Fortress of power

[bishart]

I agree with most others here that the this castle is fantastic! The attention to detail and the creativity you two are putting into really shine through with your wonderful sculpting skills. I agree a bit with Eamon and Beana that the teeth aren't quite what I'd prefer to see in a Castle Grayskull but the sculpting work clearly shows that this was a deliberate and skillfull design choice, not a stumble in your execution. They definitely come across as stone pillars to me and look great.

Can't wait to see the finished product populated with Classics figures.

thanks alot man. i cant wait to get some guys on it either, right now its a soft clay so we cant put anything on it at all, haha were starting in on the rubber tomorrow!

[urbanmyth]

is he a big POP fan?

Oh, it's kind of an inside joke running through the podcasts and the forum. I believe it's been debated on the message boards but I haven't really followed that all of the through to know all of the details. Just based on the podcasts and a few snarky comments I've seen on the boards, he is pretty anti-POP and anti-gold paint on characters that don't fit this certain window he has created. It's kind of funny to listen to on the podcasts. .

[bishart]

Oh, it's kind of an inside joke running through the podcasts and the forum. I believe it's been debated on the message boards but I haven't really followed that all of the through to know all of the details. Just based on the podcasts and a few snarky comments I've seen on the boards, he is pretty anti-POP and anti-gold paint on characters that don't fit this certain window he has created. It's kind of funny to listen to on the podcasts. .

hahaha i see. ill have to catch up on the podcasts.

we were actually planning on sending some of these fortress' out to different artists and having them paint them up however they wanted and then holding an art show. could be cool. would love to see a gold one, with jewels or a pink flocked one. haha

[Eamon]

And glitter! lots of glitter!

[urbanmyth]

hahaha i see. ill have to catch up on the podcasts.

we were actually planning on sending some of these fortress' out to different artists and having them paint them up however they wanted and then holding an art show. could be cool. would love to see a gold one, with jewels or a pink flocked one. haha

Ha ha! I love it! Put me down for the pink N gold one!
(ok, I'm not an artist but I can't paint. . .and I'd totally buy and airbrush for this! )

[BadVermin]

I think how the teeth are handled is perfect, I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. The big set of teeth were missing from the original Mattel toy, but were visible and prominent on most of the artwork. The second set crop in the door nicely are a great homage to the Mattel castle. Plus since it's not uncommon for predators to grow two sets of canines, having both doesn't bother me in the slightest plus it makes it different than anything Mattel has done, in a good way.

I absolutely love that the castle isn't sitting on the ground but lifted up on rocks for the drawbridge, which adds a tremendous amount of play and display value. I also like how stylized and overtly chunky all of the elements are, particularly the tops of the towers. I could stare of these photos for hours, I'm counting the minutes until the next image is posted.

Amazing job.

[BadVermin]

I wanted to see what this Fortress might look like with some different paint jobs.

Please don't read much into the names.

----------Cartoon-----------------------------200X--------------------------Classic------------------------Art Book----------

[bishart]

I wanted to see what this Fortress might look like with some different paint jobs.

Please don't read much into the names.

----------Cartoon-----------------------------200X--------------------------Classic------------------------Art Book----------
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...min/Castle.jpg

WOW! flattered man! those look awesome! youre making our job so much easier!!!! im drooling over these! were starting on the mold tomorrow. but there will be pics!

can you email me a bigger version of that color scheme? love that image. going to be my new desktop! ben.bishart@gmail.com

[Eterniandreams]

I love the artbook look!

[kylun flac]

I'm in shock!
This is so AMAZING!!

[Havoc]

It is indeed amazing. Its hard to know just what to say about it.
The idea of having the removable walls is a clever idea, but it still feels like a wasted opertunity to not have an interior, especially with that base which could incorporate an actual dungeon in place of the old sticker.
But, it is indeed something else. I could echo what others have said about the extra canines, but I think its something everyone could live with.

Good luck with the project, I hope it all goes well

[Ulisses31]

Art Book color scheme for the Win!!!!!!!

[bishart]

wrapped up the main piece last night with some finishing touches before we start putting on the rubber for the mold... had to take some photos.

[Eterniandreams]

Coolness. Love the details.

[Eamon]

It's really coming along nicely! Loving the added details!

[Cringer_luvr]

WOW!!!
..............stuned silence in the aura of awesome that this is!!!

[Eamon]

Dying to see more!!

[Baena]

One thing I love about this, is you can almost see that it's been torn apart and rebuilt over and over.
Reminds me of the Wind Raider Box art where the Castle is crumbling apart from a blast.
Said this before and I'll just say it again after looking at the new pics...
I love the over all vibe of it, love the quality of the excecution. It's going to be amazing when it's all done!

[bishart]

One thing I love about this, is you can almost see that it's been torn apart and rebuilt over and over.
Reminds me of the Wind Raider Box art where the Castle is crumbling apart from a blast.
Said this before and I'll just say it again after looking at the new pics...
I love the over all vibe of it, love the quality of the excecution. It's going to be amazing when it's all done!

thanks! yeah its definitely seen its share of battles! there are about 5 different kinds of rocks in this thing, shown with diff texture, wood, bone, mud ( my favorite) and metal. its going to be really nice when its CAST and TOYLIKE. cant wait to set up a battle on this thing.

[Eterniandreams]

I have a question though. The He-man axe and shield in the tower entrance. I thought they were there just for picture purposes, but now I fear that they will be part of the cast.
I personally think that these weapons are much too recognizable as He-mans weapons to be just lying there. And it would be strange/ weird to have He-man in front of it.

Wouldn't more generic weapons like the ones that came with the guards or the weapons rack make more sense?

Personally, I would like to not even have weapons part of the cast there. I have plenty of weapons I could display there myself.

Just my personal opinion though. I can live with it when it is there

[kencoleman]

hahaha i see. ill have to catch up on the podcasts.

we were actually planning on sending some of these fortress' out to different artists and having them paint them up however they wanted and then holding an art show. could be cool. would love to see a gold one, with jewels or a pink flocked one. haha

Yes please. I wanna put one on a hill here in Ireland

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

What great detail. I love the scale of the castle. The bigger and more imposing the better. Can't wait to see more.

[kencoleman]

Yes please. I wanna put one on a hill here in Ireland

And Photoshop the crap out of it... Yeees

[bishart]

I have a question though. The He-man axe and shield in the tower entrance. I thought they were there just for picture purposes, but now I fear that they will be part of the cast.
I personally think that these weapons are much too recognizable as He-mans weapons to be just lying there. And it would be strange/ weird to have He-man in front of it.

Wouldn't more generic weapons like the ones that came with the guards or the weapons rack make more sense?

Personally, I would like to not even have weapons part of the cast there. I have plenty of weapons I could display there myself.

Just my personal opinion though. I can live with it when it is there

yeah they are part of the cast. we figured, it he-mans place, so why wouldnt his weapons be lying around. im sure there are more than one of those aces, shields and swords, because of all the colors mattel has put out.
also the reason they are integrated in, its because we like that stuff, drove us crazy as kids, trying to pluck those weapons or details out of the plastic, like the sculpted guns on joes, or the rats and worms on ninja turtles, we really thought that was cool.

changing WHICH weapons are in there may be a good idea though. we just imagined there wasnt only one shield, sword and axe. there are all the diff color ones.

[krosfyah]

This is awesome!

I think the classic colour scheme looks the best!

you know I would LOVE if you guys took inspiration from Eternia and made the moat area a basin to hold actual water or slime! but even if not this thing ROCKS!!