Pinkerton Credentials

Julian DiMarco has updated his Pinkerton detective credentials from last year. He'll be making blank copies available on his website soon.

Egypt, 1922

A camel caravan crosses the outskirts of the Memphis ruins in Egypt.



Another snapshot from the "Masks of Nyarlathotep" project.

Cthulhu Fhtagn! FComin Edition, Part Deux

Artist FComin was kind enough to send over pictures of his latest Cthulhu idol, the second in as many weeks. Clearly, something is stirring in R'lyeh.

Age in a Can

Rose Howard introduces us to the the miracle that is Glossy Wood Tone. It sounds like the ideal solution for quick and dirty aging treatments.

One of my absolute favorite things in props land is a product called Design Masters Glossy Wood Tone.

I was lauding it to the Tall One and marvelling at how awesome it is, and he said, "You might as well call it Patina of Age".

And it's true. This product is the magic 'Patina of Age' when it comes to props.

I've used it to age things in seconds.

Goblin Box

Liv Duval brings us this "Labyrinth" inspired Goblin Box carved from wood. I'm a long-time fan of Brian Froud's production design for "Labyrinth" and "The Dark Crystal" and an ornate case for Jared's crystal spheres fits right in with his sensibilities.

Eldritch Reliquary

The talented Jason McKittrick bring us this eldritch reliquary and was kind enough to share some of his build notes.

I used a dark walnut stain (on the case)...after it was dry I sand papered the edges and a few other spots for an uneven texture. I also chipped off some of the wood around the edges to simulate water damage. I attached felt to the inside of the case and stained it using washes of black acrylic paint in various thicknesses. The aged engravings are heat transfers on to coffee stained paper with some wrinkling and then some sand papering along the edges. The Necronomicon pages are rag paper once again soaked in coffee and then baked in the oven to achieve the spots that appear to be water damage.

The glass vial with the specimen was a multi-step process. The creature itself is super sculpey III and then glazed with several layers of tinted gloss medium. The vial was wrapped with hemp cord and then red sealing wax was used for the seal. I then dirtied it with black acrylic while rubbing some off so that just the cracks and crevices would be really gunky. I applied one coat of matte fixative to the glass and then after it was dry applied several tinted glazes of matte medium. There is actually no liquid inside but gives the appearance that there possibly is or that it dried up and left a dirty residue.

The piece is available on Ebay.

The Wand of Mab

It says volumes that even a broken prop from Julian DiMarco still looks cool. I'll second his endorsement of Alpha Stamps for all sorts of nifty little bits.