Monday 13 July 2015

There was me, that is Alex, and my three Droogs.


It seemed only fitting to me that one of the first miniatures painted for the annual 'Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge' should be my entry fee to that splendid chap, Curtis Campbell Esq.  The brief was, in keeping with this year's Fawksian theme, to supply and paint a single 28mm figure characterised as an antihero, rogue or person of dubious character but undeniable charisma.  




To that end much thought was given as to a suitably roguish anti hero and as luck would have it I rediscovered this rather charming miniature amidst the masses of forgotten lead.  A Bill Thornhill sculpt for 'Crooked Dice', this is one of four 'Eavies available from their web store and a passable likeness for Malcolm McDowell’s character, Alex DeLarge, in Kubrick’s adaptation of Anthony Burgess’ novel, A Clockwork Orange. A charismatic, sociopathic delinquent, there is no question that Alex is a person of dubious character but also undeniable charisma and so seemed a reasonable choice for my entry fee.


A lovely miniature to work on, I was a little concerned with painting the white and in the end went for a variety of shades with definite tints to help distinguish the different fabrics.  With the challenge successfully completed my thoughts turned to packing up my entry fee for its long trip to Canada; knowing that 'Alex' already had company for the voyage in the shape of 'Dim', the Provost Marshal's entry for the same challenge, I still felt a strange pang of guilt at separating these two from the original crew and so set about painting the rest of the Droogs, I just hope that the additional miniatures makes up for their late arrival!


On the subject of the Provost Marshal's entry, I shall let him explain in his own words:

"Along with just about everything else this Challenge, I changed my mind about the Curtgeld. My original plan was to paint a certain Napoleonic cavalry officer, but then a visit to the master of the arcane at Awdry Towers changed everything. For once I was on the receiving end of a small plastic bag of lead. Michael informed me that it comes from Crooked Dice set under the nom de guerre 'Eavies. They are, of course, based on Alex and his Droogs from Kubrick's film of Anthony Burgess' novel A Clockwork Orange, released in 1972.

This anti-hero is 'Dim', played in the film by the late, great Warren Clarke. Fat, gormless, and favouring a bike chain as a weapon, much put upon by Alex, Dim finally has enough. To stop him escaping from the clutches of the police, Dim smashes a milk bottle across Alex's face. Dim may well have acted out of a desire to stop Alex's ultra-violence, but his real motive is much less heroic. Dim's motive is revenge. He becomes a policeman who extracts his own punishment on his former leader!


It was a great figure to paint, and hopefully will stand next to Michael's figure* of 'Alex' in Curt's 'trophy cabinet'. Those with good eyesight, or high res monitors, may just be able to spot a musical homage to one of my favourite bands, and their 5th album, also dating from 1972."



*He is currently standing with them now, second from the left in the above picture! 


“It’s funny how the colors of the real world only seem really real when you viddy them on the screen.”
― Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange

68 comments:

  1. Excellent painting - they look suitably sinister!

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  2. Great movie.Good Book. The figs are really nice."I was cured alright".

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    1. Thank you David, I just couldn't resist picking these up when I saw them.

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  3. Excellent minis - an extremely righty right job, Michael! ;)

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    1. Thank you, I am tempted to pick up some more for me now.

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  4. Most excellent brushwork Sir M!

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  5. I have mooned over these at Crooked Dice many a time. Superb work Sir Michael.
    Pour yourself a glass of Moloko Plus.

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    1. Thank you Bob, go and get some, they would make excellent zombie hunters!

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  6. Awesome models, all of them!

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  7. Some cracking painting on those figures! Well done to the pair of you

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    1. Thank you Roy, the Provost Marshal certainly pulled out the stops with his base work.

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  8. A fantastic set of figures Sir Michael - and Provost Marshal of course :)

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    1. Thank you Tamsin, I am hoping that by posting these I might lure the Provost Marshal out of hiding! ;)

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  9. Great stuff. Painted them myself and loved doing it. You have done a great job on them :)

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    1. Thank you, they were certainly great fun to work on.

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  10. Great work. Never seen the movie nor read the book. But read a lot about both the characters are so recognisable.

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    1. Thank you Mark, I can remember seeing the film as part of the lecture program at Art School, it looked a bit dated then.

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  11. Ready for ultra - violence!
    great job!

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    1. They certainly look intent on mischief Luca.

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  12. Lovely work, as ever, and in shades of white! Not for the faint of heart.

    Do I get any bonus points for "Jethro Tull"?

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    1. Why thank you Clive and a great reference to a Raft of Penguins! Bravo Sir.

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  13. Hola Amigo
    Que buenas estas minis de la naranja mecánica
    un saludo

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    1. Thank you J.D. they are certainly wonderful sculpts and great fun to work on.

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  14. Excellent work on those ultra-violent delinquents! :)

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    1. Thank you, I hope they enjoy their new home in Canada.

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  15. Great stuff Sir Michael. You've put together some wonderful off-whites and creams on them Droogs. So much so that I won't be painting mine anytime soon otherwise people will still remember your top paintjobs and compare the two :-) You've also reminded me that I haven't sent poor Curt his models!!! In fact I haven't even posted them myself! Thanks for the reminder :-o

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    1. As usual Simon you are too kind, but thank you nonetheless! I am glad to hear that I wasn't the last to wave goodbye to his miniatures as they sailed fro distant shores. ;)

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  16. Well done Michael, though I am glad you didn't go for a certain Phallic vignette to showcase these lads.

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    1. Yes that might have been a step too far, but then again...

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  17. 'Viddy well, little brother. Viddy well.'

    Smashing work you two! Your Droogs have cleared a comfortable space in the display cabinet, ready for some of the old ultra violence.

    Thanks again!

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    1. Thank you so much Curt, delighted they have arrived safely and that you are pleased with them. It won't be long now before we starting thinking of the next challenge! ;)

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  18. Nice set there mate! Great work, and love the different tones of white there.. great idea!

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    1. Thank you Mr. Lee, it helped having such great miniatures to work with in the beginning.

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  19. Great group of arcanish thugs.

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    1. Thank you Jay, I hear that they are nice boys really.

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  20. Clockwork Orange ... that was the first thought that entered my mind when I saw the first photo prior to reading your post. Beautifully done Michael. It's the simplest ones that are the hardest to do and do well

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    1. Thank you, love or hate the film it has certainly some iconic moments and a style all of its own.

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  21. Excellent work and paint Michael
    I remember this movie .
    Cheers .

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  22. Thats is splendid work Michael!

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    1. Thank you so much, that is neatly appreciated.

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  23. Great brushwork Michael! And on a great subject. Excellent book and a movie as well. Though the clothing aesthetics are interesting to say the least :)

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    1. Thank you, the book's language still captivates me, but I have to confess that the film is starting to look a little dated.

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  24. A fantastic job as always, a great tribute to a beautiful and strange movie...

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    1. Thank you Phil, certainly strange, but not sure that I would refer to it as beautiful.

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  25. Excellent use of the various shades of off-white, very subtle.

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    1. Thank you Matt, I have to say that I was rather pleased with how they hung together as a group.

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  26. To paint so much 'white' and to get the effect of white without it being white is quite a feat. great looking miniatures worthy of place in any trophy cabinet.

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    1. That is incredibly kind of you Joe, thank you. The look of all four together certainly seems to work and I hope that Cur enjoys them as much as I enjoyed painting them.

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  27. Superb painting! I really like the varied tones of white you've achieved.

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  28. I found the movie rather confusing but your work on those figures is excellent.
    Well done, my friend!

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    1. Even today the film divides audiences, but I still marvel at the language of the book and its foretelling of things to come.

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    2. To that effect I couldn't agree more.

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  29. That film and your figures bring back memories from a long time ago. Superb painting with the white Michael.

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  30. Fabulous painting you two! I'm sure Curt will love these additions to his collection.

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