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

[Evie]

Have you ever considered a career as an interior decorator?

Oh, if only you could see the rambling wreck that is my house....  

Actually I had no idea how fun this is until I had a dollhouse to decorate. The problem with being an interior decorator for a living, though, is that you have to decorate to fit other people's preferences, which may or may not coincide with your own, and which they might not even know how to articulate.  Plus I'd probably need to get a degree in it, which I can't afford. But as career fields go, I think I'd enjoy that one more than most.

[Evie]

OK, here's another update of this week's projects:

Crocheted skirt and new blouse by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Sophia tries on a new blouse and crocheted skirt.  (It might not look like it in this photo, but the skirt is fully lined with a pale cream slip.)

Black knit shorts by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

They look almost like a skirt in this photo, but those bottoms are black knit shorts. The knit fabric is just a bit too thick for the waistband style, so it looks a little bulky in person, but fortunately that is slightly less obvious in this photo.

Gold trousers by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

These trousers aren't really in one of Sophia's preferred colors (never mind that this combo mirrors the crimson and gold of her Haldane arms), but she thinks Eilonwy will like them.  I'll just need to make sure I don't take any photos of Eilonwy wearing them in her bedroom, since this is the same fabric I used to make her bedsheet and pillows!

Patrick's police uniform by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Patrick's uniform came in the mail yesterday.  (He has more appropriate shoes to wear with it, but I just didn't take the time to hunt them down before taking this photo.)  I might need to make some minor modifications--for one thing, I can't quite see him wearing a badge that says "UltraRescue"!--but I paid less for this uniform than it would have cost for the fabric and iron-on patch fabric to make one, so I thought it was a great find.  I think by the time Balance of Power takes place, he's been newly promoted to detective and usually wears plain clothes, but I figured this would be useful for any flashback scenes.

New shirt by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I started a new shirt for Devlin and/or Morgan this morning.  This one will be light blue with white buttons. I am also experimenting with a different style of front placket, so this is the topstitching along one side.

[Evie]

Here are the shirts that I finished this weekend:

Devlin's shirt by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

The blue of this new shirt brings out the color of Devlin's eyes.

Morgan's new shirt by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Morgan was as happy to get his new black shirt as Devlin was to get a new shirt in any other color but black!

Shirt and tie in Morgan colors by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I really need to remake Morgan's green tie.  The current tie's knot looks sloppy.  But this fabric is a pain to work with.

Slip-covered chair by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I draped the pink floral pincushion chair with black velour to match the velour I covered the sofa cushion with.

Pillow fabric by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

You may have to zoom in to see the gold stitching I am adding to the cross-shaped intersections in this pattern.  This embroidered fabric will be used to cover the throw pillow that goes on the slip-covered chair.

[Jerusha]

Very nice, Evie; I also really like are the cargo pants Father Devlin and his Grace are wearing. 

[Evie]

So it's been a minute since I posted any updates to this thread!  But I have finally managed to get my hands on coffee stirrers just the right diameter to turn into rings for my little Dukes.

Matching signet rings by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Duke Alaric Morgan and his many generations removed great-great-something-grandson Morgan Haldane get matching signet rings.  The green ring is the Corwyn signet, and the black one is the King's (or in Morgan's case, Queen's) Champion ring.

Ring close up by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

The rings were made from coffee stirrers (the thin plastic straw variety) painted gold, sealed with clear gloss sealer, then cut into cross sections.  It took me a good while to find some that were big enough around without being too big.  (They are slightly loose, but they need to be to fit over bent knuckles.) I slid the rings into position on the fingers and then glued a colored rhinestone on each. Alaric's right hand fingers are bent and the fingers are not completely separate at the very top, so rather than risk ruining his hand by cutting the fingers apart with an X-acto knife, I just slid the ring as far up that finger as I could wedge it in there.  Fortunately wearing rings lower on the finger actually happens to have been perfectly medieval, according to historic portraits.

Matching set by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Rather than having them share the rings (which would be difficult to do without risking damage to them), I simply made matching sets for my two Dukes of Corwyn.  I was unable to find actual cabochon gems in this size, much less etch them, so the rings are not canonically accurate, but at least they are in the correct colors.  (Or as correct as I could make them. I tried to replicate the onyx black color by painting those rhinestones with a black Sharpie marker, but when light hits the gemstone just right, you can tell the "black" Sharpie ink is actually an extremely deep purple.)

[Jerusha]

Very nice, Evie.  And Morgan Haldane's ducal/champion rings go very well with the "fitbit" watch he appears to be wearing for his workout.   

[Evie]

Very nice, Evie.  And Morgan Haldane's ducal/champion rings go very well with the "fitbit" watch he appears to be wearing for his workout.   

LOL, they do, don't they?    Though I doubt he'd actually wear the regalia on a daily basis, or at least not while out on his daily jog.  I can just hear Sophia now.  "You lost the Corwyn Ducal Signet Emerald in what park?!"    This being the Modern Age, he wouldn't really need to sign off on things with a signet and wax seal anymore, plus they're pretty valuable (even if the actual rings have been melted down and remade a time or two since Alaric's day), so it's likely he keeps the actual regalia locked away in a safe except for ceremonial occasions, and perhaps just wears a less expensive (and less showy) version for daily wear, if at all.

[Laurna]

It appears to me that both Dukes of Corwyn approve of their adornments.  Both men are looking good!

[Evie]

So I wasn't exactly out to find an Alicia Coris action figure, but I managed to stumble across one nonetheless. 

On my favorite doll and action figure forum, someone posted a photo of a new doll that has just come on the market. She is fully articulated, maybe not quite as nicely as an action figure or even the Made to Move Barbies (the body that Sophia is on), but decently enough.  But she's modeled after one of the WWE lady wrestlers, so she has a slightly more athletic form and she also has stronger features than the average Barbie headsculpt.  I took one look at her and decided she had a strong resemblance to Alicia Coris.  Just as a memory refresher, since it's been a while since Balance of Power came out, here is my inspiration picture for my Army captain/genetics expert who is on the Camberian Council:



And now (after a change of clothing from the steampunk-inspired costume she came in) here is Alicia Coris:



Hopefully I'm not the only one who sees some resemblance? I will probably comb a bit of very watered down brown paint through her hair just to tone it down from its present neon orange, but aside from that, I think it's about as close a likeness in doll form as I'm likely to find.

I also took a few photos last night with her visiting Paddy and Eilonwy. She's just come straight from work, so is dressed accordingly, though with a military-style padded vest rather than a lab coat, as she left that at the office.  (And also I haven't made one yet!) I already have several clothing choices that will fit her, since she's slightly larger than a regular Barbie and only slightly smaller than a Ken, so stretchy Barbie clothing will work on her, but so will Ken's skinny jeans and snugly-fitted t-shirts.  She comes with boots that will work fine when she's in uniform or in casual clothing, but I've also got some dressy black high-heeled pumps on order for her so she'll have something to wear on more formal occasions.



(Ignore the "Ken" nametag. A bit of fabric paint will fix that!)





Alicia and Maureen set up the blind date that led to Eilonwy and Patrick meeting and eventually falling in love, so it seems fitting that she'd be a welcome guest in their home.  (That, and she and Patrick have been close friends since childhood.)

Now she's telling me I need to find her a Karim, since watching Paddy and Eilonwy snogging all the time without getting any action of her own is a bit sickening.  LOL!

[Laurna]

Wow! That is a perfect likeness. Her features are so close, especially the eyes and hair. Great find. Instead of the green jacket. For some reason, I always pictured Alicia in a white lab coat over a nice business dress or slacks and blouse. One of those long knee length lab coats to protect her cloths. I think those boots a fitting for her personality. 

Now she's telling me I need to find her a Karim, since watching Paddy and Eilonwy snogging all the time without getting any action of her own is a bit sickening.  LOL!

Karim (when you find him) I imagine him to be wearing a doctors lab coat which would be a bit shorter than Alicia's over tailored slacks and shirt.  Though, don't ask me where to find lab coats for 1/6 scale.

Cozy living room, Paddy and Eilonwy are making themselves a fine comfortable home.

[Evie]

Wow! That is a perfect likeness. Her features are so close, especially the eyes and hair. Great find. Instead of the green jacket. For some reason, I always pictured Alicia in a white lab coat over a nice business dress or slacks and blouse. One of those long knee length lab coats to protect her cloths. I think those boots a fitting for her personality. 

I agree with you re: the lab coat, which is why it's one of the next things on my to-do list once I manage to find a pattern for one that I like.  There are some Barbie & Ken lab coats on eBay, as well as some made for action figures, I think, but unless I find a really amazing deal online, I will probably make it myself since that way I'll be able to adjust the fit to her size.

The reason I picked the Army green vest for her is that even though Alicia's area of specialty is biomedical research/genetics, she is also a career officer in the Gwyneddan Army.  She works for an agency whose rough equivalent in the US might be something similar to NCIS, the CID, or the Air Force equivalent to those (I forget that one's acronym).  Basically, she is in a branch of service that hires both military and civilian specialists to investigate crimes within or affecting their particular branch of the military, but they do some work for the government sector as well as well as counter-terrorism. In her case, she specializes in applying her genetic knowledge to forensics investigations, which is why she works so closely with Patrick's office, since he is a police detective in a unit that is focused on counter-terrorism. So she is a scientist, but she is also an Army captain. (In BoP, she is referred to as Captain Coris on a few occasions when she's being referred to in her official job capacity rather than as a member of the CC.)  That said, she is more likely to be dressed as you describe when she is working in her lab.

Karim (when you find him) I imagine him to be wearing a doctors lab coat which would be a bit shorter than Alicia's over tailored slacks and shirt.  Though, don't ask me where to find lab coats for 1/6 scale.

If anything, it seems to be easier to find the shorter style lab coat in Ken sizes on eBay, and possibly some slightly larger ones for action figure men also, though again I'll probably just adapt my shirt pattern and make one for him if I get a Karim. I am thinking of putting Heather in Healer Green scrubs with the Healer badge printed on it (yes, I have a doll who would make a good Heather--I had thought of using her for Ailidh, but she could work either way), once KK gets back to me about what color green she envisions being the best choice for Healer's Green.  I could see Karim's lab coat having a similar badge on it also, since he is a Healer as well as a physician. Not sure whether to put it on the front (maybe above his name?) or on his sleeve, or both. Thoughts?

Cozy living room, Paddy and Eilonwy are making themselves a fine comfortable home.

We're working on it.  Their kitchen is a shambles at the moment, since it's undergoing a complete repaint.

[Jerusha]

An excellent find for Alicia.  I can envision the Healer badge right above where a name tag would be.  In an emergency on-site situation, I could see a full-sized rendition on the back of a protective vest.

[DesertRose]

Regarding the placement of a Healer's badge, I'm thinking that on a lab coat or scrubs or other hospital-work uniform, the person's name would probably be on the right upper chest, and the Healer's badge perhaps on the left upper chest area, opposite the name? 

For a real-world example, a lot of doctors (or physician assistants or nurse practitioners) who work in hospitals and wear lab coats at work have their name (sometimes with their specialty written under their name: i.e. the first line of embroidered/printed text on the right side might read "John Doe, MD" with "Neurology" as the second line) embroidered on the right upper chest area of the coat and the name of the hospital or a patch or embroidery of a pictorial/graphic design identifying the hospital is often on the left upper chest area of the coat.

I think Jerusha's idea of a large Healer's badge on the back of a vest/jacket for use in emergency situations is a good one, sort of the way real-world police and emergency services have reflective vests with "Police" or "EMS" or "Fire" (for example) in large lettering across the back of the vests.  Perhaps the badge could be placed more or less in the center of the back of the vest with possibly "Healer" (for someone like Heather) or "Healer/MD" (for someone like Karim) above the Healer's badge itself.

I would think in 1:1 scale, both the badge and the lettering would be reflective/would glow in the dark for safety reasons, but that might be a bit difficult to do in 1:6 scale. 

Alicia is looking good, Evie. 

[Evie]

Good ideas for future wardrobe consideration.  And I might even have some glow-in-the-dark fabric paint, which isn't quite the same thing as reflective fabric, but maybe would give a similar sort of effect in small scale.

[Evie]

I'm not doing the best job keeping this thread updated, am I?

Healer scrubs by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Heather would not normally be wearing scrubs, but there are so few Healers in the kingdom even in my AU modern-day Gwynedd, she has to serve one day a week doing Emergency room duty, keeping her hand in doing physical Healing, even though she specializes in mental/psychic health concerns during most of the week.