Hi all! First post over here for me!
I thought I would try out this new forum with a double posting of my thread I just started over at OSW, just to see how it looks and what the experience is like. It was my first new thread posting since the new "regime change," and it was a buggy nightmare just to get it edited. They really do have issues...
Anyway, sorry if some of you have already seen this thread over there!
We are a diverse group, this community, and I'll bet if we were to learn of each other's full range of interests, passions and hobbies, we'd come across some surprising revelations. I'm 100% sure none of you know I am a big opera fan, and I’m not talking about the sudsy kind. I grew up with it (dad was a concert pianist), and have loved it for as long as I can remember.
My favorite opera composers are (in no particular order) Verdi, Wagner, and Mozart, and one of my favorite operas is Die Walküre of Wagner's Ring Cycle. Most of you will recognize the tune of the "Ride of the Valkyries" famously used in Apocalypse Now, and it is a rousing barnburner, especially if performed by a good orchestra and capable Wagnerian singers (becoming an endangered species IMHO). The role of Brünnhilde is central not only to this opera but also to the remaining two operas of the cycle (she doesn't appear in the first one).
Those of you who are familiar with Wagner's version of Nordic/Germanic mythology will know that Brünnhilde is a valkyrie, daughter of Wotan (Odin) and thus immortal. In myths and Wagner's opera she is a shieldmaiden and warrior, with a youthful and beautiful form, but unfortunately for opera fans the extreme vocal demands of the operatic role usually means that the singer who is capable of singing it is a middle aged (or older) woman who is rather "big boned," to put it euphemistically. That is where the original phrase, "It ain't over till the fat lady sings" comes from, actually, referring to the final self immolation scene in Götterdämmerung, where she destroys Valhalla itself and ends the cycle.
Anyway, sorry for all the exposition, I decided to do a 1/6 version of Brünnhilde inspired by the lovely illustrations by Arthur Rackham ca. 1910, but with a slightly less Victorian, more sexy/modern take. Here's the inspiration:
And here's my version:
And here are some more detailed, better lit pics:
Body is TBLeague S23b, head is Kimi KT007 (I gave the hair my usual haircut/style), helmet, breastplate, right brace, spear are from the TBL Captain Sparta figure, with helmet crest removed. White dress and sandals are from Chinese ebay sellers (I modified the skirt a bit). Cloak is from one of the AVP Predators (I think elderly one?). Shield is TBL Red Sonja. The "fish scale" mail is taken from the ACI Greek sets, repainted and sewn/glued onto the white dress—that was definitely the hardest part and required a lot of geometry!
I can guarantee you'll never see a Brünnhilde looking like this in any opera house!
#fantasy #female #warrior #custom #kitbash
I thought I would try out this new forum with a double posting of my thread I just started over at OSW, just to see how it looks and what the experience is like. It was my first new thread posting since the new "regime change," and it was a buggy nightmare just to get it edited. They really do have issues...
Anyway, sorry if some of you have already seen this thread over there!
We are a diverse group, this community, and I'll bet if we were to learn of each other's full range of interests, passions and hobbies, we'd come across some surprising revelations. I'm 100% sure none of you know I am a big opera fan, and I’m not talking about the sudsy kind. I grew up with it (dad was a concert pianist), and have loved it for as long as I can remember.
My favorite opera composers are (in no particular order) Verdi, Wagner, and Mozart, and one of my favorite operas is Die Walküre of Wagner's Ring Cycle. Most of you will recognize the tune of the "Ride of the Valkyries" famously used in Apocalypse Now, and it is a rousing barnburner, especially if performed by a good orchestra and capable Wagnerian singers (becoming an endangered species IMHO). The role of Brünnhilde is central not only to this opera but also to the remaining two operas of the cycle (she doesn't appear in the first one).
Those of you who are familiar with Wagner's version of Nordic/Germanic mythology will know that Brünnhilde is a valkyrie, daughter of Wotan (Odin) and thus immortal. In myths and Wagner's opera she is a shieldmaiden and warrior, with a youthful and beautiful form, but unfortunately for opera fans the extreme vocal demands of the operatic role usually means that the singer who is capable of singing it is a middle aged (or older) woman who is rather "big boned," to put it euphemistically. That is where the original phrase, "It ain't over till the fat lady sings" comes from, actually, referring to the final self immolation scene in Götterdämmerung, where she destroys Valhalla itself and ends the cycle.
Anyway, sorry for all the exposition, I decided to do a 1/6 version of Brünnhilde inspired by the lovely illustrations by Arthur Rackham ca. 1910, but with a slightly less Victorian, more sexy/modern take. Here's the inspiration:
And here's my version:
And here are some more detailed, better lit pics:
Body is TBLeague S23b, head is Kimi KT007 (I gave the hair my usual haircut/style), helmet, breastplate, right brace, spear are from the TBL Captain Sparta figure, with helmet crest removed. White dress and sandals are from Chinese ebay sellers (I modified the skirt a bit). Cloak is from one of the AVP Predators (I think elderly one?). Shield is TBL Red Sonja. The "fish scale" mail is taken from the ACI Greek sets, repainted and sewn/glued onto the white dress—that was definitely the hardest part and required a lot of geometry!
I can guarantee you'll never see a Brünnhilde looking like this in any opera house!
#fantasy #female #warrior #custom #kitbash