash first. The red around the eyes is Tamiya clear red thinned a little so it would flow. My bottle is the large one and I've had it for years and it's getting pretty thick but I only thin it when I use it and leave the thick paint as it is in the bottle. No custom colors were mixed, it's all out of the bottle. Hope this helps.

All Star Wars stuff gets big love from me. I love em all. Great job.

I am tempted to build mine but with all I have going on I cannot open a kit with a clear conscience. So I'll live through you and enjoy yours.

I beg to differ about when the beginning of the end started, but OK I'll play. A sad thing to see since I did research on it several years ago prompted by a Youtube video I watched. And incredible instrument of untold value to humanity just gone like that with a thud. Nothing in the mainstream. No surprises there.

Super cool resin kit from AMT. Just need to put a piece of "glass" over the board and maybe a wash or two to bring out a few highlights. More fun than a barrel full o monkeys! Scratchbuilt power cord for giggles.

These are very nice. More like vignettes I'd say though. A tad small to be diorama's. Great nonetheless though.

This entire thread is academic. Buy and build what you like and you'll be happy. I'll wager that were you to put a copy of my main shelf [mostly newer builds] and say the guy who builds only 1/25 cars and ask the average person to come in and view them and then ask them which one was more "Entertaining, attractive, colorful, artful blah, blah blah.." mine would win a great deal. Why? Is it a measuring contest? Nope. It's an aesthetic thing. My shelf will tend to attract more eyes because of color, shape, and overall variety of subjects. I've recently said it and it bears repeating, I build what makes me happy. We are artists after a fashion all of us, and limiting yourself to one scale, subject or anything else for that matter is the enemy of expression. I've looked at a great many shelves of well built 1/25 scale cars and even as a car modeller at heart I find them often to be a bit tedious. With few exceptions it seems lifeless to me. I once stood in front of large shelves of impeccable 1/20 scale Tamiya F1 and came away with a sense of almost sadness as the entire experience left me a bit cold. So much precision and so little life in what I witnessed. My esteem was in the overall craftsmanship to be sure. As I viewed each model I was in awe of the execution and cleanliness. But when viewed as a whole it was less inviting. Those that cannot build a subject because it's in 1/24 scale I say that I am sad for you whether you want me to be or not. What a pity that you limit yourself because of some seemingly arbitrary number. I am aware that those that are staunch seem to be OK with their decision to limit themselves. I suspect a deeper underlying resentment of having not been heard although the range of that scale would indicate otherwise. There are all types in this hobby, from rivet counters to obsessive compulsive's. It's the nature of such a precise and real world example type of subject that sticklers of realism and accuracy be a vocal and near militant group in their desire for what is plainly obvious to them. I build armor and am a member of Armorama. If there ever was a set of rivet counters to be witnessed look no further than there. But building a well made Dave Deal caricature is no less artful. It is rooted in reality since Mr Deal laid down the pencil, inks and watercolor that inspired the kit in the first place. That art exists in the world and is lauded as being not only well rendered, but as pop art at it's pinnacle. It's scale is irrelevant. This type of thinking exists within the automobile, aviation and military modelers community almost exclusively. And I understand why it does. It's being able to render something you may lust after and wish to own. Or simple economics says you cannot have a garage full of Cobra's due to financial and spacial concerns [I'm looking at you Cobraman]. And that is as valid a reason as there needs to be. You are correct in wanting what you want, but know that the world doesn't always hear you. I want the latest funny car and top fuel cars in scale. Am I going to get them? Probably not. That we got the two that we did nearly ten years ago was a blessing I didn't take lightly. I embraced the Hawaiian and Chi Town cars as positives, built a few examples and have a few in the stash. So, build what makes you happy. If it's sticking to 1:25 so be it. Know that you are limited to the subjects available, and don't belittle others who see their hobby through a larger lens. But I have been a bit guilty of this myself. I criticised Claude T's 1/16 scale Daytona as being downright ugly. To my eyes it is an ugly race car and said so. He didn't design the car, but he chose it as something he would use his considerable skills to create. Am I wrong in calling it ugly? Perhaps I should have kept it to myself? I think so. But I didn't and he was gracious enough to brush it off for what it was. My perspective and nothing more. Could I have been more tactful? Certainly.... Sorry Claude. There, I've ranted some, made some sense and perhaps added to the conversation. I'm just a guy slinging glue and paint for enjoyment, nothing more.