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Hello everyone
I thought I would spotlight a few castle-related custom
minifigures of mine that were recently put up on Brickshelf.
These are very old MOCs, dating back at least a decade, but
they've only recently had their pictures taken.
I've taken the liberty of describing some of the point of
interest to be seen, and some of the techniques used on
these custom figures. I hope this provides some interest.
The first image is of a pair of knights.
<http://www.brickshelf.org/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=1178824>
The banners, shields and lances are all custom painted by
hand using acrylic paints. While the how-to part of other
elements is fairly self-explanatory, people might be
interested in knowing how I created the banners.
They were painted freehand onto good-quality white writing
paper. The front and rear faces of each banner were painted
side by side, horizontally separated by a narrow rectangular
area. This region, when appropriately coloured, would
eventually become the sleeve by which the banner would be
attached to a Lego lance's shaft.
When complete, each banner was cut out and its back coated
with PVA adhesive (diluted 50% with water). The banner was
then carefully wrapped around a lance shaft so that the
front and rear faces aligned. The PVA stuck the sleeve to
the lance, and also held the two faces of the banner
together back to back. As the glue started to dry, gentle
bending of the paper produced permanent ripples, giving the
effect of the banner flapping in the wind.
The heraldry displayed by this pair is a mixture. The blue
and yellow shield shows a genuine English coat of arms taken
from a manuscript of circa 1540-1560, thought to be copied
from an even earlier work. The blazon is "Azure, three
hares in triangle, their ears conjoined in the fess point
(Harewell)" (Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, "The Art of
Heraldry" (1904, reprinted 1986 by Bloomsbury Books), pp.
416-417, plate LXXXV).
The second knight's black and white shield shows a beast not
to be found in the conventional histories of heraldry (!) -
the arctic pygmy hippopotamus. This rare northern animal is
best known today through the work of American artist Sandra
Boynton (and to me through the continued companionship of my
stuffed friend Edgar Allen Hippo). The blazon is "Party per
fess sable and argent crusilly countercharged, an arctic
pygmy hippopotamus rampant affronte cindre nostrilled
carnation".
This man's banner has an elongated strip known as a
"schwenkel", a mark of rank beyond simple knighthood. In
this case, it is in green, one of the two livery colours
(green and black) used to decorate the lance shaft.
The second image shows two figures less spectacular in
appearance than their social superiors.
<http://www.brickshelf.org/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=1178825>
This pair are sergeants in the service of the knight of the
arctic pygmy hippopotamus. They wear his green and black
livery. Their shields are in these same livery colours,
differenced with the man's badge of a silver cross-crosslet.
Note the painting of part of their helmets in livery
colours, a fashion common in Europe during the 14th and 15th
centuries. Note as well the late-medieval use of livery
colours and badges, as opposed to coats of arms, to
distinguish troops.
It was quite common for a knight's livery colours to be
completely unrelated to the colours seen in his coat of
arms. Similarly, the badge was often unrelated to any
charge on the arms. In this case, however, one livery
colour (black) is found on the arms, while the badge, a
cross crosslet, is also to be found there.
Thank you for taking the time to look. I hope this little
exercise in medieval whimsy has been enjoyable.
Regards,
Norbert Black
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