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

[Aerlys]

Thank you for sharing this, Shiral! So very charming, befitting the Christmas season.

Not a creature was stirring...except for the mice! 

[Jerusha]

I wonder what those mice think about the cat lounging peacefully in the upstairs window? 

Good will towards all, I hope. 

[Aerlys]

I wonder what those mice think about the cat lounging peacefully in the upstairs window? 

Good will towards all, I hope. 

Small cat! 

Maybe it's a Narnia kind of thing.

[Shiral]

I wonder what those mice think about the cat lounging peacefully in the upstairs window? 

Good will towards all, I hope. 

Small cat! 

Maybe it's a Narnia kind of thing.

All my houses have at least ONE cat looking out a window, somewhere. But I think the mice have this particular cat outsized. So hopefully yes, the cat will decide it's best interests lie in keeping the kingdom peaceable.   

Melissa

[Evie]

Still not crafting much this month due to the arm (although I did a few tiny projects last night that I need to photograph and show you when I get a moment), but I did manage to acquire this new addition to the mini-Deryni collection:


New guy by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

(Excuse the "Soft focus" blur; I didn't realize until the photos were uploaded that my camera lens needs cleaning.)  I wasn't planning on buying another Evo, but someone I know had an Evo body on offer, so I figured I would buy it.  After it arrived, I realized I had a spare Evo head in my parts bin, so together they make a complete figure.  I don't know whether to keep this head or to replace it with another one, since I don't have a character in mind for him yet.  He doesn't look like anyone in the Eleven Kingdoms that leaps to mind, although with a different hair and/or eye color, he might.


New guy by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Here's a closer view of the new guy.  He's got a nice pair of sword-holding hands, so I guess that makes him a knight or man-at-arms.  (And since I have spare Evo hands, they can be swapped around if he needs clenched fists, relaxed hands, or a more relaxed grip.)  He could also serve as a portable test model for Duncan's clothing, since he and Duncan share the same type of body.  Who knew a Deryni bishop's life was so hazardous that he'd need a body double?   


New guy by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Here's a very close view of his face.  His eyes appear brown, but at very close range and in some types of light they look more bluish-gray.  Though again, that's all subject to change.  I need another Arilan, so with black hair and blue-violet eyes, he could possibly transform into Seisyll.  There's another head I'd prefer for Seisyll, but I really can't afford it, so unless Santa is especially generous this year, I could settle on modding this or some other low-cost head to look the part.  Or I might find some other use for this figure and/or head instead.  Ideas?

[DesertRose]

I like the idea of repainting him into Seisyll Arilan.  But he's got to lose the jungle-camo trousers. 

[Evie]

I like the idea of repainting him into Seisyll Arilan.  But he's got to lose the jungle-camo trousers. 

Sophie might object to her husband lounging around my office with his trousers off, don't you think?     Especially since his body is somewhat anatomically correct!  (That's the reason he's wearing modern clothes today.  I didn't have any spare medieval clothes on hand, and I felt awkward about bringing a nude figure with obvious "boy parts" to the office with me.  My co-workers already know I'm weird, let's not make them really worry about me!    )

Here's an eBay listing for the head I'd love to use for Seisyll:  http://www.ebay.com/itm/321267735861?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

But that listed price is for the head alone, alas.  And if I had that much money to spare, I'd probably need to use it for something more practical, like a replacement sewing machine.  (OMG, did I really just type that?  ME?!  )

[DesertRose]

Ouch (at that price).  What did the maker do, mold the head out of gold?  Jeez Louise.

As to the trousers, no, I meant he needs some Seisyll clothes if he's going to be Seisyll.

As to the sewing machine, I'm not sure you could find a good one new for that price.

How hosed is your sewing machine?  Do you have a local sewing machine/vacuum cleaner repair shop?  (As odd as that sounds, they seem to go hand-in-hand hereabouts.)  It might be more worth your time to fix the old machine than attempt to get a new one.  My sewing machine and I fight, but I don't really like the newer models in my price range; it's more worth it to me to repair the machine I have (which is actually about the same age or slightly older than I am).

[Evie]

Ouch (at that price).  What did the maker do, mold the head out of gold?  Jeez Louise.

Nope, that's actually a fairly standard price for a head from a higher-end collectible figure.  The full figure mint in box would run in the $200-$300 range or more.   Actually, the original version of Ailidh's head alone would have run around $150 (which I definitely couldn't have afforded), but fortunately there's someone in China who sells cheap knock-offs of that head sculpt, and even their prices are at the upper limit of my budget (i.e., only affordable if I have Christmas money burning a hole in my pocket).  Fortunately it fits on a low-end body.  Needless to say, I'm not buying figures from the collectors' market for the Mini-Deryni, or I'd be lucky to have one new figure every few years!  I got lucky with Denis Arilan (wow, that sounds really bad when taken out of context!), but that's because I didn't get that figure as a fully clothed figure with accessories, but as a nude figure sold at more mid-range prices.  What is considered "mid-range" in the action figure world translates to "What Evie can only afford if she gets lots of Christmas money and can be nice to herself" in my budget-world terms.  There are more lower-priced action figures on the market these days, plus the occasional GI Joe or Power Team figure that turns up at the thrift store or Big Lots, and usually I either buy those or else find figures that would normally be sold at mid-range if I found them on eBay, but since they come from a friend's collection, they are willing to sell for far less.  That's how I got Duncan's body, and also Richenda's.  Every now and then a really good deal comes up on eBay, usually if the seller has no clue how much a figure can actually go for and just slaps a low price on it.  I got Legolas...um, Mihall that way.  He was tossed in with an assortment of Barbies and similar dolls for less than half the price of what most Legolas Kens go for, because the lot was listed as something like "Ken with long blond hair and four Barbies" instead of telling what the individual figures actually were.  Two of the dolls weren't even Barbies.  One of the dolls ended up becoming Meraude and another ended up becoming Jashana, so I got three usable characters out of the lot.

And if you think those high end collectible action figures are pricey, you don't want to look into the ball-jointed doll market.  You really don't.  Just looking at what they would consider "low end" prices can give me palpitations!   And that's if you buy one with an unpainted face.  If you want the face painted for you, then add another $50-100 to the price.  Oh, and eyes and hair come separately.... 

How hosed is your sewing machine?  Do you have a local sewing machine/vacuum cleaner repair shop?  (As odd as that sounds, they seem to go hand-in-hand hereabouts.)  It might be more worth your time to fix the old machine than attempt to get a new one.  My sewing machine and I fight, but I don't really like the newer models in my price range; it's more worth it to me to repair the machine I have (which is actually about the same age or slightly older than I am).

It seems to be quite thoroughly dead.  My hubby hasn't had a chance to do a complete inspection yet, but he's quite mechanically inclined, and he didn't seem very hopeful about our chances of resurrecting it or getting it fixed for less than the price of a new machine.  We have a local sewing machine shop, though, so I might run it by there sometime to see if I can get a second opinion.

[DesertRose]

It's lovely to have someone mechanically inclined around.  (My stepfather, who is a retired mechanical engineer, is it for our family, or my uncle the retired electrical engineer if he happens to be somewhere handy, but he lives 200 miles away.)  Might be worth your time to take the machine by the sewing machine shop and see what they have to say, anyway.  I thought I had royally hosed up mine a few years ago; it transpired that the machine had thrown a gear (which happens, kind of like how brakes or tires on a car eventually wear out) and it was an easy and inexpensive fix, way less than attempting to replace it would have been.  Nobody who has one of the older models like mine (all mechanical with a little bit of electric work, no electronic fancy-schmancy crap) wants to get rid of it.

I hope yours can be repaired. 

[Evie]

We're not in Gwynedd anymore by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Seisyll tries to make sense of his new surroundings.  What is this odd mechanism on the wooden chest beside him, or the black and white mushroom made from some unusual substance?  Why is Sophie wearing such bizarre clothing and holding an octopus?  And is the Dowager Queen Jehana eating some odd puffy substance from a red and white striped bag?  This needs to be reported to Kelson at once!

[Jerusha]

Seisyll vows to never again meet Sextus for drinks at the Green Barrel. 

[Laurna]

What is this odd mechanism on the wooden chest beside him

A 1/6 sewing machine. Oh, now that is cool! 

[Evie]

What is this odd mechanism on the wooden chest beside him

A 1/6 sewing machine. Oh, now that is cool!

It's a music box, and when you wind it up, the foot pedal moves in time to the music.  I found it at one of the local thrift stores and bought it for my modern littles, though Richenda likes to admire it too.

[Elkhound]

And is the Dowager Queen Jehana eating some odd puffy substance from a red and white striped bag? 

Kelson will probably mutter something under his breath about his stepfather-to-be.