The Upside Down on a shelf
馃嚞馃嚙 ENGLISH
The Upside Down on a shelf
Stranger Things hit out of nowhere, landing a heavy punch straight into our sentiment for the 80s. Even though in Poland back then you could only dream about RPGs and BMX bikes - the magic still works.
A small observation I've always loved about this show: the kids of Hawkins don't invent names for their monsters. They take them from the Dungeons & Dragons manual, because that's how you tame fear - once something has a name, weaknesses and stats, it can be beaten. Demogorgon and Vecna are, after all, names from their tabletop sessions; only later did they become tangible nightmares. In a way my figures close that loop: a monster from a show that pretends to be a monster from a game comes back to the table as a physical object.
It came down to two models. Vecna mid-curse, clawed hand raised and the Creel grandfather clock behind his legs - a massive piece, 16 cm tall, with vines wrapping around literally everything. And the Demogorgon - short at 8 cm but wide as trouble, with its petal-head open and a base made of the porous growths of the Upside Down. That base was a difficulty level of its own: dozens of tiny holes where resin loves to hide after washing, and supports that had to come off with tweezers, a magnifying glass and a word I won't put in print.
Both models are finished in aged copper with exactly one color apiece: red eyes on Vecna, the red inside of the Demogorgon's head. Monochrome metal turns them into exhibits from a museum that shouldn't exist, and a single shot of red works like it does in nature - bright means dangerous. While painting, I ran a test and played "Running Up That Hill". Nothing happened, both figures are still standing. I consider that a quality benchmark ;)
Both pieces are on Allegro now. And just in case, I've swapped the lights at home for LEDs - they're said to flicker less.
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馃嚨馃嚤 POLSKI
Druga Strona na p贸艂ce
Stranger Things uderzy艂o znienacka, wal膮c ci臋偶ko w nasze sentymenty o latach 80. Chocia偶 w Polsce w tamtych latach o grach RPG i BMX-ach mo偶na by艂o jedynie marzy膰, magia wci膮偶 dzia艂a.
Ma艂a obserwacja, kt贸ra zawsze mi si臋 w tym serialu podoba艂a: dzieciaki z Hawkins nie wymy艣laj膮 nazw dla potwor贸w. One je bior膮 z podr臋cznika do Dungeons & Dragons, bo tak si臋 oswaja strach - jak co艣 ma nazw臋, s艂abo艣ci i statystyki, to mo偶na z tym wygra膰. Demogorgon i Vecna to w ko艅cu imiona z ich sesji RPG, dopiero potem sta艂y si臋 namacalnymi koszmarami. W pewnym sensie moje figurki domykaj膮 to ko艂o: potw贸r z serialu, kt贸ry udaje potwora z gry, wraca na st贸艂 jako fizyczny obiekt.
Pad艂o na dwa modele. Vecna w pozie kl膮twy, z uniesion膮 szponiast膮 d艂oni膮 i zegarem Creel贸w za nogami - masywna bry艂a, 16 cm wzrostu i pn膮cza oplataj膮ce dos艂ownie wszystko. Oraz Demogorgon - niski, 8 cm, za to szeroki jak problem, z rozchylon膮 g艂ow膮-kwiatem i podstaw膮 zrobion膮 z a偶urowych naro艣li Drugiej Strony. Ta podstawa to by艂 osobny poziom trudno艣ci: dziesi膮tki ma艂ych otwor贸w, w kt贸rych 偶ywica lubi zostawa膰 po p艂ukaniu, a supporty trzeba by艂o zdejmowa膰 p臋set膮, z lup膮 i s艂abszym s艂owem na ustach.
Oba modele wyko艅czy艂em w postarzanej miedzi z jednym kolorem na krzy偶: czerwone oczy u Vecny, czerwone wn臋trze g艂owy u Demogorgona. Monochromatyczny metal robi z nich eksponaty z muzeum, kt贸re nie powinno istnie膰, a pojedyncza czerwie艅 dzia艂a jak w naturze - jaskrawe znaczy gro藕ne. Testowo pu艣ci艂em przy malowaniu "Running Up That Hill". Nie zadzia艂a艂o, obie figurki stoj膮 dalej. Uznaj臋 to za wyk艂adni臋 jako艣ci pracy ;)
Obie sztuki s膮 ju偶 na Allegro. A lampki w domu na wszelki wypadek wymieni艂em na LED-y - podobno rzadziej migaj膮.
