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

[Evie]

I asked Sophie if she knows where her husband's gone off to.  At first she didn't seem overly concerned.  Perhaps he was just in their chamber:

Sophie at the door (revised) by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

But he wasn't.  Sophie decided maybe it was time to start a search for her missing husband.

Looking for Seisyll by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Could he be down in the Hall?

Maybe he's in the Hall by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Maybe he went outside....

Maybe he went outside. by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Or perhaps Duncan knows where he is!

Maybe Duncan knows where he is by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Sophie's search continues:

Maybe Seisyll has gone into the City?

Did he go into the city? by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

He's not at his favorite tavern...

He's not at his favorite tavern by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Hopefully he'll come home soon.

Hopefully he'll come home soon by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Sophie returned to the Castle to inform the King of her husband's disappearance.

The Castle gardens by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

A search party is assembled.  Hopefully the missing knight will be located soon!

Secret meeting by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

[Jerusha]

Has Seisyll gone looking for his Uncle Denis?

Wonderful backgrounds, Evie - let the adventure continue!

[Laurna]

Oh dear, poor Sophie. Her search is beautifully portrayed.

Has the King sent out is best knights to find her missing husband? Has Gigi been possessed by a Torenthi plot to kidnap the good men of Gwynedd. Or has Seisyll fallen into the depths of the void between bookshelf and wall. I want to see this story come to a good end.

Please continue.

[Evie]

At long last, Seisyll has been found!

Sophie finds Seisyll at last by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

The next morning, Sophie found Seisyll just outside the Rhemuth City wall. He was checking out the encampment in the background to ensure that the travelers camped there posed no threat to Royal security.

(Seisyll hasn't received his repaint yet, so I had to do a bit of inexpert Gimp magic to change his hair and eye color as befitting an Arilan.)

[Evie]

Today's mail brought a lovely surprise:

New arrival by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

KK found this little lady at a yard sale and kindly sent it my way to add to the Mini-Deryni Court.  She is on the petite side compared to my action figure ladies and Barbies, and that braided coronet and floral garland are glued into place, so I think she will work best as a young maiden serving as a junior lady-in-waiting to Araxie or perhaps one of the duchesses.  She may be close to Meraude's height.

New arrival by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Here's a closer look at her face.  I might rearrange her hair slightly just to get it out of her face, but since it's glued in place there's a limit to what I can do.  I have doll hair in stock, so if all else fails I could shave off all her old hair and replace it by gluing new hair on her scalp (or making a wig), but I'd prefer to restore her original hair if I can.  Much less work, for one thing, and since this is my first porcelain and cloth doll, I don't want to risk ruining her.  Her dress looks like it will be easy enough to remove and wash with a bit of Woolite, and a Magic Clean sponge will probably get rid of the few dirt smudges on her face and neck, though I'll double-check to make sure it's safe to use on her.  She's really in pretty good shape, so I don't think too much restoration work will be needed.

[DesertRose]

What a lovely doll!  How kind of KK to send it on. 

[Laurna]

Hi Evie,  Pretty doll from KK. I'm sure you have ideas for who she might be. I was thinking that as a conical character, she reminds me of Vanessa, Conalline's mother, after Meraude brought her into the castle to live. Or perhaps she is actually a grown up version of Conalline who can sit with Briony for hours and talk silly girl talk.  Or she could be Celsie and Sean Derry's daughter introduced at court to cause havoc among the young knights.  Now that would drive Derry insane. Imagine Alaric's knowing smile as he teases Lord Derry who incessantly smacks his horse whip in his gloved hand as warning to every young man who watches his daughter. Teach Sean to marry a pretty Deryni lady and have pretty children.

[Jerusha]

She has a lovely face with her hair pulled back out of the way.  If all else fails, maybe you could do a nice "up-do" that will blend in with the existing braid.

[revanne]

Beautiful face - I thought Briony a bit later than KKB but maybe her hair colour is not quite right. The look of misleading demureness fits to how I imagine her though.

  Or she could be Celsie and Sean Derry's daughter introduced at court to cause havoc among the young knights.  Now that would drive Derry insane. Imagine Alaric's knowing smile as he teases Lord Derry who incessantly smacks his horse whip in his gloved hand as warning to every young man who watches his daughter.

I pity any young man who tries to get his way round Derry - Sean will be thinking "I don't believe a word of it. I know just which part of your anatomy you are thinking with...remember that you are speaking to an expert here son!"

[Elkhound]

Cue the Gwyneddian version of "Eight Simple Rules for Dating My Daughter."

[Evie]

Future Schola student by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I found a Skipper doll with jointed knees (I think she originally came with a bicycle) at the thrift store. Unfortunately I don't think there are any Skipper dolls that have jointed knees and elbows, so she's not as poseable as most of my figures, but at least she'll be able to sit properly. Her feet are too small to let her stand on her own, so she'll need to be propped or use a doll stand for standing scenes. But her small size makes her ideal for a young teen scholar, and she was practically free, so I went ahead and got her.  Sadly, the pink streak in her hair will need to go, no matter how much she reminds me of my daughter with her ever-changing hair color. I may darken her hair with a thin wash of black acrylic paint watered down to ink consistency and turn her into Cass Draper, around the age she was in Visionaries.  She'll need proper medieval clothing, of course.

Pink streaks by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Skipper's hair from behind, showing off the pink streaks.

[Evie]

And here's what happened last night with the attempt to turn Skipper into Cass Draper:

Darkening the hair by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I began transforming Skipper into Cass by combing a very thin (watery) wash of diluted acrylic black paint through her hair, using a paintbrush to add slightly thicker paint directly onto the pink streaks for more thorough coverage, then leaving her to air dry. An hour or two later, her hair was still damp. It was visibly darker, but not quite dry enough. I gave her a second wash of paint "dye," using a slightly thicker solution (more like ink or milk than black water) because the first batch was too dilute.

Second layer of color by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

After the second layer of color, the pink stripes were less visible, though they still show up. They look more like highlights than they originally did.

Second layer of color by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

The darkened "highlights" are even less visible from the front, though these photos were taken under room light conditions.  The true test would be seeing how visible the pink remains in sunlight or under a camera flash.

Next day by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Unfortunately once the paint had dried, I discovered it didn't provide as much coverage as I had hoped. Those stubborn pink streaks insist on peeking through.

Next day by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

So I'll try one more, slightly thicker paint wash, but there comes a point where there's a risk of mixing the paint so thick that it leaves the hair stiff rather than silky when it dries.  And I definitely don't want to make the mixture thick enough to risk gluing the strands together with it!  If all else fails, I'll try a reroot.  I have dark, almost-black hair in my craft supplies; I just didn't want to have to go through all that work!  (Not to mention my rooting skills aren't all that good, and I'm always afraid I'm going to tear the vinyl, especially at the hairline.)

[Jerusha]

I see in this latest set of photos that her eyes are blue.  In the first photos they looked grey to me, so I thought she might be a candidate for Eirian Haldane.

Now that you have a Cass Draper, you'll need a Javana, won't you?  *ducks and runs*

[Evie]

The good news is, I saw a doll on eBay that would have made a perfect Javana, down to the lustrous black hair and blue-violet eyes.

The bad news is, she was a one-of-a-kind customized doll, and the bidding started at $99.  I don't know what she ended up selling for, but that was too rich for my blood.   

[Shiral]

The good news is, I saw a doll on eBay that would have made a perfect Javana, down to the lustrous black hair and blue-violet eyes.

The bad news is, she was a one-of-a-kind customized doll, and the bidding started at $99.  I don't know what she ended up selling for, but that was too rich for my blood.   

Those Arilans are hard to get!