The Immortal Nosferatu: The Bird of Death.

 Hi everyone, I hope you're doing well!

A while ago, I came across an action figure of my favorite horror movie character, 'Nosferatu.' And when I say 'Nosferatu,' I mean the original version, performed by the incredible Max Schreck in the 1922 silent German Expressionist horror film directed by F. W. Murnau. Below is a still from that film, featuring Max Schreck as the evil Count Orlok.

 

Now, below are two images of the action figure I mentioned. Although I must say it was done with great eye for detail, I don't think it truly captures the 'spirit' of the film. Somehow, this Count looks too clean to me, and -in a way-  too 'well fed' and 'alive' to be Max Schreck!

 

 

In fact, seeing him on the below pic, I'd say he looks a bit like your average old neighbor, on his way to fetch his morning newspaper from the porch (sort of).

 

As it happens, I modeled a 'Nosferatu' figure of my own three years ago. It was actually one of my very first miniature 'shadow box' projects, as I was a 'newbie' in the miniatures world at the time. I remember seeing the film a thousand times to get 'in the mood,' and listening non-stop to a music score composed by the French band Art Zoyd for a re-release of the film. I love the Art Zoyd music score because it makes the film even more scary.

The idea behind 'my' Nosferatu was to capture the scrawny appearance of the Count, the surreal and nightmarish atmosphere of the film, as well as that lifeless, cold, fish-like gaze achieved by Max Schreck, and which made him such an incredible actor. And, honestly, I think I did turn out pretty well. In any case, it got my 'Nosferatu' shadow box published in the October 2018 issue of American Miniaturist Magazine with a whopping 5 page article!

That's all for now, folks. Thanks for visiting, keep safe, and see you next time!

© José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author. The "Nosferatu action figure" pictures are copyright of Mego Action Figures, used here for illustration purposes only.

 

Rust & Steel HQ: The House in the Corner.

Hi everyone, I hope you're doing well!

An old, empty dolls house beams in a corner of the living room. It's one of several I have, that look dilapidated and abandoned, and that's exactly what I like about them! I bought them all because of their looks, and they serve as a stage for many a photo shoot.

Yet the old house looks very much alive! That's due to the added string of lights, which meanders through the house like a luminous serpent. Took me just a few seconds to do, but the result is beautiful. In the world of dolls houses and miniatures, I guess the trick is to be happy doing whatever one wants to do. 

 

That's all for now, folks. Thanks for visiting, keep safe, and see you next time!

© José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author.

 

Small Projects: A Humble Plunger.

Hi everyone, I hope you're doing well!

Here I am with another very small project I want to share with you. Sometimes I buy a cheap miniature item, and work on it to 'upgrade' it to something nicer, just for the fun of it. This time it was a drain plunger.

 

Although I have to say the original miniature was already quite true to life (rubber suction cup and wooden handle), the cup's color was quite off: the rubber was transparent and showed a very fragile-looking, light pink hue; nothing like your average old plunger. So I disassembled it, painted the cup inside out in a more familiar color, and made it seem used and robust. I also 'fixed' the wooden handle by making it 'aged', cos originally it looked as if it had just left the Walmart.

I hope you like the result. It was fun to do, and now I can add it to one of my old miniature kitchens. You never know it may be needed!

That's all for now, folks. Thanks for visiting, keep safe, and see you next time!

© José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author.

 

Rust & Steel Headquarters in Autumn.

The autumn afternoon sun peeks through the cracks in the blinds at the "Rust & Steel headquarters," engulfing everything in a golden glow. It's my favorite time of the year when it comes to the sunlight; it's warm, soft, and cozy. It sweeps through the room like a search light, highlighting whatever crosses its path.

I love to follow the beams, and take pictures of the things being highlighted with their magical light. And I have to be quick at it too, because they fade as soon as they came, leaving behind a beautiful silence.

 

That's all for now, folks. Thanks for visiting, keep safe, and see you next time!

© José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author.

 

Ghosts That Dwell In Dolls Houses: Jane.

They say that every old house has a resident ghost, and to be honest, I think the same goes for old dolls houses. And considering that I have quite a few very old dolls houses, well.. you can figure that they must host a whole plethora of spirits! 

Meet Jane, aka "Jane of the Attic", or "The Doll That Lives Upstairs". I've introduced Jane to you before, as part of the "Attic" series. Jane is actually a doll that houses a ghost; the ghost of an old lady.

Not ready to exchange this world for the next, the old lady passed away, but not quite, as she decided to cling to her favorite and beloved doll "Jane".  Ever since, the old lady appears regularly in the house where she spent her earthly life, manifesting herself sometimes as "Jane", sometimes as her own self, making this a quite complex and confusing apparition.   

 

That's all for now, folks. Thanks for visiting, keep safe, and see you next time!

© José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author.

Ghosts That Dwell In Dolls Houses: The Lady with the Vacuum Cleaner.

They say that every old house has a resident ghost, and to be honest, I think the same goes for old dolls houses. And considering that I have quite a few very old dolls houses, well.. you can figure that they must host a whole plethora of spirits!

One of them is what I call the "Lady with the vacuum cleaner", or "Vacuum cleaner lady" . This apparition is seen wearing what looks like Edwardian servants clothing, which places her in the period 1901-1920, or shortly thereafter.  

Although she can be quite frightening to whomever may see her, she's actually totally harmless. She just goes faithfully about the business of cleaning the house, even though it has been uninhabited for many years. Perhaps, in her world, she still sees the house as it once was. Who knows..

Above: image of Edwardian servant.

That's all for now, folks. Thanks for visiting, keep safe, and see you next time!

© José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author.

An Old Fire Extinguisher.

Hi everyone, I hope you're doing well!

Here I am with a small project I want to share with you. Sometimes I buy a cheap miniature item, and work on it to 'upgrade' it to something special, just for the fun of it. This time it was a metal fire extinguisher.

As you can see here below, it was quite basic, so something needed to be done to it, to make it more fitting of my style!

So I cut off the rigid (metal) hose and nozzle, removed the sticker wrapped around it, and worked on the paint with the dremel. I added authentic 'instructions stickers' specially printed for me by Rebecca Micallef, then kind of half destroyed them, and added real rust powder and weathering to give the fire extinguisher that old, dilapidated look that I love to give to all my miniatures! Finally, I added a new flexible hose and nozzle, and weathered them as well.

 

I think it came out pretty nice, I must say! This fire extinguisher looks like it has been rusting away in an abandoned factory or something. Yeah, it definitely has a life of its own now!

 

That's all for now, folks. Thanks for visiting, keep safe, and see you next time!

© José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author.