Tuesday 7 March 2023

From SimonG: Death to George Clooney -- the Revenge of the Goats (36.5 points)


For our final stop in the AHPC XIII Challenge Studios we're stopping off at tha Art House for a remake/revision of George Clooney's 2009 black comedy "The Men Who Stare at Goats" -- but this time it's "The Goats Who Stare at Men"!




The Stars of this epic are six thespian bovidae who in real life will be populating the slopes of the temple mount when I finish my Jewish Wars monster scenery (which should be with you next week). So in the mean time to fill things in I’m submitting these six 28mm Eureka miniatures goats -- which are really nice figures.




They are very well sculpted with individual character in each face -- well deserving a bit of time and attention with my new OptiVISOR offering a great close up view for detail work (going all the way with the 3.5x magnification)







However the goats need something to eat (while they're waiting for the arrival of all the promised turnips) so what better then some nice pear trees?





These are MP pear trees in IronGate scenery 3D printed planters. While the trees are lovely I'm no great fan of 3D printing -- the layer marks to me are unsightly and the way they take paint is peculiar -- still at a distance they work out pretty well.





Also from IronGate are a couple of Roman braziers -- again 3D and the bowl really shows the limitations of this approach. Apologies for the poor effort at a marble finish 🤪.




The braziers are actually wired for LED candle lights so I of course had to install that! Not sure how often this will get used -- maybe for the interior of my Roman temple?




The final piece you might have seen in the background is a small water feature I made out of remnants from the eight Sarissa aqueducts I had to purchase to construct two large walkways as part of the temple complex (which you'll see next week). The trailing flower detailing is again from MP (and is a bear to work with) and I also experimented with resin water effects for the first time -- although kicking myself for not including a mosaic underneath the water, I'll do that on another water feature when I make it.




And to give a feel for it all together here they are along with some of my 28mm Jewish fighters





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Points wise my reckoning is 36.5 points





  • 6 goats at 2 points each (they're about 10mm tall and 15mm long) - 12 points
  • 4.5 points for terrain -- 48.7 cubic inches or 22.5% of a cube
    • Water feature is 12"x1.5"x1.75" for 31.5 cubic inches
    • Small planters are 0.75"x0.75"x2" for 1.125 each or 4.5 for four
    • Large planters are 1.6" diameter by 4" tall or 8.0 cubic inches for two
    • Braziers at 1.25" square by 1.5" tall or 4.7 cubic inches for two
  • 20 points for the Art House bonus
And with this being my third location on the Blue Sector I have completed enough to ask for the Snow Lord's suggestion -- although given where we are on time not sure I'll get to it!






I look forward to giving you 16 square feet of terrain across multiple levels next week -- so until then happy painting!



Those goats are so cute, I'm going to let you shoehorn them in for "Arthouse". Nice work on the terrain.
Quick tip that I've recently discovered for hiding layer lines on 3D prints - apply a coat or two of matt Mod Podge before priming; it's self-leveling so will fill the recesses on its own. This tip can also be used for filling gaps in models - much cheaper and easier than using greenstuff and its ilk.

Tamsin


23 comments:

  1. Thanks for that tip Tamsin. My wife has some Mod Podge for her découpage so I’ll see if I can “borrow” that before I work on
    The 3D printed water fountain I’ve got 😀

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  2. Amazing work Simon, I want all of this stuff! Not only did you stare at goats, but you did so with advanced modelling tech! The goats are wonderful and a must for any ancient table top.

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    1. Thanks Peter -- I'm not sure they're quite the right breed for ancient Israel, maybe not hairy enough but they'll do quite nicely I think 🐐

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  3. Replies
    1. Thanks Benito -- great to have the challenge as an impetus to get all sorts of different things attempted

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  4. Grand work, Simon! You even captured those creepy goat eyes! I like the terrain bits you did too, that is some nice tabledressing!

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    1. Thanks for that kind feedback David. I think the 🐐 are just misunderstood 😀

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  5. Great Tip Tamsin and great entry Simon

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    1. Thanks Kerry and I’ve already put Tamsin’s tip into practice to good effect

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  6. some lovely work on the scenery and evil goats, who knew

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    1. Thanks Martin, now I wonder what other livestock might be wandering around first century Judea?

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  7. Haha, nice on Simon! I look forward to next week's BIG reveal. :)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks
      Curt, I’ll keep plugging on to get it done! 🏰

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  8. Goats for everyone. Great projects. It’s wonderful to get little side projects completed during the challenge. Well done.

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    1. Thanks Bruce, at this time of year my wife does complain I’ve been sequestered away in my hobby closet a bit too much 😀

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  9. Awesome goats and scenery I'm looking forward to Solomon's Temple!
    Best Iain

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    1. Unfortunately it’s just the Antonia fortress and the bridges to the temple not the holy of holies itself. Maybe next year?

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  10. Great scenery and fantastic work on the goats. Those eyes! Definitely not going to stare those down.
    @ Tamsin thanks for the tip, I will try that!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Martijn. Don’t turn your back on them gots or they’ll steal your lunch!

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  11. Replies
    1. Thanks Ray - great to hear you liked them

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  12. Those goats a brilliant Simon!

    Cheers
    Matt

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Matt -- I'm looking forward to sharing the view of them in their final home shortly

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