Clif Dopson’s Gotham Sunday Morning

This model, “Dark Hunter” debuted at Wonderfest 2000. Before I left town I had begun. It’s a great, clean sculpt, requiring just some sanding. Since it reminds me of Bisley’s Batman/Judge Dredd series, I painted in that direction. I undercoated in acrylic, airbrushed, but then went for the oils. I wanted as much range of value as I could get. With the oils, and their slow drying time, it was easy to add purples as reflected light from below, gray-greens, etc. (Anything but just grays and blue-blacks!) But, this is a great SMALL model, worthy of more drama. I spent months thinking and looking at churches, building small prototypes, gathering “stuff” that looked hopeful. I had some generic walls I had sculpted and cast, and decided he needed a window behind him. The final item was finding some closeout frames at Michael’s, one shaped like a Gothic window. I looked for a small battery driven light, and sized the base to fit it. Walmart came through!

The base is heavy, with a 2X4 as a bottom, the sides built up with thin basswood and clad in the cast walls. I sculpted them to be cut at several spots to give different looks. “Concrete” trim is from dollhouse and woodworking catalogs. I built the extrusion for the Gargoyle from wood.

The back of the base is totally done as well. The “Ancient Wall” is from another sculpt of mine. It is lifted up to put in the light, and all interior surfaces are covered with mirrors, and angled to direct the light up towards the window. LEDs, wheat bulbs, etc., left “hot spots” on the window. The window frame was carved and painted, and I created a “glass” window on my computer, printing it on transparent stock. Acetate protects it from the front. The rear upper wall, made from balsa strips, wood, and dollhouse paper, can also be removed to change the window. If I want, I could replace the window, create a “slip in” fireplace, add furnishings, and make a Bruce Wayne, or, skip windows, add a moosehead, and create a hall for Beowulf. The Batman is on a large peg, so that I can remove him as well. As I spent many months on this, the thought of “reusability” easily emerged.

The light was failure. The tables at Wonderfest are well lit, and the Walmart florescent puny. Oh well. It was GREAT to get awards! I was awarded Best Superhero, as well as receiving a Gold award in that category.

Clif Dopson