On The Colors Out of Space

[gauntman]

A Color is a sentient organism which manifests itself as an amorphous, glistening patch of rolling and shining color.  It is not gaseous.  The Color pours over the ground or flies in a living fashion.  Though incorporal its passing and presense feels unhealthy and disturbing.  Colors come from the depths of space where natural laws differ.  Geiger counters register their presence as a distinct burst of radiation.

Their spore appear as geodic 3" diameter spheres which disolve in verdant soil or shallow water.  Once germinated the Color slowly begins to absorb all plant and animal life in the area, growing proportionally over time as it infests the surrounding area.  One of the tale-tell signs of Color infestation 5-20 acres (depending on the size of the creature) of dead and nearly colorless vegitation usually surrounding the creatures lair.  At night. areas affected by the Color (even creatures) glow with the Color and vegitation begins to twist and writh as though in a wind.

Color's normally hunt at night spending their daytime hours in dark underground areas such as holes, caves and wells.  Small colors often feed on plant and insect life and progressively move on to larger and larger animals and humans.  Smaller Colors may sicken , weaken and drain larger creatures and humans unaware of their presence.  While large colors of massive proportions can rapidly aborb life from a adult man who becomes suddenly aware of sucking burning sensation as their face and body progressivly withers, grays and ages leaving all but a dry husk of a corpse.

Colors cannot be killed through normal means.  When a Color reaches sufficent size and strength it departs for space   

[gauntman]

Anybody have any good model representation ideas for one of these.

I'd like to come up with something.

[P_Clapham]

I've been thinking about a project like that for a little while now actually.  There are two different methods, one would involve spray foam insulation; the other some kind of clear resin or plastic.

Spray Foam:  A little while ago White Dwarf showed Nurgle or Skaven Stench clouds for Warhammer campaigns.  It was pretty much a blob of spray foam that had been shaped and painted, then put on a flying base.  My plan for the color was to use either a large fixed base or the flying base.  I would paint it in dark grays predominantly, with highlights (or reverse highlights) of purple and green.  The whole thing would then be sealed with either a glow in the dark paint, or some sort of luminescent sealer that would fluoresce under a black light.

The Resin / plastic model is a little more ambitious.  The plan was to have a hollow plastic or resin polyp flowing off of a large base.  Within the model itself would be a small black light, switch and batteries.  I feel this would be the most "authentic" looking Color mini, however my skills in electronics fall a bit short here....

[Rhoderic]

Were the creatures actually called "Colors"? The Colour out of Space is actually my favourite Lovecraft story (of the ones I've read) but some of the details in that description sound rather like they've been invented "after the fact" so to speak.

[gauntman]

If you reread the story you will start to see it as an alien life-life parasitic entity especially as you near the end of the story.

Reminds me of that old Star Trek episode "The Obsession" where the color cloud attacks the away team and the ship and drains blood from it's victims.  This may very well inspired that episode.

[Rhoderic]

Yeah, I'm aware that it was some kind of alien life form, but IIRC the strange colour/radiance was just what it emanated, as opposed to being the creature itself. It was a long time ago that I read the story, so maybe I'm remembering it wrong.

[Doomhippie]

That's always the problem with "scientific" or descriptive texts about fantastic cratures. With an explanantion they also lose their terror and somehow their fascination to me.

[tssfulk]

I plan to get a nice looking well (the one in the story hide down a well and contaminated the water). Then I'll use marbles and putty for the color, some nice glow-in-the-dark paint would be cool.

[gauntman]

You know that it an interesting thought.  A figure base with some medium sized scenery with gray ashen foliage and traces of lumenicent paint.  I wonder how that might look practically speaking though.

This is definately a tough model to represent.  I looked through all sorts of clear plastic D&D & Horrorclix models hoping to find a green gas monster.   So far no luck.



 

[gauntman]

I guess a painted flying green orb with some object source lighting might have the desired effect to represent one.

I've never really played with Object Source Lighting but I think this would be a good place as any to start.

In searching I found a web page with examples of object source lighting on miniatures maybe it will be helpful to someone else out there.

http://www.miniaturespace.net/illumination_gallery.htm