Dante, Devil May Cry

[cdavenport]

I purchased this 1/3 scale paper figure years ago on EBay for a few bucks. I believe it's from 3D Paper, but I am not sure.

It was my first paper figure and I liked it so much, I went online to see what Devil May Cry actually was. I learned it was an online game and I saw some screenshots that allowed me to scratchbuild a base for him, taking some artistic license along the way.

I'll post some other details shots.

[rockpaperscissor]

Outstanding! At 1/3 scale this has to be huge. Wonderful job on the base/background as well. Looking forward to seeing more photos.

[cdavenport]

I posed him against the backdrop of a partial door. The basic frame was made from scrap plywood. The door facade is Brazilian rosewood veneer that I made in my shop. It is simply glued to the plywood frame cut to the shape you see.

The metal frame is exactly that: sheet lead formed over wood veneer, distressed with a small ballpeen hammer and held in place with rusty tacks.

The door knockers are my little piece de resistance. A couple of decades ago, before the ban on elephant ivory, I was shopping in the huge bazaar in central Cairo (Egypt) called "The Khan." There, I purchased some ivory talismans intended for a percussion pistol project I was working on. I still had those talismans and hit on the idea of using them as door knockers.

Not wanting to use the precious ivory, I rolled some lead sheet to .005" thickness and carefully embossed the lead over the ivory. Lifting the lead away from the ivory, I filled the lead impression with 5 minute epoxy to hold its shape.

Painted with oils and dressed with some square brass tube twisted in a spiral, I am still proud of these little creations.

[cdavenport]

Since the title of the game is Devil May Cry, I had to have a devil in the diorama, so I sculpted one from two-part epoxy putty and worked it into the top of the arch. I merely painted it as I painted the stone. There is also a hint of fresh blood dripping from its mouth; it's that fake blood you buy at Halloween time.

The stone work is nothing more than distressed closed cell foam, the kind you find in product boxes. You distress it by hitting with a wire brush. I have foam detailing wands to add the seams; you can get similar effects with a pencil point soldering iron. Paint the foam with any garden variety paint; I used some leftover matte acrylic house paint to undercoat and seal the foam. Then, it's a matter of painting the foal to look like stone.

One of my son's friends squished Dante's right pistol, so I scratchbuilt another making it different in style from his left hand pistol.

I have included a close-up of Dante's head so you can see the level of detail in the kit. I was a neophyte then and did not know to butt the seams instead of overlapping them. That's ok because I really like the model.

[buffalowings]

that game is pretty good, unfortunetly, my comp doesn't have a good graphics card

[cdavenport]

Originally Posted by rockpaperscissor

Outstanding! At 1/3 scale this has to be huge. Wonderful job on the base/background as well. Looking forward to seeing more photos.

It is large. The figure is about 24" tall and the door another 3 or 4 above his head.

[eatcrow2]

A fantastic piece of modeling work!!!! One of the best displaying of a model that I've seen, and the write-up on the process was great.

[cgutzmer]

Super work! thanks for sharing it with us
Chris

[cdavenport]

Every demonic/scary movie I have ever seen has a lighted torch on the wall. So, I decided my DMC diorama had to have one, too.

The torch you see is just a section of wooden dowel that I turned on my lathe to no particular shape. It is hollowed out so that I can run wire through it. The rosette on the wall was also turned on the lathe. A section of hollow brass tube links everything together.

I designed the grillwork in Autocad, cut it out and painted it black.

Power is supplied by a 6V, 250mA plug-in wall transformer for two tiny Christmas lights, one orange and one red. Topped with a bit of cotton, I thought the nighttime photo pretty effective. I have a box full of those little transformers. I never throw those away.

My next project is Canon's Notre Dame Cathedral which I am going to light from the interior. I think it may be a nice little diorama.

[willygoat]

Holy crap dude! That's amazing Can't wait to see what you do with the cathedral. Thinking plastic sheet for stained glass?