Mi-Go Brain Cylinder

"There was a harmless way to extract a brain, and a way to keep the organic residue alive during its absence. The bare, compact cerebral matter was then immersed in an occasionally replenished fluid within an ether-tight cylinder of a metal mined in Yuggoth, certain electrodes reaching through and connecting at will with elaborate instruments capable of duplicating the three vital faculties of sight, hearing, and speech. For the winged fungus-beings to carry the brain-cylinders intact through space was an easy matter. Then, on every planet covered by their civilisation, they would find plenty of adjustable faculty-instruments capable of being connected with the encased brains; so that after a little fitting these travelling intelligences could be given a full sensory and articulate life—albeit a bodiless and mechanical one—at each stage of their journeying through and beyond the space-time continuum."

- H.P. Lovecraft, The Whisperer in Darkness

 

The Mi-Go Brain Cylinder is one of the defining objects of the Mythos, only surpassed by the Elder Thing star-stones from "At the Mountains of Madness" and the infamous Necronomicon itself.  Matthew Paul Brennan started his version for a cultist investigator costume, and completed it just before Halloween.  Raise a toast to Mr. Brennan, and the unfortunate Henry Akely.

 

 

 

 

Mummified Head

For centuries, the natives of the Peruvian highlands would leave the bodies of their honored dead inside sheltered caves.  Thanks to the low humidity, the cadavers would naturally mummify, while the accompanying clothing and grave goods were perfectly preserved.  One unusual feature of those burials would puzzle scientists for years- the skulls were strangely elongated.  Researchers would eventually determine the unique shape was created by tightly binding the skulls of newborns.

Ojeart brings us this detailed reproduction of a skull from one those mummies.  It not only incorporates the stretched skull shape, but the ornate hair braiding found on many of the specimens.  Absolutely wonderful work. 

 

Great Cthulhu

Professional illustrator Mike Sass brings us this hefty Cthulhu idol.  Sadly, it appears the sculpt is no longer available.

Sweet fancy Moses.  This is the 619th Cthulhu idol post here on the blog.  Even with dupes, that's a mind-shattering number.

 

 

Notebook of Madness

There's an entire sub-genre of prop I call the Crazed Notebook.  It's page after page of hand-written insanity, filled with the disjointed ravings of a broken mind touched by the Mythos.  For that reason it's up there with copies of the Necronomicon in terms of difficulty.  There's so much sheer bloody work involved in making one that very few even attempt the project, and even fewer do it successfully.

Malchemistic93 over on Reddit has pulled it off. 

They've posted close to twenty pages of their project and it's insane, pun fully intended.  Unfortunately, efforts to make it commercially available have hit a brick wall because Egypt is his home country. 

 

 

Still Here

My apologies for the lack of updates, and my thanks for the expressions of concern.

Five months after open heart surgery my health is excellent.  I still have days where all I want to do is sleep, but they're few and far between.  Most of the time I find myself with more energy than I know what to do with.  A lot of that is no doubt thanks to my heart functioning better than it has in years, but other factors have surely contributed.  The biggest no doubt being the 50+ pounds I've lost since the heart attack.  

Unfortunately, while my physical health is outstanding my mental health still needs some work.  I'm an  upbeat person by nature, but I've been dealing with depression and anxiety since going into the hospital.  That included some pretty serious incidents of ICU delirium.  None of this is the least bit unusual. Spend a couple of weeks in the hospital, followed by over a month in rehab with limited mobility, and it's almost impossible to avoid some psychic damage.  What's frustrating is that it still takes time and effort to work through it, even when you know intellectually why it continues to be an issue.

Rest assured, I'll get back to doing regular updates soon. 

 

Fallout NCR Ration Pack

For years, Hero Rations has been catering to the World War II historical reenactor market with a highly regarded line of reproduction battlefield rations.  Now they've branched out into producing a line of field rations for Fallout factions.  The first is for the New California Republic, with Vault-Tec and Brotherhood of Steel variations in the pipeline.

 

 

Terminal Simulator

Over the last few years there's been an absolute explosion in the number of digital props.  I'm talking about software and online resources that allow you to recreate digital services like messaging, bulletin boards, texts, etc. for an online game.  The latest is this terminal simulator from Ties that Bind Gaming.  It allows you to give players an immersive computer experience recreating the look of classic text on black computer systems.  It's absolutely perfect for a Delta Green campaign.