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Friday, October 09, 2015

Cronos Parasite Engine Conversion Complete! (Flesh Friday)

I posted my thoughts on the Cronos Parasite Engine model a while back. The summary was that, though I love everything about the Talos/Cronos kit and all Our Man Jes did with it, when I hear the description of the Cronos as a soul-sucking parasite, I picture something far worse than the be-tentacled-but-faceless existing Cronos plastic model.

I picture an insatiable, avaristic horror: a gaping, needle sharp maw stretched wide as it hungers for souls. I picture this:
A twisted, dangerous, grasping thing. A soul vaccuum. A monster from under your bed. An utter nightmare from your darkest dreamings.

So I built it, and I'm pretty damn happy with the results. Here's a rough, 360 tour:

When I was coming up with the concept for this model, I wanted to push the soul-sucking angle. I wanted it to have not just one gaping, soul-sucking mouth, but other mouths growing from its body.
I dialed it back a bit, adding one additional one to the chest...
...but I also tried to model gaping maws on the thing's palms, as if they, too, were weapons. They didn't turn out 100% as I was intending, but they are still pretty horrific.
I really like the creepy way that the hands turned out in general, and they were inspired by the massive, twisted flesh gauntlet I gave my converted Grotesque Aberation.
To keep the family resemblance and link the Parasite Engine back to my other instances of Cronos parasites in the coven, I incised the Cronos with some sick tribal tatts that would be well at home in your average frat house:
They were also intended to cover the empty sockets along the side of the talos torso: one more place where I tried to obliterate the majority of the mechanical components on the Cronos to even further differentiate it from the Talos.

Last, but not least: the soul pit on the creature's back, popularly nicknamed "The Punchbowl of souls"! this was reverse-stamped from the Spirit Vortex (?) that comes with the Cronos model.
It's kind of tough to get at with that spine arcing up over it, but hopefully you get the idea. My concept is that once the Cronos sucks the soul out of a victim, the soul descends into the punchbowl through the gribbly bit at the end of the spinal column. I played with the idea of modeling a soul on the end of it, but Brother Pink told me it would look too busy, and I think that was wise.
The only other thing I really need to do is create a victim model, which is levitating in front of the Cronos, right in the middle of having his soul sucked out >:)

So let me know what you think of this nightmare engine, and be sure to check back next Flesh Friday for another addition to the Big Happy Cronos Parasitic Family!

16 comments:

  1. F@&King glorious! Seriously dude you have outdone yourself. I absolutely love it. What a great idea fantastically realised. I like it as is and don't think you need to add the victim. I almost feel that would take away from the creepiness and terror of the Cronos somehow

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    1. Thanks brother!
      Interesting thought about the victim. I have this penchant for turning anything into a diorama, if the base is big enough. I never considered that the victim would do anything but add to the model. I'm glad you said something :)

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  2. Dude....i can't...this is a center piece model. It is gorgeous beyond comprehension.

    I agree with nafnaf. The piece is strong and doesn't need additions. It's amazing.

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    1. Well, if you and NafNaf are agreed, then it's not happening. The Cronos shall continue to ride alone!

      And thanks for saying that it strikes you as a center piece model. When I'm in the trenches working on something, I get so used to looking at it that it no longer impresses me. When I finished the Cronos, I was still pretty happy about it, but the excitement had bled off. Then I took it into the local GW yesterday to show the dudes. It was primed grey at that point, and one of the blackshirts asked me if the model was 3rd party...as in, had I bought it somewhere else. I pointed out all the cronos/talos bits, then showed him these pictures as proof I'd just greenstuffed it.

      All that is to say that I really appreciate all of this praise. You all help me see the model through new eyes!

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  3. Holy christ. That's fantastic! I have to say, on top of everything else, those hands are incredibly well sculpted. Superb work, sir.

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    1. Sweet! Thanks, Jeff, particularly since the hands are pretty distended, so I'm happy to hear that they still work for people. If you look closely at the backs of them, one is less incredible than the other, but shhhhh....

      I'm thinking I'll try sculpting more hands like this to represent the Talos Flesh gauntlets.

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  4. everything about this model build wails terror. just like it stalked out of a HP Lovecraft novels pages and into the mind that eventually gave birth into the material realm.....

    in other words i agree with mr pink it'd look too busy, also agree with nafnaf :) doesn't need the soul leeched victim

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    1. Stalked out of HP Lovecraft!? Music to my ears! That is the perfect compliment for a model that's meant to be a nightmarish horror >:D

      Also, thank you for the vote for no victim.

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  5. Punchbowl of souls is too frivolous. Should be the 'pool of madness' or something. Fantastic work. Having a tortured victim writhing before it would be the icing on the cake.

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    1. Hrm. Maybe I should magnetize the victim so he could be easily removed from the base...?

      And thank you for the "Pool of Madness". I agree that Punchbowl of Souls is frivolous, but I assume that, from looking at the model, people know that he means business >:)

      Another possible name was "Soul Pit" or "Soul Trap." Maybe "Pit of Madness"? Has a bit of a Lovecraft vibe to it (from At The Mountains Of ~).

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    2. 'The Charnel Pit of Gibbering, Cyclopean Soul Evulsion' :) You could use the 'Remove Soul' MTG card pictures as inspiration for the victim.

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  6. Googly Moogly! Now THAT is how you do a Cronos. Great to see the beasty completed!

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  7. Where is the Mouth from?

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    1. Very simple: it's a plastic pink horror head turned upside down, with the eyes chopped off.

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