I just gone done mopping; stop French-kissing the floor!

Tongue Imp



Possibly the laziest demon species you'll ever have the misfortune of meeting, once a Tongue Imp plops down, and balances upon, its enormous forked tongue, the creature never moves from that spot and the fiend only flaps its bat-like wings just enough to keep its unnatural body aloft. Indeed, these monsters are so lethargic that they'll seldom even bother to defend themselves, or counter-attack, if someone, or something, assaults them. However, as you may have already guessed, a Tongue Imp is far more dangerous than its careless behavior would seem to indicate. These infernal things project a short-range [roughly a 10 feet (3 meters) radius] invisible "drain field" that will rapidly leech away the life of any organism foolish enough to get too close. As such, the bleached bones of unwary humans, and other monsters, who thought that a Tongue Imp would be easy prey, often litter the ground surrounding these winged terrors.

Now, you may be thinking, "Fine, I'll just strike at them from a safe distance.", which would be an excellent strategy, but, unfortunately, Tongue Imps are only found at the beginning of From Software's 1998/1999 Shadow Tower Sony Playstation video game, when the character that you control doesn't yet have access to projectile weapons (bows and crossbows) or magic spells, just short-ranged implements like swords and clubs, so, if it comes to a fight, you'll have to subject yourself to the monsters' life-siphoning power when you go toe-to-toe with them (if they actually had toes that is). And battle them you shall, because two Tongue Imps have the "Fat Mole" (that's the rodent's real name, I'm not making fun of its' weight), one of the very few friendly creatures residing in the Shadow Tower, trapped in an alcove in the back wall of a secluded room in the "Cursed Region" of the Human World (while there is both a door and a hole leading out of said room, Fat Mole can't reach either without getting drained by the Tongue Imps). You'll just have to wade in, slash or bash the flapping horrors, and then quickly retreat outside of the perimeter of their deadly auras, to give your stamina bar time to refill (for another attack) and minimize the amount of damage that you'll suffer. Provided that you have a fair amount of hit points, and some healing potions on hand if the encounter goes badly, the fiends should drop before you do. There are additional Tongue Imps residing in the surrounding caverns, but, as there's more room to maneuver in those open spaces, and no other talking moles in distress, you can avoid them in you wish (I always exterminate the creatures--what kind of hero leaves nasty demons unchallenged, especially when they might be carrying rare item drops?)


In-game "Creature Book" entry for the Tongue Imp.





I began this project by making a forked papier-mache snake with internal bendable wire reinforcement (over time, the tongue would probably wilt under the weight of the body without that metal support). Next I added two more pieces of wire, one for the arms, the other for the wings, and bulked up the body a bit. The shape looks like some kind of weird plant at this point, eh?



And here are the wings and arms further developed (I added some more wire when I did the fingers too).



Next, I made the head. I modeled the open mouth around a metal rod, and then cut a slit in the bottom of the jaw, so that I could later fit the head around the tongue during final assembly. I also decided that the tongue wasn't quite long enough and proceeded to extend it. This was accomplished by severing the structure, inserting another small segment of wire between the two cut pieces, and then building the tongue back up again into its proper shape.



This is the finished model, prior to scorching it with my wood burner (to harden/smooth the papier-mache and painting it.



In order for the figure to stand unassisted, I had to glue the bottom of the tongue to a transparent plastic disc base. I could have avoided using a stand by making the tongue's bottom significantly larger/heavier, to offset the weight of the body, but I wanted to keep things on-model.



Materials:
Newsprint, tissue paper, white glue, wire twist ties, acrylic paint, transparent plastic from a memory card package (base only), and super glue.

Dimensions*:
5.5 cm (2.2") wide x 7.1 cm (2.8") high x 3.0 cm (1.2") deep.
* The measurements given will vary slightly depending on how the limbs/wings are positioned.

Articulation:
Eight points; wings, shoulders, elbows, and wrists.

Time:
One day; March 4th, 2016.

Looks awesome, I love how you balanced the weight just right for it to stand.

Hey M, awesome work yet again. Hey I'm curious and maybe this has been asked before but what do you do with all of these after you build them? If you have a few display shelves of them somewhere I would love to a bunch of them together.

Nice. Did you ever do any silent hill stuff?

That's really cool - the detail (and patience) are noted. Very nice work.

so besides boggling my mind as to how you sculpt them so well (especially in one day) now I've noticed that you make them posable!

Thanks everybody!

@ElectricGrave: I actually had to mount the Tongue Imp on a transparent plastic base; it isn't balanced to stand on its own. The center of gravity is shifted too far backwards for it to remain erect without additional support like that.

@voltronbadass: As I've made literally hundreds of them over the years, my sculptures are scattered all over the place, both on display and in storage. I'm afraid I don't really have them organized in any kind of presentable manner for good photographing.

@Xian Ni: Yes, I've made several Silent Hill figures (25 of them in fact). You can see them all at the Konami fan art page of my web site if you're interested:

http://www.angelfire.com/ult/ace/konami_artwork.html

@Karou: Some of them are poseable, some aren't. I tend to make more static sculptures than action figures these days, but I do both.

******

Genma Saotome (Panda Form)



Musabetsu Kakutou Ryuu ("Anything Goes Martial Arts") master Genma Saotome was training, with his teenage son, Ranma, at the Jusenkyo springs in China when both of them had the misfortune of falling into two different magically-cursed pools. The patriarch tumbled into the "Spring of Drowned Panda", and, as a result, whenever he gets doused with cold water, Genma instantly changes into said bamboo-munching mammal (hot water reverses the transformation, returning him to human form). Ranma, on the other hand, fell into a pool where a girl died, so he switches genders and becomes a young woman when he gets wet.


Genma in both his panda and human forms.
The sign reads "Gao-!!", which is a Japanese sound effect used for roaring beasts/monsters.
Is it even possible for a panda bear to be terrifying?

Unlike Ranma, who very much wants to be rid of his curse (although he's not above using his female form if it will further his goals), Genma doesn't seem to be too concerned about their shape-shifting problems at all and goes about his business as usual, regardless of whether he's a man or a bear. And, to be honest, if I could turn into a panda whenever I wanted, I'd probably spend a good part of the day as one too.

While he's an accomplished martial artist, Genma is also a notoriously lazy, cowardly, and irresponsible oaf that's often more concerned with filling his stomach than anything else. He frequently douses himself with cold water on purpose so that he can weasel out of his obligations or avoid situations that he'd simply rather not deal with (nobody expects anything from a panda bear after all). For example, fearing her reaction [and rightfully so, as he promised to commit seppuku (ritual suicide) if he failed to train Ranma as a "man-amongst-men"], Genma continuously avoided telling his wife, Nodoka, about what had really befallen Ranma and himself, concocting an ongoing lie that female Ranma was Akane's cousin "Ranko" and that he was her pet, "Mr. Panda", whenever Mrs. Saotome was around. Needless to say, Genma's approach to matrimonial harmony is as questionable as his parenting (did I mention that he "values" Ranma so much that he has happily traded his son for food on multiple occasions?)

Aside from the general hilarity that ensues when one suddenly becomes a giant, fuzzy, black and white bear at inopportune moments, the Genma character is also well-known for another running joke: Since pandas can't speak, he can instantly and miraculously produce wooden signs, with messages scrawled on them, to convey whatever it is he wants to "say" at the moment (a la Looney Tunes' Wile E. Coyote). Conversely, Genma has also been known to conveniently use the "pandas can't talk" excuse to avoid any question that he doesn't want to answer (and he desperately hopes that, in the heat of the moment, the interrogator forgets that Genma could easily respond with a sign if he wanted to).


I based my Genma figure off of this sprite, from the 1992 "Ranma 1/2: Hard Battle" SNES video game.
The sign reads "Ei", which is a Japanese sound effect that an individual makes when they are exerting considerable force doing something physical, like fighting, although it's obviously much more literal in this case, as Genma is actually striking out with the sign it's written upon!

I began this project by making a rough sphere out of newsprint wrapped around tissue paper (the body) and gluing a thick papier-m稍h snake shape on top of that (the arms).



Then I added a couple of tapered chunks (the legs) and refined the body a bit more.



Next, I started in on the head. I liked the look of the alien-esque "antennae" (the precursors to the ears) at this stage, but, as my goal wasn't to make a "green panda bear from Mars", they had to be cut down to size.



This is how the figure appeared after developing the anatomy some more (eyes, claws, etc.) I also fabricated the sign accessory at this point so that I could get the fit of the grasping hand right for the shape and diameter of the cylindrical handle.



Here's a look at things midway through the final painting and assembly process. I figured I'd probably mess up the "e" and "i" Japanese hiragana characters if I tried painting them directly onto the sign by hand (my college biochemistry lab partner nicknamed me "whiskey fingers" for a reason), so, I drew them on 3-ply newsprint, cut the hiragana out, slapped a coat of acrylic black paint on them, and then glued the characters onto the sign's surface. And, if you're wondering why I shoved a sewing needle up Genma's posterior, no, he didn't need an emergency prostate exam, that's just so that I'd have a handle to hold onto while I was finishing the panda (an object painted white gets discolored from dirt, oil, and perspiration on my hands very easily if I hold it with my fingers while I'm working on it).



While there's always room for improvement, I feel that the finished figure came out pretty good. My Genma is a little more stout than I'd like and the pose could be better, but, I think I did a fair job of capturing Rumiko Takahashi's creation. This was also the first panda bear I've ever modeled.



Materials:
Newsprint, tissue paper, white glue, wire twist ties (ears only), and acrylic paint.

Dimensions:
6.8 cm (2.7") wide (including the sign) x 4.6 cm (1.8") high x 3.2 cm (1.3") deep.

Time:
Two days; March 8th and 12th, 2016.

That Panda is awesome lol.

Very strong pose and the expression is just right.

Great work on both I give you props.

Magic Broom

The Sorcerer's Apprentice symphonic poem was composed by Frenchman Paul Dukas in 1896-97, which was in turn based upon German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's 1797 work of the same name. In the musical world, it's Dukas' best-known piece, and Disney's 1940 Fantasia did much to increase its recognition with the general public. At first, Walt Disney had intended for his interpretation of Dukas/Goethe's work to be a stand-alone Silly Symphonies short, with the goal of revitalizing the Mickey Mouse character, whom he felt was suffering a decline in popularity at the time, but, as the cartoon grew too ambitious and costly for that format, Disney expanded the concept into an animated feature film, and thus, Fantasia was born.



The plot of Disney's take on The Sorcerer's Apprentice is simple, but memorable. While taking a break from his toils, novice Mickey Mouse witnesses an impressive display of magic being performed by his ancient master, Yen Sid (who, in my opinion, has the creepiest-looking eyes ever.) When the sorcerer retires for the evening, setting aside his enchanted cap, Mickey decides, against his better judgment, to try out the mysterious conical hat for himself. After placing said garment upon his big-eared head, Mickey proceeds to give life to a broom (which grows a pair of arms) and supplies it with his two buckets--the rodent's shortsighted idea is for his creation to finish his chores for him, namely refilling the room's cistern with water. Everything goes well at first, and Mickey is quite pleased with himself, but, it being late, and the back-and-forth labors of the broom monotonous, the mouse plops down into a chair and soon falls asleep. Alas, his tireless wood-and-straw minion continues to fill the cistern while he dozes, eventually to the point of it overflowing and flooding the room, which rudely awakens Mickey. The apprentice frantically tries to stop his single-minded laborer, but, he lacks the knowledge and power to do so, thus, in desperation, Mickey resorts to chopping the broom apart with an axe instead. Unfortunately, the magic he invoked is too strong to be stopped by even that extreme measure, and every single splinter of the shattered implement soon rises again and reshapes itself into a complete broom creature, identical to the original, forming an entire army of the things--who promptly return to emptying buckets of water into the submerged cistern, despite the absurdity of continuing with the completed task. His problems increased a hundred-fold, Mickey is overwhelmed and almost drowns in the resulting deluge created by the relentless brooms. It is at this point that Yen Sid, sensing something amiss, makes his timely reappearance and sees the disastrous results of Mickey's foolish actions. The sorcerer immediately, and easily, puts a stop to the whole soggy affair, dispelling the water with a few gestures (parting the "sea", much like the biblical Moses) and changing all of the wooden workers back into a single, inanimate broom. Having learned his lesson, the sheepish mouse gingerly removes and straightens the bent magic hat and offers it back to its rightful owner, who angrily snatches it from Mickey's grasp. The apprentice then picks up his buckets and slowly begins to slink away to return to his duties, but not before the smirking Yen Sid can deliver a well-deserved swat to his irresponsible prot鬥ｮ?s backside with the troublesome broom, which sends Mickey bolting up the stairs and out of the room.

As I wasn't eager to repeat Mickey's mistakes (and lacking the safety net of Yen Sid's presence to save me if things should go awry), I made my Magic Broom figure without the benefit of any spellcraft. I began this project by fabricating the hands/arms out of newsprint and white glue, fashioning them around a piece of bendable wire to provide articulated movement.



Next, I developed the broom shaft betwixt said limbs.



I was still indecisive at this point about what approach I wanted to take with the bristle feet (amongst other things, I was mulling over the idea of using embroidery floss), so I started in on the buckets instead. I used marker caps, as forms, to mold the shapes of the squat, hollow cylinders and fashioned the handles from more bendable wire, wrapped in newsprint. I also used my woodburner a bit at this point (the brown "stains" in the photo), scorching lines into the buckets and smoothing/hardening surfaces. Without feet, the creature looks more like a ghostly spirit to me at this stage of the proceedings.



Ultimately, I figured, for consistency in appearance, I should probably model the broom bristles in papier-m稍h too, so, that's what I did. I also made the bucket rings at this point, burned more wooden slats into the buckets' surfaces, and increased the length of the broom handle body, which finished things off.



Here's a look at the action figure and its accessories disassembled, just prior to beginning the painting process:



While the finished Magic Broom was capable of standing, its "feet" weren't flat enough, so, the toy was unstable and tipped over easily. As such, I was going to mount the figure on a transparent plastic disc base, as per my usual, but, this time, I did something a little different instead. I placed two small blobs of white glue on the "soles" of the broom bristles and affixed the figure to a CD jewel case (Smash Mouth's 1999 Astro Lounge if you must know--it's hard for me to believe said album is that old already; where does the time go?), then, when those had dried, I popped the Magic Broom off, and, as I had planned, the applied glue had become small, flat, transparent surfaces that are sufficient to keep the figure reliably erect and are much less conspicuous than a large, circular, plastic stand would have been. Said technique wouldn't be an effective solution for every figurine I make, but it worked out well in this particular case.





Materials:
Newsprint, tissue paper, white glue, wire twist ties, and acrylic paint.

Dimensions*:
5.0 cm (2.0") wide (including buckets) x 5.9 cm (2.3") tall x 2.5 cm (1.0") deep.
* The measurements given will vary slightly depending on how the joints are positioned.

Articulation:
Nine points; shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, and bucket handles.

Time:
Two days; March 18th and 20th, 2016.

that magic broom brings back memories - I saw Fantasia on VHS as a kid. Nice model!

Ninja Gaiden Game Gear Diorama...I thought I was the only goon that played that game, lol.

Here's the dedicated thread for M's GG Ninja Gaiden Diorama.

I just got into Game Gear... actually playing Ninja Gaiden ATM, great game - glad I picked it up.

Game Gear Ninja Gaiden is okay, but short and nowhere near as good as the NES trilogy. It's not super difficult, but watch out for the enemies juggling you to death if you make physical contact with them. The vertical auto-scrolling skyscraper climb stage can take a while to get used to as well (I lost tons of lives there). And you pretty much have to speed run the final level in order to have enough time left on the clock to beat all three of the final boss' forms.