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Hi, folks. First-time picture-poster, over on these forums. I hope I'm "doing things correctly" or close to it? Let me know, if I'm not. This is a resin bust by Boxing Dog Model Kits. It's of the band mascot, "Eddie," associated with the musical group, "Iron Maiden". I believe this sculpt was based on the album art for a musical single called "Aces High"; if memory serves, anyway. I'm assuming the bust kit is likely no longer on the market? I say that because I believe it was a pretty limited run to begin with, and I know this build-up / paint-up that I did is from about 2014. That's when the "Horror and Monster Modeller" special issue of "Sci-Fi & Fantasy Modeller" came out. This model was featured in an article I wrote, for that publication. (See pages 113 through 121 in that issue.) The main thing the article talked about was the physical modifications I had made to the solid resin parts, so that I could put some acrylic rods inside the head, with the rounded-off ends of those rods serving as "eyes" that I could make "glow" by placing some small, flashlight-style light bulbs (not LEDs) in two tunnels than ran under those rods. The actual electrical system is shown here: it's fairly simple, by electronics standards. The pictures here, with the notes I included, give a decent idea of what I did to get the eyes actually lit up, and "glowing". Part of the reason I was going with "real light bulbs," instead of LEDs, was to be able to turn them up or down in intensity. Also, the coloring was going to look like the LEDs of that time period, if I had installed those. The "yellow glow" from "real" light bulbs seemed much preferable. As for the paint job ... some parts I'm reasonably happy enough with -- at least, given where my skills are or where, back then -- and some areas on this model ended up being "basecoat only; then I had to stop" due to the restrictions of time. (I had this project, plus three other projects, that did appear in that same special issue; plus one that didn't get completed in time: so unfortunately none of the articles I was working on, for that particular issue, really got the time or care I would have wanted each of them to have, in an ideal world). I bit off a bit more than I could chew, methinks, in hindsight? Sometimes, real life gets in the way, too; as it did with this project, and the other three or four. But I was pretty stoked about having stuff in that first-ever special issue. As is often the case with deadline models of any kind, a person just has to do what they can, and prioritize what's possible and what's not, within the time they have available. But with four other models being worked on, and all at roughly the same time ... yeah, no, that special issue was not my finest moment. Still fun to work on, though: even if I feel I have more reasons to be proud of the eleven other articles I'd done with SF&FM, before the "Horror" special issue came out. I keep telling myself that, one day, perhaps, I may re-paint portions of this? Or at least "finish" the "basecoated, only" areas where I simply had to stop where things were, so that I could get the photos and words turned in, for that particular article's deadline. But for now, this is still what the kit looks like, even nearly a decade after that "Aces High" article first came out, in 2014. Even though I was under-whelmed with my own performance, paint-job-wise, on a number of areas on this kit, local fans of that musical group were depressed that I would not give this model to them, or sell it to them, so not everyone was as harsh as I myself was, on whether or not I'd done an acceptable job, on this kit. (I gave them nice, big, hi-res photos, instead. They seemed happy enough with that; and I can still see lit-up Evil Eddie, whenever I want to.) EDIT: I should probably add that the article's mentioned Reaper's paint lines; along with things like extenders or drying retarders, and what I believe was originally Jen Haley's mix of that plus flow improver. The paints used on this were a combination of paint brands and types: some of it being Tamiya brand acrylics; some of it being Reaper's paints; some of it being various kinds of metallics. Primer was an automotive gray by Plasti-Kote. To seal the "light tunnels" and prevent light leaks, I had even used some of One-Shot's brand of paints that are made for things like pin-striping work. Some portions of what's seen here (the goggles, in particular) started as a homemade decal or transfer, of a photo of some clouds, that I later painted over in places, with "flak bursts" and a reflected, flaming, shot-down enemy aircraft. The overall paint work is a combination of hand-brushing, in places, plus some airbrush work: mostly for base-coating, but also used occasionally "for effects". There is some evidence of veins running, just under the skin; but it's pretty hard to tell that it's there, once I shrank these images, for uploading.

You'll take my life, but I'll take yours too You'll fire your musket, but I'll run you through So when you're waiting for the next attack You'd better stand, there's no turning back I'm going to be building/converting/sculpting my own copy of Eddie from this artwork. I'm just going to do the central figure, not the battlefield around him. For those who don't know, the song 'The Trooper' is based on the Charge of the Light Brigade, an action during the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War. So, before I get started, a question: The artist who did this piece (Derek Riggs) applied a little creative license to the flag that Eddie is carrying. It is not historically accurate to the best of my knowledge and research. If you know differently, please enlighten me. When I get to that point, do I try to recreate the flag as seen in the artwork, or go with something a little more accurate? Or is that a detail that most people will not notice?

LINK In 1980 (ish) I got my hands on the original D&D game and played with my friends. Over the years, I fell in love with all of the books, especially the Fiend Folio. That COVER! Emmanuel's painting of the Githyanki! Man it is awesome. Then, In high school, I used to charge a whopping 50 bucks to hand-paint denim jacket back-panels for all of the metalheads and rockers. My favorite ones to paint, of course, were Iron Maiden's album covers. Derek Riggs' amazing paintings of Eddie blew my high school kid mind. One day while painting a version of KILLERS by Iron Maiden, it struck me how similar it was to the old FIEND FOLIO cover. I thought that one day it would be fun to draw up a mix of the two. The original painting was done on a denim jacket, which sold at an art show, just like the old days. Since then, lots of folks have asked me to put the design onto T-Shirts, so I figured this would be a good way to get them out there! Boom. SHIRT DETAILS Shirt Brand and Material: This is an American Apparel T-shirt. It is black, 100 percent cotton on the sleeves and back, and soft poly on the front panel, The result is a vintage feel, super soft, medium-light weight shirt that feels great and shows bright colors. It is a slim fit, 4.4 oz., side-seamed t-shirt. Sizes: The shirts are available in the standard "unisex" American Apparel sizes of Small through XXL. Printing Method: These shirts are printed using a Dye-Sublimation process. It is an amazing process that gives photographic results while keeping the fabric incredibly soft. You have probably seen this printing method used on mousepads and game-mats. I did not want such a huge print to make the shirt feel like a plastic suit of armor, so silkscreening was not considered. The shirt printer has warned me that there may be small, white spots near the very edges of the art, in the underarms or edges. However, the sample that I ordered is perfect except when really stretched out, as you can see in the photos below. TWO WEEK PROJECT Spread the word! If you know anyone that would be psyched for the shirt, pass along the link. The project is just a short, two week window. ORDERING DETAILS Backerkit: As with my past projects, I will be using Backerkit as a checkout system. This is a very flexible system that allows backers to order exactly what they want and lets us communicate after the project ends. Ordering more than one? Multiple people have asked me how to buy more than one. This option will be available as an "add on" upon checkout within the backerkit that you receive as a backer. Shipping Costs: We are using USPS priority shipping. Returns: These shirts will be custom printed-to-order. This means that I am not creating large quantities and selling from that stock. I will be making only the shirts that have been ordered and therefore will not be able to accept returns. Thank you for understanding. *Please note that this project is not affiliated with Iron Maiden, TSR, Hasbro or Wizards of the Coast.