...is it a Monster?
Way back in the mists of time, March 2018 to be exact, the entries for final bonus round of the ‘VIII Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge’ were posted. Monstrous was the theme and wonderful opportunity to present a veritable cornucopia of monstrous beings – the legendary Universal Monsters!
From the silver screen’s infancy there has been a desire to shock and scare the audience out of their seats. Drawing inspiration from literary greats such as H.G. Wells, Victor Hugo and Mary Shelley, Universal Studios created a stable of monsters that would terrify and delight in equal measure. Such was their popularity that the long running franchises are still revisited today.
My tribute to this golden age of cinema hail from ‘Studio Miniatures’ and were yet another of their Kickstarters that I supported. A couple of them required assembly, namely ‘Frank’ and his wife, but the rest were lovely, crisp, single piece castings and an absolute joy to paint; although the preponderance of black did strain my eyes a little! I had, albeit briefly considered painting these in greyscale, but my experience of this is rather limited and if memory serves me correctly it is a lot harder to pull off than you might imagine.
The question now is what to do with them? Well these may yet prove the perfect villains for a certain crew of mystery solving teenage detectives, perhaps just the ticket for a 7TV crew? Either way, I am thrilled to have them completed and were a fitting final theme for last year's challenge.
Awesome stuff, Michael, simply awesome, and well timed as "Audible" currently have a narrated history of how these horror films came to be available as a free download for its members - and a fantastic listen it is too.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Simon. You don't recall what the documentary was called? I had a quick look, but came up blank.
DeleteIt's called "A Universe of Horrors - The Secret History of Hollywood" and can be found here: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/A-Universe-of-Horrors-Audiobook/B07F3QJHGW?ref=a_ep_hollyw_c3_lProduct_1_7&pf_rd_p=128b825d-c86b-4e96-80b9-c3f20774a302&pf_rd_r=ZSWTZJPS5YQ9X293D7RA
DeleteThank you Simon, safely tracked down and download.
DeleteThey look brilliant.
ReplyDeleteI love the extra effort you go into with the photos too.
Thank you Mike, I had great fun with the photographs.
DeleteYep, those little B&W vignettes are pure brilliance
ReplyDeleteThat's very kind, thank you.
DeleteExcellent work on these classic monsters Michael, and was great to meet you in person at Salute
ReplyDeleteThank you Dave and likewise, great to finally catch up.
DeleteWhoa, what an awesome post. Not only are these classic monsters gorgeously well painted, these posters that come with them are a great way to tell their individual stories. Love the black and white photos too.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, they were such a great set to work on.
DeleteThese classic villains look terrifically good! Both in artistic style and execution. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Mr. Nimrod.
DeleteEvocative posters and pictures...and beautiful figures, inspired post Master Michael!
ReplyDeleteThat is incredibly kind of you Phil, thank you.
DeleteSimply superb Michael, and the backgrounds to your photo are beautiful too.
ReplyDeleteCheers Roger.
Thank you Roger, the 'sets' were surprisingly small, but great fun to try and create.
DeleteLove them, absolutely love them !!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Phil.
DeleteFantastic collection of figuresđŸ˜€
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Matt.
DeleteIndividually they are superb ... together they are par excellence. Great work Michael.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much.
DeleteInvisible man? Where? They really look the Business, excellent!
ReplyDeleteThank you Paul, the Invisible Man is one of my favourites, such a good model.
DeleteReal beauties there Michael!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Fran.
DeleteAnother blast from the past. Beautiful brushwork Sir M!
ReplyDeleteThank you Ray, I think I am up to date now, just. đŸ˜„
DeleteThey are wondeful. I'm a big fan of old horror movies, so it's a pleasure to see these miniatures painted by you. Cheers, Karl
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Karl, they are a great set of miniatures.
DeleteAbsolutely brilliant.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much.
DeleteWoooW! Just perfect oldschool atmosphere!
ReplyDeleteYou are very kind Michal.
DeleteSimply splendid! Your creativity never ceases to amaze me Michael.
ReplyDeleteSuch a lovely comment, thank you Nick.
DeleteFantastic work again. The bods look very good and the reference to the movie posters makes it even more reminds me of the good old horror movie times :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much.
DeleteBeautiful work Micheal and excellent presentation!
ReplyDeleteChristopher
Thank you very much Christopher.
DeleteYour subtle subtleties with the pigments are a beautiful thing to see, sir.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Jay, you are very kind.
DeleteMuhahahahahaha.{an off screen evil laugh}
ReplyDelete(I think that about sums it up!)
Brilliant comment, thank you Clint.
DeleteHooray! I'm a big fan of the classic monsters and you've certainly done them justice here! Those b&w photos are glorious!!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Mr. Mouse, just couldn't help but set up a few shots for fun.
DeleteAbsolutely Brilliant Michael! Fantastic models. Did they ever release them on retail?
ReplyDeleteThank you and yes, all available through their website.
DeleteThose are just fabulous. I love the photos you’ve set up too.
ReplyDeleteThan you so much Kieron.
DeleteHmm, just snag a couple figures of Abbott & Costello, & you could do a wonderful Pulp Alley Game. In fact that eclectic mix could be band on its own! Well done once again Michael!
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea Terry and thank you.
DeleteWonderful renditions of some very iconic and easily recognisable sculpts.
ReplyDelete