Wednesday 11 May 2022

HOW TO BEAT A DRAGON ?

 Been a little while since my last post, two factors have played into this, one was a real world issue, which I am hoping is now resolved, the other was trying to build a new piece. Now when Keith announced this years Monster May(hem) he mentioned he was looking forward to seeing how I could equal or beat last years Krayt Dragon, now size wise this would be difficult, unless I fancied building a Zillo_Beast which I had no need for, then I thought what if I changed scale !

So today I have a Purrgil, here is what Wookieepedia has to say about them :

Purrgil were a semi-sentient species of massive whales that lived in deep space, traveling from star system to star system. Some of them were only the size of a small starship while others were much larger. They had streamlined bodies with a smooth-looking bluish-purple skin, four large hind tentacles, a single dorsal fin, and two side fins. Their heads had a characteristic bulbous shape with one eye on each side. Living in groups consisting of up to dozens of individuals, they were able to fly through hyperspace by creating simu-tunnels. The natural ability of the purrgil inspired sentients to develop hyperdrive technology and wayfinders that were used for hyperspace navigation.

According to Hera Syndulla, leader of the Spectres rebel cell, most spacers considered purrgil to be pests due to their habit of approaching and flying into starships near their flight paths, and for ships crashing into their swarms during hyperspace travel. Numerous spacer deaths could be attributed to purrgil-related incidents, leading most spacers to fire upon them on sight. However, Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger, another member of the Spectres, was able to establish a connection to the whales when he encountered a group of them together with the rest of his crew at a gas refinery. He later used that bond to ally with a group of purrgil against Imperial Grand Admiral Thrawn's 7th Fleet during the liberation of the Outer Rim planet Lothal, ultimately removing the fleet from the planet by having the purrgil wrap their tentacles around Thrawn's starship and jump to hyperspace.


I've used the same method as the Krayt Dragon, using a foam core to make the centre then skinning with green stuff.


As you can see in the last shot I've included a Y-Wing for scale purposes, now I just need to see if Keith thinks I've managed to equal last year ! LOL That's all for this post, so until next time stay safe and have fun !

Cheers Dave

21 comments:

  1. Wow, Dave, fantastic work — you've nailed the look and colours of the purrgil and it looks amazing! Nicely done!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Matt, went for a fully closed mouth as it was easier, as the mouth actually goes back underneath the pectoral fins, but may do some more later on with open mouths. The blue on the head could be better, but was happy for a first try

      Delete
  2. What a cool beastie, Dave. Roughly how big is it, as I'm not familiar enough with the scale of the Y-Wing you've used. I'm guessing it's about a foot long?

    ReplyDelete
  3. That's from Jez, by the way. For some reason it's decided that I'm 'anonymous'.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Jez, it's roughly 15 cm or 6 inches long, the Y-Wing is Armada scale, if I'd done it in 32 mm scale would have been closer to 2 foot long. There seems to have been an update on Blogger, that has caused a few problems if you're looking on a mobile device.

      Delete
  4. Dropping a scale (or two) was the way to do with this I think 😉, great looking beast, shape and colour look spot on, though once again not one I've ever heard of myself, but I bow to your vastly superior Star Wars knowledge.

    Cheers Roger.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Roger, couldn't think of any way of building something bigger than a Krayt Dragon, that I wanted or needed unless it was in a different scale ! LOL only appeared in the cartoon series Star Wars Rebels, and only two episodes, so can easily understand not knowing of them mate, hopefully I can do a few you do recognise.

      Delete
  5. Oh, sir. I didn't see this coming and I think it's an awesome piece. Fantastic work :O

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Suber, a lot of the credit has to go to Keith, for pushing me to try and outdo last years project

      Delete
  6. “Goooot a whale of a tale to tell ya lads
    A whale of a take out two-oo
    Bout the flappin fish and the girls I’ve loved
    On a night like this with the moon above
    A whale of a tale and it’s all true
    I swear by my tattoo.”

    I DIDN’T even know there were space whales in SW. that is one heck of a miniature. WELL Done! 😀😀

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Stewart, and great shanty.
      The Star Wars universe has a very diverse menagerie and the cartoon series really expand a lot to the universe

      Delete
  7. Splendid looking space beast!
    Best Iain

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Iain, I thought they were an interesting species to build.

      Delete
  8. I loved these things in Rebels! What a great rendition mate! Looks right out of the cartoon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Dai, I thought they were a great creature, and far more intelligent, than people thought they were ! Hoping in the live action Ahsoka series, if they find Ezra we might get to see the Purrgil again.

      Delete
  9. Awesome stuff, Dave - now to see it on the table about to head-butt some Capital Ships!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Azazel, that will have to wait until I get some capital ships ! LOL Your previous mention about the starship side, has got me looking into that as well ! LOL

      Delete
  10. John@justneedsvarnish17 May 2022 at 10:39

    I'm (once again) late to the party I'm afraid, Dave! That is just a brilliant model! :-) Good idea changing scale!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you John, never need to apologise for being late to a party, it's all about the turning up ! LOL I was struggling to find something to beat the dragon in 32 mm scale, so seemed like the only logical choice to change scales ! LOL

      Delete
  11. Lovely work Dave, he looks just like the picture... and kinda cute in a way (or is it just me!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Justin, glad it is recognisable to the picture. They are a peaceful species travelling across the galaxy, unfortunately they bump into spacecraft making species think of them as dangerous, but I agree that they look cute ! LOL

      Delete