Monday 12 November 2012

Mycroft Holmes



With the day job demanding much of my time and the prospect of very little 'let up' for the foreseeable future, many of the great plans have been scaled back at present. That said it is important to have an outlet and this chap proved to be just the tonic! Originally sculpted as part of the ‘Gentlemen’s Club Faction’ for the very tempting ‘Empire of the Dead’ rule set this characterful chap made his way to ‘Awdry Towers’ via Dave Docherty of ‘One Man and his brushes’ fame. Clearly destined for the annals of the ‘secret project’, it has taken until know to flesh out his character in both words and paint.

It was said that Mycroft Holmes’ deductive powers were even greater than those of his younger brother and although it was never clear as to what role he held in the Government of the day, Sherlock once spoke of his brother thus,

“Occasionally he is the British government... the most indispensable man in the country.” *

It would appear that Mycroft’s ability to take the merest sinew of an idea or the whisper of a secret from the far flung corners of the Empire and bind them together to form a clear narrative forged what we now take for granted as the work of the Intelligence Community. 

“The conclusions of every department are passed to him, and he is the central exchange, the clearinghouse, which makes out the balance. All other men are specialists, but his specialism is omniscience.”*

The relationship between the two brothers was not always as harmonious as it is now with Mycroft spending most of his time at the Diogenes Club, which he co-founded and was perceived by many as been apathetic at best. In Sherlock’s own words,

“...he has no ambition and no energy. He will not even go out of his way to verify his own solutions, and would rather be considered wrong than take the trouble to prove himself right. Again and again I have taken a problem to him, and have received an explanation which has afterwards proved to be the correct one. And yet he was absolutely incapable of working out the practical points...”**

However with retirement from the higher echelons of Public Office, Mycroft was left with an unquenchable desire to combat those forces of evil that were beyond explanation. Shunned by many as an unbalanced eccentric, Mycroft has become the world’s foremost expert of all things paranormal and supernatural; not surprising then that the term ‘Spook’ is now used to describe the very person that Mycroft helped to establish. When Sherlock was faced with a problem beyond all reasonable explanation then there was only one person he was going to call – Mycroft Holmes.



My first thoughts, when I started this miniature, were that it was a little on the slender side and overly intricate and ‘fussy’, but how wrong I was! This was a joy to paint and just what I wanted after working with the larger, more robust miniatures of ‘Redoubt Enterprises’. If the others in the series are the same then this might become a temptation too far! Regardless of whether or not I capitulate to ‘Empire of the Dead’ I must once again thank Dave for his generosity and encourage all to visit his rather splendid blog, ‘One Man and his brushes’.

* "The Bruce-Partington Plans" – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

** "The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter" – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle





52 comments:

  1. Awesome looking figure and great paintwork Michael.

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  2. Mycroft is beautifully finished!

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  3. The portrayal of him in the last holmes film by Stephen fry actually fitted to my idea of him..older than his bro and rich as stink.
    Great looking brushwork..
    Cheers
    paul

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    1. I agree with you Paul, Stephen Fry was just superb and thank you!

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  4. Wonderful work Michael and a tremendous backstory too!

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  5. Superb brushwork Michael, You've done an excellent job!

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  6. Quite beautiful, Michael! In my opinion, anyone wearing a hat and jacket like that SHOULD be running the country!

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    1. Absolutely Sidney and many thanks for your kind comments.

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  7. Really nice models , great job on paint , nice colors .

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  8. Michael , he is very special - you have done an excellent job , as i knew you would. I knew you would be tempted with the smoking jacket!

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    1. That is very kind of you Dave and once again thank you for the gift.

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  9. I just recently figured that reading the Adventures one a night or evening, when I'm not too busy, keeps up my interest and doesn't take a big sacrifice on studies/hobby, so quite a perfect read. I wouldn't dare starting anything bigger (already in the middle of two or three other books).
    Seen the fig already somewhere and I liked it, but this way of painting - and character - add much more to it.

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    1. Thank you Andrew, there just isn't enough time to get everything done in.

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  10. Great paintjob, love the padded smoking jacket.

    Regards,
    Matt

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    1. Thank you Matt, wasn't sure about the jacket while I was doing it, but we got there in the end.

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  11. You have done a wonderful job Michael bringing this chap to life, and another unique character for the collection.

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    1. Thank you Pat, although a lot of fine detail, it was a joy to paint.

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  12. Beautiful work again - Mycroft is a fascinating character indeed!

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    1. Thank you Al, just wait until he starts dispatching vampires.

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  13. What a figure, what a jacket Michael...great bloody work.

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    1. Thank you Fran, quite fancy a jacket like that myself.

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  14. My God man, that's a brilliant bit of brushwork there! And the figures together look marvelous. You've done a bang up job on the prose as well. I don't think working has taken the edge of your creativity on whit.

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    1. That is extremely kind of you Anne, but I'm just delighted to see him shuffle off the painting queue!

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  15. Oh for goodness sake Michael that is blooming marvelous. You put us all to shame sir.

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    1. Thank you Mr Smillie that is extremely kind of you.

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  16. Very nicely done, I love his story, great idea :)

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    1. Thank you Sir, certainly opens the door for some serious shenanigans.

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  17. Great work sir - especially the jacket and trousers, lovely highlighting!

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    1. Thank you Andy, something must have stuck after all that Malifaux painting in the summer! ;)

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  18. How many hours you put for painting him Michael??
    The level of detail is simply impeccable! Exqusite! :)

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    1. Thank you Thanos and way too many hours, but really pleased with the results.

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  19. What a fantastic looking figure and paintjob, I bet he gave you a headache, all them marvellous colours!

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    1. Thank you Ray and yes he was a bit fiddly, but it as very therapeutic in its own way.

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  20. Great looking figure and use of color. I really like the coat and highlights. Nice work!

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    1. Thank you Cory, far too many layers, but it seemed to work out well in the end.

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  21. That is a great figure there Michael and a wonderful paintjob being out the character of him

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  22. Thank you Pete, it was a great gift to work on.

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  23. Excellent background to go with a beautifully executed miniature. Well done, sir!

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  24. Very good choice of colours! And how you did that jacket is just wonderfull!
    Excellent work Michael!

    Greetings
    Peter
    http://peterscave.blogspot.be/

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