Kitbash: Nazgul Dragon; Finished 2024-05-27

[barad_dur]

The head is still a WIP. No where near finished.
Please Keep the comments and feedback coming Steve!

[bucketfoot-al]

I don't wanna jinx you, so I'm not gonna make any predictions, BUT ... this one looks better to me (SIGNIFICANTLY) than the flying dragon of last year ... maybe its the pose - or the fact that all parts of the body of this one seem more in balance with each other ... now get cracking on painting that base! The suspense is killin' me!!! I wanna see the finished masterpiece!!!!

[barad_dur]

Hah, Well, sorry to disappoint you, but it’s not going to be finished soon…stay tuned for some drastic paint changes..

[bucketfoot-al]

Hah, Well, sorry to disappoint you, but it’s not going to be finished soon…stay tuned for some drastic paint changes..

[tay666]

…stay tuned for some drastic paint changes..

[bucketfoot-al]

Hah, Well, sorry to disappoint you, but it’s not going to be finished soon…stay tuned for some drastic paint changes..

[Heavy Metal Spike]

. . . stay tuned for some drastic paint changes.

• • • 

.

[barad_dur]

Hah, come on now fellas, you should certainly know how my bashes go by now

Reworking the head .
The original teeth are very small.
So I removed them and working on adding bigger teeth.
Still need to clean and sharpen up the new teeth.

Repaint of the back spikes is in progress as I messed them up during changes to paint scheme on the body.
Not ready to show pics of modified paint scheme yet.

BEFORE




NOW

[tay666]

Hah, come on now fellas, you should certainly know how my bashes go by now

That's why I was laughing.

[bucketfoot-al]

Good call on enlarging the teeth! I never was sure from your photos whether there were any teeth inside the jaw, they were so small!

[Squidy53]

Hi Joe. I appreciate your encouragement to give feedback. For my part I'm really clear about my role in this.

The composition and pose of the dragon is threatening and imposing, achieving the build's goals extremely well. The color scheme is likewise extremely effective with a great use of complimentary colors.

Are the spikes to remain fundamentally yellow? I think this is an improvement over white/ivory.

The head is on the smaller size and my ideas run to how it might hold its own against the very impressive remainder of this beast:

• Your texturing of the body and wings serves the build really well but I'm wondering as a viewers' gaze is drawn to the head whether it would benefit from a finer, more detailed treatment?

• Perhaps the coloring could become lighter as it approaches the jaw tip.

• Eyes transmit a great deal about the nature of an animal. What about making the eyes larger, (hence the below pic) giving them the opportunity to contribute to its character more?

• How about a line of forward-curving horns running midline under the jaw? Alternatively, a line on each side edge of the bottom jaw. In each case the largest spike would be at the jaw tip.

Grist for the mill. No need for a reply.

[barad_dur]

Steve, Thank you for the very detailed feedback and helpful suggestions!

The spikes are a bit too bright yellow at the moment and I pan to tone them down a bit, but they will not be white.

I am still working the head so I will see if I can add a bit more detail and visual interest to it!
I plan to paint the head a very reddish color and the head horns black.
Hopefully red and black head paint scheme will help achieve your great suggestion about making the head a more center of focus.

The challenge with making the eyes larger is that it changes the perceived size and scale of the dragon.
The bigger I make the eyes, the smaller the dragon looks overall.
And I want the dragon to look huge.

I really like the color scheme on the wings, and I like the brown body scheme, but I don’t think they are working together.
The wings just don’t seem integrated correctly with the body.
So one of them has to be changed….

I find wings difficult to paint so I do not want to mess with them since I think the look pretty cool now.
So I am working on the making the body color more reddish and hopefully that will tie the wings and body together better.
I also plan to add more black to the body colors to help tie it in with the black wing tips.

Thanks again for the very detailed suggestions and positive feedback!!

[bucketfoot-al]

Well Joe, very well thought out comments.

Must admit my heart skipped a beat when you started talking about possibly changing the wings! I think you're making the right call in tailoring the colors of the body to match the wings.

Also, very astute commentary about how the size of the eyes makes the entire figure look. I will have to remember that for my own future reference!

[tay666]

I really like the color scheme on the wings, and I like the brown body scheme, but I don’t think they are working together.
The wings just don’t seem integrated correctly with the body.
So one of them has to be changed….

I disagree. I think they go great together.
But, it isn't my muse you are following, and you have to do what makes you happy.
I am glad that if you are going to change something, it will be the body, and not the wings.

[Squidy53]

I disagree. I think they go great together.
But, it isn't my muse you are following, and you have to do what makes you happy.
I am glad that if you are going to change something, it will be the body, and not the wings.

Agreed.

In regards eyes, on reflection I can see I was off base with my suggestion. Lean and mean is the go.
Dragons I like otherwise known as more grist:

[barad_dur]

Thanks for the reference pics Steve!

I hear you guys.
I am not changing the body color scheme as drastically as I first thought.
Just put a black center line down the back , and working on making the brown body a bit more reddish.

[bucketfoot-al]

Great work Joe! I would not make the body any darker. I think the contrast is perfect right now, especially with the spikes on the back. Those came out looking great!

[barad_dur]

Thanks Vlad!
I still have to paint the head, underbelly armor, and base .
Hopefully I can finish the painting this Friday, and then pack up all my kits this weekend for Wonderfest trip.

[tay666]

Hopefully I can finish the painting this Friday, and then pack up all my kits this weekend for Wonderfest trip.

Sounds like we have the same hopes and dreams

Though, I think I will be doing some last minute painting this weekend too. [pout]

[barad_dur]

Good luck finishing your kits Trevor!

I started working paint for the head, under neck and under belly.
I hope to tie the underside colors to the wing colors.