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

[Jerusha]

Does Father Dev look just a bit surprised at the intrusion to the bathroom?  Might there be an un-priestly thought going through his mind?   

But I agree, one must have the proper facilities on hand.

[Evie]

Does Father Dev look just a bit surprised at the intrusion to the bathroom?  Might there be an un-priestly thought going through his mind?   

But I agree, one must have the proper facilities on hand.

He does look rather startled and annoyed, doesn't he? Or maybe he's just discovered that I haven't made any miniature toilet paper yet....

[DesertRose]

Well, if he's actually intending to use that loo, I expect he'll need to drop trou, else the laundry will be...icky.   

(I realize you don't really want to show poor Fr. Devlin on the pot with his britches around his calves, but I just saw that photo and that was the thought that came to mind. )

[revanne]

Well, if he's actually intending to use that loo, I expect he'll need to drop trou, else the laundry will be...icky.   

(I realize you don't really want to show poor Fr. Devlin on the pot with his britches around his calves, but I just saw that photo and that was the thought that came to mind. )

Me too DR  . I know that priests live in a goldfish bowl but really, Evie, give the poor man some privacy.  I think a discreet piece of curtaining is called for.

[Evie]

I think he might just be using it as a place to hide from the extroverts for a bit.  LOL!

I think I will eventually put the sink, once I have one, where the toilet is now, and scoot the toilet further into the room, though there is very little space to work in, as the side cubbies of this old chifferobe make for extremely small rooms.

[Evie]

A few updates:

I gave Sophia the Eye of Rom this week.

The Eye of Rom by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Of course, this meant Kelson wanted his also.

IMG_20160706_160408 by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I had this spare Power Team figure with a very young looking face, so I figured he could work for the teenaged Earl Brendan Coris of Marley.  I used a reddish-gold paint wash over his original blond hair to make it more of a strawberry blond like the canonical character, and repainted his brown eyes a deep blue like his mother's.  He also started out with oddly yellow lips, so I repainted them with a pale pink.

Earl Brendan by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

This doll needed very little modification to turn her into Javana, just lighter lip color and a slight bit of eye repainting.  The irises were already half violet, but they were also half blue and had odd star-shaped sparkles in them, so I tweaked them a bit.

Javana Arilan by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Her hair is longer than it appears in the previous photo.  It's about the same length as Jashana's hair.

Sisters by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

And returning to Patrick's and Eilonwy's flat-in-progress, Morgan and Jen share a snack in Patrick and Eilonwy's future living room.  The carpet is too long and will need to be cut shorter if I use it in this space at all.  (I might find something thinner as well as shorter that I like better.)  Some of the wooden words may go on or into the bookshelf, but I want to have room on it for some books and magazines, maybe a knick knack or two, and a flatscreen TV if I can find where I've put mine, so the words may end up on the wall instead.  The poster on the wall may eventually get moved upstairs to the kitchen once it has actual walls, since that's an actual (filtered) photo of my daughter at a Mexican restaurant eating tortilla chips and salsa!  The cut-out at the back of this room with the extension cord running through it was originally there because my son had a TV/VCR on that shelf.  I want to hide that behind a fireplace and put LED lights behind fire colored plastic in it for the fire, so that extension cord being there should come in very handy. There are two black end tables with lamps on them that I had hoped to use beside the couch, but the room isn't wide enough, so those might end up going into the bedrooms (if they will fit) or I might need to figure out some other room arrangement.  There is also a white chandelier that could go into this room (it's the only room with a ceiling high enough to make a chandelier work), but it might hang a bit too low for the people to walk under, so like many real world chandeliers, it might work out better if it hangs above a table.  I thought about moving the couch and table closer to the middle of the room, in which case a centrally placed chandelier ought to be fine, and using the space behind the furniture as an entry area with a faux door, or put a sideboard of some sort there. Or perhaps the wine cabinet I have stored away somewhere and have never finished repainting.

Testing living room layout by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Is it a short grandfather clock or just very tall bookcases?  Who knows?  I would have preferred to put the shelving unit on one side, taking up the length of the wall, but then I'd have a useless vertical space.  If the unit was deeper, I would use that long space as hanging space for coats, jackets, and maybe stick an umbrella stand in there, but a clothes rod wouldn't fit in there.  Cup hooks might, but I'd hate to damage the unit and I might want to repurpose it for some Royal Library scenes in my medieval time period too.  (Though granted, it's not a very medieval looking piece!)  Still giving it some thought.  Maybe some of the removable sort of cup hooks might work?

Shelves to fill by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Still have to do the master bedroom and the guest bedroom, and I have a sewing room that might also double as a home office if I can fit a small desk in there for the laptop to go on.  I have no idea how I will fit a bed big enough for two into the tiny space I've got to work with, so that could be interesting.  Hope these newlyweds don't mind cuddling up very close!  There will be two cubbies left over if I stop with those rooms, but I might need to save those for storage space.  And the side cabinets have some "roof" area, so at least one of those might eventually become a rooftop garden.  Still considering what might fit up there.  Then again, those also tend to be cat landing areas when Luke jumps up on the furniture, so it might be more practical to leave them fairly bare. Since I have story scenes in the dining room but this house doesn't have one yet, I might convert one of those spaces to a dining area (they're adjacent to the kitchen, after all), but it will depend on whether I can manage to fit a table and chairs in that floor area.  I've actually got woodworking plans for a Mission style 1:6 scale table and chairs, but I suspect it would end up being too big for that space. A smaller 4-seater table might work, though, or a breakfast-bar sort of plan, if the wall on that side has a window cut out to allow for one.

Here is the sewing room that might double (or be replaced by) a home office:

Clothing designer by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Val is testing the sewing machine for me and checking out some sequinned fabric to see if it might be suitable for an evening gown for the Queen. 

[Jerusha]

I like the Javana and Jashana "littles" - they look enough alike to be sisters, but not identical.  Jashana looks to have that slightly rebellious personality; it's something about that un-Barbie smile.

[Evie]

That's because her head comes from a Gabrielle doll from "High School Musical."

[Evie]

I said I would post some closer shots of the items that Laurna sent to me yesterday, so here we are:



Here is a shot of the box that Laurna stuffed with goodies.  Devlin's suit jacket came off a James Bond 007 Ken doll, and Sophia's dress came off a Bond girl. The shirt and trousers were too small to fit an action figure, but fortunately the jacket fits. Morgan says the jacket is very nice, and so is the dress, but he was hoping he might get a Bond girl too.    Jen smacked him on the arm for that. 



Here is James Bond's briefcase, which is filled with tiny posters with a Firefly/Serenity (TV show) theme.  Patrick can use the briefcase when bringing home work from the office.  As for the posters, those have been claimed by Alex, my geek girl who was wearing the Star Trek uniform in the Royal Carriage photostory. 



Various gryphon appliques and template.



Sari fabric.  You might recognize this from the tunic Laurna made for her Morgan.



My first glimpse of Morgan.  Well, his body anyway.  Lad needs to pull his trousers up!



Jen tries on her dress.  I was going to let her use the blue shoes that Sophia was wearing at the time, but then I discovered it has left blue stains on her feet that I will need to use Clearasil to remove (I hope!), so she's actually barefoot and using a doll stand. Fortunately the hem of her dress hides her feet anyway.



Eilonwy wearing her gown.  I really need to make some jewelry for the other ladies!  That necklace came with another Barbie.



Devlin got the jacket, although Morgan can borrow it also.  I've been wanting a black jacket for my little priests for years, though.  That clerical shirt isn't a full shirt, just a sideless dickey that is meant to be worn under a jacket, and wearing it under a black T-shirt as Devlin has been doing doesn't quite cut it. So despite his serious expression, he is dancing with joy to have a new jacket.



My three ladies.  I was worried Sophia might not be able to squeeze into the gown, since the Made to Move Barbies have larger hips than most to accommodate their better posing hip joints.  But she managed to wriggle into the snug dress despite that. 



Morgan and Devlin enjoy their new clothes. This is before I took a paintbrush to Morgan.



This is Morgan under flash lighting. I've really got to tone down that yellow if I can.  It looks much better without flash, but with flash lighting he looks like he uses mustard as hair mousse!  I'd like to be able to photograph him in either sort of lighting, and let's face it, if you look at his actual inspiration photo, he's supposed to have sandy brown hair (aka "dishwater blond,")  not beach boy blond.



Comparing Morgan's body color to Duncan's spare head's color, because I want to have a spare body or two eventually for Duncan and Alaric to move onto if/when their current bodies eventually give out.  His current body is a near perfect color match, but it's not made anymore, and it's never been the best posing body to begin with.  This style is a bit darker, but still comes closer to most to being a decent match, and since Duncan and Alaric mostly stay clothed from head to toe, a slight color difference won't matter as much as with a modern figure.  Might be worth saving up for more of these bodies once I have more spendable income again.



"This place looks familiar, but I'm pretty sure I've wandered into the wrong dio.  And who are all these kids?"



"No cookies for you until after dinner."



"Lady, you need to stop posing me in all these weird positions and go clean up your mess!"



Just leaving this here so I can pretend I actually have Henry Cavill sitting in my craft room. 



Here's the back of the jacket with the gryphon applique fabric glued on.  I still need to tack down the edges with a thin line of black fabric paint, which will also help prevent any fraying.

As I guessed, the motorbike I have is just a wee bit too small for Morgan.  However, since he's more poseable than a Ken, I can get him into some positions that look passable if I am careful about my camera angles and/or do some creative photo cropping.

[Evie]

Got home late and I'm very sleepy, so here is just a tiny update.  I added another layer of a light brown paint over Morgan's too mustardy-yellow hair to tone it down a bit.  It is still recognizably blond in flash photos or bright light, but looks more light brown/dishwater blond in regular lighting (i.e., a bit closer to the color of the guy's hair in the inspiration photo).





A friend of mine invited me to go out with her for coffee and a snack after my Friday night meeting at church, and she loves seeing the new figures in my collection, so I brought Devlin and Morgan along for a "double date night."  LOL!  I also brought the jar of mini money, so Morgan gave the waitress a nice tip.    (Don't worry, we left her an actual tip also!) My friend enjoyed meeting Morgan and quite approves of his new hair color and green eyes, though she decided she wanted Devlin as her dinner date for the evening.  I guess she must share my weakness for dark hair and blue eyes. 



And here are the headboard and footboard for the eventual guest bed in the doll flat.  I need to make a bed for the master bedroom also, but it will probably need to be wider since this one is only about twin bed width.  Unfortunately this bed design uses jumbo craft sticks (the longest and widest size) for the cross pieces and bed slats, so I will need to make Eilonwy and Patrick's bed some other way as I can't make one any wider using these craft materials.  (I know they're newlyweds and probably want to sleep close together, but a twin is a bit too cramped for even the closest of lovebirds!)  On the other hand, they are in a very small room, so I wouldn't want to make one too much wider either.  Still trying to sort out what to do for their room. Maybe some sort of platform bed style would work, if I can find a box lid the right size to put a doll mattress on, and attach a padded headboard to the wall.

[Laurna]

Morgan's looking real good. He doesn't quite have the boyish charm of his inspirational youthful photo, But I am guessing that having survived everything he and Sophia had to go through, that his new look of maturity is not out of place.  Glad you took the boys out for a coffee. I think Devlin and Morgan make a good team. I see you found some old fashioned clothes pins, what store where they in?

[Evie]

Morgan's looking real good. He doesn't quite have the boyish charm of his inspirational youthful photo, But I am guessing that having survived everything he and Sophia had to go through, that his new look of maturity is not out of place.  Glad you took the boys out for a coffee. I think Devlin and Morgan make a good team. I see you found some old fashioned clothes pins, what store where they in?

Yeah, for that more boyish quality you really need a Ken head, but where I'd find a Ken head with that endearing, lopsided smirk, I've got no clue.

I ended up finding the clothes pins at Michael's Arts and Crafts after all, but they weren't in the regular woodworking section of the store with all the others (including some that look similar but are too short). Turns out these are stocked in the doll making area of the store as doll pins rather than clothespins, because so many crafters turn them into art dolls now, they're special made for that purpose. They have the regular round sort (these) and a flat sort, so you have to be sure you're grabbing the right package.

On our way back from having coffee, my friend joked that she would love to come in and see where my little guys lived,  but she wanted Devlin to understand that coffee and a hug was all he was getting on a first date. I told her she needn't worry about any improper advances, as the flat doesn't even have a bed yet, and the living room was far too crowded, but if she'd like to see the kitchen, he could offer her a late night snack. LOL!

[Evie]

So I need to make the guest bed mattress about an inch longer than this one, and somewhat less poofy (since there will also be bedding on it), and the pillow(s) will need to be bigger, but other than that, I think this will do.  Oh, and Morgan needs to get those boots off the bed! 



The dog likes it too!



Another view of the bed without Morgan on it being distracting.

[Elkhound]

I think he might just be using it as a place to hide from the extroverts for a bit.  LOL!

As an introvert myself, I quite understand.  I have a good friend who has a large extended family and he's sort of 'adopted' me.  They're all nice people, but they're all such extroverts---I like them, mind you, but sometimes I just have to get AWAY!

Fortunately, they understand that when I go off into a corner and sit down in a comfy armchair I'm not being rude--I just need to recharge and they know to leave me alone for a while.

[Evie]

I think he might just be using it as a place to hide from the extroverts for a bit.  LOL!

As an introvert myself, I quite understand.  I have a good friend who has a large extended family and he's sort of 'adopted' me.  They're all nice people, but they're all such extroverts---I like them, mind you, but sometimes I just have to get AWAY!

Fortunately, they understand that when I go off into a corner and sit down in a comfy armchair I'm not being rude--I just need to recharge and they know to leave me alone for a while.

I'm the same way.  Fortunately I have my family mostly trained to respect my need for quiet time and space now, and I have enough friends who are introverts or are close to one, so they also are pretty understanding when I need to withdraw at times during social situations.  I like being social, just in much smaller quantities than they do.