EXO-6 Star Trek “Deep Space Nine” Figures

[QuiGonFishing]

With all due respect, I think you're giving people false hope that the real thing can look that good. The physical changes you made to the eyes, eyebrows and nose-tip can't be accomplished without an actual re-sculpt. (Some could be accomplished with a re-paint, but definitely not all of it.)

I hear you, but believe me, those items were incidental. The in hand figure might not look exactly like this, but unless you’re very careless with your lighting and posing, she’s not going to look very much like these promo photo (at least that’s my hope).

I honestly didn't set out to change the portrait sculpt wise, but I was working rather quickly and apparently a few details got adjusted by my digital tools. Bottom line I think is that like many of the EXO offerings of late, the official photos aren’t doing the figure any favors. This was just my attempt to restore some hope. But there is always the chance that it will actually turn out not so great.

 

[FlyAndFight]

Great job, QuiGonFishing! Just the change to the eyes and the Vulcan eyebrows made a huge difference.

 

[DParga21]

I hear you, but believe me, those items were incidental. The in hand figure might not look exactly like this, but unless you’re very careless with your lighting and posing, she’s not going to look very much like these promo photo (at least that’s my hope).

I honestly didn't set out to change the portrait sculpt wise, but I was working rather quickly and apparently a few details got adjusted by my digital tools. Bottom line I think is that like many of the EXO offerings of late, the official photos aren’t doing the figure any favors. This was just my attempt to restore some hope. But there is always the chance that it will actually turn out not so great.

You did a great job, and it makes me hopeful. The lighting on that promo shot is just BAD, I didn't realize how bad until you adjusted it. The sculpt looks much better in normal light.
As for the stitching...it's growing on me. I still wish it was the season 4-7 uniform, but it is what it is. As long as it isn't her season 7 hair (Which I hated). The Art Asylum figs used her season 7 hair, and it really irritated me.

 

[Supes78/Bats89]

With all due respect, I think you're giving people false hope that the real thing can look that good. The physical changes you made to the eyes, eyebrows and nose-tip can't be accomplished without an actual re-sculpt. (Some could be accomplished with a re-paint, but definitely not all of it.)

For as much as people pay for these things, you shouldn't need to do all that work to it to make it actually look like the character and actor it's supposed to represent. Then again, N is such a "genius" and doesn't need "constructive criticism", just adulation and of course money from his many "friends".

 

[Brunt FCA]

What he DID do is show what could have been achieved with a bit of effort on EXO-6's part (through sculpt, paint, lighting & photography).

Absolutely, but that's all I meant. New sculpting and paint done during production would do wonders, but just changing the lighting alone won't give you that result. This is a comparison between the altered pic and a copy of the EXO-6 shot with only the color settings tweaked.

I hear you, but believe me, those items were incidental. The in hand figure might not look exactly like this, but unless you’re very careless with your lighting and posing, she’s not going to look very much like these promo photo (at least that’s my hope).

I honestly didn't set out to change the portrait sculpt wise, but I was working rather quickly and apparently a few details got adjusted by my digital tools. Bottom line I think is that like many of the EXO offerings of late, the official photos aren’t doing the figure any favors. This was just my attempt to restore some hope. But there is always the chance that it will actually turn out not so great.

I just want to be clear in case I came across wrong, I have zero complaint about you doing digital alterations. I don't have any weird hang-ups about stuff like that. I actually quite like the digital work you did on Janeway.

But it looks as though portions of the eyes/eyebrows/nose-tip were replaced with those from a photo of the real actress, maybe you had that on another layer and it ended up in the final comp? (Again, I have no problem with that at all, and apologies if it seems otherwise. My post was only about managing expectations, that this result couldn't be achieved without proper modification.)

I hate to admit it but comparing them so directly actually kind of makes me hate the sculpt. (Edit: That's not fair, I don't hate it. It's just not coming across all that it could be in these pics. I'm sure it'll look great in-hand.)

 

[jlacivita]

For as much as people pay for these things, you shouldn't need to do all that work to it to make it actually look like the character and actor it's supposed to represent. Then again, N is such a "genius" and doesn't need "constructive criticism", just adulation and of course money from his many "friends".

Absolutely, but that's all I meant. New sculpting and paint done during production would do wonders, but just changing the lighting alone won't give you that result. This is a comparison between the altered pic and a copy of the EXO-6 shot with only the color settings tweaked.




I just want to be clear in case I came across wrong, I have zero complaint about you doing digital alterations. I don't have any weird hang-ups about stuff like that. I actually quite like the digital work you did on Janeway.

But it looks as though portions of the eyes/eyebrows/nose-tip were replaced with those from a photo of the real actress, maybe you had that on another layer and it ended up in the final comp? (Again, I have no problem with that at all, and apologies if it seems otherwise. My post was only about managing expectations, that this result couldn't be achieved without proper modification.)

I hate to admit it but comparing them so directly actually kind of makes me hate the sculpt.

I'm pretty sure that @QuiGonFishing is saying he only used filters intented to show what better lighting would accomplish, without any paint or sculpt changes, although the comparison you posted, @Brunt FCA does seem to look like structural changes.

@QuiGonFishing : Are those nose and eyebrow changes optical illusions from the lighting filters you ran?

 

[QuiGonFishing]

I'm pretty sure that @QuiGonFishing is saying he only used filters intented to show what better lighting would accomplish, without any paint or sculpt changes, although the comparison you posted, @Brunt FCA does seem to look like structural changes.

@QuiGonFishing : Are those nose and eyebrow changes optical illusions from the lighting filters you ran?

No. It was not my intention to alter the actual sculpt, but apparently some of the tools I used made those subtle changes to the brow and particularly to the eye size. I also seem to have inadvertently made the nose more narrow, but I think the nose shape of the EXO original is actually more accurate.

Chalk it up to doing this in more of a hurry than I should have.

But despite all that, I believe the takeaway is that the sculpt looks a hell of a lot better when reasonably lit even those other changes notwithstanding.

Using a still shot from @Brunt FCA ‘s animation, she looks a little more fierce or angry, but it looks better than pretty much all of the official EXO photos.

 

[davejames]

Those big dark eyes are such a defining feature that it's a shame they didn't try to capture that in the sculpt.

 

[QuiGonFishing]

Those big dark eyes are such a defining feature that it's a shame they didn't try to capture that in the sculpt.

 

[DilithiumChimp]

I actually like both of them. One of the interesting aspects to Kira is how she softened over the years and became less the angry rebel. The intense/angry Kira is how I envision her in early years and the softer one later. The proof is really going to be what put gut tells each of us in hand. I'm excited to see the figure
I'm more concerned about the diamond pattern on the uniform in terms of how ill feel about the figure overall.
I'm also convinced that given the sort of detail oriented person Nanjin is, it probably couldn't be done better, or at least not at a similar cost.

Some of the figures I've gotten are better than others, but I've never really disliked one yet, so I'm confident it'll be good if not great. I do feel my overall enthusiasm for the line waning. Originally I wanted the core TOS TNG DS9 and VOY figures, and a Kirk/Spock combo from TWOK.

I think I probably won't be hanging in there long enough to get them though.

 

[Brunt FCA]

Personally, I think this shot from the Exo page is maybe the best one in terms of highlighting the likeness. (I have messed with the colors but nothing else.)

The face-front shots of the figure seem to make her face a little harder than the real thing somehow. (And the paint job on the eyes makes them look a bit milky) I'd be willing to bet that it's partially due to the close photography, and that in real life those 'edges' smooth out. The head is only an inch tall, after all.

...I just hope I can replace that chain (that gigantic upper cuff is the worst part of it IMO) without damaging anything.

 

[Mike86]

Yeah, the chain really isn’t very appealing. Sounds like a real one would have added quite a bit of extra cost though.

 

[davejames]

I can't see how a metal chain would add much cost. I've got lots of third party figures with real chains on them, and none of them cost as much as these Exo figures.

Unless Nanjin was looking for the entire earring to be metal and not just the chain itself, in which case maybe it would be a little pricey to produce.

 

[S. Griffin]

I can't see how a metal chain would add much cost. I've got lots of third party figures with real chains on them, and none of them cost as much as these Exo figures.

Unless Nanjin was looking for the entire earring to be metal and not just the chain itself, in which case maybe it would be a little pricey to produce.

That seems likely.

 

[Mike86]

I can't see how a metal chain would add much cost. I've got lots of third party figures with real chains on them, and none of them cost as much as these Exo figures.

Unless Nanjin was looking for the entire earring to be metal and not just the chain itself, in which case maybe it would be a little pricey to produce.

I can’t find where he said it but there was a comment he made about how if they had done it with real metal it would have driven the cost up to like $300.

I don’t fully understand how that’s possible myself but that’s according to Nanjin. Maybe he did mean the earring plus chain.

 

[Heavy Metal Spike]

I can’t find where he said it but there was a comment he made about how if they had done it with real metal it would have driven the cost up to like $300.

I don’t fully understand how that’s possible myself but that’s according to Nanjin. Maybe he did mean the earring plus chain.

If that's what he claimed (either way) - it's absolute rubbish. Garage kit producers have been selling metal casts & sourced mini-chains for decades with minimal cost.

.

 

[Mike86]

Found it. It’s more down to production since it would take more time from the sounds of it. I kind of get what he’s saying but it’s unfortunate.

Borrowing a phase from Scotty, "I canna' change the laws of physics."

Duplicating 1/1 into 1/6 has limitation. I like Kira, except the chain on her earring. I wanted to have actual chains, but it is not feasible if not impossible for us.

It can be done, but it will make Kira cost $300 or even $350 because of the labor cost and time needed. We can only do maybe less than 6 per day. Plus it will be fragile.

I myself will try to modify it myself when the production is done. If it works out well, we can do a video to show the How-to. Obviously, you have to take your own risk. There will be no replacements from us if you try to modify and failed.

BTW, her uniform is more like orange red than pinkish red. You can only see the actual color when you have her in hand. The same limitation of the physical world applies to fabrication for 1/6. Be realistic, we simply can't use actual 1/1 with 1/6. If you know how to make this work and the outfit still looks good, show me. The entire 1/6 production industry will worship you like a god.

There were more than 160 different Kira in the 7 years of DS9 because she didn't wear a mask or a wig. Only wearing a mask and a wig could have an identical Kira for all these episodes. Be Logical.

Don't like what you see from the product picture, then skip her and collect another character. Plenty of other Trek figures are coming. You will only have a problem if you change your mind after she is released. We are entering a different stage for 1/6 Trek, very much different from the previous 2 years.

All in all, I like Kira very much. Maybe when Jadzia comes along then I might change my mind.

 

[Heavy Metal Spike]

Found it. It’s more down to production since it would take more time from the sounds of it. I kind of get what he’s saying but it’s unfortunate.

Yeah - still not accepting that reasoning.

1. Have the head casting set up to accept the metal pieces.
2. Cast the metal top & bottom pieces (to push into the head sculpt & allow chain attachment).
3. Purchase chain.
4. Include the top/bottom/chain as "accessory" pieces and let the customer attach.

Given the massive effort he & his team go to on these figures in general, you would have thought this was a no-brainer

.

 

[Mike86]

Yeah - still not accepting that reasoning.

1. Have the head casting set up to accept the metal pieces.
2. Cast the metal top & bottom pieces (to push into the head sculpt & allow chain attachment).
3. Purchase chain.
4. Include the top/bottom/chain as "accessory" pieces and let the customer attach.

Given the massive effort he & his team go to on these figures in general, you would have thought this was a no-brainer

.

I would at least think the chain itself could be a real piece if not the entire earring.

 

[Mike86]

Given how meticulous Nanjin has been with costuming to date it is a tad surprising that the earring isn’t a metal piece or that he gave up on it that easily.