Oseberg and Kraken by Glen McGuire - FINISHED - Bottle - 1/250

[Glen McGuire]

7 hours ago, BANYAN said:

That's looking so good Glen; you could get a second job in movie model making.

 

Thanks, Pat!  But I think my sculpting career is going to start and end with this thing.  I made the mistake of looking at it for too long right before I was going to bed last night and decided the tentacles were not oriented properly.  So I broke them off and spent a couple of hours repositioning them, smudging stuff in all the cracks, and smoothing things out.  Ugh!  The more I work with clay, the more I like wood! 

[Ian_Grant]

Glen, each of your builds is more imaginative than the last.......it's going to be truly unique......where did you get the eyes in the end....?

[gsdpic]

1 hour ago, Glen McGuire said:

I made the mistake of looking at it for too long right before I was going to bed last night and.....

I thought you were going to say "...and I had nightmares all night".  

 

Looks good.  Definitely the strangest build log on MSW right now.

 

[Glen McGuire]

2 hours ago, Ian_Grant said:

where did you get the eyes in the end....?

Hey Ian, I got 20 pairs of 20mm eyes to choose from off Amazon for $7.  I have not decided on the exact pair yet.  Waiting to see what the whole beast looks like after painting to decide which eyes will look best.

1 hour ago, gsdpic said:

I thought you were going to say "...and I had nightmares all night".  

 

Looks good.  Definitely the strangest build log on MSW right now.

The nightmares are every night, Gary!  As far as this being the strangest build log on MSW right now, that's probably the highest compliment I've ever received!!  😃😃😃

 

On another note - seeing that you are also from Austin, how did your trees fare after the ice storm last month?

 

[Glen McGuire]

@BANYAN  By the way, Pat, I have not ruled out your spear idea yet.  I will revisit when I get further along with the Kraken head.

[BANYAN]

Hi Glen, I am sure you understood I was simply 'stirring the porridge' so to speak  BUT, will be tickled pink if you do.  You are developing a very interesting diorama and presentation of your latest creation.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[gsdpic]

7 hours ago, Glen McGuire said:

On another note - seeing that you are also from Austin, how did your trees fare after the ice storm last month?

 

Mixed bag....three trees with little damage but two with pretty extensive damage.  Most heartbreaking was a beautiful live oak that I think was planted when the house was built and was probably 35-40 years old.  It had a nice full and symmetrical canopy.  Now....well, it looks like a giant kraken took a bite out of the top center of the canopy, probably 50% gone.  I had the broken branches cut out but will probably get an arborist out this fall to see if anything more can be done for it.   But I did not lose power and usually work from home anyway, so not too much impact.   Hope you managed ok through the ice as well.

[GrandpaPhil]

Glen,

  Nicely done on the longship!  The Kraken is looking amazing!  Excellent sculpt job!

[Glen McGuire]

@GrandpaPhil Thanks for checking in, Phil!!

 

 

4 hours ago, BANYAN said:

I am sure you understood I was simply 'stirring the porridge' so to speak

Hey Pat, I do give thoughtful consideration to all suggestions.  Except, of course, @Keith Black and his penguins!  🤣

 

3 hours ago, gsdpic said:

Hope you managed ok through the ice as well.

I've got the biggest live oak in the neighborhood in my front yard (trunk is about 3' in diameter) and somehow it escaped with only minor damage - maybe 6 medium size branches split off.  Really dodged a bullet there as it shades the whole house from the afternoon sun.  Lost power for 3 days, but no complaints.  Things could have been so much worse.

[Ian_Grant]

10 hours ago, Glen McGuire said:

I've got the biggest live oak in the neighborhood in my front yard (trunk is about 3' in diameter) and somehow it escaped with only minor damage - maybe 6 medium size branches split off.  Really dodged a bullet there as it shades the whole house from the afternoon sun.  Lost power for 3 days, but no complaints.  Things could have been so much worse.

Last spring we had a "derecho" (no I had never heard the term either) come through which split my neighbour's mature maple tree, half of which crashed onto and through our above ground pool. I'm still smarting from the paltry insurance settlement ("Was the pool more than 10 years old?"  "Was the fence more than 10 years old?"). Tree crews were so swamped that I cut the darn tree up myself, with a swede saw, and lugged the parts to the street for pick-up. At least that was free.

 

Bummer having no pool last summer. Debating a replacement, or new landscaping.

 

 

[FriedClams]

Excellent work Glen!  It's imaginative and whimsical and I hope you're enjoying building it as much as we are watching you do so.  I think we often take our modeling too seriously and this build is a refreshing change from that.  

 

Gary

Edited March 8, 2023 by FriedClams

[Keith Black]

10 hours ago, Glen McGuire said:

Except, of course, @Keith Black and his penguins!

 I don't believe I've mentioned the word "penguin" this entire build. Besides, a penguin would look funny with tentacles unless you........

[Keith Black]

 Penguin Kraken!

 Just remember, you started this, Mr Glen 

[O.B.one]

On 3/8/2023 at 2:30 AM, Glen McGuire said:

Thanks, Pat!  But I think my sculpting career is going to start and end with this thing.  I made the mistake of looking at it for too long right before I was going to bed last night and decided the tentacles were not oriented properly.  So I broke them off and spent a couple of hours repositioning them, smudging stuff in all the cracks, and smoothing things out.  Ugh!  The more I work with clay, the more I like wood! 

 

I'm no sculptor, but have done some sculpting. Plus back in Uni, we did a few semesters on wax modeling dentures, before you cast it in a flask for acrylic processing. I found it is best to get it to a point to where it looks good, then accept, and try not to improve. Often trying to improve ended up in ruining it. You reach a point where the result will be say 90% acceptable. Getting it to 100 is certainly possible but the margin for error in getting that last bit is just so much bigger. Of course this is a more scientific process, and with art it would be totally subjective. So the next bit of advice is not to destroy the first attempt, but rather do a second from scratch. Then you have 2 to choose from...  But that is just from very limited experience. 

 

 

 

Other than that, it looks really good! Perhaps, if there is room, and if you have enough shark teeth. Add a few to the beak? Because of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie, that is how the vast majority of people will perceive a Kraken. You don't want it looking like an underage drinking Kraken. 

 

Edited March 8, 2023 by O.B.one

[O.B.one]

I just looked at the photos again. I think it was the Playdoh that made it look under age. Feel free to ignore my suggestion 

[Glen McGuire]

21 minutes ago, O.B.one said:

I found it is best to get it to a point to where it looks good, then accept, and try not to improve. Often trying to improve ended up in ruining it.

Such good advice, and for a lot of things, not just ship models!  Thanks for the comments, O.B. One.   I've been trying to follow the Jules Verne - 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea description of the Kraken.  It's been years since I watched any of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.  I may have to revisit those this weekend.

[Glen McGuire]

7 hours ago, Ian_Grant said:

Last spring we had a "derecho" (no I had never heard the term either)

 Interesting, Ian.  The only thing I know about "derecho" is that it's Spanish for "right".  Never heard of it applying to weather.

 

7 hours ago, FriedClams said:

Excellent work Glen!  It's imaginative and whimsical and I hope you're enjoying building it as much as we are watching you do so.  I think we often take our modeling too seriously and this build is a refreshing change from that.  

Thanks, Gary!  Yes, I'm definitely enjoying this build.  But I think I'm enjoying the comments even more!  Particularly this one from Keith...

 

6 hours ago, Keith Black said:

Penguin Kraken!

OMG, Keith!!  You are kraken me up!! 

 

Somebody please make him stop!!!!!  🤣

 

[Knocklouder]

The only way to stop him is to have a Penguin carcase hanging from the Kraken mouth, with a spear that some Viking poke in him. Hope this help lol  

[O.B.one]

On 3/9/2023 at 11:01 AM, Knocklouder said:

The only way to stop him is to have a Penguin carcase hanging from the Kraken mouth, with a spear that some Viking poke in him. Hope this help lol  

It's here if you need it.... 😄

[Glen McGuire]

On 3/12/2023 at 4:39 PM, O.B.one said:

Hope this help

Once again, I have no words!!  😬😬😬

[Glen McGuire]

On 3/12/2023 at 4:39 PM, O.B.one said:

It's here if you need it.... 😄

Thanks so much O.B.one!  You are just as much help as Knocklouder!!!  🤣

[Glen McGuire]

With visions of impaled penguins forever floating around in my head, the strangest build log on MSW continues!  Thanks again to @gsdpic for bestowing that honor upon this effort!

 

I spent the last week experimenting with paint schemes and techniques for the kraken.  Again, I'm trying my best to make something that resembles the Jules Verne description from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.  He describes the kraken's color as such:

 

"Its unstable color would change with tremendous speed as the animal grew irritated, passing successively from bluish gray to reddish brown."
 

I decided that in my rendition, the beast is pissed off because his prey is inside the bottle and he cannot easily get to it.  So I worked on a shade of reddish brown that I thought would display the appropriate level of irritation.  Since his color is fluid, I used varying thicknesses of the paint to give slightly different shades of the reddish brown.  I also added some subtle streaks of dark bluish gray that are more visible on the close up shots below.   Another step was using the same dark bluish gray to color the inside of each sucker which added some depth to their appearance.   The last thing I did was add a heavy coat of gloss varnish to give everything a wet, slimy look.

 

After I finished painting the whole beast, my color consultant friend selected the eyes from the 20 pairs to choose from.  I liked her decision.

 

 

I probably spent the most painting time on the open maw that surrounds the beak and tongue.  For that, I wanted a shading gradient that went from the reddish brown of the outer skin to the dark, bluish gray of his color when calm.  I also redid the tongue completely, making it larger with a few more teeth and changing the color.  The previous red just got lost in everything.           

 

I also decided to add two more tentacles that will barely protrude above the water's surface (no suckers visible).  The first is the long curving tentacle on the near side that goes towards the middle.  The second is a short stub that disappears quickly into the water on the far side on the beast's mouth.  I want the whole thing to appear as an angry swarm of tentacles fighting with the bottle.

 

 

Here's what the whole thing looks like from the end zone seats.  When my color consultant friend saw it from this angle, she said, "WOW, it really does looks like a giant squid!"

 

The beast is finally done (along with my short-lived sculpting career)!  On to the final chapter of this Quixotic saga - the water effects.

 

 

 

Edited March 15, 2023 by Glen McGuire

[Ian_Grant]

Glen, definitely the strangest, but also one of the best, and certainly the most imaginative, build I have ever seen!  Congratulations, it is wonderful! I love the eyes!  

 

  👍👍 🤙 It's two thumbs up from critics.........

[Knocklouder]

Like I knew I would be in AWW but this is  WAH!!

[mtaylor]

A ship model but also true work of art and fantasy.  Love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BANYAN]

That looks soooo good Glen, a great outcome for your painting efforts.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Keith Black]

 Glen, just wow, wow wow wow. The Kraken was going to be the "make or break" part of this build and you nailed it! Once you add the water this thing is gonna pop, I can't wait to see all the water affects you'll create. 

 

[Glen McGuire]

Thank you Ian, Bob, Mark, Pat and Keith for the comments.  The beast stretched me well beyond what I thought my abilities were going in.  And double thanks to Keith for his comment early on:

 

On 1/7/2023 at 3:40 PM, Keith Black said:

Oh no, can't make a stinkin' penguin but we bloody well can make a frigging bottle guzzling, viking chewing, scare the knickers off ya Kraken!

 

That gave me a good laugh but was also extra motivation to try and pull this off!!

 

 

 

 

Edited March 16, 2023 by Glen McGuire

[gjdale]

Just fabulous Glen. Looking forward to seeing the final rendition with the water effects in place.

[O.B.one]

Nowhere on earth is there another one like this. Well done mate 

 

Maybe I missed it, are you going to pour resin over the white bit to make it look like water?