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

[Evie]

Well, Duncan had some unexpected adventures this month.  You can read about those here: http://www.rhemuthcastle.com/index.php/topic,1646.0.html.

But in more cheerful news, Grub made like a bandit this Christmas, thanks to some serendipitous finds at the Thrift Store for the wooden doll cradle and building blocks wagon, and an hour or so spent crafting this evening to make her a stick horse:

20151228_022747 by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

IMG_20151228_023014 by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I have some Guatemalan worry dolls at home that should fit perfectly inside the cradle and look like tiny rag dolls (since that's essentially what they are).

20151229_001953 by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I forgot to buy the wooden dowel to finish the stick horse when I was at Hobby Lobby earlier today, but once I have that on hand, she'll have another new toy to play with. 

[Evie]

So, it's Lent, and Duncan has been not so gently hinting that he needs more vestments, so I've made him a new chasuble.



The white-on-white patterned fabric under him might end up becoming a new alb, and I think there's enough of it to also make Kelson a dress undertunic.


(Edited to add direct picture link and additional note re: white fabric.)

[Laurna]

Very nice! I see the prior Duke of Cassan has dipped into his savings and afforded himself a very nice new chasuble( the trim has an Anvil of the Lord flavor to it).  I wonder if Helena had her hand in the sewing of it as a Valentines day (opps) Lent gift.

[Evie]

It's possible Helena might have had a hand in making it, perhaps along with Sister Rothana and/or Richenda helping with some of the embroidery or sewing.

[Evie]

I forgot to post this photo earlier:



But now that Lent is over, it's time for this one!




(Helena wanted to show off her Easter finery too!  )

[Evie]

When Her Majesty Araxie acquired a new body some time back, her original clothing no longer fit her properly, especially the bliaut (the overgown), which doesn't really fit her curvier figure anymore.  So I decided to adjust the fit of the undergown, embellish it so it can be worn as her outerwear, and add a belt with some trim I bought this past weekend.

Here is the gown before I added the belt:



And here it is with the belt added:



The herringbone brick wall and floor are also fairly new creations.  I found some brick patterned fabric on clearance a few months ago, and decided to use spray adhesive to attach some of it to foamcore board (two boards, with one side of each covered with the red brick fabric and the other sides covered with beige brick) so I could have mix and match backdrops and/or flooring. The quilting fabric packets also had grey, black, and brown brick-patterned fabrics, so there might be more brick backdrops in the future, depending on how much use I end up getting out of these.

[Laurna]

Araxie is lovely in her remade gown. The bead buttons are a nice touch. Wonderful scene with the books and the puppy dog at our queens feet. (You know how I love puppy dogs)

[Evie]

Yes, I sure do!    One thing I learned (or at least remembered again, since I'd known it before but forgot) is that the buttons on a cotehardie were often arranged in groups of two or three with a gap between each group, and also the number of buttons per grouping sometimes varied above the waist and below it.  I did three-button groupings on Araxie's bodice and two-button groupings on the skirt below her waist.  The larger number of buttons on the snug bodice would normally help to keep the opening securely fastened if this were a front-opening gown, but in this case the buttons are purely for show.

[Jerusha]

Lovely gown - and I like the puppy dog, too!

[Evie]

Thank you!  The dog was a Hallmark Christmas ornament.  He came with a knit scarf that (mostly) concealed the metal eye used to hang him from a Christmas tree.  I just took off the scarf and unscrewed the eye, and voila!  Instant pet. 

[revanne]

  One thing I learned (or at least remembered again, since I'd known it before but forgot) is that the buttons on a cotehardie were often arranged in groups of two or three with a gap between each group,

Some cassocks still have buttons arranged this way. Although of course traditionally not arranged to fit the female form ;-)

[Evie]

I've never been quite happy with the head I had for Richenda, but she was my first red-haired Barbie that I happened upon at the Thrift Store when I first began this project, and after I found another one that I knew would be perfect for Helena, that first redhead became my Richenda.  Her hair was a darker red than described in the books, but I figured if a better Richenda head came along, I could eventually replace her.  However, several years passed before I found one which matched my mental image of Richenda closely enough to make the modification worthwhile.

About a year or two ago, I acquired a strawberry-blonde beauty whose luxurious tresses matched the red-gold color of candlelight that KK describes in her novels.  Her eyes weren't cornflower blue, but that's an easy enough fix (in fact, I had to repaint the original Richenda's eyes to match her book description also).  I also wasn't sure about her sideways look, but after taking several photos of her from different angles, I eventually decided it gave her a certain expressiveness that could end up being an asset.

So after consulting with KK during chat this evening to see if she had an opinion on the matter (she also liked the strawberry blonde version better), I performed the head swap surgery.  Both ladies came through it very well; all in all, it was possibly the easiest head swap I've ever performed.

Here is Richenda trying to adjust to her brand new body:

Richenda gets a new head by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

The action figure body also had a floppy elbow that wouldn't hold its position when posed, so while her clothes were still off, I went ahead and repaired the joint. A couple of drops of Crazy Glue plus twenty minutes of constant joint flexing later (until I was certain the glue was completely dry inside the joint and that her arm wouldn't freeze permanently into one position), the joint is nice and tight again while remaining easy to move into position. It's not the first time I've used that fix, but it's the first time I've tried it in a double-jointed elbow, so I was a bit nervous about having to keep both sides of the joint active at once for long enough for the glue to completely set up!

Comparing notes by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

The recipient of Richenda's former head has a friendly chat with New Richenda to compare notes about the surgery's after-effects. I think the swapped bodies are actually better color matches for these heads, so the swap was a success for both ladies.  Now I just need to repaint the new Richenda's eyes and figure out who the other lady might become.

[DesertRose]

So you did go for it!  Yay!

I had expressed to Evie that I thought the head that is now Richenda's just looked more like my mental image of the character than the original head, in addition to having a hair color closer to the canon description. 

[Jerusha]

Perhaps the greatest surgical after-effect will be becoming the updated wife of our Grace of Corwyn!  The old Richenda will have a hard transition to make, to be sure.

Let us hope our new Richenda manages to cope. 

[Laurna]

Looks like you are having fun with this. The skin tones seem to match very nicely. When she has fully recovered, we must see Alaric's reaction to his wife's renewed appearance.