Thursday 17 August 2017

CXXXVI. Black Phillip

I'll be roleplaying a witch character in a Pathfinder adventure soon, so I thought I'd convert and paint miniature representations of her and her goat familiar. I'm still searching for a suitable witch (if you know of any interesting female witch minis, or something that could be converted into a middle-aged witch, I'm open to suggestions). I had material for the goat at home, so I got to work. 

"Wouldst thou like to live deliciously?"

It used to be a plastic toy. Came in the same bag of farm animals that serve as leg donors for my misshapen deer. It doesn't scale well with 28-30mm figures, being way larger than a goat should be. However, for use in an RPG its actual size is of little importance, and I can get even away with using it as a Minor Demon in Frostgrave. I did try to find a goat miniature that would actually be to scale, but unfortunately none of the sculpts I came across caught my eye.
There was plenty to do. First, I cut out a section of its body, since it looked too long. I replaced its poor wobbly horns with a proper pair from plastic Beastmen. Most time went on sculpting all the shaggy fur. Since this goat is a buck I added the appropriate parts of anatomy.
Black Phillip and Zora the Hag. Here it's visible how huge the beast actually is.
The inspiration for even picking a goat for my character's familiar came from The Witch (2015), a beautifully atmospheric, slow-burn period horror piece directed by Robert Eggers. Of course, the film in turn drew its inspiration from folklore... Anyway, there is a goat in the film, named Black Phillip, who plays a part in the supernatural events plaguing his owners - an unfortunate puritan family. If you like the kind of horror that doesn't rely on abundance of jump-scares or gratuitous gore, I heartily recommend this film.

15 comments:

  1. She's an oldie but goodie, might be suitable for your witch.

    http://solegends.com/rsadd/add11/index.htm

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  2. Or, if you're looking for something more conservative, I recommend the gypsy from the old Talisman range.

    http://solegends.com/cittal/cittaldungeon.htm

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  3. I loved this movie, and your mini looks gorgeous!

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  4. Wonderful work, the conversion works really well and you've created a really evocative piece!

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  5. Red Box Games has a fair few female spellcasters that could do the trick. I've been using their Magda from Afar as a Witch for Frostgrave. They're truer scale than GW products, though, so she'd possibly be a bit small next to Black Phillip.

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  6. Absolutely love that movie, I much prefer my horror suspense and slow build to jump scare. And that is an awesome miniature :)

    Middle age witch miniature... I'm not sure, maybe you could use something like Hasslefree Miniatures Boudi, Lenore or Miranda as a base to work from?

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    Replies
    1. Moments after posting that comment I saw some of the pre-orders for Privateer Press' Hordes Grymkin line on a miniatures store page.

      Maybe you could use something like The Dreamer, Witchwood or Twilight sisters.

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  7. A goat as a familiar. I like that idea and Black Phillip looks wonderful. My last Witch had a Tortoise familiar and was a lot of fun to play.

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  8. The before and after pictures of the goat shows just how well you converted (and painted) him. Nicely done Ana! :)

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  9. Thanks, everyone! And cheers for all the witch miniature suggestions, they are quite helpful.

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  10. This is the greatest thing I have ever seen. I love it in the move, I love it here! Can't tell anymore if the sculpting or the paint job is better.

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