Nosferatu - A Symphony of Horror! The beginning of something new...?

[vikotnik]

Thank You for the very nice comments, guys!
 

I can tell You, I am relieved that the whole thing works THAT good, I truly had no idea until I finished the diorama...

I wonder if you would favor us with a brief description of how you pulled off the monochrome/black and white look? It's something I've contemplated for a long time, and it's -amazing- to see it done in the flesh. Would love to try something like this myself.

Doc Twilight, I can only say that I got the idea while reading through an ezine called 'Wargames Painting and Modelling'. Issue number 3 has a brilliant article by Carmen Cerra that covers a lot of game-related monochrome techniques. It is freely available, You can find it here:

http://www.thecourtjestersstudio.com/WPM/home.html

Shortly after reading this article, I talked to Driscoles about a monochrome setting and here we are!

I have found that none of the rat swarm miniatures available would fit my taste, so last summer, I have started sculpting some that could 'grow' if placed correctly next to each other on the gaming surface. The idea was that You can cover a whole area in rats, just like a living carpet!
When Orlock arrives in Wisborg, he infects the whole city with the plague through hordes of rats, so that simply had to be featured in the game. Well, the first ones are finally cast and painted:




Here is how they connect, LOTS of them will be used in the finished game!!!


Finally, here is our hero, the truly terrified Thomas Hutter confronting only a fraction of the menace...


All of the pics are colour photos, with the levels having been adjusted slightly.

Eventually, Zafarelli will have them in his store on Pardulon.com. If You are interested in obtaining some, simply drop him a line.

[Malamute]

Oh My, Wonderful stuff.  Who is the Hutter figure, is he a conversion?
Perhaps next year when I come to Germany I may have the opportunity to play this wonderful game

[dodge]

That is just fantastic , a clever way of creating a massive swarm.

well done

dodge

[blackstone]

Brilliant work! Great sculpt btw... really good pose. I think the rat swarm is fantastic too!

[Wirelizard]

The monochrome "Shadow of the Vampire" is fantastic, and the rat swarm made my hair stand up - available through Pardulon might mean my first order to them later this year...

[vikotnik]

Thanks again for the comments, guys!
 

Malamute, You are cordially invited to come to Vikotnik's den to have a game!
The 'hero' is a conversion made from a 'limited' Foundry victorian gentleman and the head of a EE Mordheim plastic sprue.

In the last few weeks, I started working on the ship Orlock uses to travel to Wisborg. The unsuspecting sailors are killed by the vampire. The last man alive, the Captain, decides to tie himself to the mast, only to make himself even more helpless...
Following a suggestion by JollyBob, I looked through Artizan's miniatures, not only buying the eccentrics, but also the merchant sailors...
Thank You for the suggestion again, Rob!

Here goes:

The unconverted miniature:


I cut the miniature at the neck and bent the head down. The legs were cut and bent, too, in order to make him look collapsed against the mast. All the gaps have been filled with putty, a new right hand and the rope have been sculpted:


..painted, I added some blood trickle coming from his mouth(...or neck?) to his chest for some dramatic effect:


...on board the ship:

The pic came out a bit blurry, sorry for that.

The ship has finally been finished, too! I hope to be able to take photos this weekend...

[Malamute]

Karsten -- I am in total awe of this project it is breathtaking. The ships captain is superb. Fantastic. I am lovingthis thread. I can't wait to see photos of the whole scenario and i would sincerely love to come over(next year definately)

[Tsune]

Wow! This is a fantastic project that is going better and better with each new addition. And the monochrome painting is suberb, very evocative... the scupting and conversions...

Thanks for sharing it.

[Driscoles]

Hey you guys...know something ? Today I will meet Karsten and I will have a look on the gaming table and all the beautiful scenery and figures. hehe

[Malamute]

Hey you guys...know something ? Today I will meet Karsten and I will have a look on the gaming table and all the beautiful scenery and figures. hehe

Make sure you take your camera along then

[Ramshackle_Curtis]

Fantastic, I love the monochrome diorama! Yeah, Monster monster monster!

[Gluteus Maximus]

Karsten, this is all truly splendid!

You have the period monochrome look absolutely spot-on.

I wonder whether Malamute should re-paint all his horror collection in the same style....... 

[Driscoles]

Malamute !
The table will be a blast.
I took my camera but there was a checkpoint and I had to hand over all my stuff before I was allowed to enter Karstens den.

[dodge]

The ships captain is brilliant, that monochrone look is effective , well dodne

dodge

[vikotnik]

The last few weeks flew by and here we are: Our con is approaching and there is so much left to do! 

I have spent the last weeks frantically constructing the table, basing and painting houses, painting miniatures and discussing the rules with Driscoles and Doomhippie.

Driscoles came up with the basic rules. Cheers mate! 
Today, we met and had a test game. I was so excited that I did not take many pics and only one of them could be used:



I have made lots of pics while constructing the table. These will be posted as soon as I find the time, rest assured that there will be a lot to see.