The Amber Spyglass

Man does this series go from one to one hundred. From chasing cats in the sleepy streets of Oxford to killing God at the foot of his travelling multiversal fortress. I love it.

With that in mind, I tried to make this the biggest and best group shot of the three, and I think I just about managed it. That said, there are several characters who didn’t make the final cut – mainly so there was actually room to photograph them all and make it look reasonably presentable. Some of those who didn’t make it in are: Xaphania and Baruch, two more angels whom I didn’t have the right parts for, Ama, Fra Pavel and many of the citizens of the Land of the Dead – specifically the boatman, the harpies and Roger’s ghost. Anyway, despite the compromises I’m happy with the final result.

This has definitely been a passion project of mine and I’m happy to have got through all the characters I wanted to make. I may revisit this series one day, especially those who just missed being made first time round, but that’s a project for another day.

From left to right we have:

 

 

Father Gomez - Holy Assassin - This guy came together pretty well. That Luke Skywalker torso works wonders, especially the neck area that for all the world looks like it does have an actual priest’s dog collar printed on it. I always pictured this guy looking gaunt in the books, so this head seemed to fit the bill pretty well. I also wanted to use normal slicked back hair, but since two other characters in this shot were using that same hair piece I decided to change it up. I think I like the result more.

 

Father MacPhail - President of the Consistorial Court of Discipline - Again, thank goodness for those Harry Potter parts. Not really a whole lot to say about this one, other than I’m pretty happy with how he came together.

 

Metatron - An Angel; Treacherous Lord Regent of Heaven - The angels were definitely the biggest challenge here. In the books they’re described as being made of light, so I opted for a yellow skin tone to make them stand out. They’re also completely naked, but since I don’t own any yellow hip pieces I decided to give them a little more modesty. Book Metatron appears the same as his brothers and sisters, but for the sake of making him look a bit more interesting I decided to make him in armour – how I imagine he’d look during the climax at the Battle on the Plain. I like him.

 

Marissa Coulter - Traitor, Warrior – and Mother - Definitely the most fun version of the character to make. Seen here in her rougher clothes she wears whilst caring for Lyra in the Valley of the Rainbows. I’ve wanted to use those legs on a figure ever since they were released, but never knew who to use them for. Now they finally have a use.

 

Lyra Silvertongue - Eve; Hero of the Land of the Dead - Another fun version to make. I opted for using that head to capture her pure exhaustion, and to give her the face of a child who quite literally has the weight of several worlds on her shoulders. It also works for her appearance in the Land of the Dead, when separated from her soul on the banks of the river.

 

Balthamos - An Angel; Rebel against the Authority - Like I said before, no yellow hip pieces means no nude angels. What a shame. I wanted to make both him and Baruch, but unfortunately was restrained by the fact I only have two of those wing pieces. I think he looks a little too confident, but other than that I really like him.

 

Will Parry - Adam; Knife Bearer - Just a more beefed up version of the last one, really. To go with the Knife, I gave him the scabbard piece Giacomo Paradisi used in the last group shot for sake of continuity, since he’s now the new knife bearer. I also added some tape around his hand to represent his injury sustained after his fight with Tullio in the previous book.

 

Dr Mary Malone - Friend to the Mulefa - A pretty simple figure, but she works. I chose the legs to look as if she has stuff tied around her waist from her time with the Mulefa, and to an extent I think they work. I also gave her the Amber Spyglass, since it would be pretty foolish of me not to include it somewhere in this picture.

 

Lord Asriel - Rebel; Lord Commander of the Republic of Heaven - Definitely my favourite here. I basically just took his explorer appearance from book one and beefed him up to look more militaristic. I should also point out again that I really like those Mandalorian capes.

 

The Authority - The First Angel and Lord of All Things; Weakened and Dying - I wasn’t originally going to include this guy, but I found that face and the rest just kinda fell into place. In the books he’s described to be fading away, so I felt the ghost leg piece was the most appropriate thing to use. I was also going to use Gandalf’s torso but for some reason swapped it for plain grey.

 

King Ogunwe - African King; Commander of Republic Forces - I could never really get a clear image of this guy when reading this book. I played around with several concepts, originally having him appear as a more modern looking African warlord with medals and a cap, but scrapped that in favour of a more tribal/technological looking appearance in keeping with the aesthetic of Lyra’s world from the books. He’s not perfect, but I’m satisfied with him.

 

Chevalier Tialys and Lady Salmakia - And their Dragonfly Steeds; Gallivespian Spies - Okay, so these are super lazy but I couldn’t have this group shot without them. I toyed with the idea of making them actual minifigures, but it just looked too strange having them the same size as Will and Lyra so settled on the trophy figures. They’re super simple but do the job, I guess.

 

Let me know what you think!

 

Done