Tomcat RIO Posted October 11, 2011 (edited) Hi all MCW and Eurobrick members I am very excited to particpate in my first MOC/customization contest online. Had a few ideas for bayonets at dawn, classic castle, but never got around to building, and I also missed the EB underwater theme "underwater version' build deadline too. Ah well. Time to get done on my 1st online entry ever!! Backstory: It is 1808. I am Commodore La Flaga, of the Bluecoat French Imperial Soldiers Fleet. Whilst digging up the attic in my seaside castle Chauteau, I chance upon an old family heirloom of a sword crested with a fish. And with it also a colourful painted tapestry of one of my forefathers. Baron Maude is my great-great-grandfather several times over, living at Castleon in the 12th century, during the age of knights and chivalry in Europe. In old French, spiced with old Teuton and german and Latin, was an account of this ancestor's jousting prowess, as well as a full coloured woodblock print of the visual spectacle of this multi-trophy winning champion. Baron Maude contributed greatly to the wealth of our family, and a proud tradition we still carry in our fighting armies and ships today with the Fleur De Lis as my family's herald.. Inspiration: I was greatly inspired by medieval knights since I am also a Castle fan. The bright colours and audacity, flamboyance of this custom figure is no doubt a mixture of inspiration from Dynasty warriors, and Warhammer's Bretonnian Knights. Indeed, the poise of 1 of the vignette is modelled after a charging pose of a jousting Airfix 1/32 Teuton Knight Templar. The painting of the custom was a nightmare. I used lots of tricks from my miniature modelling and tabletop gaming to achieve what I desired. A super fine brush tip worked slowly on spots, stripes, chainmail, crests, heraldry etc.. Cost and Materials: Approx $35-40 ? I had 8 bottles of paint for this project, namely blue, yellow, green, red, black and silver from Tamiya. The browns and gold was from my Citadel paint. Epoxy sculpy from the hardware store, a MF4 Ice skater's skirt, keychain from Lego Star wars keychain. The rest of the parts came from sets. The superfine brush tip I bought for this project cost $10! A complete work in progress can be found on my flickr set. flickr link gallery In addition, you can find the entire set of 4 different Vignettes, more closeups of the details of this custom minifig, and more angles of shots of the vignettes and horse. It will be worth a look and hopefully inspires you people with my use inventive or unheard of techniques.. check out the rubber band legs for exampl Without further ado, Here are the pictures. Front side Back Vignette 1 - At the joust That is all. Hope you guys enjoy my entry. If any moderator or the contest organizers feel I have breached some rules of entry, do let me know and tell me about changes that have to be made. I will then modify the figure or vignette accordingly. Thanks for looking! - Kevin (edit post script, now its time to start on the alien for category 2, stay tuned!) Edited November 15, 2011 by Tomcat RIO Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AoNZ Posted October 11, 2011 Excellent work I must say. Love how he is so posable Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Praiter Yed Posted October 11, 2011 (edited) Looks like you pimped your Knight. Very flamboyant and excellently done! With the risk of sounding stupid; did you sculpt the Tiger & Leopard cubs? EDIT: Sorry, I was being lazy, I've just looked at your WIPs and answered my own question Edited October 11, 2011 by Praiter Yed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tomcat RIO Posted October 11, 2011 (edited) Looks like you pimped your Knight. Very flamboyant and excellently done! With the risk of sounding stupid; did you sculpt the Tiger & Leopard cubs? hehe yup yup. moulded from the Lego kitten and then flushed onto the armour.. I couldn't bear to cut off the plastic heads what with buying them at $1.50 apiece. this is a wip shot.. you can find more on the flickr link. Edited October 11, 2011 by Tomcat RIO Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Duke Posted October 11, 2011 Wow, you've really raised the bar with this entry. I'm not sure about the lower part of his body but on the horse he looks amazing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tomcat RIO Posted October 12, 2011 (edited) Wow, you've really raised the bar with this entry. I'm not sure about the lower part of his body but on the horse he looks amazing. Thanks for comments! No bar really, I didn't know what standards to expect as this is my 1st contest.. Agree that the legs and bottom look queer. Probably because of that square headlight brick, I've been eyeing it for some time. And agree that knights were meant to ride horses into battle, not fight on foot hahaha.. Middle Ages history and warfare was cumbersome for a knight, though he was protected somewhat from cheap infantry weapons. Are we allowed to change some minor details after we have submitted the entry? Would like to paint over the white brick in silver. Edited October 12, 2011 by Tomcat RIO Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thrash Posted October 12, 2011 Wow! Those shoulder pads are absolutely beautiful. I'm blown away by how well you sculpted and painted those. I also really like the chain and feather parts. The only part that I'm not a big fan of is the legs. They certainly look nice when he is on the horse, but I just think his height looks very strange for a minifigure. Can't wait to see your other entries! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tomcat RIO Posted October 12, 2011 thanks Thrash. Sculpting the shoulder and painting them took up nearly a day! I agree that the legs look wierd, hence today I painted more details, and attempted to use optical illusions to lengthen the torso and shorten the legs.. But the minifig is still very tall.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RichardRobins Posted October 12, 2011 This is amazing! I love the big cats on the shoulders, excellent job! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
akunthita Posted October 12, 2011 (edited) Insanely awesome minifig! And not just in one way! The paint job, the customizing techniques on both the minifig and on the horse, and the photos are all increadible! You really captured the whole look of a medieval knight! Of course my favorite is the tigers on the shoulder, but I'm amazed by the customization on the legs too! It looks increadible when the fig is mounted and also when kneeling. The only part I'm not so happy about is the right arm. Something about it just doesn't look right. But that is a minor detail compared to the whole awesomeness. This is pure win! Edited October 12, 2011 by akunthita Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Penguin Posted October 13, 2011 A very nice entry! I can see that you have some nice painting skills as well as imagination on how to use it. Though I can't help but say that I personally am not a big fan of overdetailed minifigs, or lots of assesories. To me they look more like Warhammer ones, rather like LEGO. But don't get me wrong: this fig is absolute beauty on its own! Good day, ladies and gentlemen! ) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LandShark Posted October 13, 2011 As a purist, I shouldn't really like this that much, but I have to admit, this is spectacular. I really like the shoulder-cats, very impressive . Great entry, good luck in the contest. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tomcat RIO Posted October 13, 2011 (edited) This is amazing! I love the big cats on the shoulders, excellent job! thanks! Insanely awesome minifig! And not just in one way! The paint job, the customizing techniques on both the minifig and on the horse, and the photos are all increadible! You really captured the whole look of a medieval knight! Of course my favorite is the tigers on the shoulder, but I'm amazed by the customization on the legs too! It looks increadible when the fig is mounted and also when kneeling. The only part I'm not so happy about is the right arm. Something about it just doesn't look right. But that is a minor detail compared to the whole awesomeness. This is pure win! thank you! I think i understand why about the right arm, it seems a little bit too long and disproportionate to the left arm.. Otherwise it would not have sufficient length to 'curve' up. That's a beauty thank you! A very nice entry! I can see that you have some nice painting skills as well as imagination on how to use it. Though I can't help but say that I personally am not a big fan of overdetailed minifigs, or lots of assesories. To me they look more like Warhammer ones, rather like LEGO. But don't get me wrong: this fig is absolute beauty on its own! Good day, ladies and gentlemen! ) No probelm, my first thought after I finished this was, Warhammer Bretonnian Knights!! I agree too that overdetailing can 'kill' some appeal as some like the simpleness of plain torsos. I tend to like simpler is better too, just thought that I could try something new for this category. My next entry will be much simpler! I'm going gaudy eyed painting those little stripes and spots! As a purist, I shouldn't really like this that much, but I have to admit, this is spectacular. I really like the shoulder-cats, very impressive . Great entry, good luck in the contest. Thank you! Really appreciate it from a purist, I thought I was gonna be on the recieving end of purist displeasure. Glad to know it is quite well recieved by a few at least!! :) Edited October 13, 2011 by Tomcat RIO Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LuxorV Posted October 20, 2011 Great job on the modding and painting, Tomcat RIO! Please make sure your shot of the minifigure's back is full-back to qualify. And, which of the two vignettes would you have in the entry grid? Please specify. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tomcat RIO Posted October 21, 2011 Great job on the modding and painting, Tomcat RIO! Please make sure your shot of the minifigure's back is full-back to qualify. And, which of the two vignettes would you have in the entry grid? Please specify. Righty ho! Will edit the thumbnails, weblinks later today. Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alanboar HK Posted October 24, 2011 You made the good painting and let the minifigure be smart & tall! Excellent for the Tiger shoulder especially~ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark FraaKlin Posted October 24, 2011 (edited) It`s a great Minifigure!!It`s a real Amazing work!! It is a good idea with long legs and hands and colour of minifigure!!!Thanks!!! Edited October 24, 2011 by Mark FraaKlin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tomcat RIO Posted October 25, 2011 thanks alan and mark. -Luxor, I have edited the thumbnails for the back, as well as the vignette entry photo. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LuxorV Posted October 26, 2011 -Luxor, I have edited the thumbnails for the back, as well as the vignette entry photo. Ok, thank you Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tomcat RIO Posted October 31, 2011 With 3 more weeks added to the contest, I've decided to further improve, and do some minor refinements and touchups on the minifig. As such, have taken down the flickr link for the moment while I sort out uploads. WIP, stay tuned. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Darkdragon Posted October 31, 2011 This is excellent. I'm just I could stare at it for quite a while if I didn't worry my boss would walk by. That was brilliant to use the kitten for a mold instead of cutting and hacking or trying to do your own from scratch. Perfect scale and just enough detail. Your painting skills are excellent on everything too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LuxorV Posted November 8, 2011 Rules check: I can't see the side and back shots anymore; what happened? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GeneralTalon Posted November 17, 2011 ...there are no words to describe how great this is the amount of work must have been ages to perfect this awesome custom. Good luck in the voting! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
