"The Shadow Out of Time" Expedition Gear

The new order of patches and pins based on Lovecraft's "The Shadow Out of Time" have already arrived, but I'm waiting on a shipment of mailers that are scheduled for delivery on Thursday. If the postal gods smile upon me everything will be on sale this weekend.



The sets will include an embroidered patch and brass lapel pin with the Australian expedition's "Ab Aeterno" logo along with a postcard and the usual extras for $19.99. 100 will be available, and once half are sold I'll have the patches and pins available individually, for $5.99 and $9.99 respectively.



As with the ATMOM gear I'll be taking orders all weekend and then mailing out the packages first thing Monday morning. In case you wanted to get a head start on your "Shadow Out of Time" prop collection take a look directly below this post. Lovecraft's story includes almost all the information needed to fill out the passage tickets for the entire Miskatonic expedition, including all the members:

Professor William Dyer of the college's geology department - leader of the Miskatonic Antarctic Expedition Of 1930-31 - Ferdinand C. Ashley of the department of ancient history, and Tyler M. Freeborn of the department of anthropology - together with my son Wingate - accompanied me...My correspondent, Mackenzie, came to Arkham early in 1935 and assisted in our final preparations.

That last would be Robert B.F. Mackenzie, the Australian that originally uncovered the mysterious desert ruins. As for the departure itself:

Sailing from Boston aboard the wheezy Lexington on March 28, 1935, we had a leisurely trip across the Atlantic and Mediterranean, through the Suez Canal, down the Red Sea, and across the Indian Ocean to our goal.

There's a good chance Lovecraft based the ship in his story on the actual S. S. Lexington of the Colonial Line, which served Boston, New York, Providence, and New Bedford during the appropriate time frame.

Tramp Steamer Ticket, Redux

Here's the tramp steamer passenger ticket from yesterday converted into a PDF with customizable typewritten entries. You can download the file from Google Docs over here.

Tramp Steamer Ticket

This is a passage ticket for the kind of small ship typically found in pulp adventures. Large passenger lines could afford to have custom printed tickets for each ship, but the smaller lines and independents would broker passage at dockside or through a port agent. Just click through to download the high resolution version from Picasa. It can be printed out on cardstock and filled out by hand, or you can add typewritten entries in a graphics program before printing.

From Paper Props

Sculpting Tentacles

Tentacled horrors have become one of the defining characteristics of the Mythos (despite the relative lack of tentacles in Lovecraft's work). Thanks to that established trope, one of the easiest ways to "Mythos-ize" a prop or found object is to add a few tentacles using Sculpey or epoxy putty. Luckily, the Polymer Clay Fan website has an in-depth tutorial on sculpting realistic tentacles.

If you've ever thought of sculpting your own Cthulhu idol I highly recommend giving it a read. It seems counter-intuitive, but for a beginning sculptor this technique is easier and will produce better results than trying to create smooth tentacles. A flawlessly regular and unbroken finish is fiendishly difficult and takes quite a bit of skill to pull off. Adding texture lets you cover up a multitude of errors and produces a more visually interesting result.

More Madness

Mark Williams sent over these wonderful shots of the "At the Mountains of Madness" gear added to his already extensive collection of props. This is pure adventure porn, and I mean that in the very best way.

Cthulhu Fhtagn! Koi Edition

Artist Ann S Koi brings us this nigh-indestructible Cthulhu cane head. I'm pleasantly surprised how well the ergonomics of a usable cane head compliment the depiction.

ATMOM Gear, Unleashed

The Miskatonic Antarctic expedition props have started to arrive at their new homes. Jeff Devine was kind enough to send over these shots featuring his, along with some other great items. I really love his background in the second shot.