Kitbash: Cyclops Balrog new pics 2026-03-23

[barad_dur]

2025-07-29; new pics page 1; replacing cyclops head with 3d printed Balrog Head, replaced 2 eyes with 1 eye from original head
2025-07-30; new pics page 1; refining neck, chest, abs and feet, added axe
2025-08-01; new pics page 1; shortened and narrowed jaw, repositioning left arm, refining left hand and feet
2025-08-02; new pics page 2; roughed in new left arm position and longer claws.
2025-08-03; new pics page 2; added spikes down the back, slimmed down left arm
2025-08-04; new pics page 2; blending in spikes, adding skin nodules, lengthened axe hand claws, primered
2025-08-10; new pics page 3; working on Hydra to face off against Cyrog
2025-08-14; new pics page 3; cut up the Hydra to prep for modifications
2025-11-24; new pics page 3; base coated the Cyrog
2025-12-08; new pics page 3; adding base colors
2026-03-11; new pics page 3; changing upper body color
2026-03-13; new pics page 4; refining jaw and neck
2026-03-22; new pics page 4; refining feet and lower leg segments
2026-03-23; new pics page 4; added more spikes, refined base of each spike, removed lower back hump
2026-03-25; new pics page 4; applied paint base coats

Cyrog.
Kitbash Blake Burroughs Cyclops : planned changes
Replace head with 3d printed Balrog Head (modified to be a cyclops with in eye)
Replace hooves with dragon like claws (new claws just roughed in)
Frontal pic below is deceiving, head looks much larger than in real-life; it is in very good scale with body

[tay666]

Interesting.

[barad_dur]

Thanks Trevor .
Your recent inventory of your kits inspired me to take a look at all my kits.So I found a number of kitbashes that I had started and now I am trying to get them going again . Thanks for your inspiration!

[bucketfoot-al]

Your ba .. bashing a Blake Burroughs Cyclops?!?

Nooooooooooooo!!!!!!!

Heh, just kidding!

I have one in my stash and you just reminded me that I need to build up some more of my cyclopses at some point! I got a lot of them, cuz that's my favorite Harryhausen character!

Curious to see what you do with this beast, it sounds like a real imaginative Bash, but then again, that's par for the course with you.

[bucketfoot-al]

Now that I am back on my 32" monitor, I can SEE what you did with that Cyclops ... and I SEE that you ... went "Full Sinbad" on him!!! (SEE what I did there?)

[barad_dur]

I like the sinbad cyclops, and Blake did a masterful job sculpting the character , but I never cared for the head.
Face Seemed a bit too cartoonish to me. So I am trying to give it a more sinister look.

The thighs and backside are really huge in comparison to the body, but I am not going to try and slim them down as I could never duplicate the fur texture.

[scuzzfink85]

You could pressed molded the cyclops head...

[barad_dur]

True, but since I do not care for the head and had no need for it, it was just as easy to cut the eye out and use it.

[bucketfoot-al]

True, but since I do not care for the head and had no need for it, it was just as easy to cut the eye out and use it.

True.Why create more work if this head's gonna be a one-time deal?

.... until of course you find that NEXT Cyclops Demon bash and THEN you go ... *DOH*!!!!

[barad_dur]

Refining neck,chest,abs and feet (lots of work left to do on the feet)
Added axe

[bucketfoot-al]

HOLY ****!!!!!!! Those ... FEET!!!! This creature is looking AMAZING Joe! The power, the sense of motion, the threatening, scary vibe - ITS ALL THERE ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is rapidly moving up the list of my favorite bashes - depending on what you do with the finished Daemon (ie put it in a Diorama with something else that *CLICKS*) it ... could ... go ... all ...the ...way!!!!

[Squidy53]

Hey Joe, whadda ya know? (Always wanted to say that)
Looking good. This is a real interesting bash as I'm a fan of both HH Cyclops and the Balrog. Never thought about melding the two though which I think is pretty much all you think about. You're right about the head and its cartoonishness - Be gone! To me this calls out for a little Satan tail. Will it be standalone? Or will there be a foe, Joe? Do you have a spare hydra with a neck lopped off to lay between them? Or a crab beast snapping nastily at his fetlocks? Just ignore me, I'm in one of my moods...

[barad_dur]

Thank you Vlad!
I am not sure about this guy being my best bash, but I sincerely appreciate the compliments.

Hey Steve , Thanks for the great ideas!!

I do like tails on my creatures. The challenge with a tail on this guy is that it might draw attention to his rather large hindquarters. However, I will definitely test fit a few tail options to see how they look.

The Hydra with a head, or couple?, chopped off is a fantastic idea! And I do have a Hydra kit which I have wondered what I was going to do with it.

Thank you for looking and providing the very helpful suggestions!!

[barad_dur]

Slimmed down the horns and jaws.
He has quite an underbite where lower jaw protrudes too far out. Going to reduce length of lower jaw and bring it back under upper jaw.
Worked on the feet a bit . More work to do.

[bucketfoot-al]

[barad_dur]

As usual, I thought this would be a simple and very quick bash and just replace the head, but no….
Shortened lower jaw, narrowed down jaws and face
Repositioning left arm for more aggressive pose
Modifying let hand fingers, and going to make the claws longer
Continuing to refine feet

[bucketfoot-al]

[Squidy53]

Hey Joe,
I like this build a lot.

I understand the feet are a work-in-progress but what is your reason for remaining with a two-toed foot? Do you like it or is it because it is so unusual/alien/bizarre? The two-toed foot is an arrangement in the animal world limited to the ostrich and a couple of extinct theropod dinosaurs. To me it looks biomechanically inadequate to provide the power and stability for such a robust biped. I understand a three-toed foot is pretty run-of-the-mill (my photo) but there is something about two toes that I just can't get used to. Hope you don't mind these questions.

Interestingly, I tried to get AI to render a foot with a toe pointing out from the rear of the heal creating a kind of "Y" footprint just to see how it looked. However, after a number of attempts it just couldn't do it because "The model is incapable of overriding its internal anatomical priors for three-toed bipedal creatures." The below is what it came up with 4 times - a very theropod foot. I'm conditioned to accept this easily. Anyhoo, grist for the mill.

[barad_dur]

Hey Steve,
there was no actual logic behind my picking 2 toes other than easier than sculpting three, and getting rid of the original hoofs, which would not let the creature stand without tipping over.

But wow!! The AI image with 3 theropod toes looks amazing real and much better !! I will add the extra toe for sure now - Thanks!!

Sure Wish I had your graphic skills as it would save me a ton of trial and error sculpting l

[Squidy53]

Sure Wish I had your graphic skills as it would save me a ton of trial and error sculpting l

I'm glad you found it useful.

You could do it easily Joe. No graphic skills on my part involved! Upon entering ChatGTP you would upload the picture you want to modify and instruct AI to, in this case, add a middle toe in keeping with the others and to not change any other aspect of the image. Or words to that effect. Easy peasy. It could prove very useful for you to prototype changes to a bash. It's also great for trying out paint schemes with precise color values. If you want any support on this drop me a PM. Otherwise ask ChatGTP to give you ideas and instructions.