Uncharted Territory

The Joelsons are a husband and wife team of photographers who've worked on a plethora of live-action video game projects.  That includes a teaser for the Uncharted video game franchise that's filled with some exquisite props crafted by Gary Barth.  The decoder and phurba dagger are particularly nice.

For Those Who Hunt the Night

This baker's dozen of vampire killing stakes comes to us from New Zealand artist Michael Belanger-Taylor. They're made from EVA foam with a latex skin. While intended for LARP use they would be ideal for pulling off a hysterical practical joke on actual vampire hunters.

The Dwarven Gate

Propmaker Anders Lerche brings us the dwarven gate he created for the Faraos Cigarer shop in Copenhagen.  It's carved from foam and finished with a skin of fiber cement.

Great Cthulhu

And by "great" I mean in every sense.  This is a work in progress look at Lee Joyner's massive Cthulhu sculpt.  He posted additional video of the first resin casting from the finished maquette earlier today on his Instagram feed.

 I really like this sculpt.  The piece will look amazing when the contrast between the smooth body and highly textured head is brought out by a final paint job.  He hasn't given exact dimensions, but I believe the maquette is roughly a meter in height.

A post shared by Lee Joyner (@joynerstudio) on Jul 30, 2017 at 8:06pm PDT

Tentacled Horror

This bizarre betentacled creature is brought to us by Karen Main and James Sizemore. 

Up, Up, and Away

After just one day the "Back to the Mountains of Madness" Kickstarter from the Cthulhu Project has already blown through its funding goal. Now would be a good time to point out it also includes two different re-issues of their earlier Cthulhu sculpts featuring custom paint jobs. They're available as pledge options along with the Elder Thing and deliciously grotesque albino penguin.

Denizens of Black Fire Pass

It's well over six months away, but the "Black Fire Pass" Warhammer LARP in Russia is already shaping up to be quite the event.  Head over to their Facebook page and scroll down for some glorious costumes, props, and sets.  The event photos below come to us from Dima Tereshchenko, Mariya Kondrashova, and Raven, respectively.

Back to the Mountains of Madness

As a screaming fanboy of H. P. Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness" you can imagine my reaction to the brand new Kickstarter from Alberto Cano of the Cthulhu Project. As part of the Make/100 program he's offering up two beautiful sculptures inspired by the story- an Elder Thing, and one of the disturbing albino penguins that feature prominently in the story. The gifted Marta Lopez sculpted the masters for both figures, and hand paints each one in the limited edition.

As always, I feel it necessary to point out that Mr. Cano has a proven track record on Kickstarter. Over the years he's managed multiple projects successfully, handily avoiding the curse that afflicts far too many Mythos efforts. Most importantly, he keeps patrons updated on the progress of his projects.

If you have the slightest hesitation about signing on to this effort I would suggest looking through the comments to his previous Kickstarters.  Browsing through his other projects will show steady body of repeat participants in each project, the surest sign of a happy backer.

And just look at that penguin!  How can you resist a trip Back to the Mountains of Madness?

Metalhead

Believe it or not, this high tech helmet from designer Brian Cargile is made from EVA foam.  It still surprises me how a soft, yielding material can reproduce the hard-edged look of plastic and metal in the hands of a skilled artist. 

Book of Nightmares

Jason Soles returns to our pages with his Nightmare sketchbook.  I love the organic textures of the scales and "claws".

From the Blasted Heath

A specimen of the curiously phosphorescent dust from the "blasted heath" west of Arkham.  Recovered from the special collections of Miskatonic University by Corwin Ravencroft.

LARP Armory

Being a senior citizen, I can remember when "realistic" LARP weapons were heat pressed pipe insulation.  This level of work from Sander Propworx, with detailed wood graining and realistic metal finishes on the blade, was simply unimaginable.  What a time to be alive.

Troll Foundlings

The talented Alice Tochylovska returns to our pages with these troll foundlings being nursed in a bath of ethereal liquid.

Grave Hag

This amazingly detailed recreation of a Grave Hag from the "Witcher 3" video game comes to us from makeup artist Francesco Sanseverino.  Can you imagine running into this monstrosity on a dark street?

The Wasteland

The organizers of the annual Wasteland Weekend event have released the highlight video from their latest get together.  The most impressive part is the sheer variety of post-apocalyptic vehicles on parade. 

Demogorgon Fetus

Victor Marin brings us this very cool demogorgon fetus.  The faux-diaphonized effect was produced by 3-D printing the body in translucent plastic and then casting the "egg" around it. 

Mummified Skull

This wonderfully icky mummified skull comes to us from artist Nickolas deRosa.  The detail in the fleshy bits is outstanding.*

* That's a sentence you would only read here...or at an adult film review site.

The Maw

This toothy creature comes to us from the talented Karen Main.  The paint job is phenomenally well done.

Dragonbone Dagger

This beautifully done recreation of the dragonbone dagger from Skyrim comes to us from Arsynal Props.

Permit Denied

James Pocklington returns to our pages with this nicely done piece of Harry Potter ephemera- a Ministry of Magic Travel Permit.

Cthulhu Mask

This over the head Cthulhu mask comes to us from the UK-based Ministry of Masks.  The only thing I don't like about he sculpt is the lack of multiple eyes.

Necromancer's Skull

Artist Dolen Carag brings us this Tibetan-style necromancer's skull, carved from real human bone. 

Flameless Fire

Professional theatrical propmaker Eric Hart demonstrates how an off the shelf ultrasonic humidifier and some colored lights can create an extremely realistic fire effect.

The White Book of Winter

Temperatures here at Manse Propnomicon will hit a high of -4 F this weekend, and plunge into the double digits below zero tomorrow.  Perhaps I could study the White Book of Winter from Mille Cuirs to discover a spell capable of keeping the spirits of winter busy elsewhere.

The Cthulhu Award

The FilmQuest Festival is a Utah-based event focusing on horror, fantasy, and science fiction.  Winners of their annual competition receive this beautiful Cthulhu trophy, sculpted by Ryan Peterson. 

The Old Gods

This collection of cast bronze idols comes to us from the appropriately named Viking Jay. 

Tools of the Trade

Sean Hathaway brings us this nicely done tableaux of vampire hunting accoutrements.  Remember kids, you want a stake that's slim enough to slip between the ribs.