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Epona’s done!

Epona’s done! published on No Comments on Epona’s done!

Since I last wrote about my progress on Epona, I have completed her modifications. I couldn’t sand the Aves Apoxie Sculpt over her leg joins so that it was flush with the rest of her thighs. Therefore I redid the Apoxie Sculpt by putting down a thin layer from mid-thighs all the way to the ends of her upper leg pieces [i.e., the tops of the knee joints]. I didn’t go all the way up to the top of her upper leg pieces [i.e., up by the hip sockets] because those areas would be covered by her shorts and I am lazy.

Anyway, I smoothed the Apoxie Sculpt when pliable with saliva and my fingers. When it dried, I sanded a little bit, but really didn’t care to make it perfectly smooth. Then I painted her new thighs to match her existing yellowish tan skin tone and matte varnished the heck out of them, also doing the same for her breast and the backs of her hands. Also touched up any chipping paint on her calves and hooves, covering with plenty of matte varnish. Finally I touched up and sealed the paint on the tips of her ears, made holes in her shirt and shorts for her tail, kept them from running with a few stitches, dressed her, hot glued in her tail, and she was done.

I think she’s adorable. 😀
Continue reading Epona’s done!

More work on Epona

More work on Epona published on No Comments on More work on Epona

Yesterday I solidified Epona’s leg joins by covering them with Aves Apoxie Sculpt. Today I painted those areas of her that will be visible under her clothes — mostly breast and thighs — to match the existing yellowish-tan coverage on her head and calves.

I also made her a tail with my ponytail pattern. This iteration makes some improvements on my first ponytail [for Anna]. I stitched this one almost all the way around, instead of using hot glue on the bottom edge. I also eschewed a straight pin as an armature, instead opting for plastic-coated wire. Finally, to ensure that the wire could not be seen in Epona’s tail, I wrapped it in black embroidery floss to blend in with her fiber tail. Originally I thought that I would just jam it directly into her tail hole, but I created a little mount around her tail hole to extend the tail out a bit from her butt. This will make it fit more easily through her clothes. ^_^

I still need to coat her painted bust a few more times with matte varnish in hope of keeping it from chipping, especially around the neck. Then I need to blend the Aves Apoxie Sculpt on her legs in with the rest of her legs — not on the upper thighs, since those will be covered by her shorts, but on her lower thighs, just above the knees, which will be visible. Once I sand that transition between added Aves Apoxie Sculpt and existing, I will paint and seal.

Continue reading More work on Epona

All my dolls, 12/26/2013

All my dolls, 12/26/2013 published on No Comments on All my dolls, 12/26/2013

I have a new means of taking my sporadic censuses of the small populations. Instead of shooting new photos for each census, I just spent many hours taking full-length and bust-length portraits of everyone. I will use these portraits for my censuses as long as each doll’s look remains constant. If significant change occurs, such as a new faceup, wig, body or doll altogether for the same character, I will update the portrait. However, since most of my dolls stabilize with a single form over time, I plan to reuse lots of these portraits. Here we go!

Continue reading All my dolls, 12/26/2013

Playtoy tits’ realism

Playtoy tits’ realism published on No Comments on Playtoy tits’ realism

I really like the breasts on the Playtoy XL body I purchased because of their sculpt, as previously mentioned, and also because of their realistic mobility. Most breasts on female action figures don’t move at all, but the flexion on the Playtoy’s squishy torso is really cool.

Continue reading Playtoy tits’ realism

Sheila shapeshifts.

Sheila shapeshifts. published on No Comments on Sheila shapeshifts.

Andrea sent me a bunch of body parts, including two articulated Mattel Stacie bodies. I plopped my Knickerbocker Annie head on one of the Stacie bodies and liked the combo so much that I decided that this would be Sheila’s form. Poor kid has been through three permutations: modded Batchix Nan Sook head on Hujoo Wings body, Souldoll Metel head on Hujoo Wings body [photo not available] and her current form.

Anyway, I’m pleased with Sheila now. She looks much more cheerful than I expected, but I have a sentimental attachment to the Annie head, which I do not wish to repaint. I like her overall androgynous, dorky, roughhousing look. I think she’s a bit younger than I originally decided, maybe 10 instead of 12.

Here she is with her doll that she loves and takes everywhere. I still need to improve her poseability by carving out the inner edges of her hip sockets, notching and slimming to increase elbow flexion — and either swapping out her hands for ones with articulated wrists or just giving her wrist swivels.
Continue reading Sheila shapeshifts.

Next level in wig construction: ponytails!!!

Next level in wig construction: ponytails!!! published on No Comments on Next level in wig construction: ponytails!!!

I redid Anna’s hair this weekend. Originally I gave her bangs and a ponytail that I made lie down with white glue, which made them look wet, sparse and stringy:Continue reading Next level in wig construction: ponytails!!!

Dear Abbie tells Prudie where to stick her gender-policing hangups.

Dear Abbie tells Prudie where to stick her gender-policing hangups. published on 1 Comment on Dear Abbie tells Prudie where to stick her gender-policing hangups.

As I have noted before, Prudie, the Slate advice columinist, has strict standards of gender performance that the women she writes about regularly fail to meet. Some of them don’t dress in a feminine enough manner or know how to apply makeup. Some of them object to being maritally raped. And some of them have the temerity not to give a shit about the six hairs on their areolas that their boyfriends find inexplicably revolting — the horror! Her list of women who fail true femininity keeps growing and growing.

Therefore I was pleasantly surprised with a recent Dear Abbie column that could have turning into gender policing, but didn’t. It was about body hair on women, a subject that hits Prudie’s buttons. The writer to Dear Abbie complains that his wife no longer shaves her legs after 25 years of marriage. He thinks her leg hair disgusting and wonders what to do.

In response, Abbie provides a little relatable context for the man, saying that perhaps the woman is freeing herself from a tedious routine in the same way that a man who has shaved his face for years for his job might grow a beard after retirement. Abbie also adds that the letter writer should put up and shut up.

I like that Abbie’s response, first, provided a frame of reference that the letter writer might understand. Her analysis of the woman’s leg hair as  rejection of an obligation turns the focus away from the offended man and onto the woman, who probably has perfectly reasonable motivations for doing it — motivations that have nothing to do with the man [gasp]! Abbie’s reframing allows her to identify the real problem: the letter writer’s belief that the woman owes him hairless legs. She objects, saying that, instead, the letter writer owes the woman respect. if anyone needs to change, it’s him, not her.

Wow, an advice columnist with a healthy respect for bodily autonomy! Will wonders never cease? I think I should start reading Dear Abbie as an antidote to Dear Prudence.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1605764.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Today’s work on Epona

Today’s work on Epona published on 1 Comment on Today’s work on Epona

I cut off the legs of her new body [top piece] 1.5 cm up on the thigh above the highest point of the knee joint. I chose this body because, as is obvious, it’s discoloring into inconsistent hues and therefore ready for a repaint with her equine coloring.

Continue reading Today’s work on Epona

Change of perspective on Dollzone

Change of perspective on Dollzone published on No Comments on Change of perspective on Dollzone

I used to think they were a cheatin’ BJD co. because, back in the days when double-jointed bodies were rare, one of theirs strongly resembled that of Volks Yukinojo. For some reason, I decided that the similarity mean plagiarism and cast the company into metaphorical outer darkness. Not sure why, though, as it’s pretty clear to me now that there was no proof of copying [as in the Dollshe/Dollmore debacle], but just a structural resemblance. So anyway, I have lifted my personal ban on their stuff.

I also used to think that Dollzone only produced cheap, ugly, second-rate products because…well… In the early days, Dollzone dolls did indeed cost less than their non-Chinese counterparts, and I, as well as others, automatically assumed that Chinese manufacture meant an inferior product. Nope. I also used to think that they were ugly because they did not appeal to me aesthetically. All the sculpts had an unfortunate combination of large pointy chins, large pointy noses, short philtrums and long straight mouths. They all looked very similar and thus boring to me.

Now, though, Dollzone’s sculpting has become softer and more androgynous [ref. Raymond, who looks very Soom-like to me, which is probably why I like him]. They have also ventured into experimental territory with human/flower hybrid dolls, and, more recently, human-faced bats. Beyond that, they have a greater range of facial features and body types, so I believe I’m justified in saying that their sculpting has improved and matured.

Dollzone seems to have gone through the same type of development that Impldoll [erstwhile purveyors of some truly inept sculpting] is experiencing.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1605133.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

“You have feelings?”: more thoughts on Talky Tina

“You have feelings?”: more thoughts on Talky Tina published on No Comments on “You have feelings?”: more thoughts on Talky Tina

Janna found the entire run of the Twilight Zone for me on Hulu last right. From what I can tell, it’s all available on Hulu regular too, so I don’t have to pay for it. Anyway, I watched Living Doll again, which I happily analyzed yesterday, and I found the key lines of dialogue:

Erich lights a match, trying to burn Talky Tina.

Talky Tina: Oooh! 

Erich: You have feelings?

Talky Tina: Doesn’t everything?

As I noted in yesterday’s mini essay, the whole episode centers around the conflicts between Annabelle, Annabelle’s biological daughter Christie and Annabelle’s husband/Christie’s stepdad Erich. Annabelle and Christie both love Erich, but he doesn’t love them. He resents Annabelle for being infertile, as he is, and he resents Christie for not being his biological child. He also finds threatening the closeness, love and tenderness between mother and daughter, an example of what he wants, but can’t have. But, despite his snappish demeanor, he maintains a facade of affection, at least in the beginning.

The introduction of Talky Tina destroys Erich’s ruse, however. He loses his temper at Annabelle and Christie, suspecting them of using Talky Tina to mess with his head. He mocks Annabelle’s emotional insights about his anger and his need to see a psychiatrist, and he flat-out yells at Christie that he’s not her daddy. In other words, he rejects Annabelle and Christie’s emotions and focuses solely on his feelings of anger, hurt and loneliness. Talky Tina’s assertion that "everything" has feelings thus counters Erich’s selfish assumption that only his emotions matter. Ironically, she proves more insightful, expressive  and moving [pun intended] than Erich, whose own doubts and misery render him cold, inflexible, rigid and unfeeling — all traits that one usually associates with dolls.

The more I think about it, the more I become convinced that Talky Tina kills Erich in much the same way that a woman in a relationship with an abusive man may eventually kill the man out of self-defense. I firmly believe that Erich would have escalated his violence against Christie, not just yelling at her, shoving her and mocking her, if Christie had not used Talky Tina to intervene. Talky Tina kills Erich so that he won’t kill Christie first.

As awesome as I think Talky Tina is [especially as an actual talking doll!], all my sympathies lie with Christie. She loves her mommy, and her mommy loves her. She just wishes that Daddy would love her the way that Mommy does. But her Daddy keeps hurting her, her mommy and her doll. She starts to realize that Daddy doesn’t love anybody. She thinks maybe Daddy could even hate her. Maybe Daddy is going to kill her! What can Christie do? She’s only a little girl, and she’s so scared. Maybe her friend Talky Tina can help. After all, Christie loves Talky Tina, and Talky Tina loves her; Christie knows because Talky Tina says so….

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1605093.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

“My name is Talky Tina, and I’m not really a Telly Savalas fan.”

“My name is Talky Tina, and I’m not really a Telly Savalas fan.” published on No Comments on “My name is Talky Tina, and I’m not really a Telly Savalas fan.”

I’ve long been a fan of the Twilight Zone, though I own none of it on DVD. I especially like any episodes that have to do with story characters, dolls, puppets, ventriloquist’s dummies, mannequins, robots, computers and other inanimate objects becoming alive. [Of course I do!] I also like stories where the protagonists discover that they are dreaming or that they are being mind-controlled or that they are inanimate objects. [Of course I do!] The Twilight Zone provides hours of entertainment on these themes, and I haven’t seen all the episodes in these two categories, though I have vague goals at some point of compiling a list of them.

The iconic Twilight Zone doll is, of course, Talky Tina. She appears in The Living Doll, a one-hour episode from 1963, as the murderous antagonist to anxiety-ridden father Erich [played by Telly Savalas]. The insecure and tempestuous Erich has a hangup about his and his wife’s infertility, which prompted them to adopt daughter Christie. He channels his hostility toward his wife and daughter into Talky Tina, who obligingly reflects his hatred right back at him. Erich and Talky Tina try to destroy each other, but Erich dies when he trips over Talky Tina, who gets the last word [literally].

The Living Doll represents the Twilight Zone at its best: a creepy, compelling character study with all the tight plotting and drama of the best short stories. I especially love the ambiguity of Talky Tina. Sure, she says, "My name is Talky Tina, and I’m going to kill you," so we’re supposed to think that Erich dies due to the doll. But it’s also possible that Erich kills himself out of his inability to actually love his family, in that his rage at his wife and daughter obsesses him when conveniently encapsulated in the form of the doll. His increasing absorption with killing the doll estranges him from his family and, ultimately, proves his undoing.

Alternatively, Talky Tina may be Christie’s defender. Christie loves Talky Tina, who also loves her ["My name is Talky Tina, and I love you!"]. They’re devoted to each other. Christie, at whom Erich yells, "I’m not your daddy!", knows on some level that her father despises and rejects her — so much so, in fact, that he initially suspects Christie of messing with his head by making Talky Tina say murderous things. I’m sure that Christie fears her father’s verbal abuse and perhaps even fears that he will kill her in the gruesome ways he tries to kill her doll. It’s possible that Christie activates Talky Tina with her positive love for the doll and her negative fear of her dad so that she can neutralize the threat of Erich and finally, for once in her life, be safe.

Or hell — maybe it’s just an evil doll.

Ever since I heard that Bif Bang Pow did a limited edition Talky Tina doll, I’ve kind of wanted one. I suppose that technically she’s a "prop replica," but I say she’s a doll — and a pretty cool one at that. BBP accurately replicates her in terms of size, sculpt and outfit. She’s also entirely in greyscale, just as she appears to viewers in the original episode, which makes her extra unnerving. She has much of the articulation of the original, and she has wind-ups in her back that make her talk! [What would a Talky Tina doll be without a talking function?] Overall she looks partly cute and partly uncanny — her level of cuteness depending on how much you can stomach the stylized look of 18-inch child playline dolls, her uncanniness highlighted by her lack of color. But it’s her talking function that rockets her into the upper echelons of awesomeness because then you can no longer deny that you are in the presence of one of the original pop-culture killer dolls.

Talky Tinas appear regularly on Ebay for between $150.00 and $200.00. Oh the temptation…

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1604766.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

PlayToy + Original Effect + other parts + scratch-built head = Glamazon!

PlayToy + Original Effect + other parts + scratch-built head = Glamazon! published on No Comments on PlayToy + Original Effect + other parts + scratch-built head = Glamazon!

Remember how I thought that a PlayToy body with the XL bust should get together with an Original Effect body with the mile-long legs to create a body of truly comic-book proportions? Well, I took the plunge a few days ago and picked up a PT XL [$42.99 shipped] and an OE Harp Bullseye [all the characters in that line are named for musical instruments?!] body [$49.59] from Ebay to make this hybrid happen.

I have heard from fellow doll nerds that the PT disassembles into components very easily, much like an Obitsu. Therefore I originally thought to take the squishy bust piece off the PT and splice it onto the OE. The OE, however, doesn’t exhibit overall good flexibility, and I don’t want to sacrifice too much articulation by putting the PT bust on a body that I really only got for the legs.

I’m now thinking that I will use the PT as my foundation and swap its legs out for the OE ones. While I’m at it, I’ll also take advantage of the PT’s modularity to remove the despicable arms with single-ganged elbows and swap in some nice double-jointed ones. Not sure if I’ll keep the extra-super-gravity-defying OE feet + platform stiletto pumps or just go for standard ankle cups to allow for a variety of footwear.

If I do this right, it’s going to be such a silly, awesome body, outrageously stylized, but also functional as a toy. Stay tuned for updates on the Glamazon Project. Woo hoo!

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1604533.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

The pissy purple girl

The pissy purple girl published on No Comments on The pissy purple girl

I recently lusted after Original Effect’s Spider Girl Nightmare Theme Suit, a head and outfit set, for which I could not justify spending ~$150.00 excluding s/h.  Well, turns out that the ~$150.00 price is exclusive to that particular Japanese online store, and preorders for the Spider Girl set have just been hitting U.S. retailers for ~$85.00 excluding s/h. Now if I can just find someplace that won’t charge me ~$13.00 for s/h [for a lightweight head + outfit combo!], I’m throwing her in my cart.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1604117.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

What shall I do with you, Epona?

What shall I do with you, Epona? published on 2 Comments on What shall I do with you, Epona?

Epona is a customized 1:6 scale action figure that I purchased in 2008 from Therese Olsen. She represents a period in Therese’s dollmaking when she was moving away from mere customizing and into wholesale doll construction, a move that ultimately led her to sculpting her own resin BJDs. Therefore Epona interests me as an aesthetic object and also as a historical example of my friend’s doll development.Continue reading What shall I do with you, Epona?

Doll stuff to do in the next three months

Doll stuff to do in the next three months published on No Comments on Doll stuff to do in the next three months
  • Restring Epona’s arms.
  • Deracinate Epona’s hair.
  • Make Epona new faux fur hair.
  • Make Alabama hair.
  • Give Alabama shoes.
  • Redo Anna’s fiber hair.
  • Make Pearlene ears.
  • Redo Doctor Z.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1603484.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Tara in Wonderland

Tara in Wonderland published on No Comments on Tara in Wonderland

Here’s my latest person, Tara. She is a modded Apexplorers Ice head. I trimmed down her neck and hollowed it out so that she looked more proportional on the CG 2.0 body she currently has. I also wiped her facial tattoos with Pebeo. To reduce the vast expanse of her exceedingly receding hairline, I gave her a fluorescent green headband. I also trimmed some of her dreads into bangs and used Mod Podge to lie them flat against her forehead.

I love Tara’s headsculpt. I love the way that her individual dreads are woven into cornrows, as well as a center part. I love her long, straight jawline that extends forward from her swirl-shaped ears. I love her big, wide, purple eyes, her pointy little nose and her full lips. She’s such a wonderful woman of color!

She looks very curious in these pictures.
Continue reading Tara in Wonderland

Acme magnets as 1:6 scale kitchen implements

Acme magnets as 1:6 scale kitchen implements published on No Comments on Acme magnets as 1:6 scale kitchen implements

In the 1990s, Acme made many refrigerator magnets of household appliances, some of which may be repurposed as 1:6 scale accessories. Here Isabel models my latest finds, a toaster oven with working door and a scale. I like the Acme magnets for their high level of detail and their realistic color schemes.

Continue reading Acme magnets as 1:6 scale kitchen implements

The King of Toxic Waste is not amused.

The King of Toxic Waste is not amused. published on No Comments on The King of Toxic Waste is not amused.

So you thought it would be a clever idea to get drunk and go down with some of your frat brothers to the settlement of homeless PWS on Pine Street and post ZOMBIE CONTAINMENT AREA signs around the perimeter? Look at how unimpressed Lumberjack is with your puerile shit.
Continue reading The King of Toxic Waste is not amused.

Dollars for Scholars Train Show, Winooski, VT, 12/07/2013: lots of panoramas!

Dollars for Scholars Train Show, Winooski, VT, 12/07/2013: lots of panoramas! published on No Comments on Dollars for Scholars Train Show, Winooski, VT, 12/07/2013: lots of panoramas!

Janna and I hit the Dollars for Scholars Train Show this morning, conveniently located blocks away from where we now live. I spent hours making panorama shots and correcting the nasty yellow fluorescent cast on all these photos, so witty captions will be sparse.

Continue reading Dollars for Scholars Train Show, Winooski, VT, 12/07/2013: lots of panoramas!

Original Effect’s 13.5 inchers: all leg

Original Effect’s 13.5 inchers: all leg published on No Comments on Original Effect’s 13.5 inchers: all leg

As much as I find Original Effect’s Army Attractive line aggressively banal and unimaginative, I must confess that I admire their dedication to realizing comic-book proportions in 1:6 scale. All their dolls so far top out at 13.5 inches. Some of the height comes from the platform heels they all wear, but most derives from the fact that their legs are at least an inch longer than those of the standard 1:6 scale figure. So many people object to the size of these dolls, claiming that they are not really 1:6 scale, but what the detractors ignore is that the OEs are indeed 1:6 scale in all proportions except for the legs. As far as I am concerned, they are thus 1:6 scale with really long legs.

So what I’m thinking is that the OE body needs to get together with Playtoy’s recently released XL body so we can have a truly comic-book set of proportions with exceedingly long legs and exceedingly large breasts. I doubt this will happen, however, so I will just have to get an OE body and enhance its rack myself.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1602194.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

Speaking of cool dolls that I have no clue about….

Speaking of cool dolls that I have no clue about…. published on No Comments on Speaking of cool dolls that I have no clue about….

Check out this Spider Girl by Original Effect! Purple hair! Poseable pigtails! Petulant expression! Movable eyes!

EDIT: Wait…no body included? UGH!

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1602016.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

I know nothing about her, except that she looks cool.

I know nothing about her, except that she looks cool. published on No Comments on I know nothing about her, except that she looks cool.

Blackopstoys.com’s 40% off Cyber Monday sale gave me the incentive I needed to purchase a nude Hot Toys/Apexplorers Ice for $65.00 shipped. As you can see, the overall concept of a Himalayan warrior/explorer and her loyal Husky is creative and well executed, but, as cool as they are, I don’t care about the furry outfit, the weapons and the dog. I just dig Ice’s head.

The styling of Ice’s headsculpt — bold, angular and full of character — appeals to me. She has the huge eyes of an anime figure, but these features are balanced by her sharp cheekbones and wonderfully fierce mouth. My only complaint is that she doesn’t appear to have any nostrils. I’ll have to draw some on. The use of yarn for her dreadlocks also attracts me, since it’s a technique I have employed, and the huge bulk of the dreads just complements her exaggerated features.

Not sure what I’m going to do with her yet, but I do know that her name’s Tara. If her tattoos are just painted on the bare plastic of her head, I’m going to remove them. Thinking I’ll also repaint her blue [?!] eyes. Might also thin out her dreads to reduce some of the bulk.

This entry was originally posted at http://modernwizard.dreamwidth.org/1601614.html. You can comment here, but I’d prefer it if you’d comment on my DW using OpenID.

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