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

[Jerusha]

I love the oblivious backdrop.  The sleeping guardian of his lady's virtue!   

[Elkhound]

I love the oblivious backdrop.  The sleeping guardian of his lady's virtue!   

I can't remember, but didn't one of Gwynned's noble families have a sleeping lion on its arms?  (Of course, when I too my Sunday nap this afternoon, *I* had a sleeping lion on my arm.  As usual.)

[Evie]

The sleeping lion was on the McLain coat of arms.

[Evie]

Here's a close up of the necklace on a solid color backdrop, so you can see it in better detail:


Crocheted wire and bead 1:6 necklace by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

[Jerusha]

Nicely done, Evie!  I can't quite make out the jewel, though.  It looks like it could be a type of green peridot to me, but I can't be sure.

[Evie]

The pendant is actually made up of two transparent green beads and one transparent yellow bead strung on the wire in a green-yellow-green order, then the wire was bent so the beads ended up in a triangle and the extra wire was coiled around the top of it.  But with the two colors of beads that close together, you do get a peridot green effect in photos.  I noticed that as well.  Call it a happy accident.   

[Elkhound]

The sleeping lion was on the McLain coat of arms.

Well, there you are.  Cousin Duncan.

[Evie]

Today I began my most complex project yet--creating Father Nivard.  This might not seem like such a difficult thing, but you try finding a youthful looking Ken or action figure head with curly brown hair and a tonsure!  Needless to say, creating a Father Nivard figure will take more customization skill than I've attempted thus far, but at last I think I have the materials and hopefully the skill level to try my hand at making a suitable figure for him.

I am taking photos of my progress as I go, so once I have a better idea of whether this experiment will end up being a success or not, I'll post a work-in-progress report or two on the making of John Nivard.  Here's a brief outline of what this project will entail:

1.  Testing some silicone mold putty to ensure that it will be compatible with the vinyl used in the Ken head, and to verify that it will harden in a way that will be both flexible and durable, and similar in feel to the original vinyl of the head.  I began this stage of the project today, and so far the silicone putty seems to be hardening beautifully.

2.  Modifying an old style Ken head so that it will be compatible with an articulated Ken body.  I am using Duncan's former body for the project, since it has a fairly decent range of motion, just not as good as his present action figure body.  John Nivard won't need to be able to ride a horse or pose for many high action shots, so it won't matter so much that he has a more limited range of motion.  The silicone putty mentioned above will be used to create a new internal neck joint for the modified head.  I cut off the original neck joint today and began the process of widening the neck opening with an X-acto knife for the new neck joint.  Once he had a wider neck opening that I could get my needlenose pliers into, I also removed what was left of his original rooted hair in preparation for creating his wig cap.

3.  Creating a tonsured wig cap for John with curly hair.  The "hair" I'll be using is actually a curly yarn.  I had originally considered gluing it directly to the bald head, but there is not a large enough spot at the crown without holes in it for a smooth tonsure, so I am hoping that adding the curls to a wig cap will give him a smoother bald spot.  The yarn I have is actually a natural beige color, so I had to dye it with strong tea to make it a bit browner.  I have cut and tea dyed the yarn lengths and started work on the wig cap base tonight.

I'll start posting photos once I am further along with this project.

[Evie]

OK, here's how far I've come with the work on making John Nivard.  And I've reached an impasse, so I might need some input on how to proceed from here.  *sigh*


Old neck joint removal by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I cut off the original neck joint and begin carving down the vinyl inside the neck opening so that it will fit onto the articulated body.  Here is John's future head beside another head with its original neck joint intact.


Mostly ready by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Here is the newly hollowed head beside its future body.  After checking the fit, I ended up having to trim the inside just a tad more, but had to be careful not to trim through to the outside of the neck.


Just right by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

The head now fits properly on the top of the neck, but there is no way to hold it on there at present.  That is what the silicone putty will do in a later step of this process.


Bare head by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

With the neck opening enlarged, I was able to reach inside with needlenose pliers and remove the few plugs of hair that remained on this head.  (He had received a very close haircut when I got him, and the original owner had managed to remove some of his hair, but there was still a lot of it left on.)  Looking at it from behind, there isn't much room for even a token coin-sized tonsure that won't be pockmarked with holes.  There's that slightly wider strip near his crown, but it would be difficult to work within such a narrow area.  So rather than just stripping off the paint with acetone and rooting new hair in or gluing it on, I decide to try making a wig cap first.


Beginning wig cap by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I covered the head with some Press and Seal plastic wrap, trying to keep it as smooth and unwrinkled as possible in the areas where the final wig cap will be, so most of the wrinkling is over his face instead.  Over the plastic, I stretched a bit of knee high stocking fabric over the head, and then secured both at the base of the neck with a rubber band.


Head stand by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I needed a base to hold the head in place while I worked, so this vase got pressed into service.


Forming the wig cap base by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I begin painting matte Mod Podge onto the head, following the contours of the hairline.  This is the area I will eventually glue the curly "hair" to.  The wig cap is shorter in back than the hairstyle will be, since only the top end of the "hair" will need to be glued down.


Frontal view by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Here is a front view of the wig cap hairline.  I let the Mod Podge dry about 20 minutes between layers.  This is after five or six layers.


Back of head (prior to Mod Podge) by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I thought I had a photo of the back of the head with the dried Mod Podge on it, but apparently I don't, so I'll just use this shot.  The Mod Podge dries clear, but not quite this clear.  On the current wig cap you can see the outline of the hairline, but the Mod Podge stiffens the fabric underneath.  I will need to strip the paint beneath the wig with acetone before I glue the wig on permanently so that his original "flesh" color will show through the tonsure, since the clear Mod Podge doesn't change the color of the stocking knit or make it much more opaque.  But I am nearly ready to start gluing on the curly yarn hair.  Unfortunately, there's an unexpected kink in that plan.


Curly yarn hair by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Here is the yarn I planned to use for John's hair.  It is a little too light in color for the purpose, but the only browns I could find in this brand were this beige color and a much darker brown.  KK says that John's hair is a light brown, lighter than Derry's, but just dark enough to be a true brown rather than a sandy blond.  So I had planned to tea stain this yarn to make it just a shade or two darker.


Tea bath by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Here is the yarn in a bath of strong black tea.  I only left it in for a minute since I wanted it to remain a light brown rather than become too dark.


Drying hair by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

The color came out only a shade or two darker, yet noticeably brown rather than blond.  Unfortunately, being dipped in the hot tea affected the texture of the yarn.  I hoped that might self-correct as it dried out overnight.


Yarn comparisons by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Unfortunately the dried strands retained their slightly felted look, which changes the character of the yarn.  It no longer has the lovely curl I was going for when I bought it, and it's lost its shiny luster.  So now what?  Do I just use the undyed beige yarn even though it's too light?  Use the newly dyed yarn even though it's not as pretty?  Would the yarn retain the original texture if I use a cold tea bath rather than a hot one, or if I simply spray it with the tea rather than soaking it? Or should I just go with the darker brown yarn, even though that will mean there is very little difference (if any) between John's hair color and Derry's?  Thoughts?

And yes, I know that John needs sea green eyes as well, but that will be the final step of the conversion.   

[Jerusha]

I would not use the dyed yarn that turned into felt - it looks icky now.  If there is no better way to create the right shade of light brown, I would lean toward the darker brown, or Father John will end up looking blond.

Somehow, seeing John Nivard's head still smiling in a plastic bag is rather disturbing, but it's for a good cause. 

[Evie]

After consulting with KK, I've gone ahead and worked up Trial Wig #1 with the dark brown yarn.  It is still in the creation process, but I will post photos once it's done.   John is really supposed to have more Shirley Temple type of curls (only shorter), but finding suitable hair for that in this scale is pretty much impossible.  I might be able to get my hands on some blond curly doll hair that can be dyed light brown using the same method I used to darken Duncan's hair, and if I can find some of that, I'll make a second wig so we can see which one suits the figure better.  My local Michael's also had the curly doll hair in brown, but it's even darker than the dark brown yarn I've got, so it would probably be better to try dyeing the blond hair to a light brown instead.

Ebay and Etsy also carry curly mohair, which makes lovely doll wigs, but again, the "curly" mohair still tends to be more wavy sort of curls than Shirley Temple style ringlets, so I'm not sure it would be worth the expense of buying for this project.

I tossed out the tea-dyed yarn.  I figured a Deryni priest with dreadlocks wouldn't look all that medieval, though for a modern day Deryniverse, it might be an amusing idea....   

[Evie]

OK, here's the next update:


Gluing the yarn on by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

The first stage of the wig making, once the layers of Mod Podge were applied to the wig cap, was gluing the hair on.  I folded each yarn strand in half, and starting at the hairline, I glued it with the U-shaped fold lying flat against the scalp, tamping it down into the glue with a toothpick.  I didn't like how hard it was to squeeze the glue out of the bottle while working, so after I finished the initial round of hair, I applied the second and subsequent layers of yarn (3 or 4 in all) by slathering Mod Podge onto the bare wig cap with a sponge wedge and then adding another layer of folded yarn at the periphery. 


Gluing the yarn on by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

When I finished the next to last layer of the yarn, instead of folding the last strands of yarn like I'd done the previous ones, I cut them in half and stuck the freshly cut ends of the yarn into the fresh Mod Podge around the edge of the shrinking bald spot.  I used the toothpick to tamp the ends of the fibers into the fresh glue, hoping this would result in a more natural look, as if the fibers were actually growing out from the scalp.


Gluing the yarn on by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

As you can see, the yarn is far too long all the way around, but that made it easier to handle.  His hair would be easy enough to trim once the Mod Podge dried.


Gluing the yarn on by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

As the Mod Podge dried, it became a bit more clear.  Once it was almost fully clear, it was time for the initial trim.


Trimming the hair by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I began to trim the hair, at first trimming it a bit longer than desired, but enough so I could start to see the basic shape and John's face peeking out from under the curly fringe.


Trimming the hair by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Trimming the hair had to be done with some caution, since if I cut off too much, he's not going to be able to grow it back out again.  At this stage, I also removed it from the head, peeling the stocking cap off the underlying plastic wrap.  Here you can see how the layers of clear Mod Podge create a window-like tonsure area.


Bald spot by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Since you can see through the Mod Podge, I had to use some acetone to remove the paint from the back of John's head.  I left some brown paint at the periphery so that it can help disguise any inadvertent bald spots under the yarn hair.


John can see now by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

This was John after a second trim (done before I peeled the wig cap from the plastic wrap).  At this point if any of the yarn was sticking out at odd angles, I used a toothpick to apply a small drop of glue under that strand and held it down until it behaved.


Good hold by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

The Mod Podge and stocking fabric cap has enough cling to it to help hold it on the head even when I turn it upside down.  The cap is not glued on, it's just held on by friction.  Though this was taken shortly after I washed the acetone residue off the head, and even though I dried it off pretty well before putting the wig back on him, the slight dampness might also be helping the water-soluble Mod Podge to adhere to his scalp.  It comes off readily, but you have to peel it up from the edges.


Shaping the cut by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I did a final (at least for the moment) trim by holding the hair down and doing the equivalent of a "bowl cut" all the way around John's  head.  Even though most of the yarn is gone now, the texture of the yarn gives the illusion of curls despite it not falling into obvious ringlets.  If needed, I might be able to snip a few millimeters off the ends to shorten it just a tad more, although the shorter the yarn gets, the greater danger there is of accidentally creating bald spots, so maybe it would be best to leave it more or less as-is and just pretend that John is a little overdue for his next haircut?


Side view by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Here is a side view of the tonsure.


Rear view by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Here is the tonsure from the back.  I'm very happy with how the tonsure came out!  Viewed at very close range, you can still see the original holes in the vinyl beneath it, but from a more normal viewing distance, the holes look more like normal skin imperfections.  Maybe John's just slightly prone to freckling if he ventures out in the sunlight without his cap on? 


Other side view by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Again, he could be trimmed up just a tad to make his hair look a little less shaggy, but I'm afraid that trimming him down too much might also make him lose the curly-haired effect.  Your thoughts?

[Jerusha]

I guess it depends on how short medieval priests wore their hair.  Given that they probably had a bit of a "natural" look, given the lack of hair grooming products, I think he looks good.  The tonsure turned out quite well, and as you said, if you cut it too short it won't grow out.   

I'm looking forward to the sea green eyes - I've never been able to picture in my head how that colour looks. 

[Evie]

OK, an almost final update on John Nivard's creation, though I still need to paint his sea-green eyes.  That can wait until I have some sunlight to work by, though.


Neck gasket by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

On my action figure and doll customizing forum, there is a tutorial on how to convert an old-style Ken head's neck joint area so that the old heads can fit on the newer, more poseable Ken bodies.  I was originally going to do the full version of the neck modification that is described in the tutorial, but for some reason I couldn't get the part that goes up inside the chin and inside of the neck to form properly.  Then I discovered that simply slipping the head onto the neck over a gasket like this seems to work just as well.  The fit is tight enough that the head was able to stay on even when he was held upside down, and it can still tilt in different positions.  Good enough for me, and if it starts to come loose later, I can look into gluing it in place. 


John tests the new neck joint by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Here's the head on the new body.


Looking up by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

John glances up towards the ceiling...


Side tilt by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

...and tilts his head to one side...


Other side by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

...and then to the other side.  I then discovered he doesn't look down quite as well, but that's a fix for another day.  As you might have noticed on some of the tilted head shots, the fit of head to neck isn't perfect, but that is in part because the Fashionista Ken heads are larger than this old style head, so I suspect the part of his neck that is attached to the head is a bit on the narrow side compared to the same neck portion attached to a Fashionista Ken head.  Not a whole lot smaller, but just a tad.  Still, I can live with the minor imperfection.  His clothing will help to conceal the neck joint.


Fully clothes by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Once we decided the new neck joint would work well enough, at least for now, it was time for John to put some clothes on.  Duncan donated his old cassock.


Bishop and priest by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

And here are Duncan and John engaged in a spirited conversation.  I've really got to start adding to their wardrobe; I'm running out of spare sets of clothing!  I still have Duncan's old Ken shoes somewhere, so I'll give them to John now, since John is using Duncan's former body.


New zucchetto by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I recently attempted to make Duncan a better fitting zucchetto than that flat pancake of felt he used to wear.  I'm not sure this slightly curved version is that much better, but he's enjoying it for the moment.


Top view by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I took a bird's eye view of Duncan's zucchetto and John's tonsure.


Duncan and John by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

One last look at our mini-Deryni friends for the evening.  Hopefully John will get his characteristic sea green eyes very soon.

[Laurna]

That is really fun.
When I left for work you were just describing the dreadlocks caused by the tea died yarn.  I was trying to imagine how using yarn would make a wig of hair at all. I'm glad you went with the brown yarn,  I do not think it is too dark at all.  Man, am I surprised at how good John's hair turned out.  The tonsure looks great.  Don't cut it too short, I rather like the longer look and I like the color too.  Just place a book in his hand and he is ready for work in the royal library.