The Blue Fairy's Workshop

Chibi Zelda

2012-01-31T08:17:00.001-05:00

Character: Zelda in adorable mini form! Inspired mostly by Child Zelda from Ocarina of Time.

Construction: This Galactic Heroes Jedi was too perfect a base, once I saw it I had to do this project.

I trimmed down her lightsaber and extended the handle into a bow with Kneadatite. I also used Kneadatite to give her pointed ears. I strung the bow with a strand from a large paintbrush. Everything else is just some sanding and a nice coat of paint and sealant.

Completed 2011

Jean's Victorian Makeover

2011-11-19T00:46:00.000-05:00

Character: Not so much a character as an exercise, but an enjoyable exercise.

Construction:

This project started when I looked through my custom bait bins, and said: it's a shame, this figure has a decent head above all that hideousness:

And so I decided she should have a Victorian dress fit for a lady.

I used a combination of vinyl and Magic Sculpt to create a dress over the existing framework.

The sleeve cuffs were added later with Kneadatite. An additional feature of the skirt: now the figure can actually stand, unlike before: her bandy legs couldn't support her.

Spray Primer on everything but the head, and then lots of paint.

Last I repainted the lips and the hair, and sealed the whole thing.

Not too bad for an experiment. Completed 2011

This is not the first time I've rescued a Jean Grey.

Also See My 8" Phoenix.

DinoBride and ZombieGroom

2011-09-29T15:14:00.000-04:00

Character: Two good friends of mine recently got married. As they are crazy fabulous people, I created this duo to commemorate their special day.

Construction:
The Bride is made from a Wedding Dress Ariel Zizzlinger, and a Jurassic Park Raptor:

I carefully carved the face out of the Ariel, shortening the bangs to fit the dinosaur head. I used Magic Sculpt and pins to attach the new piece and added new sculpted hair to blend it into the edges. The doll portion got a full repaint as well.

The Groom is made entirely from a GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra Storm Shadow:

I carved away the bangs and much of the hair, and used my Dremel drill to add the empty eyesocket. Kneadatite was added to create his mangy Zombie-style hair. I cut down the ninja star in Storm Shadow's hand and smoothed it into a disk with Kneadatite, then added a small crystal bead to create a ring.

He also got a repaint, except I just touched up the eye area, leaving that mostly original.

As it got closer to the wedding, I picked up a display case to keep the figures safe, but decided it was missing something. A base!

I sculpted a base out of Sculpy, adding plastic poles after baking.

The marble look is only on the top level, and is in the Sculpy itself, created by careful blending of white and dark clay. A heavy cardboard base level was painted and glued to the bottom to support the Sculpy.

Testing the size of the base in the box:

I strung some ribbons between the poles, and sculpted tiny bees out of Kneadatite to "hold up" the banner.

In Progress

After Painting

Complete display:

Completed 2011

More Pictures:

Mutant Toy: Thing From The Fur Dimension

2011-08-04T19:53:00.000-04:00

Character:

Another Mutant Toy. The Fur Thing doesn't photograph well, because his fur is so clear an expression of his black treacherous soul, that he throws off the white balance of my camera.

Construction:

I was digging through my bins, looking for inspiration, when I came up with this all at once. I love this project. He looks much better in person, though.

The Fur Thing is almost entirely a X-Men Movie Cyclops. His head was sculpted over with Kneadatite, and I loosened up some of his joints by shaving off pieces of the plastic that inhibited movement.

In Progress

He got new claw-like fingers over his hands, hand-sculpted out of Kneadatite. He was sanded, painted, and covered with fur. The 'fur' is a mixture of synthetic hair and black feathers. I also added a little red paint around the eyes.

Why Cyclops? I also cleaned out his battery case and replaced his batteries.

DOOM!

More Pictures Below Completed 2011

More Pictures of Green Lantern Barbie

2011-07-15T09:47:00.000-04:00

Previous Posts about this project: The reveal, How she was made

With a DC Direct Black Canary. Yeah, there's a reason I don't collect their female figures.

With another Barbie-brand Heroine

With DC Direct Hal Jordan. I'm not sure he knows what to make of her.

And here's my most recent custom 12" superhero hanging out with my very first custom 12" superhero, made way back in 2005.

More Comic Character Customs:

12" Rogue 12" Gambit

4" Animated Gotham Girls: Calendar Girl, Poison Ivy, Catwoman, Talia, Harley

4" Starcrossed JLU Figures: Bruce, Diana, Wally, John, Shayera

(I should get better pictures of those one of these days...)

4" Superman: the Animated Series Supergirl

8" Comic Phoenix

6" Comic Raven

Mutant Toy: Pirana Man

2011-07-08T07:56:00.000-04:00

Character:
Another Mutant Toy. Pirana Man isn't especially friendly, though he's more likely to claw than bite.

Construction:
Pirana Man's base is a loose Batman figure, origin unknown. He has hands from two different Witchblade figures, and his head crest came from an armor piece from the spare parts bin.

I removed much of the original paint first, and cut off Batman's ears. Then I used Kneadatite to fully re-sculpt the head, add the panel over the torso, attach the new hands, and sculpt the fin on the right arm.

In Progress

After Painting

The tube on his back is a piece cut off of an X-Men Movie Toad. The holes in his back that the tube is glued into were drilled with a Dremel. All non-green parts of the figure were hand-painted and sealed.

Pirana Man retains the articulation of the original figure: Shoulders, hips and neck. Completed 2011

I Can Be... A Green Lantern!

2011-06-17T09:56:00.000-04:00

Character:
Barbara Millicent Roberts, you have a history of willpower and you are capable of overcoming great fear. Will you accept this charge?

Construction:
When I found out the only Barbie product for the new Green Lantern movie was a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive Carol Ferris, I decided that couldn't stand. After all, Barbie has had over a hundred careers, even spent time in Starfleet, and been transformed into a number of superheroines. She deserves this. Much to the movie marketers' surprise, I'm sure, the Green Lantern Corps are not an all-boys club. (For more on why I like Barbie, you can see my review of I Can Be... Race Car Driver Barbie)

The Barbie I chose to receive the ring is a Fashionista "Sweetie," for her classic Barbie look, and her Fashionista articulation. I re-did her hair into a simple ponytail, but didn't change her eyes or lips.

I bought a pair of 1/6 scale fists on eBay, and sculpted the ring onto the right one as a first step. Attaching the fists to Barbie's arms required the sacrifice of her original hands so I could use the existing wrist articulation.

Her arms were so slim that I decided to give her a little more muscle with some Kneadatite epoxy putty.

Next step was building her jumpsuit. I bought a shirt at the local thrift store that had the texture I wanted: almost a thin swimsuit material, a lycra with a little sheen to it.

Her jumpsuit is entirely handsewn. Her boots used to belong to a Princess Amidala doll.

I painted her boots, and cut down and painted her earrings. Her green gauntlets and symbol area are painted onto the jumpsuit by hand with fabric paint.

The final step: sculpting her mask out of Kneadatite. The mask and ring I left the base color of the Kneadatite, because it's a perfectly nice green already.

Even More Pictures to come in another post. Completed 2011

The Oath

2011-06-16T10:24:00.000-04:00

In Brightest Day, In Blackest Night

No Evil Shall Escape My Sight

Let Those Who Worship Evil's Might,

Beware My Power

Green Lantern's Light!

More Pictures of the newest member of the Lantern Corps tomorrow!

Mutant Toy: Squid Face

2011-04-27T08:35:00.000-04:00

Character:
Squid Face is a decent sort of fella, even though some people find his tentacles...unnerving.

Construction:
After my success with the Rabbit Demon, I've been digging through my bins to come up with more fun mash-up characters. I found plenty of inspiration in a box of old Batman figures that I purchased in a loose lot on eBay.

Squid Face was constructed from a loose Batman figure, several bits of plastic cut from accessories, and a piece from a Witchblade figure. The additional tentacles were added with Kneadatite.

In Progress

He was fully repainted and sealed. His head is removable to allow the articulation to be retained.

More Pictures Below. Completed 2011

Skeletor's Cape

2011-03-19T22:25:00.001-04:00

Crossposted at The Clearance Bin

This is Skeletor. Doesn't he look cold to you?

Much better. I'll never understand the Eternian customs against the wearing of pants, though.

Because Erin asked so nicely, I created a cape for Skeletor. It's made out of a piece of dark purple crepe-back satin, which was luckily almost the exact same shade as his armor.

I designed the shape of it from scratch, because I wanted it to drape around his shoulders a particular way, and still leave access to the scabbard on his back.

All the seams are hand-stitched.

To get it on, you have to remove Skeletor's head and his armor piece.

Then fit the armor around and over the cape, mostly by feeding the back straps through the neck of the fabric. It's easier than it sounds, trust me.

Presto! Now Skeletor's fully dressed. This picture shows some of how the scabbard interacts with the cape - not perfect, but I think it still looks pretty awesome. Completed 2010

After I finished the cape, Erin set about making Skeletor some better weapons... stay tuned at The Clearance Bin for more pictures soon!

Magical Robotic Princess

2011-03-17T23:13:00.000-04:00

Character: ... What the name says.

Construction:
I collected the Disney Zizzlinger Princess figures for a while. This was a thing a few years back, where they came blind packaged in a packet that dissolved into pink bubbles in hot water, revealing the figures. Of course I ended up with a few duplicates, and I've always been trying to think up a good use for them. They're simple figurines, made from one solid piece of plastic. Head-swap and/or re-paint seemed like a good direction to go in, and here we are.

Before

The Robo-Princess is made out of a Zizzlinger Cinderella and a head from a Power Rangers thingy. I used a little Kneadatite to make the neck, the spinal fin and the points on the shoulders. The rest is a really fun paint job. I love how she came out. She now has articulation at the neck, which the original figure didn't.

Completed 2011

Robotic Rabbit Demon

2011-01-01T14:01:00.000-05:00

Character: Erin asked me to come up with a handmade present for a friend. I poked around in the bins, and started to get inspired. I therefore present a Mutant Toy: the Robot Rabbit Demon.

Construction: Essentially he's a complicated kit-bash. I picked out a bunch of pieces that I thought worked together.

Pile of possible pieces (not all used):

The main body is a Spiderman Movie Green Goblin, the head is from the "Robotic Rabbit" that came with a B:tAS Mad Hatter. I also cut two little claws off the rabbit and affixed them to the left foot. I replaced Goblin's right arm below the joint with an arm from another figure... I think it was called "She Demon", but I'm not sure.

The tail is a modified tentacle from a Spiderman/Doctor Octopus playset, and the wings are from a female demon-type action figure.

I cut holes in the back of the Goblin to attach the wings and tail, and used Kneadatite to create a new elbow on the right arm.

Careful use of super-glue secured all the pieces. The head is loose so that it can be turned during posing.

The head was entirely repainted, everything else just got detail paint-work and some color wash. Final touches were gloss on the eye and claws, and matte sealant. Completed 2010

Pallas, the Mantis

2010-09-23T13:28:00.000-04:00

Wow, it's been a while since I've finished a project. This lovely lady had been languishing half-finished for upwards of six months. Well, better late than never.

Character:
Pallas is the head of security for the Faerie Court, and bodyguard to the Queen. Her insect is a Mantis, I combined a few different types for inspiration.

Construction:
Pallas started dollhood as a Twelve Dancing Princesses Barbie:

I chose her for her elbow joints, her calm expression, and her really nice auburn/red hair.

Her new outfit is entirely removable. It consists of a helmet, gauntlets, boots, skirt and breastplate with attached wings. In progress:

The armor pieces are all made with Kneadatite. The helmet is built on a skullcap I had from a dollar store doll who had changeable hair, and the boots are built up from some cheap knock-off boots. The breastplate and arm-guards were free-handed on the doll (over a layer of plastic wrap). The antennae have wire inside, making them gently poseable. Some of the details, as you may be able to see in the progress picture, was added with dimensional paint, then painted over. The final color is an antiquing paste, sort of a paint-on metal leaf.

The underskirt is hand sewn out of a fabric scrap, and the strips are painted silk flower petals.

Her wings are made from wired ribbon, which gives her some posing options. The intent was always to have her wings form a cape, but I went through several possible designs before settling on this one.

She also has a pair of hand weapons, made from metal beads and Kneadatite handles.

Once all that was almost done, I removed her glitter eyeshadow, repainted her irises and gave her a facial accent with a bit of paint.

I'm not perfectly happy with every aspect of this project, but overall I think she came out well. She's finally moving out of the in-progress box and onto the display shelf to stand guard over her lady. Completed 2010

Terracotta Sculptures

2010-05-25T10:19:00.001-04:00

Haven't been doing much customizing lately, but that hasn't stopped me from:

Blogging about books,

Reviewing toys, sometimes purchased with an eye to future customization,

Taking a class in Sculpture, with live models and everything! Pieces are all done in a type of terracotta. I've worked with similar clay before, back in the mists of elementary/middle school art classes, but not for a long time, and the hand technique is completely different than the polymer and epoxy clays I can use at home. Still, I got better fairly quickly, as you'll see in the progression below.

Finished Products:
Standing Female Figure, 10" including base.

Many more pictures (one technically mildly NSFW), different projects, after the jump:

Detail shots:

Seated Male Figure, 12" including Base.

Detail Shots:

Head awaiting firing, lifesize.

Meanwhile, a Fairy Court Member languishes half-done:

I'll get back to her eventually...

Gambit

2009-10-28T11:02:00.010-04:00

Character:
Poor Gambit had languished on the workbench for years, started but unfinished. No longer!

The same disclaimer from Rogue applies, though. The version of this character I picture by default is from the 90's animated show. We will not speak here of that hideous movie from last summer.

Construction:
Gambit began toy life, years ago, as a "Ken as Superman", from Superman Returns.

I chose this doll because Ken is the right height to stand next to my Barbie Rogue, and this Ken in particular had a nice look on his face, (most Kens sport a dopey looking grin) as well as decent articulation.

Side Note: his Superman costume has padded muscles in it. This cracks me up.

The first thing I did was sew his bodysuit. It's made of a double layer of black nylon. I stopped most of the way through this step and did other projects, for a VERY long time. He actually benefited from the delay, though, because in the meantime, I learned to use Kneadatite.

The breastplate and boots are hand sculpted from Kneadatite. The flexibility of the cured Kneadatite means that the pieces are (carefully!) removable. Of course, to make them I had to wrap the doll in pieces of ziploc bag to keep the compound from sticking to the doll, while holding the desired shape. (No picture, sorry.) I like using ziploc bags because they're thin and flexible, but not as flimsy as plastic wrap, which tends to get stuck in the dried pieces.

After sanding and paint:

Next I did the only permanent part of the costume, the gloves and mask.

I carefully marked where they should be, and then sanded the skin, painted the areas black, finally gluing a layer of the black nylon over the paint for texture.

Next I painted the pink chevrons on the legs of the bodysuit.

I sewed him a 1/6th scale trenchcoat (I had to send away for tiny buckles, I highly recommend www.tinyzippers.com for doll sized notions).

I finished the style on the hair with a little hot water and glue for hold. Finally, I painted his face, redoing the eyes (obviously), touching up the lips with a different shade, and reshaping the eyebrows.

And the layers come together:

Okay, so I was too lazy after all that to build him props as well, so he's borrowing those cards from a 13" Joker.

So, after a long time sitting solo, Rogue finally has her 12" Marvel guy to share her shelf with.

Aren't they cute together?

It's been a long time for him, but I'm really happy with the way he turned out.

Disney Princess fun at the Bin

2009-07-01T08:30:00.000-04:00

Two pieces of mine up at The Clearance Bin:

Review of Disney Princess Dolls (with special discussion of custom potential)

Alternate Princess Supplement (Photo essay of dolls in better outfits)

Enjoy!

Fairie Court Pictures

2009-06-26T10:00:00.002-04:00

So I've been making Insect Fairies (among other projects) in my spare time since 2006. I recently thought that since I tend to alternate doll projects with action figure projects, anyone who hasn't seen them together in person might not remember who they are, or realized how many there are.

So after some consultation with the Queen:

Here's some pictures of the fairies in the context of the group, a recap of the court so far: (Links lead back to individual doll pages)

The Fairie Queen:

Satia, adviser to the Queen:

Charane, mystic soothsayer:

Nidea, Lady in waiting:

Aya, governess, and Princess Lysandra:

Kami, dancer:

The Court:

Next on my list is the Captain of the Guard, hopefully it won't be another whole year before she's done. Although I'm not sure where I will put her...

Nidea, the Swallowtail

2009-06-25T17:00:00.005-04:00

Character:
Lady Nidea is lady in waiting to the Queen. She is a young cousin of the queen, and her insect is the Swallowtail Butterfly.

Construction:
Nidea started out as a Swan Lake Barbie I picked up years back at a yard sale. She actually served as dress dummy for some of the other fairies whose base dolls were more fragile (or had drying paint).

Her dress is a handsewn muslin shift covered in silk daffodil petals. The wings are attached to a hinge, which is attached to the dress, which gives the wings a range of poses.

Attaching the plastic side of the wings to the plastic hinge was the most difficult part of the whole project. Nothing seemed to stick. In the end, it's a fragile combination of layers of epoxy putty, tacky glue, and super glue, but what's really holding it together is the black feathers glued over both surfaces on the back.

Similar to previous butterflies, the wings themselves are cut out of acetate, and then bits of colored feathers were individually glued on in rows, filling in the wing pattern. The pattern is also colored in on the back with Sharpie. This gives them a semi translucent, stained-glass look in the right light. Unfortunately, it's very hard to capture that on film, although I did try.

Her shoes are a pair of white Barbie sandals painted yellow, with a few small blue petals glued on as accent.

Finally, her eyes were repainted a deep blue, and she was given a choker and headband out of the blue petals.

I'm glad that I got around to another butterfly, although I really love the more exotic looking insect fairies. The yellow brightness of Nidea makes her a lovely counterpoint to the looks of some of the other dolls. Completed June 2009

Raven

2009-02-19T14:46:00.009-05:00

Character:
Raven from DC comics Teen Titans. Here Raven is seen in an interpretation of her original look from New Teen Titans in the 80's.

Construction:
Raven began toyhood as a Planetary figure:

(more pictures here.)

I chose this figure as a base because of the clean hip lines (despite the lack of articulation), and the shape of the face.

I removed the raised red lines, elbow and knee pads of the original jumpsuit, and pared back the line of the breasts. I also carved away some of the stomach and rear, to partially correct the odd way the original figure was posed. I trimmed down the area of the feet and cut up a raised heel for the shoe.

In Progress:

Then I used Magic Sculpt to smooth over the body shape, and Kneadatite to add the shoes, dress, and gloves. The front of her hair was trimmed way back and replaced with Kneadatite, which was also used to extend the hair in the back. Her cape is a separate piece, made of vinyl, Kneadatite, and two small plastic disks I had left over.

I was trying to build another separate piece for her characteristic hood, but the sculpting didn't come out as nice as I would have liked. It looks okay at this angle:

I really wanted to have the option to display her in several ways, instead of just sculpting the hood, cape and hair into one piece.

Paint and sealant and she's done. I have a new very fine brush which I used here, and I'm very pleased with the face paint.

Created as a gift for Erin.

(Pictured here with DCUC Nightwing)

Completed 2009

THEM!

2009-01-23T15:30:00.000-05:00

Character:
When I was small, my dad and I used to watch monster movies together. I liked all the Godzilla flicks and their relations, but the one I remember the most is THEM. Those giant radioactive ants scared me thoroughly when I was little. It's a very well made movie, good creepy tension building, the ant puppets are super for their time, and the sound design is great. So for this holiday, I decided to commemorate this experience with a diorama as a gift for my dad.

Construction:
Pile of stuff I bought for this project (didn't end up using all of it):

The Ant:

The Ant (the most important part, obviously) has a base of a tarantula purchased at Michaels. Details of the figure here. I made a head out of Sculpey to slide over the pedipalps, turning a spider (two body segments) into an ant (three body segments), then joined it with some Magic Sculpt. The thorax was filled out and given segments with some more Magic Sculpt, and small pieces of cheap paintbrush bristle were stuck into the clay for the back bristles.

I cut off the rear legs of the spider, carved down the lower segments of the legs and added small spikes at the joint out of Kneadatite. The internal part of the eyes was sculpted and painted, and then a plastic outer eye was added, made of the clear portion of a "wiggly" or "googly" eye. The jaws are Kneadatite, with a wire embedded to keep them stiffer. They are slightly hinged, connected to the head with pins. Antenna are just heavy craft wire covered in "fur". Most of the fur on the ant is craft marabou, with some doll hair for texture on the back segment.

The Army Guys:

The Army Men, meant to represent the guys who invade the final giant ant base at the end of the movie, are from two sets of "Forces of Valor" figures, scale 1:32. They are sold as WWII army guys, and are highly detailed. I decided that if their details are slightly different than the National Guardsmen or whoever from the movie, it's subtle enough not to matter to anyone but students of military history. All I did to these guys was pick the ones I wanted and paint them in a detailed grayscale.

Set up from when I was trying out the guys before painting: (I didn't end up using all of them)

The Base:

The Base is built on the base of a large model car case (about 9" by 13"). The Forces of Valor sets came with some broken scale walls and rubble that I glued down and painted. The large rocks are from a plaster rock kit intended for school projects. The plaster kit also came with a bag of small gravel, which I colored and added throughout. The base was finished off with a layer of sand and plaster mix, sprinkled with rocks, and imprinted with a few ant-footprints, which ties it nicely into one piece. Only the walls and rocks are attached to the base, the army men and the ant are able to be moved.

The Sign:

Final touch, I sculpted the letters out of Magic Sculpt and glued them to a sheet of thick plastic packaging.

The most complicated piece I've done in some time. If only I'd had time to add sound effects. Completed Dec 2008

Lina Inverse!

2009-01-04T14:00:00.000-05:00

Character:
Lina Inverse, of Slayers fame.

Construction:
I decided to do Lina because I spotted this doll:

and I thought, look at those huge 'anime' eyes on Ariel. Ariel is from the Shimmer Princess line, as is the Mulan I used here.

She has an entirely new hand-made costume. Her accents which are not cloth are Kneadatite. All costume pieces are removable except the earrings, headband (sewn to her head), and the gloves (painted to her hands). This includes 3 optional gem pieces, so she can be displayed as she appeared at the beginning or the end of Slayers Next.

The gems are just rhinestones set in Kneadatite. Her boots are Kneadatite on top of a pair of high Barbie boots that used to have flowers on the sides.

Her eyes, lips, and eyebrows are recolored, and I removed the ugly glitter eyeshadow she used to have. I also removed the ends of her eyelashes, which makes her look a little more excited and awake. I'm very pleased with the final effect. Completed Dec 2008

Sleeping Beauty Ornament

2009-01-02T14:00:00.000-05:00

Construction:
A deceptively simple project, I took a Sleeping Beauty Ornament from the Disney Store, removed the ugly Mickey Mouse head she was holding, removed all the glitter with acetone, and repainted her dress in blue. There are, unfortunately, still pink spots behind where Phillip's legs are closest to her dress, but mortal paintbrushes can only do so much. Done as a gift.

Before:

Completed Dec 2008

Maleficent

2008-12-31T17:30:00.013-05:00

Character:
Maleficent, probably the most awesome Disney villain ever. Famous for invoking "All the powers of Hell", which they tried to drown out with sound effects when rebroadcasting that clip on the Disney Channel. From Sleeping Beauty, as if you didn't know.

Construction:
Maleficent started out as a Mulan Shimmer Princess doll.

I constructed her a new outfit from scratch, and molded her headdress out of Kneadatite. The headdress is removable, and she does have hair underneath, although I had to thin and shorten Mulan's thick tresses for this to work.

The green skin tone was actually created with a new technique: I colored on a wad of paper towel with a Sharpie, blotted the ink on a piece on paper and blended the color gently into her skin. I then painted on new eyes, lips and fingernails.

Her ring is Kneadatite, and her staff Kneadatite, a skewer, and a handle taken off a wand from another doll.

I painted Mulan's original shoes black, and finished her off with a gift box, covering the Princess logos and art with a screenshot from the internet (behind the doll) and a color copy of the front of the DVD.

Created as a gift. Completed Dec 2008

Elemental Pony of Air

2008-11-17T19:19:00.005-05:00

Character:
2 years after Fire and Water, finally comes Air to join them. Her design is a lot simpler, airier, if you will...

Construction:
Her original base color is white, a G3 "Sunny Daze". I removed the hoof magnet, the original symbol (a happy sun), and her original hair. She received a full mane and tail re-root, sculpted symbol and headband are Kneadatite. Much less sculpting on this one than the other Elemental Ponies, and I chose to do just a light paint design spreading from the symbol and up from the hooves. I redid the color in the eyes, and styled her hair to look "windswept", with some success. I'd like to say that I intended that her wind symbol to remind you of pegasus wings when viewed from the front, but in truth, it's a happy accident. I did think about using a pegasus for Air, but I like that she's a spirit of air, not literally flying with wings. Completed Nov 2008

Article: It's Better Than Good

2008-11-14T14:07:00.009-05:00

I've posted a new article over at The Clearance Bin.

Click over for some words on kitbashing and accessory swaps.

Part Two: It's Better Than Good, It's Yours.

Comment Below!

Article: Rescue Me!

2008-10-24T20:25:00.001-04:00

Erin's asked me to write (and I wanted to write) a series of articles about customs and general toy work.

Part One: Rescue Me! is now live over at The Clearance Bin.
Check it out for some how-to's about basic cleaning and repair of figures.

Comments? Questions? Comment Below!

Kami, the Cicada

2008-10-17T13:52:00.004-04:00

Character:
Kami is a musician and dancer, a jester-type character. Her insect is the cicada. (Did you know that the 13 and 17 year periodical cicadas are genus Magicicada? No Kidding.)

Construction:
Kami started with picking the right doll. Her base doll is a Barbie "12 Dancing Princesses" doll. She came in a pack as one of two "twins". I picked her for three reasons: her fun hairstyle, her elbow joints, and she's more like a Skipper than a Barbie, only 10" tall.

After removing her costume, I sculpted a number of details onto her with Magic Sculpt: a mask-like headdress (there's small antennae there, but you have to look close), a neck band and upper arm cuffs, and a ribbon motif along her lower arms, matching what she came with on her legs.

The wings were always going to be a big part of this project. I was living near DC in 2004 when Brood X appeared, and was struck by how beautiful cicadas' wings are. The wings are carefully copied from pictures of real wings. Sculpted lines of Kneadatite on clear plastic, cut out, and painted. The internal cells of the wings are painted in a mixture of gloss, paint, and "stained glass" paint, to vary the internal color of the panels. The veins are done in brown, glossed over with an orangy-gold. All four wings are screwed independently into her back, and may be individually posed.

She got a "tattoo" of paint patterned after a very pretty cicada I found a picture of, and the design on her headdress is also from an actual insect. I repainted her eyes and lips, and all of the sculpted elements. Her costume is made out of ribbon, fabric, and silk flower leaves, with seed bead decorations

Since cicadas are notorious noisemakers, I decided to give her a tambourine accessory. It's made out of Kneadatite, with part of a handle of a Barbie hairbrush implanted to give her something to hold. Then vellum on top and bells around the sides. The base which she came with works better for her than a generic Barbie base, but it was a hideous pastel teal. I went over it with Sharpie and paint, and got a fairly nice effect.

Overall, I'm really very pleased with the final project. I had this one in the back of my mind for a long time, and now that she's done, she may be my favorite fairy yet. Completed Oct 2008

Alicia

2008-10-05T00:14:00.009-04:00

Character:
Alicia is an original character, a gothish-punk vampire, who I played in a 2 yr World of Darkness campaign.

Construction:
After working on Calendar Girl and Poison Ivy, I had a few headless Animated Witchblade figures. Looking at them I realized one would be perfect for Alicia, and that’s when I decided to make the figure in the first place (I had initially shied away from doing gaming characters.) She may have the dubious honor of being the figure who sat on my worktable in pieces for the longest time before being completed.

Witchblade Figure/In Progress Picture:

I carved down the right arm, and replaced the right hand with a JL Hawkgirl hand I had to spare.

The new head is from a B:taS Harley Quinn. I had to do a lot of work on the neck joint, since the original joints did not match at all. I removed all the paint, smoothed down the mask lines (much easier said than done), and chopped off the jester hat points.

I used Kneadatite to give her a new hairdo and to form a new jacket cuff on the right arm. This is the first figure I've used Kneadatite on, and I love the final effect-it's flexible and sturdy. I did find it challenging to work with, but I think I just need more practice.

I left the undershirt red, gave the rest a nice coat of paint, and she’s out on the town. Completed Oct 2008

Bat-Suit (in a Bat-Case, with a Bat-Light)

2008-05-12T17:12:00.004-04:00

Character:
Another Erin "commission". Behold. BatSuit in a case!
(Can I even say how much I like the fact that there is a Wikipedia article just for the Batsuit. I shouldn't be surprised, I know...)

Construction:
The Bat-Body is a B:tAS "Battle Scars Batman" from a 2-pack w/Catwoman. I removed the "scars" with acetone, and painted over his blue gloves/boots, etc. to black. I went over his belt with better colors, including some shading. His arms and head were removed. I chopped down his blocky shoulders, and reattached his arms closer to his body. The cape is made out of umbrella fabric.

Between the time I started and finished this project, unfortunately, I lost his head, so the cowl is from a head pulled from a random old aqua suited Batman. I carved out the face portion, then extended the bottom edge down and the ears up with modeling compound. It came out okay, but up close it does look a little... battle damaged, maybe? Maybe that's why it's in storage. Added a post to "hold up" the cowl and make it easy to see there's no person in that suit.

The case is from a Code Lyoko set picked up cheap. The light is a small round LED light, which is not attached so that it's easier to turn on and off. I removed all the Lyoko stuff from the inside of the tube, then cut a huge hole in the top, and sculpted a lip to hold the light at a good height. Painted the whole thing black, then brushed thin silver over the outside to give it a metallic gleam. Cut a piece of mirrored paper to fit the inside, added the Bat Figure, and we have a nice addition to our Bat-Shelf. Completed May 2008

Phoenix

2008-05-05T13:16:00.005-04:00

Character:
Phoenix, AKA Jean Grey of the X-Men. This is original costume Phoenix, from her first appearance (X-Men 101, Oct 1976). Phoenix is a powerful telekinetic and telepath, with flight, energy projection, and eventual psychic control over the very atoms of the universe. (No, her power is not to make things levitate and explode. Stupid movie.) Phoenix was originally described as Jean's own power, but now is generally Jean merged with the Phoenix Force. She often manifests the firebird when using her powers. When Jean is unable to control the power of Phoenix, she risks becoming Dark Phoenix, a capricious force of great destruction. But here we see Phoenix pure and simple.

Construction:
Phoenix is built on a Marvel Select "New X-Men Phoenix" designed from the storyline "Here Comes Tomorrow". Erin very much wanted a Phoenix figure, and he bought this one, on the logic that it was the best he could get for now.
I said, "If you bring that ugly toy into the house, I'll have to 'fix' it." He said, "Really? Great!"

See Below for the original figure:

As I called her, "evil-slut-phoenix" got her pointy black outfit Dremeled off, and all paint removed from her face. I did a bit of subtle resculpting in her face, cut her eyes a bit wider. I used Magic Sculpt to add the neckline of her costume, her glove and boot-tops, and filled out her waist just a touch. She got a full body repaint, (including freehanding the symbol), new highlights in her hair, and her eyes and lips redone. Her belt is fabric, glue, wire, and velcro, and the symbol clasp is cut out of a small piece of Sculpey. Put her back in her base, and she's ready to fly.

For my first foray into 8" scale, I think she turned out pretty nice. Completed May 2008.

Satia, The Moth

2008-05-05T12:50:00.006-04:00

Character:
Satia is the Prime Minister of the Faerie Court, first and most trusted adviser to the Queen. Her insect is an Indian Luna Moth.

Construction:
Satia is made from a Asian-looking Barbie I picked up at a yard sale. Her dress is completely hand-sewn from scratch, her detachable sleeves are silk flower leaves. Her wings are fabric sewn over a wire armature and painted. As shown, they can spread out or wrap around her body, and are highly flexible. Her "antennae" are pheasant feathers. She had a nice face paint, so I left it as is. Completed February 2008.

Starcrossed: Group

2008-03-13T16:40:00.003-04:00

Full Starcrossed group Shot.
One of these days Clark and J'onn will get added. One of these days.

Starcrossed: Shayera

2008-03-13T16:27:00.003-04:00

Character:
Shayera Hol, aka Hawkgirl. As seen in Thanagarian armor, in the Justice League episode: Starcrossed.

Construction:
Shayera was made from a Justice Lord Hawkgirl, all detailing removed except the helmet. Hair donated from a standard Hawkgirl. Armored breastplate, shoulder pads, gauntlets, belt, boot-tops added in Magic Sculpt. She needed a full repaint so her skin tone would match throughout. I chose (as I often do), to give the colors the depth, that I think they would have in three dimensions, as opposed to staying strictly on the 2d animated model. I think this helps the figures stand out more. For example, in the episode, she's painted with a goldish yellow, and I went with actual metallic gold. I gave her hawk symbol, and some of her armor, a coat of gloss, and she's done.

Starcrossed: John Stewart

2008-03-13T16:15:00.003-04:00

Character:
John Stewart, aka Green Lantern. As seen in civilian disguise in the Justice League episode: Starcrossed.

Construction:
John is a Justice League GL, and a whole lot of sculpting. Edge of the sweatshirt is vinyl, pants, shirt hood, cuffs, and hat out of Magic Sculpt. Careful paint color match to the episode, and that's all.

Starcrossed: Wally

2008-03-07T15:16:00.003-05:00

Character:
Wally West, aka The Flash. As seen in civilian disguise in the Justice League episode: Starcrossed. An episode notable for revealing that it was in fact Wally West in the Flash costume, and not one of the other bearers of the name.

Construction:
I'm fairly proud of this one. He was entirely sculpted off of a JL Flash. That means sanding down the mask, sculpting ears. painting eyes from scratch, etc. Vinyl attached at the waist creates the lower edge of his shirt. Everything is Magic Sculpt, pants, sneakers, shirt cuffs, hair. Head to toe paint job, and he's safely camouflaged as a normal joe.

Starcrossed: Bruce

2008-03-07T14:48:00.004-05:00

Character:
Bruce Wayne, also known as Batman. As seen in civilian disguise in the the Justice League episode: Starcrossed.

Construction:
Bruce here started life as an Undercover Bruce Wayne from B:TAS. This puts him slightly out of the scale with the others, who are the smaller Justice League scale, but I couldn't get his head out without wrecking it. His legs from the the thighs down were donated by a JLU Batman so he could have working knees. (Eventually I want him in a scale chair for this display.) I took out some height when I added the new legs. Square shoulders rounded with knife and Dremel, jacket, pant cuffs and little hair (tuft? bangs? Whatever it is.) added with Magic Sculpt. Paint, gloss on the jacket, and he's done.

Aren't they cute?

Starcrossed: Diana

2008-03-07T14:33:00.006-05:00

(A year since they first appeared at Custom Con, I'm finally uploading these guys)

Character:
Diana, Princess of the Amazon island of Themyscira, also known as Wonder Woman. As seen in civilian disguise in the the Justice League episode: Starcrossed.

Construction:
Made from a JL Wonder Woman. She was the first one of the Starcrossed gang that I did. I would make her taller, were I to do her over, but overall she looks good.
Her awesome flared pants and shirt are done out of Magic Sculpt. I cut off all her hair (no fun), and the ponytail was made separately out of Sculpey and attached with a pin and glue. A new paint job and she's set.

Tasslehoff Burrfoot

2008-01-25T10:54:00.000-05:00

Character:
Another Dragonlance figure. Raistlin needed a friend, so to speak. Tasslehoff is a kender, which is pretentious writer speak for "We think hobbits are boring". The most adorable of all Dragonlance characters, and second only to the previously posted mage in popularity, words commonly used to describe Tas include 'troublemaking', 'lightfingered', and 'irrepressible'.

My Tasslehoff is approx 10" tall. He carries his hoopak, along with several bags, pouches, rope, and two maps (not pictured). In his characteristic fur vest and blue leggings, he is ready and eager for adventure.

Construction:
Tasslehoff is built on a FoTR Frodo doll. He had all his hair shaved off and replaced with a hand-crafted wig, and his face paint was removed and redone. His costume is entirely handsewn. The Backpack is from the Frodo doll, the belt and the bag with the green strap from a Gandalf. The rope coiled around his arm is actually a hemp necklace, and his hoopak is a carved and painted piece of craft wood. His maps (not pictured) are photocopied from the front of the annotated Chronicles, reduced and printed onto tan colored paper. Originally posted online (different pictures) for Custom Con 16. Completed in 2005.

Raistlin Majere

2008-01-07T15:32:00.001-05:00

Character:
Possibly the reason I got into customizing. Possibly my favorite creation. I may make much more elaborate, better projects, but...Dragonlance will always have a place in my heart, no matter how trashy it gets. And for many Dragonlance fans, the soul of the series is Raistlin Majere: The Character Too Cool To Die. Most Powerful Black Robe Mage. Master of Past and Present. Popular enough to merit his own prequel duology, on top of the prequels already written, as well as appearing in one novella and at least three novels AFTER his canonical demise. Another book, currently pending, promises to account for every moment of his life thus far unchronicled. (In other words, he's the proven moneymaker for Weis/Hickman.)

This is probably cause he's Evil. (Sometimes). Selfish, twisted, secretly kind once in a blue moon, and of course, AWESOME.

My Raistlin figure is 12" tall, dressed in black robes. (according to Tas: "Red always makes him look kind of jaundiced, if you know what I mean.") His accessories include the Staff of Magius, two spellbooks and a satchel to carry them in. Seen below with Tasslehoff Burrfoot.
Originally posted online (different pictures) for Custom Con 16.

Construction:
Raist is a 12' FoTR Aragron. I kept Aragorn's boots, and colored them black with a fabric pen. The rest of the costume is hand sewn black velvet. The figure got a paint treatment on all exposed skin/hair after I filed down Aragorn's stubble. I'm not going to go into how long those damned eyes took me. His two spellbooks (Yes, one black and gold, one nightblue and silver) are handbound into fabric covers, and do contain writing, printed off my computer. The Staff of Magius is a painted dowel, a pewter dragon claw necklace bent into a new shape and painted gold, and a faceted quartz crystal. (Yes I know, it's usually described as a ball, but it's faceted in some pictures. Check the first edition cover of Time of the Twins. Picky.) Completed back in 2005.

Supergirl (Old-School)

2007-12-28T10:13:00.001-05:00

Character:
Supergirl. Kara is, uh, the last daughter of Krypton. Younger than Superman, she lives with the Kents and hangs out with her "cousin" when she can. As featured in S:TAS.

Construction:
Kara was another rescue from the box o'figures I bought last summer. She had some damage to her hair and shirt, which I sanded down and smoothed over. I gave her almost a complete repaint, to fix her color scheme. For some reason, her hair was bright primary yellow, while her boots/skirt were done in muted red and blue. Changed that. I cleaned up the paint on her shirt, gloves, and face, added the black edging on the shirt and her headband. To save myself the headache of redoing it, the S symbol is original. I also added the cape tabs with Magic Sculpt, and the cape, made of a light plastic-like fabric, cut from an ugly skirt donated by an urban type Barbie.

In the end, she's not a perfect animated Supergirl, but she goes well with the Old School Superman. Besides, I prefer her to that tiny mutant thing they released for Justice League, who looks as if she'd be about 3' tall and 20 lbs. I have one of those, and eventually she'll become somebody, but not Supergirl.

World's Finest

2007-12-27T17:27:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been 9 months since I stopped posting here. I haven't been doing much toy work, been too busy with life and pay-the-bills work. I do have a backlog still, some projects I submitted to CustomCon last March that I'd like to also put up here, and maybe I'll finally get to that. For now, here's a minor project from this summer.

Character/Construction:
So this summer I bought a box of action figures on Ebay. One of the more interesting was the Supes you see on the right. After some searching, I've identified him as Quick-Change Superman, from the line for Superman: the Animated Series. I thought he was neat, as we don't have any Animated DC figs from the early waves. I know he isn't terribly accurate to S:TAS, but his look is so different from JLU, etc, that I think it gives him a real old-school feel. He had some serious dirt and paint-scuffs, particularly in his hair, which I touched up.

But the real project was to give him a friend. So, I took a fairly generic Bats, cleaned him up, took apart one of those ugly clip-around-the-neck capes and carefully glued the fabric onto his back, like Kal has his, along the line where the paint color changes on the back of the shoulders.

Tada! World's Finest Batman and Superman, complete with matching fabric capes.
Simple, I know, but I think the end effect is nice.

Princess Lysandra, the Caterpillar

2007-03-27T11:06:00.000-04:00

Character:
The infant Princess Lysandra, darling of the Faerie Court. In some ways, she is the inspiration for the whole project. It occurred to me that if Fairies look like butterflies, shouldn't baby fairies be caterpillars?

Construction:
The Princess is a Kelly doll. Her insect, obviously, is the caterpillar. Her segmented hind quarters, seen below, is permanent, but flexible; made of nylon, accented with dimensional fabric paint. She also received a costume, consisting of a collar, chiffon wrap skirt, and circlet. Her eyes and lips were painted to match her mother. Completed 2007

Olivia Flaversham

2007-03-20T13:11:00.000-04:00

Character:
The Adorable Miss Olivia Flaversham. From what is possibly my very favorite Disney Movie, The Great Mouse Detective. Based loosely on the books by Eve Titus, the movie is notable for early CG use and that two of the directors went directly on from this to helm The Little Mermaid. And it's awesome. Trust me.

Construction:
Olivia started life as a Magical-Do-Re-Mi PVC Figure (Left). About the only things remaining from that figure are the hands and the edge of the skirt.
She stands about 2" tall.

Extensive carving followed by extensive sculpting, a complete paint job, and she's ready to face anyone in Mousedom! Completed 2007

The Faerie Queen

2007-03-09T18:04:00.000-05:00

Character:
The mysterious Queen of the Faerie Court. Her Insect inspiration is a Spanish Lacewing butterfly.

Construction:
She was a Princess of Ancient Greece Barbie. I chose her for her hair-style and eyes, both of which are kept. I gave her a new lipstick color, new eye color, and her costume and wings. Her dress is made out of silk flower petals and lace. Jewelry, Crown and accents are hematite, crystal beads and wire. Her wings are clear plastic, covered on the front with "scales" cut from feathers, colored with Sharpie on the back for depth of color. They are mounted to her back with wire, so they are slightly moveable. Completed 2006.

Poison Ivy

2007-03-05T12:10:00.000-05:00

Character:
Poison Ivy, as seen after the redesign on Batman: the Animated Series.

Construction:
Mostly based on recipe from Inanimate Objects: Hawkgirl base, Animated Witchblade head. She has sculpted hair, glove- and boot-tops. My Ivy also has her dress made out of glue-stiffened nylon, which takes away from the animated look, but lets it lie flat over her hip joints without gumming them up. I'm not thrilled with the way her hair came out, but it was my first time working with Magic Sculpt. I also experimented with the paint to try and capture the strong highlighting seen in the animation, and I like the way that turned out. Completed 2006

Fairy Ginny

2007-02-27T14:34:00.001-05:00

Character:
Designed and made as a gift. I had a small collection of Ginny dolls as a child, but they are not common. I do not know of any other Ginny fairy dolls.

Construction:
Base: Ginny Doll purchased on Ebay. Ginny is produced by Vogue Dolls, and is not sold in most toy stores. She retains her original hair and face paint, simply received a good cleaning. Her new dress is made from lace and silk flower petals, her crown from silk flowers, wire and crystals, and her original shoes were painted to match. Her wings are clear plastic, covered in feathers. All costume pieces are removable. Completed 2006

FYI: Before and After

2007-02-26T10:17:00.000-05:00

Today I thought I'd share with anyone who's interested a few before and after shots from some of those early projects. (I forgot to take before shots for most of the more recent projects.)

So if you're unclear about just how much has changed, or not changed for some of these, here's some examples, click for larger versions.

Nonhumans:
Denim Blue/Queen Lizzie, Daydream Bear/Ninja Bear
It's hard to tell in the pics, but among other changes, small symbols were painted out of the eyes in both cases.

Dolls:
Before........................................

After....... Beach Barbie/Amazon, Sport Doll/Mermaid, Fashion Fever Drew/Rogue

Sharp eyes will note that the Amazon's arm band started as an accessory for another doll.
And now you know.

First Projects: Mermaid

2007-02-22T16:55:00.000-05:00

Character:
Another early experiment, I know very little about this girl other than she obviously lives in the sea. Not a true fish-finned mermaid, but some relation.

Construction:
Base: generic Barbie knock-off from the dollar store. Hair dyed with paint, yarn streaks added, full body paint treatment (Note scales on shoulders). Hand sewn costume from scrap fabric. Completed 2005.

First Projects: Amazon

2007-02-22T16:41:00.000-05:00

Character:
A preliminary experiment when I was first beginning to explore customizing. Initially I thought about trying to hack off one of her breasts, but the discovery that Barbie torsos are very hard hollow plastic put me off that idea, leading to this simple doll. The toy set-up in the back indicates that this photo was taken in DC shortly after her completion.

Construction:
A beach Barbie, chosen for flat feet and closed smile, got a very different hair-do, removed toenail polish and toned down facial makeup. Hand sewn costume. Dress: linen with button/paint and wire accent, Sandals: Leather scraps and necklace cord, Spear: carved out of craft wood, balsa or similar. Completed 2005

Queen Lizzie

2007-02-20T19:27:00.001-05:00

Character:
Elizabeth, by the Grace of God, Queen of Ponyland, Dream Valley, Flutter Valley, and The Volcano of Gloom, Fidei defensor, etc.

Construction:
Conceived and created as a gift, Lizzie began as a G3 "Denim Blue". Received full mane and tail re-root, new symbol (including tiny symbol on off front hoof, not pictured), eye touch-ups to cover ugly little hearts, and hand-sewn costume. Given in custom packaging (not pictured) created by Erin.
Completed 2005

Marle, Home Time: 1000 A.D.

2007-02-20T18:58:00.000-05:00

Character:
Marle. Second of only two completed Chrono Trigger figures.

Construction:
Another ugly "Flavas" Barbie. Hair removed and re-rooted with gold. Face completely repainted. Costume sewn from scratch. Marle's Pendant came with some other figure, got some paint touch-up. Completed 2006

Talia al Ghul

2007-02-14T14:30:00.000-05:00

Character:
Talia, daughter of Ra's al Ghul, and love interest of Batman. Here's hoping she'll turn up in a movie, when we see Ra's again.
(Side note: Say it with me... Raysh Al Ghul. Long A sound. There. Now you know.)
Seen here in her costume from the wonderful B:tAS episode "The Demon's Quest".

Construction:
Head from a Talia figure on an unknown body, some sort of catlike warrior figure. Dremeled off all the armor and removed the paint to find a nice flesh tone underneath. Slight resculpting on the hair, repainted hair and facial features. Skirt, top and bracelets added with various sculpting compounds, paint. Completed 2006.

Ayla, Home Time: 65 Million BC

2007-02-13T14:54:00.000-05:00

Character:
Ayla. At one point I began a set of Chrono Trigger figures, but only completed a couple before losing interest and moving on to other projects. She came out pretty well though.

Construction:
Began life as a hideous "Flavas" Barbie, chosen for poseability and height. She looks oddly short next to a normal (i.e., inhumanly tall) Barbie, but she would have looked right in scale with the male dolls. Had I finished them. Her hair was restyled and trimmed, and her face painted. Made the outfit out of fake fur that was given a paint treatment.
Completed late 2005

Catwoman (and Isis)

2007-02-09T16:01:00.000-05:00

Character:
Batman: The Animated Series Catwoman.
Just my design tastes really; for the more villainous Gotham girls, I worked off of the redesign (AKA:The New Batman Adventures, AKA: BtAS:Gotham Knights), but for Selina Kyle I decided I preferred the older style.
Selina/Catwoman is, of course, a cat burglar, sometime wildlife activist, and major love interest for Bruce Wayne/Batman.
Isis is her beloved cat.

Construction:
Catwoman is made from a Talia body and Wind Blitz Batgirl head. Took off all of Talia's detail work with knife and Dremel, then cut off one leg and one arm at the elbow to reposition them. She's not as awfully bowlegged now. Cut off and reversed Batgirl's 'ears', did major reconstruction on the back of her head, and minor resculpting on the mask and mouth area. A full paint job, added the belt and whip, made Isis out of bendable Sculpey, and she's out for a night on the rooftops. Completed 2006

Ninja Bear!

2007-02-09T15:05:00.000-05:00

Character:
A very early project based on a sketch done by Erin during the year in Sunderland.
I think Ninja Bear decided that the Care Bear Stare isn't enough anymore.
It's time to take the war to DarkHeart's doorstep. Or something.

Construction:
A new "Daydream Bear" (Who??) got his tummy removed and some of the over stuffing taken out. I removed the existing symbol from the white piece, hand embroidered a new throwing star and heart symbol, and restored the piece. Ninja mask made from scratch, toy scale katana in sheath bought later. Completed 2005 (Sword added 06)

Elemental Pony of Water

2007-02-07T15:33:00.000-05:00

Character:
Here's a companion for Fire, Water. I wanted to give the impression that she's formed of water, not just representative. Note the puddle spreading from the hoof in the rear view picture.

Construction:
Water started blue, but received a full body paint treatment. Same as Fire, a G3 who got a full hair re-root, sculpted elements are Magic Sculpt. Also on both, I removed the magnet in the front hoof. Vintage My Little Ponies contain no magnets! I suppose it's all very well if you need it to interact with whatever the play sets are nowadays. Personally I'm uneasy about leaving a fairly strong magnet in a toy which I know I would forget contains a magnet and leave it near some videos or something. I was lucky when I took her apart, she contained very little glue at the neck joint, and I was able to put her back together without using any, so she has some articulation there. Completed 2006

Rogue

2007-02-05T14:22:00.000-05:00

Character:
Oh come on. Rogue. Only not annoying, whiny, "I got my personality crossed with Jubilee/Shadowcat" Rogue from the movies. Or....*reading*... new Sunfire-powers Rogue? The Rogue I know and love has flight and super-strength, as well as power absorption. And sounds like Lenore Zann.

Construction:
Rogue started as a Fashion Fever Barbie. I put a wave in her existing hair, added the white streak, and the outfit. She's sewn into that bodysuit, unfortunately, and if you were to see the back, you'd see that the stitching isn't so lovely. Rogue was one of the first custom dolls I completed and so a lot of experimentation went into her. Her 'gloves' are bits of sculpting compound over her wrists, painted along with her hands. Also received paint touch-up on eyes/lips. Completed 2005

Charane, the Spider

2007-02-02T15:18:00.000-05:00

Character:
Charane, first completed member of the Faerie Court, is a mystic and adviser to the Queen.

Construction:
Removed the lower part of the donor doll's legs, then made the hollow spider body out of Sculpey, attached with glue and some Magic Sculpt at the seams. Did you know that the hard plastic rod in the center of a soft plastic Barbie leg is white and even looks a bit like bone when you cut it off? Said donor doll was a twist-and-turn Barbie, and Charane retains both a twisting articulation at the waist and a vertical articulation at the hips. The Spider legs are silk flower stems covered in nylon. Her dress is also painted nylon. She obviously received a full repaint of all exposed skin and hair. Here's a couple more pictures. Completed 2006

Harley Quinn

2007-02-01T11:12:00.000-05:00

Character:
My favorite Gotham Girl, Ms. Harleen Quinzel. Ain't she cute?

Construction:
Based on New School Harley recipe from Inanimate Objects. (Many Awesome DCU Customs. Much better than mine.) JLU Hawkgirl body, Harley Head. Transferred boot-tops from Harley figure. I kept Harley's hands as well, filled out the hat tassels and added the neck tassels with Magic Sculpt. Bright clean paint job and she's ready for trouble! Completed 2006

As you can see, I'm a bit of a fan... Here's my new Harley with her store-bought cousins.

Calendar Girl gets no love

2007-02-01T10:40:00.000-05:00

Character:
Calendar Girl. I like her. Nobody likes her. Maybe it's because she's from one, single, kinda mediocre, episode of Batman:TAS. Based on the lame old supervillain 'Calendar Man', who based crimes on things like seasons and the days of the week, Calendar Girl is a has-been supermodel. Her MO: attacks/kidnaps the jerks who won't hire her now that she's 30, and has multiple different colored outfits over the course of the episode, based on holidays. Seen above is the final, Halloween. I think she's fun.

Construction:
Calendar Girl was my first true foray into action figure scale, and she's certainly not perfect. She is part of a set of Girls of Gotham. Made from a JLU Vixen base, with an animated Witchblade head and Sculpey hair. Her skirt and glove cuffs are nylon soaked in glue and painted, which is my own technique as far as I know. Completed Spring 2006

Stormy

2007-01-31T12:25:00.000-05:00

Character:
Here's the lovely and tempestuous Stormy. Yeah, from Rainbow Brite. Never released as an official doll (except possibly in Germany?) she is a pretty standard project for RB customizers. Cause she's awesome. The Color Kids have powers like... they don't have powers. Rainbow makes things colorful. Stormy can call lightning and make winter happen.

Construction:
Started life as a original 1983 Rainbow. Received full hair re-root, paint touch-up on face to change eye and lip color. New soft body and removable dress sewn from scratch, patterned off of Rainbow. Upper thigh and hand pieces saved from original doll. Completed 2005

Elemental Pony of Fire

2007-01-30T14:22:00.000-05:00

As you can see, I work in many different media....

Character:
First of a set of Elemental Ponies, here is Fire. I first wanted to do this Pony over 2 years ago, after going camping. Fire is lava and flame made flesh... okay, plastic.

Construction:
Started life as a G3 My Little Pony with the unfortunate name "Sparkleworks".
An "evening wear" Pony, she came with an ugly pink tutu and crown, which didn't rescue her from languishing on the shelf until finally marked down to under 2 bucks.
Received a complete hair re-root, extensive sculpture, body paint and a new lease on toyhood. Sculpted elements are Magic Sculpt. Completed Summer 2006

Aya, the Dragonfly

2007-01-29T13:06:00.000-05:00

So here we are. In the internet age.
Aya is here to welcome you to the cyber home of my custom creations.

Not the most perfect picture of my girl there, but enough to begin.

Character:
Aya is a member of my 12" Barbie-scale Faerie Court. Each doll in this (slowly) growing set is inspired by a different insect. Aya, the dragonfly, is the exotic governess and maid for the infant princess (under construction).

Construction:
She received a face repaint/touch-up, with some body paint on the back. Her hair is original to the doll. Dress and shoes made out of silk leaves. Her wings are acetate with a front of painted silk chiffon. I'm not thrilled with the look of them, but not unhappy either. All four wings are poseable up and down. Completed Summer 2006

As I get the hang of this blogging thing, and get the time to take some good photos, more customs should be posted here. Enjoy!