Re: Enaud's 1/6 Custom Headsculpts,Etc.
Okay, so I said I was gonna post some pix of my first true 1/6 scale custom (no simple costume swap or somesuch), along with some rookie insights. So here he is, my Nabrun Leids, complete minus the stitch in the back of his collar, which will likely happen in the next day or so. I took these pix really quick with a cheapie camera just to get the idea across - I wanna do some proper dios later.
I followed Dorg's recipe pretty faithfully, with a few tweaks so that Nabrun wasn't completely Dorgie-style. Base coated the head and hands with Tamiya dark green, then did some dry-brush layering with Citadel paints: scorched brown mixed with a little chaos black, khemri brown mixed with a little scorched brown, and a wash of devlan mud on the veins. Never worked with washes before, was very leery because of the runny consistency - LOVE washes, they help things pop (but they smell like a breakfast sandwich gone bad)! The painting went smooth as silk.
I was dreading assembling the four-armed Shiva-body. DID body served as the host, to which I grafted Boushh Leia arms (three good whacks to the breast with a hammer, and she surrendered her arms quite nicely, thank you). The test fittings did not make me feel any better as I could NOT keep all four arms simulataneously craddled in the half-torso of the pryed-apart DID body...one or more of the arms was always popping out as soon as I would let go.
When the time came to actually epoxy the whole monsterous abomination together, though, it went off with a hitch! Luck was with me.
The outfit was the part that made me wanna lose my mind. Took much painting and repainting to get an even coat of color on the jumpsuit. The boots, that went on and off without a hitch during test fits, would not go on when the time came to actually put them on; I don't think the warm, humid weather we were having helped at all. I seriously rumpled the bejeezuz out of the right leg of the jumpsuit trying to ram the boot on, to no avail.
I finally dremmeled off Nabrun's heels in a fit of frustration, and that did the trick. Customizing is not so much about science or art as it is stubborness and tools! I also wanted to be all fancy-schmancy and do the black bits of the costume with black vinyl pleather rather than paint. This meant working with fabric glue (as I was not about to hand stitch these things on), which was miserable. It was thick white paste like Elmer's glue and took foreeeeevvvver to set. I don't relish having to use that stuff again. Ever.
All that aside, this was an immensely fun experience, nothing beats the feeling of satisfaction when you have completed your custom (warts and all) and you have it in your sweaty little hands!