binky's headsculpts

[Darth Rage]

That Willow looks tight - nice work

 

[thamesvalidude]

The willow is definitely amazing. I'll join the line when you decide you've achieved perfection Binky!

 

[LordAzrael]

Binky, if casting's not a strength of yours I know there are casters floating around who just do that - I'm sure some of the other artists on the board could point you in the right direction if you were so inclined. I love the work and I wouldn't want something like casting issues to get in the way of getting one or two of that Willow sculpt!

As far as it not being perfect, I'm really comparing it to the SSC one - and by that standard its as close to perfect as I would expect.

 

[olvidadero]

That is an amazing job!! The likeness for tara is definitely there now that she's painted. I love both, and I can't wat to see more pirctures of them! CONGRATULATIONS

 

[Slayerverse98]

Willow looks better than Sideshow's version

 

[metaphorge]

These are pretty rad. I'm definitely interested once you're casting them.

 

[LordAzrael]

The other thing that's holding me up is neck connections. I myself have only used either Sideshow or Dragon Eve 2.0 bodies for female customs. The Dragons aren't really widely available any more plus the necks have a horrible appearance (pencil neck, and the connection is at the base of the throat so open collar outfits don't look great) but they're by far the easiest to use. The Art Buck female can be had cheaply but they're a pain to adapt and I know some people just don't like them, especially the ones with the boot feet. The Blue Box generic CY girls have just become widely available again (yay, at least one option), and I've gone ahead and ordered a couple from goodstufftogo.net to try for Tara, but I'm not sure even the smaller breast plate would be suitable for a Willow or down the line an Anya or Fred, and I don't remember how their height(s) go. Plus I don't know how easy adapting a custom head to the neck is going to be. I also ordered a couple of Triad A-cups but from what I can tell, they're basically the same as BBI/CY girls?

The PB won't be any good for Willow or Fred as its just too curvy and too tall for either of them. The A cup from Triad might be the best bet but to be honest for Willow I'm happy to use the existing Sideshow body rather than swap the whole thing out. That and I suspect it might be too tall as well.

That said - if we had a decent Faith sculpt then the PB would be PERFECT for Eliza.

 

[binky]

Thanks for the encouragement, all, and the patience. I don't get to work on these projects until the weekend, so I don't work very fast. However, I did work some more on Willow this weekend and feel confident I'll be casting by month end.

Binky, if casting's not a strength of yours I know there are casters floating around who just do that - I'm sure some of the other artists on the board could point you in the right direction if you were so inclined.

Thanks, LA. I have experience molding in RTV and resin-casting so it's usually not a problem for me. This time, I ran out of resin and switched out to a brand I normally don't work with because it was the only one my Pearl art store carries. Trying to save time/money backfired, because the castings are coming out with way too many bubbles. It might be my technique, or maybe it's just how this brand is, but I'll have to pick up or mail order some of my usual brand (Micro-Mark).

Anyway, I do think by the end of the month I'll have finished and can set up a run of Willows with the hair part down the middle.

Lots of good points about the body styles, LA. I do plan on defaulting to a Sideshow type neck for Willow to begin with but find it can also be adapted to the Triad alpha with some work (the sample I have on page 2 is on a Triad, so I could give it custom booted feet like Vamp Will had in the Puppy torture scene in Dopplegangland).

For Tara, right now I'm working on a shortened PB body for the figure challenge. That's the body I'm using for the sample photo on page 2. I threw the sample together rather quickly so I didn't take the time to completely adapt her neck so the lip is bigger than it should be. At this point with Tara, I don't have any clear plans on what the default connection will be.

Thanks again, everyone. I'll post an update close to the end of the month on the Willow run.

 

[LordAzrael]

Any updates on that fantastic Willow sculpt ?

 

[Anzik]

Bump! :anya2

 

[binky]

Hihihi! Sorry, this fell off my radar since the June challenge ended. Here is a link:

https://sideshowcollectors.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21804

If you never browsed the thread before, shame on you! But it's not too late. You can go now. There were many, many excellent entries. I believe my Wishverse couple were either at the end of page 2 or page 3. That was the last completed version of either character.

Anyway, I was mostly getting my Buffy fix by writing instead. But I recently picked up another Spike and Buffy from the somewhat odd eBay seller who's been mentioned here (on the cheap Spike thread) so I restarted the customizing figures again over the weekend. I finished a Willow sculpt that I think would be castable. I'm at work now so I'll try to get some new pictures up later.

Sorry again for the lateness responding. Work and RL in general have been kicking my bottom lately.

 

[binky]

Sorry to interrupt the Star Wars baiting/trolling, but here's an update on this project.

I have finished the following castable head:

I'll be painting one up this weekend to show you what it might look like painted and mounted to a Vampire Willow Buck body (i.e., the body Vamp Willow/Willow comes with)

So far, I've thrown 7 good casts from the mold, no bubbles, good clean mold lines. The mold lines are along the sides and bottom edge of the hair, to minimize them. The pour hole is on the top of the crown toward the rear.

If you want to drop me a line to let me know you're interested in buying a copy, please do. I will be selling the 7 casts at the rate of $13 plus shipping for an unpainted, unmodified head (meaning you will need to modify the neck to mount the head onto the body of your choice. If you look at the picture above, you'll see the bottom is a hole to accommodate most of the bodies available right now, but excludes Dragon Eve bodies (would require more extensive work)), or $16 plus shipping for an unpainted, Buck-mountable pre-modified head. I am in NJ, so I figure shipping & handling will be a flat $3.50 for up to 3 heads w/i US, and actual plus $1.50 handling for outside US (send me an email if you want a more precise quote).

Anyway, I won't actually ask you to send any money until the casts are cleaned up and after I've posted a pic of the painted head on a Buck, so if you just want to reserve a place in line for now, go ahead and do so. More details to follow this weekend. Thanks.

binky

 

[olvidadero]

Stunning. I'd get in line for one of those amazing headsculpts, but I can't paint, and I'm gessing having an unpainted Willow head would be useless to me... I can't wait to see a Wes headsculpt though.

Congratulations on such professional and amazing job!

 

[james1976]

I'd like to reserve a spot in line....
thanks!

 

[The Craw]

any chance i could see a pic of one painted up like regular willow on the pink sweater body?

 

[Firefly Flanatic]

Yup, I'd love one of these but with no painting skills at all she'd end up looking nothing like Willow when I was done with it! I'd love to see how all of you who get one paint them though so please post pictures!

 

[binky]

Guys, I'm sorry I haven't dropped by this weekend as I promised. My new PC arrived Friday (a Dell XPS gaming machine with a 30" monitor!) a week earlier than expected and I spent pretty much the entire weekend trying to set it up so I didn't get to do more than a little work on this. Plus I think I must have lost a couple hours at least just mesmerized by the monitor. Anyway, I already have a test head set up on a Buck body, just have to paint it (Vampire Willow paint scheme) which I'll do tonight so I'll hopefully have pictures up by tomorrow night. Sorry again!

Oh, and 5 heads so far have a place holder on them. See you in a couple...

 

[Anzik]

Let me know when they're ready. I'm going for the unpainted/unmodified version.

Now that I've said that, my dremel will die.

 

[binky]

Well look at me... [some doll nudity]

Well look at me. I'm all fuzzy. And pink...

The Craw, I'm not sure this is what you were asking for, but I really did start this head as a Vampire Willow. I have a regular Willow planned with a less evil expression, but just have been busy with RL to even think about it. Maybe sweet and cute would be possible with a different paint aps, but to be honest i haven't really tried.

This was kind of a rush paint job because I don't like promising to post stuff then not do so, but hopefully you get the idea. The head's connected through a rubber grommet. It's nice and tight, however, the sideways tilt isn't as good as I'd like due to the hair shape. But nod, twist are good.

On Sideshow body:

I have to get to work now, but I'll post shots of the grommet connection and rear (pour hole) and sides (mold lines). Then I will get to work attaching the grommets to the casts and finalize order details. That'll hopefully come on the weekend (sorry, I am really getting my tail kicked at work).

Thanks all.

binky

 

[spikeluv13]

I would love one! I just hope my painting skills are up for this!!