Wednesday 27 July 2016

Slaughtered in the fields.

To filed somewhere between deranged and down right disgusting, I have little to add in my own defence.  Like a good many other hobbyists when not painting or playing with toy soldiers, I'm thinking of buying them or at least looking at their shiny loveliness on the info-web*.  At some point I must have come across 'Warlord Games' dead livestock, which is already an interesting idea for a piece of scatter terrain, but something about them must have sparked an idea that quietly smouldered until the flames of creativity really got hold!
*Not a phrase, I feel, that reads well to the casual observer !
'Witchfinder General - Days of Revelation' takes its inspiration from English Folklore, historical events and of course Hammer Horror of the 1960s and 1970s.  All too often these cinematic gems** start with a grisly discovery, or the unexplained disappearance of livestock before the greater evil is finally discovered.   It occurred to me that 'Warlord Games' with their pot bellied and rigour morticed cows had given me the perfect starting point to create my own plot point or objective marker.
**Who am I trying to kid, most of them are ghastly, but they still formed part of young Master Awdry's formative years.
After much crazed machinations out came the trusty Dremel and on went the safety glasses as chunks of metal were hacked and sliced away.  To give the impression of the exposed ribs I just ran the Dremel down the belly of the poor beast before tapering the now proud top edge slightly.  
Some small marks and nicks were then added with a Stanley knife before the ubiquitous green stuff was employed to fashion some intestines and torn hide.  In a bid to add balance to the piece a couple of 'Fenris Games' resin mushrooms were added to the less gruesome of the two unfortunate creatures, which I have to say that I'm rather proud of.
Now I know that this will not be to everyone's tastes and for that I apologise, the last thing that I would want to do is offend someone's sensibilities, but I hope that they convey a sense of gruesome horror and fear, setting the scene for any 'Witchfinder General' scenario.I can also categorically state that animals were harmed in the making of this scatter terrain.

“It came with the wind through the silence of the night, a long, deep mutter, then a rising howl, and then the sad moan in which it died away. Again and again it sounded, the whole air throbbing with it, strident, wild and menacing.” 
 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles



79 comments:

  1. Superbly gruesome m'Lord :)

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  2. Replies
    1. Now there's a thought aroma for war-games, not sure it would catch on. :D

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  3. That's some nice dead cows!!

    Frank
    http://adventuresinlead.blogspot.com.au/

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  4. Great work, Michael, and I love the Arthur Conan Doyle quote at the bottom. Very fitting :-)

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    1. Thank you Simon, the quote seemed to work, but I appreciate that it is a tad anachronistic.

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  5. Alien Cattle mutilation? May not be your intent but probably the best stands for that I have ever seen. Also as you say usable for Folklore type games.

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    1. Now that's a cracking idea, well done that man.

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  6. They look quite snazzy, well done!

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  7. Those are revolting, top job. The crows in you wheat field will have plenty to eat

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    1. Thank you Martin, missed a trick not photographing the crows with them.

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  8. Excellent work on these poor beasts Michael!

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  9. Great work on some characterful objectives. I like how you worked those mushrooms in too.

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    1. Thank you Brian, I got rather carried away with the mushrooms, but they add a certain something.

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  10. How true about Hammer house of Horror, they were in my child hood too along with brilliant American b movies like "Them"
    These cows look great and would really add to a table.
    Top stuff Sir.

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    1. Thank you so much, good to know that I wasn't the only one scared witless as a boy by such gems as 'the house that bled to death'.

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  11. Sir*,

    I can categorically confirm, if necessary under Oath before the local magistrates of your Parish, that my dog was most certainly NOT on your property on the night of the 26th inst. Any suggestion or imputation, such as the seventh (frankly, libellous) image hosted on your publication, will be refuted in the strongest terms before a Court of Law.

    Your most obedient servant,

    Sidney Roundwood, Esq.


    (*I couldn't resist! Lovely, grisly work, Michael!)

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    1. Well that made me chuckle, thank you my good man.

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  12. Truly 'orrible. Very reactive modelling. You're not going to think those cows are just lying down for a nap.

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    1. Thank you Matt, they are well and truly deceased, bereft of life, one might say. ;)

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  13. Pretty erm well not nice as such, but erm well done? Well no they're definitely not well done either they're pretty rare. Anyway: great work!

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  14. Two daisies who will be pushing up the daisy´s ?
    Lovely conversion... I can´t find anything to Beef about..certainly Looks more realistic than just a couple of cows lying on thier sides.
    But how to find out what killed them? A Steak out?

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    1. Tremendous punning Sir, certainly brightened my morning.

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  15. Wow! At least the pigs came out unscathed!

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    1. Thank you Jay, the pigs are safe and sound but have requested to be rehoused in a different project box.

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  16. That is well done Michael, horror movie good!

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    1. Thank you so much Francis, certainly had fun putting these together.

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  17. Really nice (if that's the right word).

    Cheers Roger.

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    1. Probably not, but thank you nonetheless. ;)

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  18. Very well done! These definitely look quite nasty.

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    1. Thank you Nick, nasty was definitely the goal with these.

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  19. Replies
    1. I'll take that as a compliment, thank you. :D

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  20. Really gruesome, very impressive!

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  21. An unusual subject alright. If a tad gruesome, but it certainly adds something - particularly this well done

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    1. Thank you Dave, not for the feint hearted, but fabulous fun to do.

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  22. Gruesome but very effective!

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  23. Udderly brilliant. The shrooms are a nice touch.

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    1. *Groan* Thank you so much Mr. Finch, the mushrooms becomes all consumingly when I started painting them, I have have to more of those.

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  24. Poor Daisy!!! Great work Sir M!

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    1. Thank you Ray, yes poor daisy is well and truly pushing up daisies. (Thank you Paul)

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  25. Not quite what I was expecting from the post title, but excellent nonetheless. The mushrooms are beautifully painted, Michael. Didn't you do a dinosaur carcass too? Hmmm, Witchfinders versus velociraptors? Now that would make a visually appealing (and unexpected) game...

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    1. I wonder what you were expecting from the post title? You are of course spot on, there have been a couple of Dinosaur corpses over the years and both came out as I tried to work out how to model the intestines. Just reading that back makes me wonder if I should get out a bit more? :D

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  26. They look fantastic.....excellent job😀

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  27. Perfect, your work on the hide is excellent, the mushrooms are a great touch as well

    Ian

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    1. Thank you Ian, it is a sad fact that I spent longer working out the colour palette for the cows than I did assembling the intestines!

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  28. I always like it when you are on your summer holidays. Always amazed at the speed you can churn bits out at this standard.

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    1. Thank you Mike, got to love a long summer holiday to tick off all these ideas that have been simmering for all year.

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  29. As always some splendid atmospheric pieces. I'm envying you for your endless crearivity, my friend. Unfortunately I have no talent at all for creating such vived scenary pieces. I always need an assembly scretch...

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    1. Thank you so much Stefan, but the like you I always prefer to have some reference material then it is just one small step to realising your own ideas.

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  30. Gross (nn the right way), and very well done. :)

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  31. Disgustingly ingenious Michael. Well done!

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  32. Gruesomely disgusting Michael and therefore it is marvellous! Love the very scenic final photo of the culprit.

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    1. Thank you so much Simon, a bit odd this one, but great fun to do.

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  33. Revolting, in an excellent model-making sort of way. Useful too, as they could range from the war-torn fields of Normandy to SF weirdness featuring the Greys.

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    1. Thank you A.J. Alien mutilation, now there is an idea!

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  34. Those cows are great. I especially like the mushrooms on the base.

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    1. Thank you very much, they started as a simple base filler, but soon became one of my favourite elements.

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  35. Replies
    1. Thank you Gordon, I hope I didn't put you off your supper?

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  36. I can pay you no better compliment than to say ... eewwww

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