Re: Work In Progress--Deryni Action Figure Project (was Duncan Action Figure)

[Aerlys]

Hey, Evie! I just found some noble steeds for the littles:



(While our three piggies would love to volunteer for the job, they'll have to wait for my chain mail making son to craft something for them. This suit of armor recently sold for $24,000!)





So Luke won't feel left out, here's this:






Finally, for those occasions when a larger beast is required for mass-transit:




(Uh oh, I think the guys from the Redwall forum are at my door...)

[Evie]

ROFL!  I've seen the guinea pig one, but not the others.   

Off to my MRI now--huzzah!

[Laurna]

Those are wonderful, Aerlys.  Those truly made me laugh!
Love Sir Knighted Squirrel!
Good Luck,  Evie!

[Jerusha]

The squirrel is priceless, Aerlys!  It made me smile after one of those days when nothing went quite right the first time (second try appears to be the charm.)

However, none of these knights in their armor are allowed to accompany Evie to her MRI!   

(Hope all goes well, Evie.)

[revanne]

Wonderful pictures though I think that furry felines are scary enough without armour (our large black dog is terrified of our moggies). Hope all went well for the MRI Evie

[Aerlys]

It made me smile after one of those days when nothing went quite right the first time (second try appears to be the charm.)

Here's hoping both the first and second MRI's went right for Evie.

Wonderful pictures though I think that furry felines are scary enough without armour (our large black dog is terrified of our moggies). Hope all went well for the MRI Evie

I love the word "moggy," and I wish Americans used it.  I've always wondered how it came to be used in reference to cats.

[Elkhound]

The person who took the picture of the cat almost certainly didn't put the armor on it.  That person has retired to the bathroom with gauze and iodine.

[Aerlys]

For that matter, have you ever tried holding a squirrel? DH was bitten by one once, and the blasted thing chomped down so hard that, despite swinging his arm furiously in the air, it WOULD NOT LET GO!

I'm sure the person who dressed the squirrel was sitting in the ER getting a rabies shot, seriously regretting that the little guy was now also well-armed!.

[Elkhound]

I think they actually did make suits of armor for dogs.

[Evie]

I don't recall seeing period armor for dogs when I was museum hopping in Europe,  although I did see a dog collar collection at Leeds Castle (I think it was Leeds) that had some wicked spikes on them.  They certainly would have been effective at protecting a dog's throat.  I remember seeing armor for war horses,  though.  Dog armor would be pretty cool, if it didn't impede a hound 's ability to hunt.  (I imagine hunting hound would be the dogs in most need of protective gear.)  Might be interesting to do a search online to see if there is any evidence for it in period.

For the same reasons you described earlier,  I think we're safe in ruling period cat armor out. 

[Elkhound]

I saw a picture in a coffee-table type book about midaeval armour.  I don't have the book, so I can't testify as to the exact period or country.  The dog model looked something along the lines of a modern Rottwieler.

[Evie]

I certainly wouldn't want to mess with a Rottweiler even without dog armor,  and that's even knowing most Rottweilers are giant teddy bears!  I imagine an armored dog that size would be formidable.   Sort of like a tank with teeth....

[Shiral]

I certainly wouldn't want to mess with a Rottweiler even without dog armor,  and that's even knowing most Rottweilers are giant teddy bears!  I imagine an armored dog that size would be formidable.   Sort of like a tank with teeth....

I know I wouldn't want to meet a tank with teeth. =o) For the same reason I wouldn't want to hold up cat armor and expect to make either of my cats actually wear it.

Melissa

[Evie]

I have a Celsie and two Sophie candidates:


Quandary by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

So now my quandary is, which brunette is the better choice for Sophie, and what should I do with the other girl?

I originally got the doll on the right (with the pink striped top) as a thrift store find.  She was in pretty rough shape, but something about her face looked very "Sophie-like" to me, so I bought her anyway.  Unlike most Barbies, whose scalp is painted to match their hair color to conceal any bald spots, she had unpainted scalp and a very bad rooting job with many bald areas.  I didn't have any matching hair to try to fill in the bald spots with (I love that chocolate brown hair, but it is so hard to find a Barbie with hair that color!), so I just painted her scalp as best I could to cover the worst areas, then pulled her hair back into a ponytail (which I think it was originally rooted for anyway) and then braided it.  So she turned out looking even more like Sophie after it was braided, even though she lacked Sophie's luxuriant tresses sufficient for two braids rather than one.  (A two braid style would not have been at all possible due to where her bald spots are!)  I set her aside thinking I might be able to locate some more of the chocolate brown hair someday and reroot her from scratch if necessary, even though I'm not very good at rerooting, and there's a good chance of me messing up her hairline and ruining her head if I do.     But despite all her flaws, something about her sweet face just speaks to me, so she'll end up staying in my collection whether she ends up being Sophie or not.

The other brunette was purchased this weekend.  She's one of the few I actually paid full price for, partly because she's one of the few Barbies whose wardrobe doesn't make me want to completely run away screaming, so I thought the outfit might work for one of my modern characters.  But again, I was drawn to her face, which had that certain Sophie-like quality to it.  (I think they are both meant to be Barbie's friend Teresa, so that might be why I could see a similarity between them.)  Her hair is more Sophie-like to me in terms of thickness and her ability to wear it in two braids.  I would prefer it just a little darker, but that's easily enough remedied.  For a brief moment, I thought about trying to transform her to Ailidh, but in addition to a boil perm, that would require so much acrylic paint wash overlaying that brown hair to turn it auburn that I'm afraid it would end up stiff and wiry.  (I already have an Ailidh, but I'm reconsidering her because she looks great by herself, but beside a Barbie her facial proportions are smaller and her skintone is more gray, giving her an oddly zombie-like look if she's standing beside her two best friends.  It's upsetting because her realistic facial sculpt is really pretty spot-on for Ailidh, so I really wanted her to work out.  )

Here are both potential Sophies with a piece of "Sophie's Wedding Dress Green" fabric draped over them.  Which one do you think it suits more?


Which looks better wearing this shade of green? by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

If the one with two braids seems to have thicker eyelashes as well as thicker hair, that's because she's the only one of my ladies who has actual eyelashes, not just painted on lashes.  (Actually she's got both, which looks a little odd from the side, as if her mascara somehow got smudged onto her eyelid, but isn't really noticeable except from certain angles.)  I've learned a trick on making doll eyelashes from frayed sheer black ribbon, so I might test it out to see how well it works.  If it looks good, my other ladies may have full sets of eyelashes soon. 

Celsie is another thrift store find, and she's still wearing the gown and necklace that she came in.  It's a bit "fairy tale," but it suits her coloring so well, I haven't been in too much of a hurry to change her out of it yet. 

[Aerlys]

Celsie is perfect!

As far as Sophie, that's a tough one. I do prefer the one on the right (the first one you bought), because there really is a special quality to her face. I suppose you could attempt to re-root her, and if that fails the other would be a nice backup. The face on the other one is very pretty and sweet, too, but maybe has just a touch too much glam.

Go with your gut, Evie. If the first is the one that really speaks to you, then try to make her work, provided it won't be too agonizing with your shoulder.