Thursday 18 December 2014

LXXVII. The Bell-Ringers Revisited

As promised, here are the updated and re-based cattle-headed revenants:

It all started with the fellow pictured below. He was the last Bell-ringer I had made (that was back in January), and different from the others in that he had Horror arms instead of Plaguebearer ones. I found that the longer arms suited the Plaguebearer body better; they made the creature's proportions somehow more pleasing to my eye.  That is why I decided to replace the arms on the rest of them.

LEFT: before; RIGHT: after. The only change here is the addition of a small bell.


Besides arms, all Bell-ringer bar that one got brand new faces. These masks give the group a more coherent look.

LEFT: before; RIGHT: after. A visible difference on this one. The bells on his left arm come from the Blightkings kit.
I made each of the black masks out of bits of plasticard, carved with a hobby knife and put together with superglue. For reference I looked at photographs of real wooden carnival masks from Međimurje, such as these:

Photo by Davor Rostuhar; published in National Geographic HR

The musician got a bit rearranged. This walking bagpipe's chanter now sticks from the base of his neck, while before this intervention it used to be a transformed mouth. 

LEFT: before; RIGHT: after. The bell got relocated to his back, as it would have been obscured by the new arm had it remained around his neck.
You will notice that some have a ring or a disc between their horns, which reminds me of portrayals of Egyptian gods. I can't really explain the logic behind this detail, but it feels right. Does it look out of place to you?

LEFT: before; RIGHT: after. This guy got his old club replaced by a new one, put together from  a brass rod, a plastic bead and green stuff. The weapon's red colour adds a splash of interest in the crew's otherwise monotonous colour scheme.
LEFT: before; RIGHT: after. The first bell-ringer I ever made, this poor fellow has been through many transformations. I wish I could promise this was the last.
As for the Devil (not pictured in this post, but THIS is the mini I'm talking about), I can't seem to make his new look work. All attempts to fix him have failed (which is a bit frustrating), so I decided to put him away in a box for the time being. In my experience, that is the right course of action when a mini refuses to cooperate. There are plenty of others in need of my attention. :D

This is it. What do you think? Was the makeover successful, or do you feel they were better before?

10 comments:

  1. Fantastic stuff. I love the new arms they give an appropriate gangliness to the figures. Also the masks are wonderful, and very characterful.

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  2. Beautiful Ana. I love that you are not scared to go back and make changes on your previous work.

    I think the new versions are wonderful - even though the original flute-guy with his branches is also excellent!

    - very inspirational as usual :)

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  3. The oiginals were very good but I think the new looks really work. The circles are an interesting addition, the creatures are so odd that the circles aren't out of place at all. But they make me wonder what the bellringers might have been before...

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  4. as always, beautifully grotesque =)

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  5. These are amazing, I love the barbarism of the masks. Their crudeness just makes them seem more real!

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  6. Great stuff, Ana. The longer arms are an improvement.

    The circle motif is a neat touch. Along with the masks and bells they tie the group together nicely.

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  7. Thans for the comments, everyone! :)

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  8. These are amazing. I feel transfixed.

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  9. Hmm, Small improvements, yet they work well overall.

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