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DerynifanK

March 17, 2024, 03:48:44 PM
Happy St Patrick's Day. Enjoy the one day of the year when the whole world is Irish.

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

Started by Evie, March 11, 2012, 08:52:30 PM

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revanne

Oh no! The clasp was lovely, really hope you can get another one.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
(Psalm 46 v1)

Evie

Tent side by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Today at lunch I did a rough sketch of where the painted design will go on the sides of Alaric's future tent.  I want to use the Corwyn colors, but I don't want to replicate his arms exactly on the tent.  A black tent with only touches of green and gold would be very dark inside, not to mention very hot and stuffy in summer.  But if I leave the main body of the tent its natural color, but use Alaric's device colors to inspire the color scheme of the décor, with perhaps the green gryphon added and/or the flory-counterflory bordure as design elements, those would help mark the tent as his.  (Having his banner flying just outside the entrance would help also, of course!)

Unfolded canvas by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

The "canvas" (actually muslin) has the same design on both sides.  I used a yardstick to lay out the straight lines and sections, and improvised making the same size arches by tracing around the edge of a paper plate from one mark along the rim to another on the opposite side, with a central mark aligned with specific points marked on the canvas.  The blue ink can be blotted out with a damp washcloth once the designs are painted on the canvas.  The clear sealer I will spray the painted tent with afterward will also help to stiffen the fabric and make it feel more like 1:6 scale appropriate "canvas."

And now off to my fabric-shopping SCA meeting night I go!
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Evie

Brief update:

Added clasp by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I bought a new clasp last night to replace the one I had lost.  I added it to the cloak at lunch today.

And in other news, Duncan's silly head has fallen off once again! Fortunately it didn't get lost; it's still in my tote bag along with Duncan's body.  But this time, since the head was too firmly affixed to the neck joint to come off easily, instead the neck joint popped off the body with the head still attached.  Fortunately it's a simple ball and socket joint, so I was able to fish it out of Duncan's head and pop it back onto the body, but that left the improvised silicone ball joint I made still stuck inside Duncan's head, rattling around in there like an undersized brain without the neck joint in it, so I'll need to fish it out tonight with some needlenose pliers and put him back together again when I have more time and some decent lighting for the surgery.  I could just scream!  But at least it's better than another lost head, or a torn one from the vinyl giving way rather than just the neck joint popping out of the socket.
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

DesertRose

Re:  Duncan's head, wow, how frustrating is that?  I'm sure you're beyond aggravated, Evie.

I like the cloak; it looks great.
"If having a soul means being able to feel love, loyalty, and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans."

James Herriot (James Alfred "Alfie" Wight), when a human client asked him if animals have souls.  (I don't remember in which book the story originally appeared.)

Evie

I'm about ready to bolt it on.  :D

BTW, speaking of "bolts," while I was out shopping for the new cloak clasp last night, I discovered that Hancock's Fabrics has a major sale on right now.  I managed to grab a couple of yards of muted plaid wool fabric in neutral colors (black/brown/gray) that was originally $25/yard, marked down to only $2/yard, and some faux fleece fabric marked down to half price ($6.47 per yard instead of nearly $13), so I'll be making myself a new cloak from those.  I'm planning on a fleece-lined rectangular mantle that can double as a blanket for those cold-weather events and/or overnight camping.  And of course any leftover fabric will go to my little people.  :)
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Jerusha

Beautiful cloak, Evie, and sounds like some great finds at the fabric store.

Poor Duncan!  You may have to find/make him some kind of helmet for travelling that keeps his head firmly on his shoulders.  Probably a full body helmet.    ;)
From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggity beasties and things that go bump in the night...good Lord deliver us!

 -- Old English Litany

Evie

LOL!  There's a thought!

Helena and Duncan by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Don't worry; as of last night, anyway, both were doing just fine.  Here, Helena models her cloak while Duncan shows that he's recovering nicely from his head replacement surgery.  The silicone neck joint knob I fashioned a short while back had come off inside the head, and came apart when I tried to use tweezers to pull it back out, so this time I put the clear aquarium tubing back on the upper ball of the neck joint, shoved a wad of soft silicone putty up inside the head, then put the head back on, shoving the tubing deep inside the wad of soft putty so that hopefully once it hardens, it will create a hard plug inside the head that will prevent the head from coming off again.  Here's hoping!
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Laurna

Great Buy! I wish we still had a Hancocks around here. They carried better fabrics for costuming than Joanne's does.
Hopefully the new neck joint and putty with do the trick. Your boy has got to stop losing his head, literally! It is just not healthy ;D
May your horses have wings and fly!

Evie

I'm sure you'll be glad to know that Duncan's head seems to be seated securely on his neck now.   :)  And his neck is securely molded to his body, which is currently securely seated on a horse.

Herd of horses by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Yes, that's right, a horse!  Here are a few horses from the Royal Stables.  They were let out for an inspection so I will know how much repair and restoration work they will require.

Herd of horses by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Duncan and Helena picked the soundest one of the lot to test ride.  I wanted to make sure the scale would work.  Marx horses are the only 1:6 scale horses in my price range besides Barbie horses, and ...well...Barbie horse.  No!   ;D

Herd of horses by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I even have one articulated Marx horse (see horse in foreground) who is theoretically poseable, but only if I can get him into much better condition than he's currently in.

Herd of horses by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Helena seems comfortable riding pillion.

Checking out the saddle by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Now, here's something you'll never find in Gwynedd...a Western style saddle!  I found this at a gas station, of all places, and bought it thinking it might be the right size for a Marx horse.  Looks good to me, aside from being completely the wrong style.  At least it gives me a size reference to work with when I get around to designing proper medieval saddles.  Duncan is checking the new saddle style out.

Creating a caparison by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Today's lunchtime adventure was creating a caparison with some leftover felt and no photo references.  I just draped a rectangle of felt over the horse's back and started shaping and cutting.  Here's what I've got so far.  The chest band portion is not attached to the larger portion yet, since I want to look up different styles of caparison to see if any better ideas occur before I sew or fabric glue anything too permanent into place.

I think Duncan and this horse are starting to bond.

Creating a caparison by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Some leftover felt bits might end up as bridle covers, adding more medieval touches.

Creating a caparison by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

A Western saddle combined with this get-up looks downright silly to me, but I wanted to get a sense of how high up Duncan will sit when properly saddled, how much of the caparison the saddle itself will cover, where slits might need to be cut to accommodate straps.

Creating a caparison by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

I think the mare looks quite dashing.  I've decided she's a mare, both due to the lack of a "boy bump" on the underside of the horse, and also since my hubby thought it looked just a smidge on the small side, although not too small for his little riders.  Medieval horse breeds tended to run smaller than their modern-day counterparts, and I think females generally run at least somewhat smaller than males, so I think the Marx horses should work out just fine.  At any rate, there's little I can do about providing the Mini-Deryni with larger horses, unless I create them from scratch, and that is SO not happening!   ;D

Creating a caparison by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

The caparison does not close in back.  I considered some sort of strap or tie under the tail, but it seems to hang fine as-is, and at least this way the horse can attend to inevitable calls of nature without making a mess of the caparison.  Well, if plastic horses made such messes, that is.

Creating a caparison by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

And that's it for now!
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Elkhound

I remember once when I was in England we were going horseback riding and (of course) they had those little English-style saddles.  I asked if they had a "western" saddle, and they didn't know what I meant.  When I described it, they said, "Oh, you mean a SPANISH saddle."  (And, no, they didn't have one.)

Laurna

Quotebesides Barbie horses, and ...well...Barbie horse.  No!   ;D

Sure! ;D Duncan would not look good riding a pink horse with a purple main and tail and pretty yellow star on his blaze?  ;D
I suppose you could always spray paint the horse black and die the main and tail black.  Trouble is even most barbie horses are not full size to scale. Most are made to look like small ponys.

Very nice horses Duncan has in his stable. The sorrel would be good for Dhugal, and I can see Duncan riding the palomino. The articulated marx horse looks like a pretty palfrey for Helena, Richenda, or Queen Araxie. She has a delicate face, and she is white so perfect for Araxie. Oh and she can be posed to bow to allow the ladies ease of mounting and dismounting.

There is a large Breyer horse that I thought was barbie size.   Hmmm... Just looked that up. The traditional Breyer is 1/9 scale.  I would think a draft horse model would not be too far off the size.  Look at Brabant heavy horse.  He has a good pose and would make a good war horse.  http://www.breyerhorses.com/brabant and the price is not too bad for a new model, I know breyer horses can get expensive. I think we have two somewhere in my house, likely in a box.

The purple caparison is looking good.  Nice saddle pad and martingale(chest plate). For a full caparison over the tail, I would think a half circle, like a cape, would work. Perhaps a fine fabric or silk painted or stenciled with the coat of arms.  Just as you were planing on painting a banner for Alaric's tent.

Is there such a thing as stensiles you can print in your color printer and then transfer the ink to fabric? Like an iron on?  I don't know.
Oh wait you have an embroidery machine.  Time to break it out and make a caparison design.  hehe.  have fun!
May your horses have wings and fly!

Evie

I don't think even the largest of the Breyer draft horses would be big enough to pass for a 1:6 horse, unfortunately.  The part of my Marx horses where the saddle sits is about 9" off the ground, so I think even the largest of the Breyer horses are considerably shorter than that.  Poor Duncan's feet would drag the ground.  ;D

Don't get too attached to the colors they are now, because part of the restoration process will include a repaint.  I may practice the repaint technique on Barbie horses first, though, since I have a couple of $2 Barbie steeds languishing in the basement waiting to be experimented on.  At any rate, here is one of several tutorials online on how to customize model horses, if anyone else is interested:  http://www.modelhorseguide.com/howto_repaintmodelhorse.htm

Anyway, here is today's progress:

Building the medieval saddle tree by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

After looking up quite a few photos of medieval saddle styles, I started to work building a saddle tree.  I am using a two-part silicone putty to sculpt the basic shapes.  These are the two support "boards" that will form the foundation for the saddle.  I have protected the horse's back with some plastic (a spare Trick or Treat bag) I had on hand to minimize any risk of the putty accidentally adhering to the horse's back.  The rectangles were originally formed on a plate then carefully transferred to the horse.  I'm not worried about making them perfect, since they will eventually be covered.

Mini medieval saddle tree by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Once the "planks" were in place, I added additional pieces to build up the back and front of the saddle.  They are curved to cradle the area where the figure will eventually sit.  I am just going for the rough shape, since these pieces will eventually be covered.

Saddle tree taking shape by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

You can start to get a sense for where my 1:6 rider will sit between the two raised portions of the tree.  Once the silicone putty dries (an overnight process), the area between the two curves will be lightly padded to form the saddle seat, then the entire saddle will be covered.

Decorative saddle fabric by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

This is the fabric I am thinking of using for the saddle cover.  It works well with the plainer purple felt of the caparison.  I am not sure yet whether I will keep the fabric as-is or seal it with Mod Podge or some other clear sealer to give it more of a dyed and embossed leather look.  I might experiment on a scrap of fabric first to see what it looks like sealed before making a decision one way or the other.

Top view by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

My poor horse looks like he's got scoliosis, to judge by the warped lines of those planks, but hopefully once the saddle is fully assembled and has a rider in it, any flaws in the basic structure will be completely hidden.
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Jerusha

When I first saw today's pictures (before reading the captions) I wondered who had the cool coat of arms with the scary spider and plumes. It would have to be someone from Torenth!

And those poor Barbie horses waiting to be experimented on - are they stabled beside the spare heads?   :o

IIRC, didn't Duncan gift Bendan a handsome saddle for his knighting in one of your stories?  It looks like you have a fine prototype shaping up here.  I'm looking forward to the finished model. 
From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggity beasties and things that go bump in the night...good Lord deliver us!

 -- Old English Litany

Aerlys

Quote from: Evie on October 09, 2014, 02:15:10 PM
I have a couple of $2 Barbie steeds languishing in the basement waiting to be experimented on. 

Ack! It's not just Evie the Impaler we need to worry about. Now it's Evie the Evil Scientist. Is there no one safe from the clutches of her rampant creativity? Oh the inhumanity of it all!

**hides the guinea pig in a secure location**
"Loss and possession, death and life are one, There falls no shadow where there shines no sun."

Hilaire Belloc

Evie

Quote from: Aerlys on October 09, 2014, 03:04:26 PM
Quote from: Evie on October 09, 2014, 02:15:10 PM
I have a couple of $2 Barbie steeds languishing in the basement waiting to be experimented on. 

Ack! It's not just Evie the Impaler we need to worry about. Now it's Evie the Evil Scientist. Is there no one safe from the clutches of her rampant creativity? Oh the inhumanity of it all!

**hides the guinea pig in a secure location**

Guinea pig?!  Muahahaha!  Thees ees what I'll dooo to yer precious guinea pig!


http://geekologie.com/2013/06/finally-some-decent-chain-mail-for-guine.php

"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!