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

[Evie]

I'm in agreement with the medium bust. Hopefully the shoulders will not be too narrow for the barbie doll head. A little padding added into the shoulders of Meraude's gown should solve that it its a problem.

I don't anticipate a problem.  Most Barbie tops fit my medium bust 27 cm Obitsu nicely (and her Barbie head also looks fine on her), and I'm told the main difference between the 27 cm and the 25 cm version is leg length,  so the shoulders are probably the same width as Barbie's or at least very close.

[Aerlys]

Does mini-Nigel get to voice his opinion, too? 


Personally, I agree with the medium bust. (Sorry, Nigel, I think you're outvoted!)

[Evie]

Nigel is fine with the medium size.  He doesn't want his wife face-planting when she tries to stand upright. 

[Evie]

This weekend, I finally got a start on Rhys' wig:


Making the wig cap by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Last night I started making the wig cap.  I didn't want to undress him, because I don't want to pull the tunics back on over the wig, and I don't know yet how snug or loose the wig cap will end up being (i.e., if it will be easy to remove, or best left in place once it's on his head.)  So I completely covered the dressed figure in plastic, then covered his head with a separate piece of Press and Seal wrap, over which I stretched a piece of nylon stocking and secured it in place with a rubber band.  Then I started painting on the matte Mod Podge, covering the area inside his original hairline.  I left the first layer to dry, then kept adding layers until the Mod Podge was about 4-5 layers thick.  Then I left him to dry overnight.


Making the wig cap by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Here's a closer view of the Mod Podged area.  When left overnight to dry, this area turned clear, but the layers of Mod Podge are now about as thick as my fingernail. This provides a solid yet flexible base for the hair that will be glued on top.


Very unruly hair by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Here is the head today, with the hair freshly glued in place.  I will need to let the glue dry completely before I style it and fill in any bald spots I might have missed.  Poor Rhys looks like he's trying to impersonate a mop!  Don't worry, though; I don't plan to leave him this way.  Once the glue has a few hours to dry, I'll pull it back, trim as needed, cut off the excess fabric, and add any finishing touches that might be necessary.

[DesertRose]

I like Rhys' hair so far.  I always pictured him with messy hair, like he was always too busy doing other things to screw around with it. 

[Evie]

More updates:


Finding his face by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I push Rhys' hair back to reveal his features. I had missed gluing hair into his sideburn areas,  so I added hair there, then checked his hairline again once the glue dried.  After the side patches were also dry, I cut away the excess fabric, leaving a border about 1/4 inch wide around the edge of the wig cap.  I glued a little extra hair to the inside edge of the cap so that when it's pulled back over the top of his head,  it helps to conceal the front edge of the cap.


Feline assistant by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

As usual,  Luke has to snoopervise the work in progress.  Gigi also came over to sniff at it, but I didn't manage to get the camera aimed in time.


Hair bound back by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Rhys'  hair is bound back into a thick,  bushy queue.  I considered thinning and shortening the front hair and trying for a thinner,  braided queue in back,  but the mohair was a lot more difficult to work with than the yarn I used for John Nivard's wig,  so I settled for pulling it all back and just binding it.  I am glad now that I left him fully dressed,  because I had to use some Fabri-tac to glue the wig into position on his scalp in order to style it.  I am not sure how securely glued the individual stands of hair are to the wig cap,  so I'm glad I don't have to tug two tunics over his head and risk messing up his 'do.


Hair bound back by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Side view


Hair bound back by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Front view.  He just needs his amber eyes and perhaps a tiny bit of red added to his eyebrows to match his hair (although brows often tend to be a shade or two darker than the hair on the head, so the brown brows look OK to me even left untouched).  Once his eyes are done, he'll be a proper Rhys.  And that means he needs the distinctive item of clothing that proclaims his identity....


Healer's badge by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Here is one idea for a Healer's badge that doubles as a mantle clasp.  I couldn't find any round pin backs in my local craft store,  so this was the closest substitute I could find.  While I think it does a decent job at replicating a period style ornamental pin,  it's a little bigger than I was hoping for.  Not completely out of the size range for something of the sort,  but the thickness of it bothers me.  Since I have some fabric glue now,  I may see if I can print up a smaller badge on inkjet printer fabric to see if an "appliqued" patch on the shoulder of a front clasped mantle would look better.  I think I have a jewelry clasp to hold the sides together if I decide to go with that option. 

If you look closely at the glass headed pin I used for this clasp pin,  you'll notice I found a color that might pass for a shiral crystal.

[tenworld]

Ive always envisioned shiral as amber -ive been fascinated with amber (even before Jurassic Park), even tried to make synthetic. It just seems to resinate (sorry)

[Elkhound]

Not sure, Elkhound, though I think that they started off as a male fashion that was soon copied by women, God only knows why.  Check out this picture of Charles I of England, for example:
 
Though if you're asking when did the first masochists to wear stiletto pumps come up with that form of self-torture, I've got no clue.   

I seem to remember reading somewhere that Marie d'Medici, Queen of France, wore high heels because she was a very short woman and wanted to look a taller and more regal.  I can't track that reference down, though.

[Jerusha]

Amazing job, Evie.  The hair colour looks very good.

I can see Evaine smiling indulgently as Rhys darts out the door on his way to a patient, hair tied back, almost as an afterthought. 

[Elkhound]

I can see Evaine smiling indulgently as Rhys darts out the door on his way to a patient, hair tied back, almost as an afterthought. 

"You're not leaving the house looking like that!  Read the note--she's not not going to die in the next few minutes, and what kind of confidence is anyone going to have in a Healer who looks like he was dragged through a hedge backwards?  Here's a brush, a comb, and a jar of pomade; make use of them!"

[Evie]

Meraude's body is on order and was scheduled to ship out this morning, so hopefully I'll have it by the end of this week.  I have also rebodied Jashana (the other brunette head) to a matching articulated body, and am going to make her a Llyrian outfit out of some lovely purple silk scraps I have on hand.  Rhys and Evaine still need some accessories, but I am saving those to work on from home.  I'm worried about messing up Rhys' hair if he continues riding around in my tote bag with my sewing supplies, so he is at home today, hiding out in my crafts closet from the kittehs, since Gigi has a fur fetish and tends to drag off any small furry thing that she comes across, and I'm afraid that might include Rhys now that he has mohair glued to his head!   

[Aerlys]

Making the wig cap by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

AAACK!!

Oh...Whew! I thought Rhys was being held for ransom by a sadistic psychopath. 

[Evie]

LOL! Well, you'll doubtless be relieved to know that Rhys is no longer bound, although he's been shut up inside a dark closet.  But that's just for his protection from prowling predators, really.  No worries....    

[Shiral]

Making the wig cap by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

AAACK!!

Oh...Whew! I thought Rhys was being held for ransom by a sadistic psychopath. 

Me, Too, Aerlys! 
Melissa

[Evie]

Well, Meraude's new body is here, and after much wrestling with an overly tight screw and a mini-screwdriver last night, I managed to replace the neck adaptor with one sized to fit inside a Barbie head, so now Meraude's head and body are all together.  Laurna, you were right to warn me of the possibility that the shoulders on this new body might be a bit narrow compared to the head size.  Whoever told me that this body was nearly identical in size to the 27 cm Obitsu body aside from the height either lied or has defective eyeballs.     Meraude doesn't quite look like a bobblehead on the new body, but all the same, I'm glad she will be wearing two layers of clothing to help bulk her torso up a bit.  The height is also a smidge shorter than I anticipated, but there's less that can be done about that.  The available choices would have put her either at tip-of-nose level to a Ken doll, or her present height of top-of-shoulder height to one.   Fortunately the description of Meraude as being chin-height to Kelson happened during a time when he was still growing, so I'm going with the idea that by the time Kelson reached his full height, Meraude was only shoulder-high to him.  It's either that or have to figure out how Meraude grew a few more inches taller in middle age, or how Kelson shrank.   

I'll see if I can get a photo of her at lunchtime today, standing beside Mihall so you can see the size difference between her and the same sort of body Kelson is on.   Male action figure bodies sometimes tend to come in just a smidge shorter than the Ken bodies, IIRC, so maybe if Kelson is ever switched to an action figure body, Meraude will come up to Adam's apple height on him then.  And at least she's still taller than Grub!