A CROWN IS BORN../ The Hobbit Dwarves etc.. WIP's & Finished Builds Part 2

Detailing continues both with real mail and the crown. Found some ravens the right size to cast multiple copies of their heads to be the birds heads depicted on the crown. Did the latex thing again but with a bit of improv this time, since the beaks are long making the moulds narrow and deep, getting the latex at the bottom to cure was becoming a pain in the arse. I solved that by putting the plasticine containing the latex casts into a frying pan and then heated it up very carefully on my gas stove for about 10 seconds then after turning the gas off I left it in the hot pan which had heated up the plasticine (stinks a bit) still in it to keep 'cooking off' the latex curing it. You see the difference in the results, the short stubby useless castings are the ones I peeked at pulling the latex back a bit to find it wasn't curing properly at the bottom, the good casts are the results of the undisturbed castings that were forced to cure properly with the frying pan trick I just invented!

Still pretty inventive! I would not have thought of casting realistic raven heads, but that is definitely a viable solution. The crown is already coming along nicely, and I'm sure the painting will tie it together in the end.

GubernatorFan wrote:Still pretty inventive! I would not have thought of casting realistic raven heads, but that is definitely a viable solution. The crown is already coming along nicely, and I'm sure the painting will tie it together in the end.

Cheers! I think they are meant to be Celtic stylised vultures but ravens are carrion eaters too so works for me as I don't have any baby Celtic vultures lying around and didn't think to sculpt any  Did you like my frying pan curing solution?

shovelchop81 wrote:Did you like my frying pan curing solution?

Absolutely!

All the pictures finally showed up for me. Awesome work on the chain mail and that crown is really looking incredible.

That crown is looking amazing, the undead details are also really cool. He's shaping up very well.

Stryker2011 wrote:All the pictures finally showed up for me. Awesome work on the chain mail and that crown is really looking incredible.

I forget you're stuck with slow broadband, must be a nightmare for an admin!! And thanks for your patience and encouraging words.

Theboo-bomb wrote:That crown is looking amazing, the undead details are also really cool. He's shaping up very well.

Thanks TBB! Getting there!

Nearly done now, I glued on the birds' heads and new Celtic patterns to his cheek guards, then painted it all matt black primer, then gold; gave him a beard and hair using different types of fake hair. Might add some of those weird knotted patterns to his cloak using laces etc.. then some major weathering needs to be done with scissors and paint! I'll make his hair a bit more 'icky' and ink wash his armour, crown etc.. Need to make his eyes milky too.

Whoah. That is really cool looking. The scraggly hair and beard, and the crown are wicked. It already has a finished look to it, but I understand your need to go further.

Beautiful work. I agree with Mark, it looks almost done. They always come together so nicely.