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NOPE! Not working.

NOPE! Not working. published on No Comments on NOPE! Not working.

I decided to improve Jareth’s faceup today. Since his body is out being fitted for fabulous clothes beyond imagination [!!!!!!!], Janvier Jett allowed him to borrow hers. First he borrowed her wig and glasses too. He has rocked her wig and a pair of the orange spectacles before, but him on her body with all her gear just strikes me as jarringly wrong. [I wonder what he’ll look like on Yamarrah’s Domuya Flexi body when it comes?]

Continue reading NOPE! Not working.

Dead version of Isabel’s improved skirt

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I made two changes to the dead version of Isabel this weekend. I lengthened her neck prong so that her head stays on more firmly. I also made her an overskirt out of the sparkly purple fabric I got from Georgia Landau.

Originally I wanted the overskirt to be a subdued addition of color to the dead version’s flat black velvet skirt. So I made the skirt wrong way out, showing a predominantly black field with occasional pieces of purple glitter. I liked the effect, but thought that the hems were too even. I then cut strips into both her underskirt and overskirt to suggest shredding after years in the ground. She now has voluminous rags with regular black velvet nap, slightly shiny black velvet "wrong side," sparkly purple and only slightly sparkly "wrong side," all of which are showing, as the rags twist in various directions. I really like the effect!

Continue reading Dead version of Isabel’s improved skirt

Anna’s improved electric wheelchair

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Anna’s wheelchair finally fits her. I lengthened the foot rest bar, which was originally too short. I also adjusted the joybox so that it extends out from the end of the armrest so that she can reach it with her left arm in a natural, relaxed position.

Continue reading Anna’s improved electric wheelchair

Before I did 1:6 scale action figures and BJDs…

Before I did 1:6 scale action figures and BJDs… published on No Comments on Before I did 1:6 scale action figures and BJDs…

…I did 1:6 scale paper dolls. In the fall of 1997, I drew several of Jareth [much to my frustration, he never came out right], myself and various fictional characters. I’ve selected my two favorites for exhibition today.

Continue reading Before I did 1:6 scale action figures and BJDs…

Somali Bantu minor character

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Given that I see resettled Somali Bantu people everywhere around Winooski, especially kids, I think Zombieville needs at least one, a young woman, who was moved here with her family at a very young age.  

EDIT: The Somali Bantu Community Organization of Vermont [which is in Winooski] estimates that there are about 600 Somali Bantu people in Chittenden County. As far as I can tell, the highest concentrations are in the Old North End of Burlington and in Winooski.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1537638.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

No tonsil hockey :(

No tonsil hockey :( published on No Comments on No tonsil hockey :(

Iplehouse just released another doll in the Addiction special edition: a version of nYID Bianca. Like Aaliyah and Doria [whence Yamarrah], she has a fantasy head with fangs, pointy ears and optional horns. Unlike those dolls, though, Bianca’s fantasy head suffers from Sabertooth Fang Disorder, wherein the teeth are sculpted to hang outside of the mouth in a silly manner. [See also anything in the Dollpire line by DollMore.]

I’m surprised that Iplehouse, which does all of its sculpting digitally, did not choose to rework the lower half of Bianca’s face to accommodate a more open mouth and more realistic teefs. She doesn’t look like she has fangs; she just looks like she has two slightly raised triangles resting on her lower lip. Too bad, as I love everything else about the concept, including the outfit, the grey resin option and the flamboyantly large, oar-like ears with multiple piercings.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1537420.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

DOMA has fucked off and died!

DOMA has fucked off and died! published on No Comments on DOMA has fucked off and died!

Implications to follow. Ruling here to be read at my leisure.

EDIT: The fucking off of DOMA does not apparently entail the fucking off of anti-marriage state-level biases. 

EDIT: Proposition 8 has fucked off too!

EDIT: The fuck off of Prop 8 only addresses the constitutionality of marriage in California, not the whole country in general. Meanwhile, the fuck off of DOMA addresses only those same-sex marriages that already exist, not, as I mentioned above, states without marriage equality.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1537007.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Fuck off, Bathroom Police!

Fuck off, Bathroom Police! published on No Comments on Fuck off, Bathroom Police!

Colorado’s civil rights division has determined that Coy Mathis, prohibited from using her school’s bathroom, has been unfairly discriminated against for being told to hold it all damn day just because she has a penis. She will now be able to take a shit on school premises again. Why we needed to go all the way up to the state judiciary to determine that taking a crap is an inalienable right is beyond me. But at least now the Bathroom Police Department in Colorado Springs, Colorado can fuck right the fuck off.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1536415.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Brandeis redux

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Her outfit and her hair weren’t doing her any favors, so I improved them. Her faceup also needs refinement. I like the features, but the coloring is a little messy. I need to touch up her lips and the lines around her nose. Her eyebrows and eye bags, however, are perfect! She’s so cute.

Continue reading Brandeis redux

Doctor Z redux

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Her shiny purple face made her really difficult to photograph, so I wiped it this weekend and redid her. The darkness of her complexion, again, makes it hard for me to photograph her, but some highlighting helps pick out her features.

She also got new hair, the volume of which I reduced by flattening it with some Mod Podge. I also gave her a different top so she’s showing a little more skin.

Continue reading Doctor Z redux

The walker now fits Peter.

The walker now fits Peter. published on No Comments on The walker now fits Peter.

More correctly, I should say that Peter has been altered to fit the walker. I took at least 2cm, possibly a bit more, out of both his thighs and his ankles. Yes, I am aware that he now looks ungainly, with long arms, massive hands and short legs. I’m okay with that. Very few people have idealized proportions. ^_^

Continue reading The walker now fits Peter.

Walker is too short :(

Walker is too short :( published on No Comments on Walker is too short :(

Here’s Peter with the latest iteration of the walker in progress. I added a front cross brace and handlebars this weekend. They are made out of 8 gauge solid copper, which I bent with the help of a hammer and lots of cursing.

As you can see, the walker is too short. The handles should be as high as the creases in his wrists. I have spent so much time on this damn thing that, at this point, it will be easier to make Peter shorter than to reconfigure his walker. >:[

Continue reading Walker is too short 🙁

Lesley Gore

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I have developed a HUGE crush on Lesley Gore. I could watch her sing all day, even if it’s heteronormative bullshit. She sings with such power and force, propelling the words out from inside her with irresistible potency. That voice could knock down walls. She’s amazing!

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1534634.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

OMG new Lumedoll Lumelights!

OMG new Lumedoll Lumelights! published on No Comments on OMG new Lumedoll Lumelights!

There are three completely new sculpts: Fionn [sleeping dude], Kiran [awake dude], Helena [open-mouthed fem]. There’s also Mini Zero, a smaller version of Zero, a sold-out 1:3 scale Lumedoll notable for his inchoate, in-progress face.

There are also some new resin colors available: ebony [a darker, more intense brown than the very light tan], bronze [a deep brown with gold undertones] and, finally and most amusingly, "zombie" [a greenish grey that I cannot distinguish from the regular grey Lumedoll offers].

Now I regret ordering a bunch of Lumedoll heads before these new sculpts came out! I especially like Helena and Mini Zero, who would be great as some disturbing, lurking embodiment of silence or something. I wish I could get him in completely black resin. Then I would dress him in ridiculously long white linen robes and a white fur wig and call him Silencio. He would stand around freaking out all my fairies. :p Ebony would also work as a resin color for him, just as long as there was a stark contrast between his skin color and hair/clothing color.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1534416.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Obnoxious shoes on parade

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I just scored duplicates of the Hasbro Shoezies L and N as shown in my inventory of bootfeet. Color combos are going to be lime/lemon and orange/magenta! \o/ I might also repaint M if I can get the feets out of the Shoezies. I need to get at least some gold and silver paint. Not sure if I need some orange.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1534197.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

She’s still got it…

She’s still got it… published on No Comments on She’s still got it…

Here’s Lesley Gore doing You Don’t Own Me in 1989 with the same expressive passion that she imbued the performance I recently mentioned. I love the way she bounces on her toes, as if the force of her voice is going to sweep her off her feet. She looks so grounded and so powerful.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1533556.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Ankle sockets for Isabel

Ankle sockets for Isabel published on No Comments on Ankle sockets for Isabel

I just got the best idea…I have lots of action figure bootfeet, especially from all my Cy Girls and from my modified Hasbro Shoezies. To expand Isabel’s wardrobe [and to make her more stable], I should remove her feet and somehow string her with action fig ankle cups so that she can wear all those shoes!!! 

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1533218.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Thrilling Tales of the Downright Unusual

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Interactive and/or serialized and/or illustrated sci fi/fantasy stories decorated with a mid-century pulpy flair appear to contain actual women and people of color! 

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1533105.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Yamarrah gets a body!

Yamarrah gets a body! published on No Comments on Yamarrah gets a body!

I just scored Yamarrah a Domuya Flexi Perennial body off the DOA marketplace for $145.00 shipped, which is less than I paid for her head. O_O Known for their high level of articulation and concomitant difficulty in posing, the Domuya Flexi bodies have a distinctly segmented, mechanical look to their sculpt [in contrast to the Shinydoll Thaasa bodies, which represent a beautiful marriage of engineering, aesthetics and poseability — yes, it’s a menage a trois!].

Ever since I restrung August last summer, I have grown increasingly confident about customizing my BJDs more intensively. I’ve improved my subtractive mods, such as sanding Novella’s head, removing Béatrice’s pointy ears, modding Isabel and Carter’s necks, etc. I’ve even ventured into additive mods with an Aves Apoxie Sculpt headback for the dead version of Isabel. I’ve developed my own fur wig pattern and gained enough skill with faux fur so that I am ready to branch out into the wool that I got from Georgia Landau. In conclusion, I’m ready to take on a challenge like Yamarrah’s new body.

The Domuya Flexi will need significant wiring in order to hold poses, I think. I may also need to fuse the hip balls to the thighs and perhaps one of the torso joints to the other to prevent parts spinning around. Furthermore, since the resin of the body, which has pink undertones, will not match Yamarrah’s head, which has brown undertones, I will be painting [or scribbling] stylized flames on her upper breast and neck, as well as her wrists and forearms. Yippee!!

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1532856.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Lesley Gore’s You Don’t Own Me live

Lesley Gore’s You Don’t Own Me live published on No Comments on Lesley Gore’s You Don’t Own Me live

This video of Lesley Gore, most likely around 17 or 18, singing You Don’t Own Me live, fascinates me. She sings with such joy and passion and expressiveness; she clearly loves to sing! Plus she’s hot; I love her baggy eyes and her long straight nose and her rectangular face and those amazing flickery eyebrows. It also doesn’t hurt that she’s one of us. 😀

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1532604.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

New TV I am interested in

New TV I am interested in published on No Comments on New TV I am interested in
  • Defiance. SyFy. Humans and aliens try to coexist in future terraformed St. Louis. Actually all on Hulu right now for free!
  • Dracula. NBC. Vampires, reincarnation, elaborate dresses and British accents abound.
  • Sleepy Hollow. Fox. Ichabod Crane pulls a Rip Van Winkle and pursues supernatural criminals with modern detective partner, a WOC.

And already-running TV:

  • Colbert Report. Comedy Central. Colbert satirizes current events and is frequently funny about it.
  • Grimm. NBC. Supernatural procedural stupidity slogs on without character development.
  • Haven. SyFy. An Exceptional Woman investigates something rotten in the state of Maine.
  • Warehouse 13. SyFy. Fantasy MacGuffins cause wacky highjinks!

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1532002.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Thinking about Yamarrah’s body

Thinking about Yamarrah’s body published on No Comments on Thinking about Yamarrah’s body

Note to self: The DOA marketplace contains many cheap, aesthetically acceptable bodies by Fantasy Doll. Searching under "fantasydoll," "fdoll" or "fantasy doll" finds them.

Further Yamarrah concept: Fire elemental with flames up her forearms and on her breast, up her neck, to incorporate cool translucent hands and to cover mismatch in skintone. Possibly also flames on ears and cheeks.

Yamarrah: "Hey little dude! I’m a fire spirit too!"

Mellifer: O_O

Hee hee hee. 

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1531887.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Yamarrah ships next month!

Yamarrah ships next month! published on No Comments on Yamarrah ships next month!

Remember her? I did a split for her along with a person who wanted the human head and a person who wanted the body. I have already paid off Yamarrah’s head [good thing too, as expenses in our new place are really draining me], but I am waiting for the other two split partners to finish the 3-month layaway. The final payment for that is due at the end of June, so Yamarrah should ship to the buyer of the body sometime in July!

I already have the following pieces of her:

I should lay all these pieces out and take a few photos.

Of course, she needs a body. Given that her hands are translucent yellow and obviously not matching the rest of her and also that most of her except neck and part of shoulders will be covered, I wonder if I can find a cheap body on the DOA marketplace and paint the exposed parts to match? I’ve done it with 1:6ers…



This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1531429.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Grit Primer: gravestone font????

Grit Primer: gravestone font???? published on No Comments on Grit Primer: gravestone font????

Based on the typeface in olden primers, but also suitable for 18th and 19th century epitaphs. 

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1531080.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

The investigation of Timonium

The investigation of Timonium published on No Comments on The investigation of Timonium

Remember last month, when my BJDs were discussing the taciturn newcomer Timonium? I shot the continuation of that completely trivial and banal saga almost a month ago, but have not gotten around to posting it until now. Since Jareth has gone off to a tailor’s to acquire some bespoke couture, who will be the voice of reason in his stead??? Who cares?
Continue reading The investigation of Timonium

Wonder if I can…

Wonder if I can… published on No Comments on Wonder if I can…

…put Peter’s original knobby, beringed hands on his new body? His current hands, Obitsu slender male defaults, are tubular, lacking in detail and completely flat. They have about as much individuality as hot dogs. :[ 

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1530178.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Now he’s starting to look like Peter!

Now he’s starting to look like Peter! published on No Comments on Now he’s starting to look like Peter!

Painted skull globe and mouth corner, refined faceup around eyes and nose, started doing faceup around mouth. I especially like his genial smile.

Continue reading Now he’s starting to look like Peter!

Mr. Very Very Close Head

Mr. Very Very Close Head published on No Comments on Mr. Very Very Close Head

Filled in the crease at right of lower lip, sanded out divot in chin, added height to skull globe, started faceup. If you refer back to the faceup concept from a few days ago, you can see that he’s looking similar, with allowance for added scribbling.

Continue reading Mr. Very Very Close Head

Mr. Almost There Head

Mr. Almost There Head published on No Comments on Mr. Almost There Head

Filled in more divots around skull, blended brow ridge further into forehead, smoothed out eye sockets, narrowed nasal bridge, added and refined nostril wings. Area where bottom lip meets chin and area around tip of chin still need work. Almost there!
Continue reading Mr. Almost There Head

Working on Alabama’s hair

Working on Alabama’s hair published on No Comments on Working on Alabama’s hair

Because all the fibers in my haul from Georgia Landau contained dust and stink, they required lengthy preparations before use. First, I picked out all the stray threads, vegetable matter and pieces of fabric. Then I gave them a quick wash in lukewarm water with some dish soap. Finally I aired out the hanks on my clothesline [a very useful addition to our new apartment!] for several hours. Though I still need to comb out the fibers I intend to use, I can now work with them without sneezing my head off.Continue reading Working on Alabama’s hair

Got my Angel of Grief today!

Got my Angel of Grief today! published on No Comments on Got my Angel of Grief today!

Even though she’s yellow and averagely sculpted, I really like her. So does Isabel. Now I just need to remove that embossed doggerel on the front and repaint her a marble or granite color, including some bird shit stains.

Continue reading Got my Angel of Grief today!

ModernWizard = dude

ModernWizard = dude published on No Comments on ModernWizard = dude

Way back in the early days of the millennium, I chose ModernWizard as a screen name, a practice that I have continued over the past 10+ years to create a coherent online identity.  I specifically chose it because it combines connotations of magic and fantasy with a more up-to-date sensibility. I also specifically chose it because it’s not gender-marked, although, now that I think about it, most people think "wizard" to be a gender-marked word, the male equivalent to "witch." Also informing my choice was a T-shirt I had at that time with glow-in-the-dark constellations, which, I decided, would be appropriate for a modern wizard’s garb, as opposed to the stylized astronomical symbols of yore. ^_^

Anyway, people who don’t know me continually assume that I’m a guy. Well, let me rephrase that — straight cis white dudes continually assume I’m one of them by using masculine pronouns on trade references or calling me sir. It is interesting that women do not do this.

I could go off onto a whole tangent about the gendered ways in which people write only and how people interpret other people’s gender from what they write [For example, I very rarely see masculine-identified people use ^_^. :), 🙁 and :p, yes, but ^_^, no. :p ] and what happens when one reads "conflicting" cues. I don’t wanna, though. The end.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1527439.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Go dryad go!

Go dryad go! published on No Comments on Go dryad go!

At the end of last month, I lusted over Soom Faery Legend Boehm and thought that the concept of a dryad would put his pale green resin to good use. I’m on the verge of purchasing another magenta Soom Faery Legend Aenigma head [why I don’t know], and I remembered my dryad concept and thought that perhaps she could be a dryad.

Then I realized that I have bunches of BJD parts hanging around in my "raw dolls" drawer and, in fact, a better choice for a dryad would be my tan Lumedoll Koit head on a chocolate Hujoo body. Behold Verdure! She is a shy little dryad, much younger than all the other fairies, maybe 10 or 11? She is also trans.

Hmmm, I really hate the Hujoo hands and feet. I should swap those out for the Lumedoll hands and feet that I have bonking around in my "raw dolls" drawer.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1527174.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Cruel dad wants to burn daughter’s gift-from-mom blankie.

Cruel dad wants to burn daughter’s gift-from-mom blankie. published on No Comments on Cruel dad wants to burn daughter’s gift-from-mom blankie.

In today’s Dear Prudence, a letter writer wonders how to deal with her husband, who cannot handle the fact that one of his kids is really attached to her transitional object. He has even confiscated it from her!

Great move, genius. Now you have a crying kid who worries that her blankie is gonna die, and it’s all because you’re a miserable, insecure control freak at best and an abusive asshole at worst.

Try developing a functional sense of empathy, and give the kid back her blankie! This could end up being one of those memorable experiences that she’ll always, on some level, feel upset about. I’m not sure you can comprehend, though, how you may have justifiably earned your child’s lifelong mistrust and hostility because your head is jammed way too far up your own rectum for you to see anything but your own navel.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1526840.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

HaaaaaaaaaCHOOOOOOO!

HaaaaaaaaaCHOOOOOOO! published on No Comments on HaaaaaaaaaCHOOOOOOO!

The wools I got from Georgia Landau have been sitting in dusty bags for untold years, so they have dust on them, as well as a musty smell. I have removed them from the bags I bought them in, but I still want to wash them before use. After some online research, I have decided that a quick dunk and swish in hot water with dish soap would be most effective, followed by drying on my drying rack.

Also in doll-related news, I discovered that I can hasten the 24-hour curing time of Aves Apoxie Sculpt by sticking my items in the oven on 200 degrees for, say, 15 minutes!


This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1526436.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Mr. Slightly Less Lumpy Head

Mr. Slightly Less Lumpy Head published on No Comments on Mr. Slightly Less Lumpy Head

Filled in the deep creases on forehead and cheeks, as well as where jaw joins neck under ears [not shown in this photo]. Cheeks and jaw/neck joins actually look pretty good. Forehead still needs some filling in, and I haven’t even gotten to the nasal bridge yet. I’m pleased with the progress, however.
Continue reading Mr. Slightly Less Lumpy Head

E-Z Cacti [TM]

E-Z Cacti [TM] published on No Comments on E-Z Cacti [TM]

Figurvore’s first custom challenge is to make a 1:6 scale plant. I toyed with the idea of making a bonsai tree with some of my various wire for a skeleton and possibly some fauxliage as leaves, but that looked like it would require hours, rather than minutes, of effort, so I scaled back. I made an E-Z Cactus, as previously mentioned in an entry in December, 2012, but with some improvements.

I made the cactus by twisting together two shades of green pipe cleaners. Then I formed the pipe cleaners into a club shape with a projection on the bottom to stick into the soil unit. To help the cactus stand upright, I rammed a slender piece of bronze wire up inside it.

To make the soil unit, I filled a 1.5" diameter terra cotta pot with Aves Apoxie Sculpt most of the way. I snipped off small shreds of brown crinkle paper and stuck them to the top of the Aves Apoxie Sculpt to look like wood chips. Then I stuck the wire on the bottom of the cactus into the soil unit. When the Aves Apoxie Sculpt dried, I used hot glue and more "wood chips" to cover the areas where the soil unit showed.
Continue reading E-Z Cacti [TM]

FUCK YOU GRAIN BUGS

FUCK YOU GRAIN BUGS published on No Comments on FUCK YOU GRAIN BUGS

GO AWAY STOP MAKING ME THROW OUT ALL MY BREAD AND RICE AND PASTA AND PANCAKE MIX I’M TRYING TO SAVE MONEY HERE BY BUYING IN BULK AND YOU LITTLE SHITS AREN’T HELPING

I HATE YOU GUYS YOU’RE SO ANNOYING AND BESIDES YOU ARE FUCKING UP OUR FRESHLY PAINTED WALLS BECAUSE I HAVE TO PASTE YOU WITH A PACK OF PHOTO PAPER AND THEN HALF THE TIME AFTER I SCORE A DIRECT HIT YOU’RE STILL FUCKING ALIVE AND WHEN I DO GET YOU YOU LEAVE BUG GUTS ALL OVER THE WALL 

THE PANTRY LOOKS LIKE AN INSECT CHARNEL HOUSE ALL BECAUSE OF YOU

WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU LAYING YOUR FUCKING EGGS ANYWAY WE ALREADY GOT RID OF ALL THE OPEN BULK PACKAGES AND SEALED EVERYTHING IN PLASTIC STORAGE SO ARE YOU INCUBATING INSIDE THE STORAGE AND THEN MAGICALLY TELEPORTING THROUGH THE PLASTIC OR SOMETHING

STOP HAVING CONVENTIONS IN OUR PANTRY GO BOTHER THE UPSTAIRS NEIGHBORS WHO COULD THEN DO SOMETHING USEFUL WITH ALL THEIR ELEPHANT STOMPING AND SQUASH THE SHIT OUT OF YOU

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1525690.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Breyer Stablemates: more dolls for dolls?

Breyer Stablemates: more dolls for dolls? published on No Comments on Breyer Stablemates: more dolls for dolls?

Breyer, purveyor of plastic horses, has a 1:32 scale line of horses [obviously] that occasionally includes human figures in the playsets. It’s very hard to find pictures of them. However, they appear to be articulated at the shoulders, hips and knees at the least. I think they are about the size of my Hasbro Human Alliance Mikaela doll. They’re wayyyyyy cheaper though!

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1525114.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Ravishing Rachel Life Size Sculpture from Design Toscano

Ravishing Rachel Life Size Sculpture from Design Toscano published on No Comments on Ravishing Rachel Life Size Sculpture from Design Toscano

I kind of pity the copywriters for Design Toscano. They have to make all that tacky shit sound alluring and justifiably high-priced. Look DT — you either want things like a suit of armor t.p. holder or you don’t. You’re preaching to the choir. Don’t waste your limited stock of two-bit adjectives on us.

Take, for example, a sentence from their copy for Ravishing Rachel [who’s in the Sexy Temptresses category, along with the ass-flaunting Temptress Witch Christmas Ornament]:

"Cast in quality designer resin, this large-scale, display-quality indoor sculpture transforms any home bar, entertainment area or recreation room into something truly magnificent!"

"Quality designer resin": as opposed, I guess, to all that shitty, no-name resin that floods the market these days?

"Large-scale": Isn’t that redundant, given that the title indicates that it’s "Life Size"?

"Display-quality": Seriously…why would you buy a Technicolor rendition of a very stiff, cartoony woman flashing her tits if not to display it?

"Transforms any home bar, entertainment area or recreation room": So you’re admitting that your target consumers for these are sleazy misogynist straight white cis dudes who throw around obscene sums of money in an attempt to compensate for their utter lack of redeeming traits? Superb! I’ll take 10!!!

"Truly magnficent": I don’t think that is the word you’re looking for. May I humbly suggest "alarming"?

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1524968.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

New and improved Megan, now with increased wrinkles and bags!

New and improved Megan, now with increased wrinkles and bags! published on No Comments on New and improved Megan, now with increased wrinkles and bags!

Megan Meehan, Zombieville denizen and Doctor Z.’s assistant, used to look like this:
Continue reading New and improved Megan, now with increased wrinkles and bags!

Poor Peter

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He’s undergone so many permutations, none of which have satisfied me. Friday night I had the sad epiphany that he needed a resculpt. I’ve tried a bazillion times to work with the Sideshow The Dead Punk headsculpt, and it continues to fail me.

I decided to try one last time, though, and strip the paint off his head, hands and torso. After untold hours and repeated applications of Pebeo, he was mostly paint-free. I then realized with dismay that the head’s built-in woeful expression will never accurately capture Peter, who is friendly, even-tempered and relatively content.

Looked online briefly to find a bald male head with a neutral expression. Unfortunately, most male action figures look grim and constipated [grim because constipated?] and they have hair, so I could only find ones that were either bald/constipated or hairy/neutral, not bald/neutral. I gave up.

I looked through my drawer of extra bodies and heads. I procured a Triad Lola head, which I originally bought in 2009 for its "sarcastic expression," and plopped it on an Obitsu Slim Male body. I really like the sharp features here, as well as the deep-set, baggy eyes and the creases between the corners of the nose and lips.
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Alabama and the rest of my haul from Georgia Landau’s castoffs

Alabama and the rest of my haul from Georgia Landau’s castoffs published on No Comments on Alabama and the rest of my haul from Georgia Landau’s castoffs

Out of the blue, earlier this month, I received an E-mail from figural sculptor Georgia Landau, asking me if I wished to buy some of her dollmaking supplies. After decades of making dolls, primarily in porcelain, she has moved onto clay, leaving behind wool and other fibers, fabrics, furniture and other odds and ends. Unable to make her official Saturday moving sale, I trekked to Montpelier Friday after work in driving rain to examine the goods.Continue reading Alabama and the rest of my haul from Georgia Landau’s castoffs

Pieces of new graveyard

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Here is the dead version of Isabel showing off the hollow plastic gravestones I got at the end of last week. As you can see, the fronts are, like most Halloween decorations, bullshit in terms of cemetery iconography, but the backs are fine!

Continue reading Pieces of new graveyard

Medicom Kira Yoshikage

Medicom Kira Yoshikage published on No Comments on Medicom Kira Yoshikage

The character designs for Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure are just so much fun! As all 3 of my regular readers know, I originally succumbed to the temptations of the Medicom dolls of this series when I got Anna, who started off life as a Jolyne. I have now found another Medicom doll from the same line whose awesomeness nearly equals that of Jolyne’s: Kira Yoshikage. He comes with two heads — one with wavy hair and the other with spiky hair — and a fucking purple tuxedo. He’d make a great butch dyke, especially with the spiky hair!

He’s not so awesome that he’s writing himself into Zombieville, though.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1523017.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Light box lite

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I think I’m going to use some of my self-standing display boards to make a partial light box. I’m going to cut out frames from the side panels and then put white pillowcases in the holes for added light filtering.

For easy reference, here’s a link to the first light box I made.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1522845.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Whoa! A fashion doll collector/seller in Vermont!

Whoa! A fashion doll collector/seller in Vermont! published on No Comments on Whoa! A fashion doll collector/seller in Vermont!

Just a few towns over!

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1522073.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Proof of concept and the challenge of scratch-built 1:6 scale stuff

Proof of concept and the challenge of scratch-built 1:6 scale stuff published on No Comments on Proof of concept and the challenge of scratch-built 1:6 scale stuff

I have recently developed the useful and somewhat surprising facility for making my own serviceable 1:6 scale stuff. I go through the following process, demonstrated for example’s sake with an electric wheelchair:

  1. I want a 1:6 scale electric wheelchair.
  2. Let me search for a commercially produced one.
  3. There are no commercially produced ones, or they are too expensive.
  4. I’ll have to make one.
  5. Let’s break down the electric wheelchair into its simplest components, which I may be more likely to find in 1:6 scale.
  6. An electric wheelchair looks like an office chair on top of a lawn mower.
  7. I have procured an office chair, but I can’t find a lawn mower.
  8. I will have to use a 1:18 scale ForTwo Smart Car instead.
  9. [Construction ensues.]

The key steps, I think, are 5 and 6. I’m currently planning to scratch-build two 1:6 scale things, not necessarily because I need them, but because I want to see if I can.

The first is a tape dispenser, which is basically a block with a channel down the center and a roll of tape half-submerged in the channel. I know exactly how I want to make this; I just need to sit down and actually do it.

The second is a grandfather clock. I started coveting a functioning 1:6 scale grandfather clock on the Doll Page Show and Sell site, but $33.00 for something I don’t really neeeeeeed seemed too rich to me. Even when I got the idea that the dead version of Isabel could come and go in Isabel’s room through the door in the clock, I still couldn’t bring myself to spend north of $30.00 for one.

I’m perfectly willing to make one, however. A grandfather clock is basically a clock face on top of a locker, so, once I find the appropriate 1:6 scale locker/narrow cupboard with working door, I have the base for a modern grandfather clock!

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1521675.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Warehouse 13 continues to hate characters of color.

Warehouse 13 continues to hate characters of color. published on No Comments on Warehouse 13 continues to hate characters of color.

In The Ones You Love, Artie, while split into Good and Evil Artie, kills Leena, a WOC and series regular who, though having been around for 3.5 seasons, has yet to receive a last name or any other characterization beyond "B&B owner" and "tool of McPherson." 

Two episodes later, in The Living and the Dead, despite the existence of multiple artifacts that can bring people back to life, Leena is still dead. However, no one gives a shit, except insofar as her death causes angst to a white man [Artie]. In fact, she appears in Artie’s subconscious as an essentially vacuous prop to demonstrate the painful reality from which he’s shielding himself. Claudia and Steve exercise themselves mightily over drawing Artie out from his subconscious, paying no attention to Leena except as a tragic figment of his imagination. Who cares about the black woman?

In the next episode, Parks and Rehabilitation, Artie stands on tribunal in front of the Regents, who decide to reinstate him as head of Warehouse 13 because Saul Rubinek has an ongoing contract with the SyFy network the plot must go on. The head Regent explains that Artie was kind of possessed by an evil version of himself, so he’s morally blameless. He also says that "Leena was a valued member of the team" and that "she knew the risks." 

I buy neither statement. First, Evil Artie was in fact Artie, just a concentrated version of those thoughts and feelings that he censors in his attempt to be a good, kind person. As a part of Artie, Evil Artie is indeed under Artie’s jurisdiction and part of his responsibility. No matter what the show wants me to believe, Artie willingly, knowingly and with malice aforethought murdered Leena.

Second, if Leena was such a "valued member of the team," why the hell do we never see her doing anything but being victimized and keeping house in the background? And why the hell couldn’t the Regents refer to her by her full name?

Oh right, it’s because she’s a cardboard Mammy. :[

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1521532.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Does James Marsters…

Does James Marsters… published on No Comments on Does James Marsters…

…have some clause in his contracts that stipulates that, when he guest stars on a fantasy TV show, he has to be A) an exceptionally long-lived character and/or B) one that explicitly tells our protagonists that vampires are bullshit?

In Smallville’s Thirst, he played Milton Fine/Brainiac, who fulfilled the B role.

In Supernatural’s Shut Up, Dr. Phil, he played Don Stark, a witch with a greatly extended lifespan.

In Warehouse 13’s The Living and the Dead, he played Professor Sutton/the Count of St. Germain, a 500-year-old charlatan who, he emphasized, was not a vampire. A + B!

I must say, though, that it’s always a pleasure to see him guest star, especially when he plays a charming rogue, which he does with relish [mmmmmm, relish!] and playfulness.

Also he is hot.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1521310.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Dead version of Isabel’s improved hands

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I tossed the dead version of Isabel’s default hands. Even after I repositioned them, I still disliked them. I made her a new set out of a pair of white Takara CG gloved hands. I carved them out, gave them a dry brush of light grey, drew in wrist bones and phalanges with permanent marker, added white highlights with white out and sealed them. Wheeee.

Continue reading Dead version of Isabel’s improved hands

Voici Dillon!

Voici Dillon! published on No Comments on Voici Dillon!

I did Dillon — Isabel’s ex, coworker, purchaser of her car and carpooler, not to mention Carter’s friend and representative of stupid shit people say about PWS — for once and for all tonight. He started off as an AA Hasbro GI Jane Vietnam Nurse, who is quite possibly one of the sweetest, cutest, most adorable dolls ever. Don’t you just want to be her friend?
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Advice column: “Saddest Song, Smallest Violin” version

Advice column: “Saddest Song, Smallest Violin” version published on No Comments on Advice column: “Saddest Song, Smallest Violin” version

Bah hah hah hah hah! 


In answer to someone who is extremely bothered by the fact that their wife enthusiastically enjoys YA fiction: "Gift her a nice Franzen box set, a fresh copy of Infinite Jest or the complete works of Dave Eggers, so that she may better learn to center her recreational reading around fictional middle-aged white men instead of fictional people who aren’t as important and interesting as they are."

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1520334.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Doll to-dos

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  • Make tape dispenser
  • Photo articulated dolls for dolls
  • Redo dead version’s hands
  • Measure walker for handlebars
  • Decide what neutral clothes Isabel needs
  • Ship Skelita to Andrea
  • Unstring, pack, ship Jareth’s body [minus head and hands]
  • Redo Dillon’s faceup: new eyebrows and lips + shading

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1520102.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Kinda freaky looking

Kinda freaky looking published on No Comments on Kinda freaky looking

I have finished the dead version of Isabel tonight. Last night I broke lots of her fingers and repositioned them in less tense, claw-shaped configurations. I also made her a skirt by hacking out a circle of black velvet with a 9-inch radius, snipping a hole in the center, pulling it over her pelvis, then sewing it closed around her spine with embroidery thread. That’s as far as my tailoring skills go.

Today her shirt came, so I lettered it first with watercolor pencil, then with white paint. The blotchiness of the paint and the smears from the watercolor pencil both worked in my favor, creating the effect of worn screenprinting. I also hacked out the hems on the sleeves and neckline.

Finally I gave the exposed portions of her body [neck, arms, hands, lower legs, feet] a wash and dry brush of light grey to a) disguise the fact that I had reshaped her hands and filled in gaps with hot glue and b) make her body match her head better. I am aware that her left hand especially looks like shit. I may improve her hands later; I’m not sure.

Here she is. She looks sad.

Continue reading Kinda freaky looking

“Interesting idea for an old woman sculpt”

“Interesting idea for an old woman sculpt” published on No Comments on “Interesting idea for an old woman sculpt”

Andrea sent me a link to the following Flickr photo, where a user rehaired a Mattel Mad Hatter [not Johnny Depp] and used it as an old woman. I clearly need to do this, only with a bulkier articulated body for the figure and a repaint for the head. There may also be fats involved….

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1519341.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Zoloworld/Day2Day Grim Reaper pictorial review and mods

Zoloworld/Day2Day Grim Reaper pictorial review and mods published on No Comments on Zoloworld/Day2Day Grim Reaper pictorial review and mods

I acquired a Zoloworld/Day2day 1:6 scale Grim Reaper action figure to use its skeletal body as a dead version of the protagonist of my upcoming series Zombieville. I have heard nothing about this figure, so I am providing a detailed review as a public service.
Continue reading Zoloworld/Day2Day Grim Reaper pictorial review and mods

Isabel got more dolls today!

Isabel got more dolls today! published on No Comments on Isabel got more dolls today!

One was Bering Lusk, my Harumika mannequin who went to visit Andrea a while, then came back when I decided that Isabel needed a lifesize doll. I discovered that Bering’s arms popped out of their sockets, so I was able to dress her in actual clothes, as opposed to the strange tuck-and-wrap fabrics she was sold with.Continue reading Isabel got more dolls today!

Latest bookshelf

Latest bookshelf published on No Comments on Latest bookshelf

New things since last time, going L to R, top shelf to bottom: Rement mushroom container with frog, 1:6 scale Vermont bicentennial license plate [scanned from personal collection], Rement vase of flowers, Rement orange pen [below vase], Mattel watch, Rement magnetic paperclip holder, Kitchen Littles mug with Rement utensil sticking out.

Continue reading Latest bookshelf

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