Lance-Constable/Sergeant Detritus
Lance-Constable Detritus
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Thie version on the left was one of the first figures that I made of the Watch, when I still though that there would be less than 10 figures. I had already painted the figure as produced by Clarecraft and was looking for ideas of what else I could do with it.
For the Watch figure I first had to bend his arms to hold the crossbow. I simply gripped the arms in a pair of pliers, well padded with rags to avoid damaging the surface detail, and then bent them to the required position.
I could not find any pictures of Elephant armour in the local Library (can never find any copies of Terry's books either) so have no idea if what I have done is correct or not. The armour I sculpted out of milliput is like an inverted triangle made out of overlapping plates. Its painted with flower heads on - I think this is more Japanese than Indian. There are two large straps across his back to hold it in place. I also modelled some knee length shorts for him with ragged bottoms. These are painted in red and white stripes like the pair he is wearing on "The Colour of Magic" book cover.
His helmet is a blob of milliput over his head with three fins of plastic card moulded into it. The air entrance hole was moulded and a pin head used as the boss of the fan. A key shaped out of card was fixed to the side.
The crossbow was carved out of wood with an ordinary 25mm archer's bow cut in half and fixed either side to be the bow. The arrow is a cut down spear with card feathers and the bow string of wire. The firing handle and the remains of the windlass were carved from scraps of plastic card. To finish him off a thin layer of milliput was added to the top of his right arm and a rough representation of the Watch badge scribed on.
This figure is one of Clarecraft's earlier ones, and is so smooth compared to the rugged drawings by Kidby that have now appeared. Hence the second model.
Version two on the right - Having started making the rest of the trolls it was clear that Detritus was going to end up looking such a wimp next to the rest of them that I had to bite the bullet and to try a model a figure that there was already pictorial reference for. The cross bow is from the Games Workshops Dwarf range and all the rest of the figure has been sculpted in milliput, except for the hat which was made exactly as in the first version, although I think it looks better.
Ruby
Ruby is a product of the 2004 Discworld Convention. Master Sculptor, Mark Ayling held two sculpting workshops there. I went to the first expecting to see him in action and hopefully learn from viewing his techniques. Instead he gave us all a small block of "Super Sculpty" so we could have a go, speaking to each individually to give advice and assistance as required. Super Sculpty remains workable until it is baked in the oven to harden, a bit like Fimo. It's like plastercine to work with until then and so the more you work it the softer it gets. Under normal working conditions you could bake the product or even place in the fridge to harden before adding more detail. I had not seen Super Sculpty before so enjoyed the chance to have a go - the only problem was what to make. I eventually decided on making a troll which develop into Ruby but by the end of the session the material was so soft I was causing more damage to completed work when trying to add detailing. I prepared for the second workshop by trying to remember all my notes about Ruby, the Kidby art work and the Clarecrafts figures. I then created an armature from a paper clip so that I would get the size right, the first one being over large. Mark had arranged for our work to be baked in the Hotel's kitchens, if we wished, so my plan was to create the basic shape and to do the finishing touches, like the cherries on my return home.
At the end of this session I had Ruby just as I imagine
her with just a little work required to finish. The hat
needed cherries round it, her face and skin/rock a bit
more work in places and once I got home and found the
Kidby drawing I knew these minor faults would soon be
resolved.
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Ruby - As described above Ruby is how I imagined her while at the Discworld Convention. Fortunately memory is a funny thing and she hasn't turned out like the Paul Kidby drawing that I was so positive I was replicating at the time. This drawing looks too human, Moving Pictures obviously influenced him too much towards 40's and 50's movie stars like Mae West and Diana Dors. Unfortunately I think my image was based on a vision in yellow last seen at Wincanton, with Mrs Cakes hat. However, little has changed from the original sculpture, it has been tidied up in parts, bangles and purse added and her hat finished off. It was red and cherries while looking for her man in Holy Wood but now she's settled down and is more sophisticated living in Anhk-Morpork I had to go with primrose and white flowers
Wooden Dummy
 | An arm and leg less wooden dummy with long coat, cloak and hat with feather in. |
Design Notes
Detritus
Detritus has a flat head, rangy arms, curling lower lip, diamond teeth, chipped fists, long fangs and short bandy legs. His knuckles touch the ground and his ability to touch ground with his lower lip when moving fast is the envy of many.He came from Uberwald and before joining the Watch he was a splatter (bouncer) at the Mended Drum and worked for CMOT in Holy Wood where he met Ruby. At this time he usually only wore a ragged loin cloth.
When he joined the Watch he wore a piece of armour from a war elephant as a breastplate. Later as a Sergeant he had a proper breast plate with stylised muscles on it, which gleamed even brighter than Carrot's because he doesn't get bored polishing it. He does not have a Watch badge but has the design carved into his arm.
Despite there being a huge cultural divide between the dwarves and the trolls Detritus became friends with acting Constable Cuddy (a dwarf). It is Cuddy who teaches Detritus to count, other than one, another one, more, and lots. It is also Cuddy who witnesses Detritus' momentary brilliance when they are trapped in the ice room of the pork futures warehouse. As a result of this Cuddy builds the clockwork thinking helmet, painted black with big cooling fins and a fan to keep his silicon brain cool. There is a little lever at the side of the helmet so that he can stop and start the clockwork motor.Also had a polished helmet which he wore in Uberwald where the cold weather made him naturally brighter.
Detritus's only weapon in the watch, except his fists, was an ancient triple stringed 200lb siege crossbow with double-action windlass and safety catch. It was normally carriage mounted and requires three men to lift it. The windlass was removed as he could cock it with one finger. It fires a 6 foot long iron arrow and later a bundle of several dozen arrows held together with a thread. When fired the thread would snap in flight and the arrows would hit a large area in front of the bow, and on the test firing two seagulls directly above. Detritus called this second version The Piecemaker. When first used in anger the splinters of arrows exploded into flame due to the air friction and became a fireball.
In Bonk his evening Dress was constructed by Igor and made him look like a black wall with a bow tie and a Club rather than his crossbow.
Ruby
140 year old troll, weighed 400lb and shaped like a small hillock or a caveman carved statue of a fertility goddess. She worked as a barmaid at the Blue Lias in Holy Wood where she was often seen in abroad-rimmed hat with cherries on, a feather boa and acres of red velvet. Detritus's girlfriend who encouraged him to join the Watch. (picture 1/11/2000)