[11/7/19] Eurocalypse: Mediterran Mega Update pt. 4 of 4(!)

I love the intricate detail of the beads and the unique shapes of the various shell pieces. Those necklaces look hard to make.

ThePhotogsBlog wrote:I like "Jordivaro" and "Valzenka" myself. As for the face mask on Zrakos, realistically speaking, it would impair his breathing somewhat, which would limit his ability in hand to hand combat in which participants require enormous amounts of oxygen to keep going.  IMHO, you are better off without it.  Of course, it is your collection and you are the ultimate judge of how the figure should appear.

Thanks for your opinions! And you are right about the mask, of course. I aimed to use it as some sort of primitive breathing device for diving, which would require some sort of tubes I guess. But until then it's more style than anything.

skywalkersaga wrote:I know what you mean about the Hot Toys Alice body -- sometimes you have to use non-seamless ones because tbleague and/or jiaou don't have certain body types. 

And the shell mask with the creepy holes in it sort of reminded me of this prehistoric red deer antler headdress found at Star Carr, Yorkshire, now housed in the British Museum: 



While in this case, the holes are likely for attaching the antlers to the head, at first glance I always think they look like eyes. ;p

Yep the body comes closest to a s16, but still different. And Antler masks are great! Antlers in any way. I think I will have to craft them out of polymer clay. Of course my forest people chief will use antlers for his mask. All forest people wear masks, you know. But more of that some other time in another post. British Museum is in London? Man, they have many Museums. Only got to visit the Natural History museum on the one and a half days I was there, and than quickly ran through the Technical one

GubernatorFan wrote:I absolutely love what you've been up to while I wasn't paying attention. The Che character is starting to look like Aladdin a little bit, so I was thinking Dinkos would be suitable; Zrakos sounds a little too Game of Thrones to me, and he is a couple of steps away from being Khal Drogo. I like the way the other figures are turning out too. How about Milenza for Milla Jovovic? And Guilfons for the shell mask guy (the shell mask is great, by the way)?

What's Game of thronesey about Zrakos?
And I like your name suggestions, but haven't decided yet.

Antarion wrote:This thread is just super inspiring!
At first I thought the shells look a bit mundane and I thought you would just use the forms as a draft - or that you paint them to look like armour and not shells. But your vision is really great and it turned out very convincing with just the plain shells! Great!

Yep, Nature is much better at painting shells then I will ever be, so I just left them that way! And very happy to inspire.

MerylAkiba wrote:I love the intricate detail of the beads and the unique shapes of the various shell pieces. Those necklaces look hard to make.

Thank you! The hardest part in making those necklaces is deciding the order and color of the beads and length the of them. And if I use rubbery material or just thread. Drilling holes into beautiful little shells is hard, too, but more in an emotional kind of way. ^^

Little update, my first attempt at rooting hair. I wanted to play safe so I just made a wig.

The Hot Toys Alice had has interchangable moulded hairpieces, so I used aluminium foil and sculpted the skull. I wasn't very precise, but it can be taken off and clipped on.


The only Tibet lamb stuff I have is that grey furniture cover rug thing. I dyed a part of it in dark brown.


Here you can see the wig, the hair is not fit yet.


And finally, soaked in water and cut to right length.


Still wet, but it fits her 'Hey I am diving here!' attitude.


It took me some time. I watched 'The Death of Stalin' while I worked, great movie, sad, horrible and very funny.

The one thing I did wrong was the parting in the hair. The gap I cut was not deep enough so the hair strands could not be pushed deep into it. Maybe I will just cut a slit in there an redo the parting. If that makes sense.

Wow. Excellent job on Milla's new skull and "real" hair. Great coloring -- you could also order some already in the right color from Morezmore, but I appreciate you did it yourself. I almost feel sad you didn't leave the gorgeous fuller/longer hair intact, although the final look works too. I notice you have fixed her minor damage from before.

As for Zrakos, it just reminds me of the silly names encountered by Daenerys in her silly adventures on Essos or whatever that Eurasia landmass to the east was called. Didn't someone with a long name starting somewhat like this try to marry her? To be honest, I didn't care much about that part and area of the plot -- or for that matter for anything that happened north of the Wall. I thought a less fantastical tale more focused on the murderous politics and plots of the Seven Kingdoms might have been far more fascinating, but that's just me.

Wow, her wig looks amazing .... I wish I were not such a wimp about attempting this myself ....

Nice hair job. She looks great like that.

GubernatorFan wrote:Wow. Excellent job on Milla's new skull and "real" hair. Great coloring -- you could also order some already in the right color from Morezmore, but I appreciate you did it yourself. I almost feel sad you didn't leave the gorgeous fuller/longer hair intact, although the final look works too. I notice you have fixed her minor damage from before.

As for Zrakos, it just reminds me of the silly names encountered by Daenerys in her silly adventures on Essos or whatever that Eurasia landmass to the east was called. Didn't someone with a long name starting somewhat like this try to marry her? To be honest, I didn't care much about that part and area of the plot -- or for that matter for anything that happened north of the Wall. I thought a less fantastical tale more focused on the murderous politics and plots of the Seven Kingdoms might have been far more fascinating, but that's just me.

Thanks. Shipping from Morezmore costs 15$ for me, so I have to pass. And maybe one day I will create a character with gorgeous long hair like Arnie, don't worry.
And the character I think you mean had a lot of Xs in his name. Xavos Xan Xoxos?

skywalkersaga wrote:Wow, her wig looks amazing .... I wish I were not such a wimp about attempting this myself ....

Thanks, and I totally understand you. Making that removable headpiece/wig was a good training, otherwise I would have been afraid destroying a good headsculpt. It was much easier than I thought.

Stryker2011 wrote:Nice hair job. She looks great like that.

Thank you!

A lot of time has passed since the last slinger update.
I reworked the shoulder pieces. It looks complicated. Maybe it was, but it is less complicated now. I guess.


The other piece is really less complicated.


New necklace and reworked the ropes.




All the old beads were shiny, when I got the new ones I experimented with color combinations. I mostly used transparent matte green beads, the rainbow colored matte beads and the brown ones for the slinger.


Most of the smaller braces went to the legs and arms.


And completely reworked the hip area, new skirt and belt with lots of dangling stuff.


One of the dangling things are shell bolas.


She still needs a name. She is from the region that was called Italy once, from the Thyrrenian Sea, maybe Campania/Naples. I think of naming her after one of the regions or islands there.
Maybe her nickname is Capri, for a much more complicated name like Capritirrenia or something. But I am always open for your creative suggestions

She turned out really cool. I like all the bits and bobs, and the bola is inspired. Her whole look is probably my favorite so far. Great job.

Quite simply amazing.

Excellent work on all these tiny details. She's coming along beautifully. How about the Latin for Capri, slightly Hellenized to make it work better for a female name: Capraia?

Still blown away by just the pure freshness of this faction. It's a really unique spin with such an original look. And it just WORKS. The materials for the main outfits are perfect, and the whole shell aesthetic just nails the vibe you're going for. The beads are perfect, and really pop. And so agree with Stryker, that bola is such a rad idea.

Stryker2011 wrote:She turned out really cool. I like all the bits and bobs, and the bola is inspired. Her whole look is probably my favorite so far. Great job.

Thanks a lot! She annoyed me quite some time because her feet would not fit. They do now, after some drilling on the ball joints, which motivated me to rework the figure. She is the first of the shell people, after all.

Theboo-bomb wrote:Quite simply amazing.

Thanks, really appreciate it.

GubernatorFan wrote:Excellent work on all these tiny details. She's coming along beautifully. How about the Latin for Capri, slightly Hellenized to make it work better for a female name: Capraia?

Capraia sounds great, thank  you my Imperial Thinkanator!

ReverendSpooky wrote:Still blown away by just the pure freshness of this faction.  It's a really unique spin with such an original look.  And it just WORKS.  The materials for the main outfits are perfect, and the whole shell aesthetic just nails the vibe you're going for.  The beads are perfect, and really pop.  And so agree with Stryker, that bola is such a rad idea.

Yep, it works somehow! Nature did most of the work. And happy that I got into that bead crafting stuff. My niece likes it too. I actually made a creepy shell costume for one of her little baby toddler figures...I will takes photo if I find it again.

And news for you, when I browsed machinegun.fr I stumbled upon the blonde headsculpt you asked about. It's from Kimi Toys. Maybe mine from eBay was a bootleg, don't know.
https://www.machinegun-figures.com/female-headsculpt-p-23991

Regarding that particular head, I repainted it for forest people action. Her body has not arrived yet.

She seems nice...


...in her own special way. She made that facepaint out of a coal, blueberry and raspberry mush. And a special ingredient that repells insects. Now that I think of it, looks a bit like someone from AlkelAstras world, the face at least. ;D


Speaking of forest people, the only faction whitout their own thread....I experimented with Jeff's head. And I try out my favourite Scottish shell (acquired on Skye) on every head. Maybe that's how the Shell People of the Hebrides look like? It's a bit tougher up there, so more clothing. And it reminds me of a fishermans cap.


Do you hate it sometimes, that there are infinite possibilities? I think I will stay on the wooden path for him. But maybe I will represent Great Britain one day with a figure. It's Europe en miniature up there, forest people, cargo states and shell people are mixed more than on the continent. The biggest Cargonite settlement of GB is Southampton, connecting with Europe through Le Havre. I am thinking about Cargonites with 'modern' clothing mixed with shells, just like in the concept drawing. Hmmm....


Anyway, I rooted some gray hair. I stopped as I am not sure how far I want it to go. It might be enough but that is like, just my opinion, man.


Another test, chilling in Spain, staring at goats. The necklace is new, intended for our M33 Oysternator, Jordi.
With summer filter.

Great progress with Jeff! That last photo is very nice, even if he is ignoring the beautiful scenery on account of some goats. And the blonde forest lady does look (and sound) distantly related to what we have seen from AlkelAstra's world.

GubernatorFan wrote:Great progress with Jeff! That last photo is very nice, even if he is ignoring the beautiful scenery on account of some goats. And the blonde forest lady does look (and sound) distantly related to what we have seen from AlkelAstra's world.

Thanks!  I gave the necklace back to Jordi.

Speaking of Jordi.... Musical equipment or the Mediterraneans.

As base I used one of those big green oval shells Capraia fans know. It has a beautiful pearly shine inside. Then I cut some balsa wood like material from cheese packaging for the body, drilled (perforated..) a sound hole into it and sanded everything. A piece of driftwood served as neck, cut and sanded into form. The smaller bit got an angle and serves as headstock. There, I used little shells as tuning pegs. I made it simple, it's my very first shell based 1/6 scale post apocalyptic instrument I ever build, after all.


I thought about putting the pegs on the edges. Another time. Maybe. I also used only 4 strings.


Here the prototype product. I used sanded toothpicks and balsa wood for nut and bridge, cut 4 dents into the bridge. No frets, it's the Apocalypse after all. It's a mandolin, by the way. I first tried normal polyester strings, but then...well it escalated a little...


I used the brown elastic band I use for all those bracelets, split it into thinner threads and wrapped them around the tuning shells. I pulled them very long until they sounded nice and then superglued them. So now it is a working little instrument, not just a model, haha...
Hyperromantic instagrammic pic.


I gave it to Jordi.


Maybe Capraia can use it too.


I am still not sure what kind of musical genre I want to associate with the Mediterraneans.


I thought about stoner rock.


El Buho is nice, too.


But maybe someone has another idea.


Hello ladies.


Notice the shining inside of the mandolins body.

That is just brilliant! Well done!

Oh the mandolin is fantastic! All it needs is a wee touch of weathering!

Very nice work on the mandolin. Literally brilliant!

Very cool use for the shells. Nicely done.

I'm super behind on commenting on this thread, but just wanted to say that these are some truly awesome developments!

skywalkersaga wrote:I'm super behind on commenting on this thread, but just wanted to say that these are some truly awesome developments!

Same goes! Some really impressive developments on this faction, damn I love all the details you added, and the various scales of shells that you use, the jewels and belts are totally realistic while the biggest shields and blades seem to come from some mutated shell or undersea monster anyway, which is super cool!

I also love the choice of fabrics, they really fit the mood and theme!

I know the movie was lame but that faction kinda reminds me of the atoll survivors in Waterworld (if you didn't see it no big deal, it's one the poorest productions of kevin costner, but the postapocalyptic designs were actually pretty good!)

Love it, that mandolin is really nice, I can sort of imagine them playing music for certain festivities and the like, maybe as a celebration of military victory, or just to pass the time.

Than mandolin really is just gorgeous. And I love how you see the shimmer from the shell inside. My only suggestion would be to give the wood a wash or a stain, and it would really sell it. But stunning construction, and really brilliant design.

Sorry guys, had to go silent for some weeks here. I will explain, but first some replying...

ThePhotogsBlog wrote:That is just brilliant! Well done!

Thank you!

Lynkhart wrote:Oh the mandolin is fantastic! All it needs is a wee touch of weathering!

Yes, it does, I will. Do you think of a brown wash?

GubernatorFan wrote:Very nice work on the mandolin. Literally brilliant!

     Late thank you!

Stryker2011 wrote: Very cool use for the shells. Nicely done.

    Thanks!

blackpool wrote:

skywalkersaga wrote:I'm super behind on commenting on this thread, but just wanted to say that these are some truly awesome developments!

Same goes! Some really impressive developments on this faction, damn I love all the details you added, and the various scales of shells that you use, the jewels and belts are totally realistic while the biggest shields and blades seem to come from some mutated shell or undersea monster anyway, which is super cool!

I also love the choice of fabrics, they really fit the mood and theme!

I know the movie was lame but that faction kinda reminds me of the atoll survivors in Waterworld (if you didn't see it no big deal, it's one the poorest productions of kevin costner, but the postapocalyptic designs were actually pretty good!)

Thanks you two! I am super behind on replying to all your nice comments! Because I can't just reply whitout posting something new. I just can't!
And yeah, Waterworld. I never watched it. When I was small, my dad gave a short review when I wanted to watch it: "It's very boring." I didn't know that the Genre of "Sea Punk" was born back then. I will give it a try someday, even if it is background noise while drilling holes into shells and for looking at the costumes. Fun fact: I just googled Costners character, he had a little shell earpiece. Look at Jordi's left ear closely in this post! I came up with that myself. Really. Let's hope Mr Costner doens't sue me now..

Theboo-bomb wrote:Love it, that mandolin is really nice, I can sort of imagine them playing music for certain festivities and the like, maybe as a celebration of military victory, or just to pass the time.

Yep, or a succesfull hunt or a defeated giant Crab invasion! Thanks a lot.

ReverendSpooky wrote:Than mandolin really is just gorgeous.  And I love how you see the shimmer from the shell inside.  My only suggestion would be to give the wood a wash or a stain, and it would really sell it.  But stunning construction, and really brilliant design.

Brown stain, right? There are two kinds of wood, I hope it blends well.
And yeah, they don't have Vinyl anymore, all recordings died out. But many songs and melodies survived...more of that in my next post, I think I found fitting music for the Mediterrans.

Yes, Mediterrans. No more 'shell people', that's slur. Like Terrans, the name humanity likes to be called in SciFi Stories with aliens. But with a 'Medi' in front of it. It's simple, but effective,  I like it.

I needed a name for them, as I participated in the annual German Custom Figure competion. I had to keep some radio silence here. Didn't post the new stuff I came up with. But the competition is over now. So, I just skip a lot of obligatory WIP Pics now and show the new shi..shells. I also wrote down a little story and short Biographies of each character, I will translate them at another time.
The competion had two parts: First, the figure(s) in front of a neutral background, the second part a 'freestyle' to stage the figures, everything allowed, backdrops, dioaramas, other characters etc.

So, now just the figures, Backdrop shots in the next post.

As you might notice, some changes happened. Not so much with Jordi and Capraia, but with Zraikos and Valzenka. Yes, i call him Zraikos now, it sounds cooler, I hope our Gubernator isn't reminded of a Game of Thriones Character anymore.


Now some details. Zraikos got a lot of new stuff:
- A breast plate, finally. So our Gubernator doesn't have to see the M31 bloobs anymore. It has a shell hook on the back and can easily be put on and off. First I thought, the bigger shell, the better, but small flat shells are a much better fit and more fashionable. Jordi might get something like that too.
- Sea urchin kneepads, reinforced with super glue on the inside, so his legs don't look that nakedanymore.
- a rope belt with a lot of accessoires:
- The most unique little starfish I could find as some kind of center piece buckle thing (one of a kind in the pack of fragile, long armed stars I bought)
- A drinking horn....cone shell.
- The crab mask can be attached to the rope belt. As PhotogsBlog (May I call you "bloggy"..?) mentioned, hard to breath in it. Could't get that out of my head, now there are holes in it for breathing and even seeing, if you decide to go full crab face.
- Dangling pearl stuff with shell fragment appendices. I finally found the courage to crush, cut and sand 'regular' shells.
I think a year or two might have passed since his last depiction. His grandfather was the leader of his clan once, but was unthroned by another family when Zraikos was a kid. Now Zraikos family serves as the new leaders guards, pathfinders and teachers. But young Zraikos can be ambitious, let's hope Valzenka can cool his temper or it might become bloody some day. The big red shell on his hip depicts a rise of aggression.
- also, his shields got a lot of new dangling stuff and straps and I am happy with it.


It's complicated between those two. But they share a shielld! I love the dangling red things. I hate the fragility of tiny starfish.


So, Valzenaka has some new stuff too.
- A string around the hip to put in dangling pearl stuff. The purple things are cut out from a purple shell...shell. Those shells that oil company has in it's logo, I mean. Drilling was hard, sanding was fun.
- Also, new pants, I put an elastic pearl band into it for a tighter fit.
-I finally found an acceptable net that looks like it could be a knotted fishing net, on her left leg. She can knot stuff into there maybe.
- Her axe has a dangling little shell on the end
- her shield is new. With new stuff, more pictures of that in the next post. I also added a net there and...DANGLING STUFF.
- her breastplate has a row of round shells dangling now. The white center piece is the 'middle' of a sea urchin. Hard to get out undamaged in one piece, so it's something special she can show off.


Notice the little white scar on her forehead? Happened totally on purpose, when she spun around on her figure stand and bashed the sharp edge of her shield into her headsculpt.


Jordi has a purple tool now! It can be used as knife, shovel or for beach barbecues.


And look at his ear. Well, better pics of that in the next post. Not much news from Capraia, as she was updated recently and started all that dangling pearl business.



Holy crab, Zraikos, is it really you, the scrawny M31 boy?

Totally awesome! You obviously put in a lot of effort into this. Congratulations on creating a totally unique style.

They all look really great, especially with all the new additions. Excellent work.

Uh.... WOW??? You have indeed been hard at work on these! As always, I'm incredibly impressed. The new pics are great -- they really 'pop' against that black backdrop. And the various alterations and added little details -- all those dangly bits  -- have really brought these to life. Enjoying the additional backstory and characterizations, as well. 

And the PC term is 'Mediterran' now? LOL, good to know.  

Eagerly looking forward to seeing more pics of this group! I hope they received their due appreciation at the competition. :')

I looooove the mask in the last pic! It’s very mantis-like!

A lot to unpack. Love the new developments with your figures. All the extra items and the multiplication of small details add a great combination of wonder and realism to your characters, making them and their world feel more fleshed out and palpable. And to do this using similar but non-identical approaches and similar but non-identical materials, producing results that fit in with each other without being too repetitive makes your feat all the more impressive. I hope they were appreciated at the competition! They certainly are here.

It occurs to me I should watch out what I say, since my words appear to resonate and to have some effect on your thinking process and decisions. Art is in the eye of the beholder, and we all react differently to different things. For example, the bad aftertaste of Solo (and the Sequel Trilogy) has left me with a certain dislike of masks on principle, which is not to say that the cool shell masks you have devised should suffer on the basis of that accidental association, or detract from appreciating your creations in their entirety.

By the way, Waterworld wasn't all that bad, for a movie of its genre. As for "Mediterrans," nice decision, except perhaps for the notion that political correctness would hold much water (see what I did there?) in a post-Apocalyptic world.

And you can't post responses without including some new photos? That sounds remarkably inconvenient!

skywalkersaga wrote:

Eagerly looking forward to seeing more pics of this group! I hope they received their due appreciation at the competition. :')

Ovy won it! so they got the appreciation
Absolutly deserved i have to say.

Love this thread and excellent work and vision. Keep it coming

Ovy won? Not surprised, just verifying. If so, congratulations! Glad to see this work recognized.