Commander Vimes (2)

I read Terry Pratchett's Discworld books again all the time, but only make new models based on then very occasionally; the previous one (as I'm shocked to note) was Windle Poons in 2021. My "latest" models have been new version of classic characters I've built in the past, and so is this; Sam Vimes is probably the most important character of the whole series. It's good to occasionally think, "What would Sam Vimes too about it?".

My old Vimes was from 2015 so that's almost 10 years. He's still intact, as you can see in the last photo. I still like some things in the model; the colour are decent, although I never liked the Dark Bley boots. Chain mail sleeves look plausible enough. And the facial features capture the "old stoneface" (nickname of an ancestor, but also used by Nobby of his commander, too) still very well. So well, actually, that I didn't find any better way to built them; characters without beards are hard. It only works with the cigar, though, otherwise he's whistling. I added posable eyebrows and a neck ball joint to this design, and made a brick-built, somewhat conquistador-like helmet. The head and the helmet were the hardest parts to design; otherwise this was straightforward, enjoyable built.

The main goal on this re-design was to add movement and poseability, in a similar fashion than I did on the most recent Ridcully. The old version had immobile legs and very limited arm movement; this one can almost run. I even added instep joints to the feet, with their sandal-boots inspired by Paul Kidby's art. The leather flaps are jointed as well, to enable leg movement. The arms are standard issues; the most challenging part was to embed the shoulder joints to the mudguards (another trick straight from the old version) without losing movement. 

I added extra flair to the breastplate by angling the wedges into a V-shape, filling the gap with cheese graters and wedge plates. The badge re-uses the axe blade from the old version; I wanted it to be copper (pune or a play of words) and there isn't many options. The connection is more flush than before; 2L bars didn't exist in 2015. The cape is almost identical to the old one but features brass buckles; the sword is a new addition, but I wanted to keep the baton as the main aid.

Now Vimes is again decent enough to commandeer the Watch. I'm still happy with some of the older models: Detritus looks still great, and Nobby & Colon are actually on display at Hervanta Library (although they're now too small compared to Vimes, Colon especially). 

-Eero.