Reflections.

He looked at his battered reflection in the old, weathered mirror, and couldn't believe he was still alive, considering the damage he had sustained. Well, that is, as much as a droid like him could be considered to be 'alive.' Was he, really? He thought about this quite regularly, and even more so now that he spent so much time alone. For sure, he was capable of conscious, autonomous thought, and felt emotions like joy, affection, fear, and sadness. All things associated with 'being alive.' But still..

He turned on the remaining light bulb in his left eye socket, and a warm glow illuminated the mirror. If anything, he thought, he wasn't capable of dreaming. Whenever he went into 'sleep mode' to allow his systems to get updates, upgrades, and the like, he never dreamed of anything. He resented that, in a way, because he knew that humans dreamed -even those who believed they didn't- , and that at least some animals like dogs did dream as well. As he imagined it, it was like being awake while being asleep. So maybe the ability to dream was actually the ultimate manifestation of being alive...

Someone once said to him: "they can take away everything from you, my friend, but nobody can take away your dreams. Those are yours and yours alone; your biggest treasure!"  He looked again at the mirror reflection of his battle damaged, metal alloy body, and thought: "But what if one doesn't have them? Does that mean that, when it comes to it, one has nothing left to lose?"

 

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 Special: Battle Damaged Droid.

Hi everyone, I hope you're doing well!

Here's a little, very fun project I did last night. I had been working on a recently acquired dolls house during the day, so I decided to relax a bit at night by doing this, totally different, little thingie you see here.

 

 

 

I've loved sci-fi films ever since I was a kid and, Star Wars aside, my favorites always have been the 1950's vintage ones. You know, those old, black & white flicks that always seem to start with a nuclear explosion, leading to the creation of some evil mutant creature that turns their anger at unsuspected civilians. The monsters in those films are usually actors dressed up in a costume, so no computer generated stuff as is common today. Perhaps my favorite 'monster maker' of that era is the late Paul Blaisdell of 'Invasion of the Saucer Men' and 'The She-Creature' fame, films that have since achieved a 'cult' status with many sci-fi fans.

 

Blaisdell was incredibly creative, and testimony to that is the fact that he could come up with new 'monsters' while working under a very huge time pressure, and for very little money (for some of his work he was actually never paid). The man's creativity and resourcefulness are definitely a big inspiration to me! 

 

 

 

Back to my own little robot; it was something I've been wanting to do for a while. I have several 'retro' robots in my collection, and seeing them triggered the desire to make a miniature one of my own. So I gathered some odd pieces here and there, worked on them, and put this little fellow here together. As you can see, he's seen better days, missing many parts, and being kind of rusty. But nevertheless he still retains a certain cuteness and personality, which is quite something for a robot, or 'droid' as is more common language today.

 

 

 

I'm not sure yet how I'm going to use it, but chances are that he'll end up being part of some larger, sci-fi themed project! In any case, I'm very happy how he turned out, and to be honest, I already became kind of attached to him!

 

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.

Tales from the Attic: "Double barrel" Maggie.

Hi everyone, I hope you're doing well!

 

The frail Old Lady, with her uncertain gait, wasn't any of that when it came to aiming her trusty 'double barrel' at the sinister creatures from the swamp, should they come at night, as they usually did, and dare to trespass...

In her world, nothing was more vital for survival than a generous supply of ammo to feed her rifle. The monstrous head of the devilish boar that she kept in the attic as a trophy, was a silent testimony to her courage, her shooting skills, as well as to the need to stay vigilant at all times... Especially so when the sun went down, and darkness and mist engulfed the heather fields around the house. Because that was the time when the swamp creatures usually began searching for food...

 

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 HQ: A Beatiful Old Wardrobe.

Hi everyone, I hope you're doing well!

One of the latest additions to my collection of miniatures is this wonderful, 'shabby' wardrobe in 1:12 scale.

Normally new acquisitions go into storage almost immediately after arrival, until they find their place in a new project. Yet that is a very slow process, and therefore items remain hidden from view for a very long time!  In order to be able to enjoy them anyway, I decided to put the most interesting among them on display, and swap them from time to time, to give all a fair chance to grab the spotlight.

Next to the wardrobe you can catch a glimpse of an all metal 'panzer wagon' which I designed and built from scratch. A blog about that unique project is long overdue, but will be done for sure!

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 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.