I don't recommend ordering the Shiitake--it tastes funny tonight

[MmM]

Moldy Corpse

Fungi-infested humans that can be found in the "Forest of Doom" area of the 2006 Konami Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (Japanese name: Akumajo Dracula: Gallery of Labyrinth) Nintendo Dual Screen (DS) video game. These unfortunate creatures are the end result of individuals who have foolishly consumed cursed mushrooms. Rather than being digested, the tainted myconid flourishes in the stomach, its hyphae growing outward throughout the body's arteries, veins, and capillaries, rapidly transforming the man or woman into a Moldy Corpse. There is no known cure for this condition. The disproportionately large fruiting bodies, that quickly grow out of a Moldy Corpse's thoracic vertebrae when the fiend feels threatened, can discharge large quantities of toxic spores; even the slightest physical contact with these small particles will result in a brief, but extremely painful, case of poisoning.

Moldy Corpses have 112 hit points (HP). A bounty of 95 experience points (EXP) and 3 skill points (SP) is awarded for every one of these creatures that you slay. Additionally, if you're fortunate, you may find a rare drop item after defeating one--an Amanita (a special item you'll need to bring to Wind if you wish to complete Quest #25, "Poison vs. Poison") or a Mushroom--you're more likely to get the former than the latter. They are particularly vulnerable to any attack that has the Piercing, Fire, Holy, or Petrify attributes associated with it. Conversely, they are resistant to the Dark elemental attribute. Moldy Corpse is listed as entry #068 in the game's monster encyclopedia.

Materials:
Newsprint, Kleenex, white/hot glue, wire twist ties, and acrylic paint.

Dimensions*:
(* The maximum height/width of this figure can vary considerably based on how the joints are positioned. The numbers given assume a "neutral" standing pose without the mushrooms attached.)
5.5 cm/2.6 in. x 2.5 cm/1.0 in. (highest point x widest point)

Articulation:
Nineteen points: Neck (2), shoulders (2), elbows (4), wrists (2), waist, hips (2), knees (4), and ankles (2).

Time:
Approximately one and a half days. I sculpted and painted the Moldy Corpse figure in its entirety on July 1, 2008. I made the mushrooms that attach to its back the following morning on July 2.









For comparison purposes, below are several images of a Moldy Corpse from the Nintendo DS Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin video game.





And, as an aside, these are the tools, other than my hands, I use 90-95% of the time to sculpt my figures. If, looking at the material lists I usually post for my figures, you're wondering where the hot glue gun is--I don't use mine anymore, instead, I cut tiny slivers off of the glue sticks and melt them directly onto my figure's parts with the woodburner; I find this to be more precise and less wasteful.

[TomoAlien]

Looks cool. Good job!

[Creaphis]

I love the poses.

I guess twist tie wire takes a while to suffer from metal fatigue?

[Tango]

Cool! Portrait of Ruin is a decent game. For a while, I was going back and trying to do all the quests but I just gave up.

[MmM]

Creaphis: Wire twist ties do break, eventually, if they see a lot of use. That said, it very seldom happens to me. The last time I can recall is when one of them snapped, in a cabled "bundle", in the foot joint of my TMNT Baxter Stockman figure--and that was due more to my exerting too much pressure on the joint, and the paint sticking, rather than it wearing out (and it ultimately didn't even matter, because the joint contains multiple wires, it still functions, even though one went kaput). Twisting them around-and-around is guaranteed to make them snap, as you're winding them when you do that and increasingly applying more pressure. To avoid that particular problem, I'm careful to lower the arms/legs in the reverse direction I raised them, rather than spinning them completely around. Overall, they're pretty reliable/strong, provided you don't over-do it when it comes to manipulating them. They're not the best joints you can make, but they are quick and easy.

[Creaphis]

Alright, cool. I guess it helps that there aren't any kids playing with these things all day.

[Shapeless]

I love the way the mushrooms turned out. I'm not familiar with this character but looking at the source material you posted, I'd say he has blue hair draping down the face. In the pic where he's standing up it covers his face cause he's looking down. but in the pic where he's on his knee's ready to puke you can see his purple face showing.
the way you sculpted it it looks like a blue head-crab is replacing his head.

[Inferno]

I never played this Castlevania so I don't know of this monster. But it did come out very good, the mushrooms in particular I like very much. The head though looks like its covered in a blue bandanna sort of thing. Poses are cool as well. Also its nice of you to show the tools you made for making this figure.

[MmM]

Shapeless:
Yeah, I agree that in the sprite it appears to be blue hair, rather than what I sculpted. When I first looked at the sprite, the impression I immediately got was blue goop, which is what I decided to go with, as I felt it looked cooler and sets him apart from your run-of-the-mill zombie (the end result also suggested Head Crab to me, as it did to you). Normally, I adhere to the source material pretty closely, but sometimes I do make changes like this if I feel something will look better.





Dechirer/Bold Mani*
*("Bold Mani" is the original 1992 Super Famicom name for this creature, "Dechirer" is the new moniker found in the 2006 Game Boy Advance update.)


Other-worldly beasts that can be randomly encountered in the "second world" [specifically the countryside surrounding Castle Surgate and the town of Moore (Mua)] of the 1992 Squaresoft Final Fantasy V Super Famicom video game. These creatures are indigenous to the nothingness that exists between dimensions, however, in places where the fabric of reality is weak, Dechirers, and their ilk, can push through into other realms. Under normal conditions, such anomalies are extremely rare, but recent events--the destruction of the four elemental crystals in particular--have resulted in an increasingly unstable state, one that allows fiends of all descriptions access to Final Fantasy V's physical planes of existance. Even so, Dechirers, being fairly large monstrosities, can only manage to get their heads and hands through the small tears that have begun to propagate--a fortunate state of affairs, as no one knows what kind of destruction an entirely free specimen would be capable of. Dechirer (Bold Mani), Strapparer (Rock Brain), and Shadow (no name change in this case) all share the same game sprite, but differ in color and capabilities.


Materials:
Newsprint, Kleenex, white glue, nail polish, and acrylic paint.

Dimensions:
8.5 cm/3.3 in. x 4.3 cm/1.7 in. (highest point x widest point)

Time:
About half-a-day on July 4, 2008 (the Dechirer was celebrating its Independence from two-dimensional existence . . . or something).








For comparison purposes, below is (1) the Bold Mani Super Famicom game sprite and (2) the Game Boy Advance Dechirer bestiary entry (#117).









And here's what I'm currently working on, Vacillator from the Spawn comic books (he's one of Violator's brothers if you're not familiar). He's a little bit bigger than what I've been doing lately (he'll probably be around 5" tall standing).

Day 1 (Sunday):


Day 2 (Yesterday):