02689: Kurff the Swift -> The Hero of Spielburg

[Kharsin]

Well I figured it's high time that I put up some sort of lazy WIP, so I figured I'd post what I've been up to for a couple of days. First a bit of background:

 

Hero's Quest (Quest for Glory) was the very first RPG I played, way back on my Tandy 1000 (hey! It had a 3.5" floppy drive!) It got me started on my love for fantasy, and one of my fondest memories of that game was slaying the goblins in their camp on a daily basis. It was an easy way to gain exp and up your stats. In order to commemorate this event, I decided to make a game piece and possibly a diorama using 02689: Kurff the Swift as my model for the Hero of Spielburg, using the EGA version of the game for inspiration as that's what I started off with. This is the Hero of Spielburg in all of his 1989 VGA Glory...

 

 

I should say that I've had Kurff in my possession for quite some time... Wayyy back with Pheobe the Bladesinger, but that's something completely different. The problem is that this casting of Kurff is very rough. You know how people sometimes have babies that aren't... well... quite as beautiful as the family makes them out to be? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so they say, and those mothers are never none the wiser. I'm treating Kurff this way as I noticed that he was different from the get go, but thought maybe, just maybe I could overlook it. Kurff is my baby so there... LOL!

 

Ok! To the pain!

 

Here he is! All primed up in grayish primed glory... Hopes and dreams are high!

 

 

Here he is again, after a few hours of work. Notice how handsome he is...

 

 

Now notice how... Um... Hmmm...

 

 

Yeah, he's not winning any Belle and Beau pageants anytime soon!

 

 

His face is horribly miscast. I thought I could work around it... Maybe use some sealer or something to ease the pain, but alas, it isn't to be. Perhaps I could have used some Greenstuff to repair him earlier, but I'm not sure my sculpting skills are up to par. Of course, he's been primed for quite a while, as he was one of my earliest purchases. I probably should have sent him back as he really is quite deformed, but I think he may have been in the first order I placed of miniatures as I was experiencing some QFG nostalgia when I started painting. Here's a close-up:

 

Only a mother.... 

 

It's really a shame too as his good side came out pretty good! You can see the line extending from the right side of his chin where his jaw and face were supposed to be. In hindsight, I should have either:

 

1. Sent him back

 

2. Tried to repair him with greenstuff and practice sculpting

 

3. Paint him up as undead - It looks as if he blocked an ogre's club with his face!

 

Anyhoo, I'll use him for practice and perhaps order an intact Kurff one day to paint up as the Hero. I do have the other version as well: 02034: Kurff the Swift as I had an idea for another diorama (you could play as a warrior, thief, or magic user in the game), so there's that. Also, the original Hero was a fighter with a sword and shield, so I could probably order a weapons pack and do a shield mod on the sculpt as well. Maybe it'll be something to shoot for in a year or so after I've improved more. 

 

At any rate, here's where I got tonight:

 

 

 

 

Anyhoo, I'll continue to fiddle with my poor misshapen son and see what becomes of him. Any questions, comments, or condolences (especially condolences) would be greatly appreciated! LOL!

 

Thanks for checking my work out, ugly though it may be! Next time I'll try to shoot at a higher resolution. These low-res pics don't quite do him justice!

 

-K

[Mr Melons]

You could always green stuff a mask onto the right side of his face and "Phantom of the Opera" him up.

[Kharsin]

Hahaha I thought of that but I'd like to stick with the original concept, but a custom mask would be a great solution!

[seej]

Wow, that's awesome. The painting looks off to a great start, but the horribly misshapen face makes me laugh every time I see it. I think you'll have gold at the end of this with a beautifully painted, horribly disfigured Kurff. "It's beautiful! It's hideous! It's both!"

[joshuaslater]

Paint him, and love him, and call him Kurff.

[Loim]

I got started gaming on an old Packard Bell 386. We had both floppy drives, and a mouse! I started my gaming career with the gold box Pool of Radiance. I love this post. 

[Kharsin]

Well it's just kind of sad as I was planning on posting this to a few Quest for Glory groups and such, but I can't with him all deformed. I'll probably just add him to my next Reaper order... LOL!

 

Of course, I could just take pics of his good side for those groups. They don't have to know the truth.... LOL!

Edited June 1, 2014 by Kharsin

[seej]

Like any true celebrity, you only take pictures of his good side.

[Dilvish the Deliverer]

I got started gaming on an old Packard Bell 386. We had both floppy drives, and a mouse! I started my gaming career with the gold box Pool of Radiance. I love this post. 

I started gaming with a VIC-20, a tape drive and The Awesome Caverns of Sendar.  I feel all nostalgic now.

 

On topic:  Loving what you are doing with Kurff!  I never thought of copying paying tribute to video game characters before.  Great idea!

[Kharsin]

*Sigh*   Okay, I'm guessing this is my first "stinker!"

 

I think I've worked on Kurff all I can. He needs a lot more work, clean up, contrast, shading, etc. However, I don't think I can pull the effort out to finish him to my normal standards, so I'll just chalk him up as a speed/table top piece / experiment.   It's my personality. INFP's tend to get irrationally emotional at times, and if I find things aren't approaching my standard or level of mastery and perfection, I quickly lose interest in them.

 

It's kind of like the world's greatest classical arm pit orchestrator. Everyone pulls up a chair, sits, and is impressed with the range, rhythm, and tones that the guy can produce. In the end however, you've still got a guy on stage making farting noises with his armpits.... 

 

SO, Kurff, I'm quitting you. Maybe again, in another time, from another Reaper order, you will be all that I hoped you will be. I'm just hoping I can force myself to put you on a base sometime... LOL! 

 

Here's the final pre-sealing:

 

 

 

 

 

High-Res pics on fancy background to follow at some point, most likely after I paint something after worth climbing into the photo cube for. Any questions, concerns, etc. are definitely welcome! We'll get them next time.... LOL!

 

-K

 

P.S.: I'm leaving "The Hero of Spielburg" as my avatar until I complete a legit Kurff...

Edited June 2, 2014 by Kharsin

[Kharsin]

FINALLY Based... That's all you get! LOL! 

[Darcstaar]

Looks great...even from his miscast side. Nostalgia parts of our brains make up for it! I want to find a good Avatar figure with a red shirt, chainmail, sword, and shield. Mullet length hair. Ankh on the chest, silver serpent on the shield.

[Kharsin]

Maybe Sir Justin? He looks a lot like the Avatar, and it looks as if someone were going for that look as well. He'd have to be modified to get the snake shield and mullet. 

 

Also possibly this Black Legionnaire. Harald has that classic 80's knight look about him, although you can't really see his back. Kain has a great pose that could be modded... 

 

Balthazar comes real close, although his pauldrons are a bit large. You could mod Stern with some greenstuff to have a mullet. Ashlan has that look too... 

 

There's quite a few that would pass for the Avatar, although you'd need to look for an Iolo to fuss at you every time you did something that was "Not Virtuous!" Hmmm... Now you've got me thinking! LOL!

 

Edit: I'm thinking Balthazar with a modified shield, possibly switched out for a kite shield and a GS snake on the front would do. Even with those giant pauldrons, he's got that classic avatar look. Of course, I'm looking at the box art for Ultima 6, and it looks like the shield is actually round...  The Black Legionnaire has an Ankh, but you'd have to do a head swap to make him work. For my money, a modified Balthazar. Sounds like an awesome project! "To purchase miniature! To mod to look like Avatar!" 

Edited November 10, 2014 by Kharsin