[4/27] Xykuurji, the Ghost of War returns.

Europe in the distant future




(Some optional mood reading music)


"A sinister creature roams the woods, sneaking and lurking along the borders on two long stilts.
The skin of bark, rust and dirt, overgrown with dark fur and thorns. Tattered rags, hanging from the body. Pointed spines run on all sides from the giant skull, the eyes are two pitch-black holes. Three long white teeth grow out of her jaw, the body decorated with small skulls. On the long claws and the sharp tongue, old enchanted runes shine white in the moonlight. Two ghastly birds of prey crouch on the broad shoulders, ready to pounce on their prey.
Her name is Xykkurji and she fetches the children who do not stay in their tents at night. Also, sleep now! "

- one of the forest nomads to her grandchild





It is said that Xykkurji is an ancient spirit who restlessly roams the borderlands between the remnants of civilization in the North and the deep, city-eating forests in the South. After death, Xykkurji is said to wake up in a new body every time. Others object - Xykkurji's body heals and rises from the dead, again and again. Some even believe that there is no body under the dark mask, only a black mist. Still others say, however, that Xykkurji does not represent a single being or a person, but several. Because a being like Xykkurji has many names in many different places.
Or maybe it's just skill and good armor.





Whatever the truth of it, someone bears this name and serves the Nyhansa Empire of the Baltic Sea, one of the last spots of civilization. In the expanding empire, attempts have been made for ages to civilize the wild nomads from the forests, to free the valuable woods and areas.
Their greatest success was to make the parts of the sedentary frontier people their vassals.





Xykkurji itself apparently originates from these border areas between forests and coast, where a new culture has emerged from both worlds, a culture somewhere between pagan rituals and military order, ancestor worship, primitive technology and progress.





After the shattering defeats of the Nyhansian knights against the guerrilla tactics of the vagrant masked 'savages', the warriors of the border people are deployed as special forces and pathfinders against these elusive forest nomads.





The reputation of these allies is controversial. The silent, strange people are feared among the citizens of the Nyhansa. Although some of them carry equipment and metals from the empire, with their strange runes, eerie masks, furs and primitive face-paints, they have little in common with a noble knight of the Nyhansa. As much as they are valued as soldiers, there are rumors of atrocities and that the generals don't really have them under control in the field. It is said that they are basically still savages like their cousins ​​in the deep woods. But as long as the Nyhansians don't want to move into the woods themselves, they will have to rely on the help of the mysterious border people.











(Of course there are more photos, but we have time)

Superb work, thanks for sharing such a unique figure!!! I really love the style, the posing and pictures are awesome as well, giving a lot of character!!

That is brilliant. What a striking and creepy looking character. Very cool stuff.

What an elaborately-developed, designed, and presented character, in terms of both look and back-story! I love the conjunction between mysterious masked, armed-to-the teeth human and the increasingly unrealistic stories the lack of knowledge and understanding has created. For example, the inscribed claws turning out to be weapons, the three teeth a decorative pattern on the mask, etc. It is so impressive how striking and how different the character looks with and without the helmet, and I'm struck by the successful shots of the eyes through the eye holes. You have accomplished all of these things flawlessly. The only thing that detracts from the (sur)realism of the character for me is the name, but to each his own (I know you have a thing for strange names or combinations; I would think this one suitable for an alien, and if so, an improvement on 60s science fiction or on George Lucas). Anyway, I don't mean to dampen your hyper-creative enthusiasm with my musings of auto-didactic half-baked pseudo-onomastic theory.

for viewing I recommend a dark room, headphones at low volume,
and the rotting carcass of a dead animal nearby.....
that's how scary this post is!
Ovy, you're a genius

Such an incredible and creepy creation, Ovy! Wonderful, creative craftsmanship, evocative photography, excellent posing, and fascinating storytelling! I love the colours, weathering, materials, and textures, which convey the neo-primitive vibe of this 'verse. The white markings are some of my fave aspect of this, aesthetically. It just so striking against the darker tones, and it does sort of 'shine' or 'glow' in certain lighting. I have to agree with GF about how clever it is to have all these legends surrounding this 'supernatural' figure which could have potentially arisen from the outfit, armour, and weapons, etc. The 'birds' on the shoulders as the hilts of the blades... love that.

I already said to you earlier, but I'm greatly looking forward to seeing how this character fits into your world and storyline(s).

awesome work.from the concept to the details and lighting, when everything comes together it puts the figure in its own level of quality, far above a "normal kitbash". not so sure though about the "distant future" everytime i'll get the damn groceries, i feel like i'm the only creep keeping his mask on but hey, a sharpened hockey stick naginata might help with the distance so thanks for the inspiration:) just kidding, keep up the great work.

Loving this character so much, and the surrounding legends are such a cool approach. And I am insanely in love with that 1st red photo. Seriously, it feels like there's like a burning village in the background or something. At the center of some sort of chaos and violence.

Still just awed by that armor. The whole thing is this blend of primitive, medieval, and futuristic, and it just works so well. The color on the armor is so rad, and feels so worn and old, like it's been in use for ages. Even the dark metal of the blades, with the stark contrast of the runes. Beautiful.

And these photos are stunning. Like GubernatorFan, I'm blown away by the ones where the eyes are visible through the mask, but the shadows and atmosphere of the rest are gorgeous. You never fail to awe me.

First picture is the best, IMO. Very cool figure, with the great photography to achieve this effect! The music is beating my heart...

That's impressively amazing!

What a great character, it is easy to imagine a group of people being defeated by her, the stories of the survivors would surely make for a cautionary tale. I love that armor.

Theboo-bomb wrote:What a great character, it is easy to imagine a group of people being defeated by her, the stories of the survivors would surely make for a cautionary tale. I love that armor.

What survivors!? After all, that's how the myth develops.

That is just amazing work! My congratulations sir!

blackpool wrote:Superb work, thanks for sharing such a unique figure!!! I really love the style, the posing and pictures are awesome as well, giving a lot of character!!

Thanks a lot, and finally sharing it makes much more fun!

Stryker2011 wrote:That is brilliant. What a striking and creepy looking character. Very cool stuff.

Thanks a lot sir, that was the intention!

GubernatorFan wrote:What an elaborately-developed, designed, and presented character, in terms of both look and back-story! I love the conjunction between mysterious masked, armed-to-the teeth human and the increasingly unrealistic stories the lack of knowledge and understanding has created. For example, the inscribed claws turning out to be weapons, the three teeth a decorative pattern on the mask, etc. It is so impressive how striking and how different the character looks with and without the helmet, and I'm struck by the successful shots of the eyes through the eye holes. You have accomplished all of these things flawlessly. The only thing that detracts from the (sur)realism of the character for me is the name, but to each his own (I know you have a thing for strange names or combinations; I would think this one suitable for an alien, and if so, an improvement on 60s science fiction or on George Lucas). Anyway, I don't mean to dampen your hyper-creative enthusiasm with my musings of auto-didactic half-baked pseudo-onomastic theory.

Thanks a lot, happy you could enjoy it and decipher those wild descriptions, haha. Well about those three white stripes...I think you might be able to decipher their origin. And spooky was a great inspiration in the way of presenting a character only once it's finished. Less WIP pics then, though.

I also like those eye shots a lot, an intense little life sign behind that metal mask.

About the name, imagine your ancestors had to flee to the forest because they were mutated, disfigured carriers of a very contagious and deadly disease, who could not talk anymore but only make grunting and screeching noises while still being able to think like a normal human being. Their healthy human kids wouldn't be able to learn their parents' language and their names would definitely not be Wladimir or Angela! 

GregT wrote:for viewing I recommend a dark room, headphones at low volume,
and the rotting carcass of a dead animal nearby.....
that's how scary this post is!
Ovy, you're a genius

Oh nice, how was your experience? Really hope the stench of that animal didn't taint your figures.
Means a lot sir, thanks.

skywalkersaga wrote:Such an incredible and creepy creation, Ovy! Wonderful, creative craftsmanship, evocative photography, excellent posing, and fascinating storytelling! I love the colours, weathering, materials, and textures, which convey the neo-primitive vibe of this 'verse. The white markings are some of my fave aspect of this, aesthetically. It just so striking against the darker tones, and it does sort of 'shine' or 'glow' in certain lighting. I have to agree with GF about how clever it is to have all these legends surrounding this 'supernatural' figure which could have potentially arisen from the outfit, armour, and weapons, etc. The 'birds' on the shoulders as the hilts of the blades... love that.

I already said to you earlier, but I'm greatly looking forward to seeing how this character fits into your world and storyline(s).

Thanks a lot! Neo-primitive is a great adjective.
I was very happy that I didn't overdo the markings and just went with a dark and white contrast.

Glad you like the blade birds. Actually I came up with the Grandma story only after these photos were finished.  
And I made a little outdoor story already, not sure yet if I should post it here or in an extra thread

Tjolnir wrote:awesome work.from the concept to the details and lighting, when everything comes together it puts the figure in its own level of quality, far above a "normal kitbash". not so sure though about the "distant future" everytime i'll get the damn groceries, i feel like i'm the only creep keeping his mask on but hey, a sharpened hockey stick naginata might help with the distance so thanks for the inspiration:) just kidding, keep up the great work.

Thanks a lot,  hockey stick naginata is a nice description. And wash your groceries. 

ReverendSpooky wrote:Loving this character so much, and the surrounding legends are such a cool approach.  And I am insanely in love with that 1st red photo.  Seriously, it feels like there's like a burning village in the background or something.  At the center of some sort of chaos and violence.  

Still just awed by that armor.  The whole thing is this blend of primitive, medieval, and futuristic, and it just works so well.  The color on the armor is so rad, and feels so worn and old, like it's been in use for ages.  Even the dark metal of the blades, with the stark contrast of the runes.  Beautiful.  

And these photos are stunning.  Like GubernatorFan, I'm blown away by the ones where the eyes are visible through the mask, but the shadows and atmosphere of the rest are gorgeous.  You never fail to awe me.  

Thanks, yeah very happy with the red one too. Happy bloody little accidents. 

The worbla armor was a lot of fun to construct.
And I can only recommend Vallejo metal color to every human being using metal colors. For the blades I used gunmetal and aluminum of that brand.

brassco wrote:First picture is the best, IMO. Very cool figure, with the great photography to achieve this effect! The music is beating my heart...

Thanks a lot, I liked how it both sound industrial and somehow feral and prehistoric, also it's eastern European, all fitting the character.

AerynDiana wrote:That's impressively amazing!

Thanks!

Theboo-bomb wrote:What a great character, it is easy to imagine a group of people being defeated by her, the stories of the survivors would surely make for a cautionary tale. I love that armor.

Thanks so much. Yeah I hope some day I will be able to field a group of enemies for some action.

GubernatorFan wrote:

Theboo-bomb wrote:What a great character, it is easy to imagine a group of people being defeated by her, the stories of the survivors would surely make for a cautionary tale. I love that armor.

What survivors!? After all, that's how the myth develops.

ThePhotogsBlog wrote:That is just amazing work!  My congratulations sir!  

Thanks a lot!


For the weapons, just cut out and sharpened random machete and glaive like shapes.




Sheaths are made from leather/fur.


The two upper ones are modified plastic machetes that inspired me to make more refined ones with custom grips








And some more character shots. There are unmasked pics too but later.

Nice look at the weaponry (cut our from what?) and great additional photos of the character, pretty moody too. The three stripes have already been featured in your designs before, I think. But do they go back to a variation of the Punisher?

"About the name, imagine your ancestors had to flee to the forest because they were mutated, disfigured carriers of a very contagious and deadly disease, who could not talk anymore but only make grunting and screeching noises while still being able to think like a normal human being. Their healthy human kids wouldn't be able to learn their parents' language and their names would definitely not be Wladimir or Angela!" If that were the intermediate step (mutated non-verbals), then yes, their children wouldn't be Wladimir or Angela, but I think they wouldn't be Xykkurji either. Maybe Grrhnk and Nhejuh or something like that... More to the point, would anyone know her name? Or is this a descriptive epithet in a new tongue (meaning, e.g, "nightwalker")?

Great new shots, and I too am curious what you cut those blades out of — looks smooth and almost like plastic. Really impressed with all the work you always put into the weapons and other details.

That is one fearsome looking demon warrior! Great work!

Can't get enough of this figure. Especially like the helmet with the resemblance of the statue of liberty and the great gritty armor and of course the great details you always put into your crafts.

Wood folk is turning up to be my favourite faction of the four.

Stunning work my friend! you wouldn't want to run into that in the woods! he genuinely looks extremely threatening!

GubernatorFan wrote:Nice look at the weaponry (cut our from what?) and great additional photos of the character, pretty moody too. The three stripes have already been featured in your designs before, I think. But do they go back to a variation of the Punisher?

"About the name, imagine your ancestors had to flee to the forest because they were mutated, disfigured carriers of a very contagious and deadly disease, who could not talk anymore but only make grunting and screeching noises while still being able to think like a normal human being. Their healthy human kids wouldn't be able to learn their parents' language and their names would definitely not be Wladimir or Angela!" If that were the intermediate step (mutated non-verbals), then yes, their children wouldn't be Wladimir or Angela, but I think they wouldn't be Xykkurji either. Maybe Grrhnk and Nhejuh or something like that... More to the point, would anyone know her name? Or is this a descriptive epithet in a new tongue (meaning, e.g, "nightwalker")?

Oh it is just your regular polystyrene sheet. I also used it on my first figure (sword) and for the zombies (blades). And no it's not punisher based. But some of your figures feature similar stripes.

Always enjoy discussing names with you, I think it started with the Mediterrans.
And it depends on how you write Xykkurji. If you write Khssikkurdji, your are actually close to Grrhnk. Only criteria I had was, you can say the name with clenched teeth.
The name might be her name and some kind of a title, name and description at the same time, not that much is known about the mysterious Fringer languages. The Fringers in the service of the Nyhansa use nyhansian languages, which can be compared to Danish, German and Swedish.

Stryker2011 wrote:Great new shots, and I too am curious what you cut those blades out of — looks smooth and almost like plastic. Really impressed with all the work you always put into the weapons and other details.

Thanks a lot. The polystyrene is plastic, yes, easy to cut and smooth with carpetknife and sanding pad, the only tools I use there. 

tankgirlfuzzy wrote:That is one fearsome looking demon warrior! Great work!

Thank!

Valiarde wrote:Can't get enough of this figure. Especially like the helmet with the resemblance of the statue of liberty and the great gritty armor and of course the great details you always put into your crafts.

Wood folk is turning up to be my favourite faction of the four.

Thanks! Yep she will definitely help spreading liberty, whoever that will be. 
Well and you could count them as a sixth faction. Don't gorget Rainbowland!

BAMComix wrote:Stunning work my friend! you wouldn't want to run into that in the woods! he genuinely looks extremely threatening!  

Thanks! Yeah better keep running while you are at it .

Some additional shots.

Those new shots showcase the figure and its accessories beautifully. The mask perched partway up the head gives it all an even more complex look. And the inscribed/ornamented blades, with their handle wraps and bird-head ends are just phenomenal. Well done.

Thanks Gubu.

Let's celebrate the end of winter with one last snow photoseries (but who knows). Didn't get around to do that many photos, this was in January I think. The rectangular plastic tray of a tbleague body was used as her transport box. It slid down the hill some hundred meters and was never seen again.

There are so few photos, you have to look at them longer because the track is too long.



Xykuurji crossing the Frozen Plains.


At dawn, the Xykuurji is crossing the frozen plains.




It is said that when the first world ended, hundreds of ancestors had to be buried and burned here by dead men.






There were so many, they stacked upon another, so their spirits could not find their way home.







So even today, it is said,  there are still spirits wandering here in search of their families.








Xykuurji is not afraid of dead spirits.





They might be afraid of Xykuurji, though.

The snowy pictures are awesome! Very realistic, especially those with the forest in the background.

I'm sorry to hear that the transportbox disappeared. But at least she wasn't in it!

Oooh, awesome!! I am loving these closer looks at the character and her amazing outfit. Great angles, and the backdrop of snow and treeline. Feels you are there with her, seeing from her perspective in some of them. And in others, it feels like maybe the last thing you see before she slays you.

Ovysome pictures!

This figure can't deliver bad pictures I think Can't get enough of these tribe series - all looking so real.