Sculpting a floating hand holding a torch

A favorite trick of my DnD players is to use the Mage Hand cantrip and have the floating hands carry torches, leaving the PC's hands free to carry weapons. I decided to sculpt some appropriate-looking "miniatures".

Start with creating a long, round handle for the torch. When its dry and hardened, sculpt the flame. I forgot to take in-progress pictures, but the gist of it is to place a pinecone-shaped piece of green stuff on the end of the stick. Wait for it to dry and harden a bit, then use a blade to create swirls and shapes.

Start sculpting the hand by applying a larger piece and smooth it out.

Then roll some thin cylinders for fingers. Press one end to the hand and smooth it out with you fingers.

The normal flying bases are larger than the 1x1" grid for DnD, so I created some custom bases. I glued a piece of sprue to a washer, then stuck the stand part of a flying base using a bit of green stuff.

Glue the end of the torch to the stand.