Asmus Toys: Eowyn in Armor

[Neko]

For Lee.

 

[Lee in MI]

Thanks! Way to assist the freaks!

 

[Anthrapoid]

Getting closer now.


I recommend cutting off the rubber bubble-butt. You can see above that it makes her posterior look natural.
Miranda Otto is not Jennifer Lopez...



I hate the crappy vinyl armor, but just so you can see the general fitting. I still need to broaden the shoulders, maybe with pads.
Next time I'll post my custom-made leather cuirass, and the fully suited-up, modded Eowyn.

It's going to take some time, because the cuirass isn't finished yet. I'm using the services of a leather printing company to print/emboss the fine twill-weave pattern strips that run up both sides of the chest and down the back,
and I'm having the pair of red horse emblems printed on leather too.
I reconstructed their details in photoshop as best I could, removing the bright reflected light from the film photo.
After they're printed on leather, I'll press-in some fine tooling to give them a slight 3D relief.



I'm also making a thin leather scabbard for the sword, which will feature the center groove that mimics the fluted blade. I'll be cutting off the 'brass' fittings from the original scabbard and adapting them to fit the new leather one.
Later, I may choose to have the scabbard fittings laser-etched onto real brass, but that's another chapter.



...and I'll post my photoshop cut-out patterns for the leather cuirass, scabbard, and twill-weave strips, so that you- YES YOU can make any of these items, without having to take all those measurements and do all that research yourself.
GOD I'm such a selfish bastard.

The custom-made leather boots and laser-etched metal helmet parts will come some time after that,
including laser-etch scrolling designs and cut-out pattern files that I'm currently working on in photoshop.

 

[Anthrapoid]

DONE.

 

[Neko]

Wouah ! The shape is perfect, what a job !! Congrats !

 

[Star Puffs]

Still in awe of your work. I want to do something like this with Éowyn at some point. We need a a better head. I’d like to do at least one of her gowns as well.

 

[Anthrapoid]

Neko and Star Puffs, thank you both very much! I agree, I wish we had a better head sculpt...
The next step is the coloration. My initial research on dulling the stainless steel pointed to the use of muriatic acid, which is really nasty stuff. It can melt skin, and the fumes in your eyes can cause blindness...

Then I read a message board with people complaining that Easy-Off Oven Cleaner (the heavy-duty yellow spray can) had discolored their stainless steel ovens and refrigerators. They posted some photos, and it looks like just what I need to dull-down the shiny chainmail. After the surface is dulled it will be rougher, and better able to hold the color tinting I will add with thinned enamel paint.

 

[Bucky Underbelly]

I swear, once you're done with this costume, you're going to have to genetically engineer a tiny human to wear it. That's the only way the figure will be worthy of the work you've done!

 

[Anthrapoid]

Thanks Bucky... but if i had that ability, i'd make a full-size Miranda Otto- nevermind the stupid figure.

 

[Donovangian]

So I just purchased this figure on BBTS. I’m a little concerned since I’m glancing through the thread and someone is doing a complete rebuild of her�� is the figure that bad what should I expect?

 

[RandomHero]

So I just purchased this figure on BBTS. I’m a little concerned since I’m glancing through the thread and someone is doing a complete rebuild of her�� is the figure that bad what should I expect?

It's funny you say that...I almost bought this over the weekend and decided to check this thread first. I thought maybe, since I'm going to get Eomer, this would be a nice companion piece, but seeing all the rebuilding as me thinking twice, and maybe I'll just pick up that Gimli instead.

 

[Anthrapoid]

Expect:
... a good metal blade that can be easily polished to look like steel, with a skinny handle that is totally wrong.
... a body with too long lower legs, and too short upper arms.
... hands that are too small.
... a green cloak that is a joke.
... simulated leather body armor that is just barely ok.
... a simulated leather baldric that is sticky.
... a plastic scabbard that is ok, but a bit too thick and bulky.
... a good shield that really needs a repaint.
... a decent helmet that has a few inaccuracies.
... a decent head sculpt, but not a great one.
... rooted hair that is difficult to manage.
... simulated chainmail that looks utterly horrible.
... stiff boots that allow no ankle bending whatsoever.
... a huge bubble-butt like Jennifer Lopez.
... non-perky nipples.

 

[RandomHero]

Yeeeeaaaaahhhhhh gonna pass and maybe get Gimli instead.

Thanks for that feedback and saving me the mistake.

 

[Donovangian]

So the best thing I’m gett is the witch king body smh

 

[RandomHero]

You can always return it, no?

 

[Anthrapoid]

This is after staining the chainmail, but before the new leather cuirass.
I still have a lot of touch-ups to do; mud splatter and such...
for now, I'm focusing on finishing the cuirass though.

The flash-photography exagerates the colors a lot; in natural lighting, the chainmail colors look much more 'blended' and subtle.

 

[Donovangian]

I just got this figure today, My figures neck wants to stay stretched forward, is this normal. Im getting the feeling that I'm going to have to replace this body. the armor also feels sticky to the touch....is this normal is the material deteriorating?

 

[Anthrapoid]

I just got this figure today, My figures neck wants to stay stretched forward, is this normal. Im getting the feeling that I'm going to have to replace this body. the armor also feels sticky to the touch....is this normal is the material deteriorating?

The armor and scabbard straps are sticky, but not degrading as far as my experience goes. You can solve the problem by painting them with acrylic colors (or even clear acrylic spray sealer, if you're not in the mood to do a full repaint) That will seal-in the stickyness, and the acrylic coating will be flexible and dry to the touch. The stickiness of the armor seems to actually grip onto the acrylic paint, making it adhere better.

The forward-leaning neck is another issue; I've never heard of that happening. Maybe the silicone neck is permanantly distorted...
Switching the whole body might be a good solution, because then you can try to match the head/neck colors better at the same time.

 

[asgardianboy]

Hi dudez.
Anybody found yet a good source of that very fine metal chainmail?
Thanks everybody.
m.

 

[TheRiddler32?]

Anyone know if she is still available anywhere? Held off on her but some of these mods make her look pretty great....plus now Eomer needs his sister