 Meet the apocalypse girl. I've had the idea for a while that I wanted to do a post apocalyptic figure, with a skull face paint look. I wanted to go for something a bit less stylized, and more realistic than the House of Seasons figures. I did the make up entirely with Doc Brien's Weathering Powders, and a light coat of Dullcote at the end (Which I swear is made of magic). I REALLY like how it came out. Off to a good start.
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 I made a little progress on my post apocalyptic RV. I like the idea of a rooftop garden, some way to grow some of your own food while living on the go in the wastelands. I also added a raised sniper tower, making this a little more of a compact roving survival fortress. Very slowly, this thing is starting to take form.  I've been saying forever that I've wanted to do a custom Red Sonja figure. She's always been a character I've loved, and since Dynamite Comics picked up the character, it's been an incredibly fun read. The Gail Simone stuff in particular has just been top notch, and I think has just really defined the character. When Phicen started doing the Steel Skeleton seamless bodies, I knew that it was going to be the way to go. When Phicen announced that they would be doing a Red Sonja figure, I had really mixed feelings. There was a lot that looked great in the promo pics, and a lot I kind of hated. Once she got released, I started looking at finding the figure parted out, and planned to pick up just the stuff I wanted. The boots, gloves, sword, and dagger looked great. Phicen had developed a more muscular, toned body that they have yet to release as a blank by itself, so it was only available with a few boxed figures. And after looking online for a bit, it looked cheaper to just pick up the full boxed figure and throw out whatever I didn't want, than to buy the pieces I wanted separately. Once it arrived, I was glad I did. I didn't like the head at all in any of the the pictures I saw, and had every intention of swapping it out when I got it. The face looked kind of just... I don't know, just not right? And the hair looked brighter, cheap and plastic-y, and just a kind of uniform color, like a cheap wig. I had planned to swap it out with a Scarlett Johansson head, because come on, how freaking great would she be in a Red Sonja movie?! But I was surprised how much I liked it when it came in. The hair is actually pretty nice, and I love the face. It isn't the what I was originally pictured for her, but I really loved it once I had it in hand. I'm still tempted to pick up an alternate head, but also pretty content right now. Everything else that I kind of hated from the promotional pics, I felt the same about once they arrived. The ax handle is too thick, and looks cheap, plastic-y, and toyish. It also looked like it was a bit warped, and when I tried to bend the handle a bit, it just immediately snapped. I don't really like the shield, and I can't picture Sonja ever using a tower shield. The cloak looks like it's made of cheap materials (I think it might be the same material as the boots, but oddly looks way better on the boots). And I just hate the plastic chainmail armor. Hate it. The shoulder armor isn't terrible itself, but why they made the straps out of molded silver plastic instead of leather is beyond me, and should be an easy fix by replacing them with actual straps. So, 1st order of business was the chainmail armor. I'd actually seen a number of other people do custom Red Sonja, or Red Sonja inspired figures use this metal mesh material, that's usually used for jewelry or purses. I tracked down a small silver purse, and set to work chopping it up. I replaced all the chains on the original figure with leather straps. I liked the look better, and thought it just it made more sense. Or lets be honest, about as much sense as could be applied to a chainmail bikini. I also wanted to do something to add a little complexity to the design, so added some extra design in around the waist with rings and string.     I put together a new set of straps out of leather and chain, since the original came with just a small little loop of silver chain to hold the sword to the belt, which is just terrible.  The whole thing just looks so much better, and actually drapes and moves really well. Still more lots more to do, so I hope to have more updates soon.
 Some updates on my 1/18 scale Mad Max inspired post apocalyptic war rig. It's slow going, just kind of adding details as ideas strike me. But I was so excited by the Boss Fight Vitruvian Hacks Skeletons, I thought one would look great crucified on the front of my wasteland Raiders war rig.  I also added some metal grip plating to the sides. It comes in white plastic sheets, and is actually supposed to be for model trains. But a little silver spray paint, a quick blackwash, and a little dirt and grime, and it looks LEGIT.
So a few weeks ago, after the long wait, my Boss Fight Studios: Vitruvian Hacks figures have arrived. So awesome, that I immediately ordered a few more figures. For anyone who hasn't been following their success, Boss fight are a group of designers and sculptors that have been working for years on other 1/18 scale lines, launched launched their own company of non-license based 1/18 scale figures with an insane Kickstarter campaign, ending up with over $400,000 on an $70,000 goal.  Their 1st line is based on an ancient Greek motif, of Spartan, Amazonian, and Athenian warriors battling an evil Gorgon army. And while I'm not particularly into their mythos, their potential for customization is a huge deal. Unlike 1/6 scale, no one in 1/18 scale has previously made blank bodies. Which means that 1/18 scale customization has always been limited to swapping pieces from pre-existing 1/18 figures, since all clothes, armor, and other details are sculped on at this scale. And if you're looking to do something that isn't based on the types of stuff you could source from GI Joe or Star Wars figures, you were kind of out of luck. But Boss Fight designed their line with customization in mind, and all figures are basically fully sculpted blank base bodies, with all armor and accessories made from seperate sculpts and are fully removable. Add to that the fact that the figures basically pop together, making swapping out body parts incredibly easy. For customizers, this is all a HUGE deal. Even if your goal isn't a figure that shows of a lot of skin and muscle, it is way easier to build on a blank body than to try to get rid of pre-sculpted detail. For me, it's opened up a ton of ideas and possibilities. So, besides being a great addition to the Mad Max-esque post apocalyptic stuff I've been working on, I've been tinkering around with doing something with a bit more of a fantasy vibe. I'm going for a bit of an old Heavy Metal magazine kind of feel. Still post apocalyptic, but set so far after the destruction of our society, that whatever is left of what we've left behind is viewed as ancient and unfathomable, a lost civilization or a forgotten age of man. So, my 1st few custom figures using the new Boss Fight bodies. I've been referring to these 2 as the Reavers. I picture them as a sort of cult of assassins and bounty hunters.   To be honest, I kind of hate the paint jobs. I wanted it to look like they were sort of speared with a white ash or powder, with a tribal warpaint sort of paint job over top. I used white weathering powders, mixed with some water and sealant. I wanted it to look streaky and 1/2 rubbbed off. At 1st, I was really happy with it, and I still think it looks better in person then it does in pictures. But after some recent successful experiments working with the powders dry, and spray sealing them afterwards, I started thinking about how much better they could look. I've also been working on this guy, a sort of wasteland hero. Something about the outfit makes me think he might be a deserter from some sort of military group. I like the juxtaposition of the more Sci-fi looking pants and gun with the more low-fi and primitive overall look.  I have a ways to go fleshing out the overall concepts, but I'm having a lot of fun sort of playing and figuring it out.
 As I mentioned in my last post, when I see a project that looks totally realistic, and is done really clever and easy, I just can't resist. And while these things rarely ever turn out as easy as they initially seemed, this was one of those rare occasions where it took 5 minutes of work for some great 1/6 scale prop details. Someone online had posted pics of 1/6 scale condoms packs he had made as kind of a joke. All he used were some metal jewelry jump rings and some metal foil tape you'd use for ducts. It was so simple and they looked spot on! How could I not make up a bunch?! So now, as they should, everyone has condoms. I have them in figures' bags and in pockets. So this is my public service announcement. Even 1/6 scale figures should always be prepared. |
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