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H.P. Lovecraft diorama

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  • Member since
    September 2005
  • From: Uppsala, Sweden
H.P. Lovecraft diorama
Posted by bultenibo on Tuesday, April 1, 2008 10:36 AM

I ususally post in the diorama and armor forums, but since I changed topic this time, I thought that it would be a good idea to post some pics here too.  

Here's my latest diorama that I've been working on the last couple of months. This time I was inspired by the American author H.P. Lovecraft and his horror short stories, especially the short story "Call of Cthulhu". His stories are usually set in 1920's America, which - according to Lovecraft - is a place where occult societies and cultists mingel with slimy monsters from outer space. In the diorama I tried to model a scene were some tentacle monster just has been summond to the Earth to raise hell.

The scale of the figures is 25mm.

Enjoy!

/Tony aka Bultenibo

  • Member since
    February 2007
Posted by PetarB on Tuesday, April 1, 2008 5:25 PM
Wow, I love it! I think the building look a bit too nice for a Lovecraftian story - they always seemed to be a bit more tatty to me, but the whole concept is fantastic. I can think of at least two Lovecraft stories which this diorama would illustrate... is there any one in particular which inspired you?
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  • Member since
    March 2004
Posted by Gerarddm on Tuesday, April 1, 2008 10:07 PM
I went to college in Providence RI, which is where Lovecraft wrote many of his tales. There was one particular home on Benefit Street featured in one of his stories that gave me the creeps every time I walked past it at night. The guy was a severely whack genius, on the order of Poe, but way more goth.
Gerard> WA State Current: 1/700 What-If Railgun Battlecruiser 1/700 Admiralty COURAGEOUS battlecruiser
  • Member since
    September 2005
  • From: Uppsala, Sweden
Posted by bultenibo on Wednesday, April 2, 2008 9:10 AM

Thanks for the nice comments!

I didn't build the diorama out of any particular short story, even though I had the police raid at Devils reef, from "The shadow over Innsmouth", in mind when I chose to put some cops into the dio. Actaully, I was more inspired by the Rollplaying game "Call of Cthulhu", based on Lovecrafts work, that I used to play when I was younger.

What I really would like to do is a diorama based on "The Haunter of the Dark", the scene in the end of the short story, with the old abandoned church and the winged creature leaving it. I would probably have to scratchbuild the church so it would fit the 18th century New England architectural style.

/Tony

  • Member since
    June 2004
  • From: The House of Blues Clues
Posted by Griffworks on Wednesday, April 2, 2008 7:49 PM

Excellent work on this.  Love the tentacle of one of the Old Ones coming thru the roof!  Very kewel poses on the characters, as well.   

"Call of Cthulhu!  Loved that RPG!  I played in three different game settings, for a total of seven gaming sessions for that particular RPG.  I had a different character in each one with all three going mad by the end of the stories.  One of them actually survived, tho was interred at Miskatonic Asylum.   

 

The greatest measure of a man is his children and what kind of people they are.

 

  • Member since
    December 2007
  • From: Louisville, KY.
Posted by Cosmic J on Thursday, April 3, 2008 10:12 PM

Now that is truly inspirational. Make a Toast [#toast]

Many years ago, I built a small vignette of Ghouls dancing in a cemetery by the moonlight. Called it "Pickman's Models". Used figures from that same line as yours, although my effort was not nearly so good.

Did you use model railroad buildings? If so, could you tell us what scale?

Like I said, you have inspired me. I'm now planning on building a dio of Old Man Whateley's barn, on the eve of The Dunwich Horror...

Thanks very much for sharing - JC

  • Member since
    September 2015
  • From: The Redwood Empire
Posted by Aaronw on Friday, April 4, 2008 12:03 AM

Great job, I've read almost all of Lovecrafts stories. The evil looking dude with the leprecon shoes is awesome, he looks like more trouble than the tenticles.

Are these figures still available? I remember seeing a neat line of lovecraft figures years ago.

 

  • Member since
    September 2005
  • From: Uppsala, Sweden
Posted by bultenibo on Friday, April 4, 2008 9:47 AM

Thanks for the nice comments!

Cosmic J: Building the Whately barn is a GREAT idea! I had just forgotten that scene, were "Young Whaletly" breaks free to roam the hills of Dunwich. Scratchbuilding a "Dark young of Shubniggurat" should take some time and effort though. I don't know if there are any kits available.

I found an artist by the name of Michael Komarck that has done some Lovecraft paintings, one of which pictures the ""Dark Young". Quite cool:

Here's the link to his homepage where some more paintings can be found:

http://www.komarckart.com/ccg_coc10.html

The buildings are Model railroad buildings. I think the scale is H0 (1/87?). The big building is a engine shed from an unknown brand. I modified it by takining half of the kit to build a upper floor. The huge doors for the engines (1/87) became smaller doors in the new scale (25mm), but I thought it worked out fine.

To the smaller house - also some Model RR kit - I had to build a new door  from balsa wood since the original were too small. I think that these kits are very useful when recreating historical scenes.

 Aaronw: I agree, that evil servent (with the not so modern shoes) is more disturbing than the 30 ft monster! I guess that's why the cop got him in his sight.

The figures are from two or three different brands. Both Grenadier miniatures and Ral Partha/RAFM produced some 25 mm led figure series back in the 80's and early 90's. Just googling around a bit, I found some pics of these series:

I think that one still can find some of the figures on e-bay. Those four that I uses were old ones that I bought some 15 years ago.

 

/Tony aka bultenibo

  • Member since
    April 2008
Posted by Adama 47 on Thursday, April 24, 2008 1:17 AM
Brilliant man. That's some of the best work I've seen in awhile! Love it! Great diorama.
  • Member since
    November 2007
  • From: North Carolina
Posted by u-boater on Friday, May 2, 2008 1:46 AM

Lovecraft rocks!!Make a Toast [#toast]

Personally,now that CG is all the rage in movies,I'd really like to see his

stories make it to the big screen.

Great work bringing an eerie piece of literature to life!

www.resinilluminati.com
  • Member since
    June 2004
  • From: The House of Blues Clues
Posted by Griffworks on Friday, May 2, 2008 10:44 PM

Man, that is some kewel Cthulhu artwork on the Michael Komarck website!  Thanks for posting that link. 

 

The greatest measure of a man is his children and what kind of people they are.

 

  • Member since
    July 2004
Posted by nihilist on Friday, January 9, 2009 5:03 PM
awesome job on the diorama. i wished i had those fantastic painting skills! here is a photo of a cthulhu resin model statue that i converted to look like the great one himself.
  • Member since
    July 2004
Posted by nihilist on Friday, January 9, 2009 5:07 PM
here is the correct photo. the shot of the front anyways.
  • Member since
    July 2004
Posted by nihilist on Friday, January 9, 2009 5:09 PM
here is my octopi version of the same kit.
  • Member since
    May 2005
  • From: Dublin Rep Of Ireland
Posted by terry35 on Saturday, January 10, 2009 1:24 PM

Wow!! [wow]OhYeah!! [yeah], stunning work there.

Terry.

  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: vernon hills illinois
Posted by sumpter250 on Saturday, January 10, 2009 2:49 PM

25mm, I assume, the height of the figures, which would make them 4.5mm=1 foot scale ( approx)  close enough for HO scale 3.5mm=1foot, and, yes, the doors would be too small, an HO scale figure would measure closer to 19mm, so a 25mm figure would be almost 8 feet tall in HO. "The Dunwich Horror" was made into a movie, but there was no real attempt to "show" the creature. I may be wrong but I believe "Re-animater", was also Lovecraft story that was made into a movie. I agree, with CG, Lovecraft's "visions" could be shared with the world.....an unsetteling thought, at the best, but a good source for models.

Lead me not into temptation ..................I can find it myself

  • Member since
    April 2008
  • From: Philadelphia PA
Posted by smeagol the vile on Wednesday, January 14, 2009 11:11 AM
This is the first dio I saw when I joined this forum, I apprecaite it so much more now I look at it.  You did a really good job on it.  The figures, especially the wierd old guy, are very well done.

 

  • Member since
    March 2010
Posted by Toby_Doggle on Saturday, March 20, 2010 9:05 AM

Nice work

Joined FSM because of your post.

Great work!

I've been working on Lovecraft dioramas for a few years now. We may be the only two, creating a genre?

These ones inspired by:

The Haunter Of the Dark-

The NameLess City-

The Shadow Over Innsmouth-

Unfortunately the Innsmouth one didn't work, because it was too large, trying to create an entire Wharf-front. My photo skills also make it a bit to cartoonish.

I'm currently working on a Lovecraft inspired Ramsey Campbell tale, Towers OF Yuggoth, with ATMOM after that, probably next year (2011).

http://imgur.com/7jig7.jpg

 

Tags: Lovecraft
  • Member since
    April 2008
  • From: Philadelphia PA
Posted by smeagol the vile on Saturday, March 20, 2010 9:37 AM

Those are so very cool!  Good job!

 

  • Member since
    March 2010
Posted by Toby_Doggle on Saturday, March 20, 2010 3:16 PM

Forgot that I also did one also  based on The Dunwich Horror, called The Summoning of Yog-Sothoth.

 

 

Tags: Lovecraft
  • Member since
    March 2004
Posted by Grimmo on Sunday, March 21, 2010 5:28 AM

mate! they are soo freaking cool! i've been into HP Lovecraft for the last 20years, and now just got some figures to paint. Wish i could find more!

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Sunday, March 21, 2010 7:09 PM

WOW!!!

Those are some sharp looking dioramas!!!

Thanks for bumping these to the top as I haven't been on this forum long enough to have seen them when they were originally posted.

Been reading Lovecraft for years. His stuff is spooky as @#@#. Always wanted to play CoC but everyone I suggested it to always griped that the game sucks because 'everyone dies or goes insane...'

Though Grenadier has been out of business for years many of the figures are still being made by RAFM:

http://www.rafm.com/

 

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    May 2009
  • From: San Jose, CA
Posted by hedorah59 on Friday, April 2, 2010 5:09 PM

Wow! Those dioramas look great!

Kirk

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