Thursday 4 January 2018

Keeper of the Seeds (Post Apoc)

My Post Apocalyptic tastes have been tickled and it continues into 2018 with the figures being worked on at the moment.

I loved the Mad Max Fury Road movie. So many great characters and themes to capture the imagination for gangs or crews. One that has struck a cord with me ever since seeing it in the cinema were the Vuvalini or the 'Many Mothers' the clan that Furiosa belongs to and whom intends to cross the wasteland and seek out.

As no one makes any models akin to them I have pondered and struggled immensely to find suitable figures (well those that can be converted easily) So I have to compromise somewhat and I am making my vision of them with what models I can. The Crooked Dice Wasteland Warriors will form a big part of that so I am very grateful for these Female Warriors being sensibly dressed.

I am promised some Wreck Age figures from a friend in the States which will also add another couple of members and I am very much looking forward to receiving that package when it comes.

The Keeper of the Seeds is played by Melissa Jaffer in the movie and is a cool character who is looking after the remaining seeds left after the land turned marshy and no longer able to grow plant life anymore. (pics of just her were hard to come by.)

Left to right Valkyrie Keeper of Seeds and unamed Vuvalini (there were 5 without name) 

A nice drawing showing the skull she use as a pot testing if the soil is any good.



As you can see they are quite wrapped up for desert travel. There is nothing I can find that is similar enough. Without having to do major Greenstuff work to achieve anything like it hence why I am going to be going for a likeness rather than exact.

So first up is Keeper of the Seeds. The base model is Madge by Hasslefree miniatures. I had painted her as a zombie hunter a long time ago and recently last year I stripped for a repaint. There she sat until I had the idea to user has as Vuvalini.

First off I trimmed the shotgun barrels down into a sawn off. I left the stock as I didn't feel confident enough to re sculpt the coat that would be exposed underneath. I had some spare bags from another Hasslefree miniature in the bitz box so filed it down and bent it slightly to fit the small of the back. Luckily there is some sort waist band that once painted looks like a belt.

I was just going to leave it at that but wasn't happy with the hair being exposed at the back. I then decided to sculpt on a hood bringing it around to the front. I then decided to add in some material to use as googles having her wear them. Which was easier than trying to sculpt them on top of her head. Finally I added some shoulder pads to take it a bit further away from the padded coat. I added on some sort of totem leather tooth thing from the Frostgrave Barbarian Sprue as some sort of trinkets or tresaures. I wanted to add another weapon but then realised I had no sensible place to put it. It then twigged where I could put one and I found a water bottle from a WW2 sprue in my bits box with a grenade and knife on. I trimmed off the knife handle and stuck in the top of the boot.



Painting was quite quick I stuck to similar earth tones. With just a spot of colour here and there as decoration and working on the lenses of the goggles which have changed colour several times until I figures out what I had not done properly.




I also made an order this week for the Wasteland Warriors (Those Post Apoc ladies in my last post)  on the Crooked Dice site LINK as soon as they were available. So I am eagerly awaiting them to arrive in the post and looking forward to getting them painted and added to my Vuvalini. Whilst I wait I am trying to keep up the momentum and have worked on a couple more Raider figures that have been lingering for two long in the to finish pile. More on those when they are finished.

28 comments:

  1. That's a brilliant conversion and the paint job looks spot on. I love the knife handle sticking out of the boot!

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    1. Cheers Roy I enjoyed making it and painting it.

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  2. Excellent work Simon, top notch!

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    1. I find it interesting Phil. Whats caught your attention?

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  4. Excellent stuff Simon, I will be watching your adventure with this project!

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    1. Cheers Terry I hope you enjoy it as much as I will do making it all.

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  5. That's really cool! I totally agree, the movie opens a lot of possibilities for interesting bands. Looking forward to your 2018 take on PA!

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    1. Yeah there are lots of cool ideas in Fury Road. Even the 3 'towns' offer some unique themes.

      Thanks very much I hope you enjoy it.

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  6. What a cool conversion, Simon. Most excellent!

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    1. Thanks Bryan. I just hope I can find enough models to create them all.

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  7. Those bright red shells was all this mini needed to make all the other colors seem to 'pop'. Nice conversion and a super paint job!

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    1. Cheers dude. Yeah it needed some colour somewhere.

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  8. She is brilliant - simple but effective.
    Looking forward to the rest of this project.

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    1. Thanks Mike. Yeah when you look at it. There is alot of erm brown... Cool keep your eyes peeled for more.

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  9. Sweet man. You have done a great job.

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  10. That's excellent conversion work mate! This project is a great concept, going to enjoy following your progress for sure!

    Those Wasteland Warrior figs are sweet!

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    1. Thanks Dai. Yeah they are lovely. Even more so now have them to hand.

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  11. I am not a fan of the new mad max Fury road. It seems all action and no story. I realise that comment may seem negative, but it is no reflection of how this figure is painted or converted. That I will not fault at all. If you like Fury Road great it is all personal choice and what suits one will not suit another.

    Nice figure well painted and converted.

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    1. Thanks on the figure front.

      Don't take this personally. I am replying to you but have had this conversation before with others on facebok.

      See with Mad Max I do find it amusing that what really made the the franchise into a success was The Road Warrior for its final chase scene. Sure there was the first movie but that only became popular because of the sequels popularity.

      Yet when Fury Road delivers what is one long chase scene from start to finish. People then criticise its lack of Story yet the films that came before hardly have twists and turns you don't expect.

      To me many films these days are over analysed by critics. To me Fury Road in the cinema was one of the best experiences of watching a movie I have had in a long time. The Action, real effects and stunts the music and the imagination of the characters and groups involved in the tale is what wins it for me.

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    2. Not taken personally at all. I fear you are right most modern films have lost the art of storytelling and I am not singling Mad max personally I would have liked more story but.

      Most importantly you like the film and that is good enough for me.

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    3. Yes indeed but I just think with Mad max there doesn't need to be. The first one certainly had more of a tale to it. But The Road Warrior and the Beyond Thunderdome had similar amounts of story to it.

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