GIMLI Customs...

[King Darkness]

When you cut the feet, did you cut the swivel ankle part connected to the calve...or did you just pull off/cut the foot only, leaving that little swivel piece?

I ask because it all effects the overall height ultimately.

Crap I dont remember. I'll be right back.

 

[King Darkness]

They are glued on so I could not remove them, but they freely spin a 360 degree circle, so it would seem that I left the swivel piece, and only pulled off the feet.

 

[Entropy]

Very cool that you retained the swivel!

 

[King Darkness]

Very cool that you retained the swivel!

I didn't even remember a swivel piece

 

[Wor-Gar]

They are glued on so I could not remove them, but they freely spin a 360 degree circle, so it would seem that I left the swivel piece, and only pulled off the feet.

That IS a good idea -- to keep the swivel piece so it can rotate. OK, so I think I'm set then as far as footwear.

Thanks King!

Now if I can just be patient enough to get that chest piece to separate, then I'm golden. I'm antsy about this, so I may try some more tonight after all.

 

[King Darkness]

That IS a good idea -- to keep the swivel piece so it can rotate. OK, so I think I'm set then as far as footwear.

Thanks King!

Now if I can just be patient enough to get that chest piece to separate, then I'm golden. I'm antsy about this, so I may try some more tonight after all.

No prob WG, glad I could help.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Well, after way too long, I finally cracked that ^^^^er open.

The Good: I managed to get the arms much tighter for some reason.

The Bad: I messed up the bottom of the chest portion so badly that it would not slide across the abdomen section at all -- I had to skip the "tightening pressure mechanism" thingy and just connect it by the spring part... meaning the torso spins free like a top. But at least it turns. If I used that tightener thing to hold it fast in place, I would not have had any movement in the torso and might as well have glued it. Seems the ripped up plastic from my trying to part the plastic now drags against the abdomen and keeps it from turning. I'm afraid if it was to tight, I'd twist one day the body would blast apart under the clothing.

So I opted for loose.... when I usally prefer very, very tight.

Anyway, he's now Gimli size! Thanks Pix and Nam for the assist!

I'm not sure how much real articulation there is in the adjusted torso anyway as far as moving forward or back. Twisting works fine. Once he's dressed I don't see him having too much bending beyond the hips and knees... so maybe my screw up was OK. **justification**

 

[Entropy]

He'll be fine once you get him dressed and geared up.

 

[King Darkness]

 

[pixletwin]

The hardest part is over WG.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Thanks guys! It's fun to be back at the customizing. I've been dying to finish this guy up.

Anyway, here's what I got:

Frodo may look shorter here because his knees are bent. But it's actually good that way. According to that LOTR height chart that got posted, the top of a Hobbit's head should come to about Gimli's shoulder while Gimli should come to about midchest or the bottom of the nape of the neck on a human. So even though the Hobbits are a tad oversized, with Hobbits legs bent it works out to be perfect.

Still have to hack the forearms and remove the feet. That I'm good at!

 

[lerath666]

I finally had my camera returned, so I took a couple rushed pictures of the Gimli head. Sorry for the crap quality, the lighting stinks and they're a bit blurry which makes the beard resculpt look blobby and rough where it isn't in hand. It'll look crisper cast. I'll try to take better ones then.

Stripping the paint was a huge pain and every time I do it I swear it's for the last time. It did uncover some more detail, which was the aim, but doesn't look so pretty in the pics. And this was 2 of my least favourite things to, 1) hair - fluid stuff like fire, water, smoke, hair are always a pain to do and more difficult for me than a likeness, 2) adding to an existing sculpt - adapting what you do to match another's style is a drag. I can only imagine trying to finish an oil painting with the same style and technique as another painter.

I want that head.

 

[Wor-Gar]

I know this is old news, but if anyone checks in please let me know if the arms cuts look correct, meaning I took enough off so he won't have monkey arms.

Everything today was much easier...

I discovered that if you heat up the ToyBiz legs and TWIST the boots -- the boots pop right off without any cutting.

I also discovered that if you cut the back of the heel on the DiD feet, you can just slip the feet out of the catch-hold:

Here's the cuts in the forearm -- does that look about correct length to cut off?

And here's what I'm left with...

I taped the chest last night so the glue could get a good hold, although I might just leave it on as extra protection against the glue weakening over time.

He's ready to be dressed...although I haven't yet decided whether to drill a hole in the neck post for the TB peg, or just temp glue the head onto the Dragon peg while I await EC's sculpt.

Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions...

 

[pixletwin]

I think that was a smart move taping his chest.

Looks good to me.

 

[Entropy]

Looks cool. Love the tube top.

I'll get the mold & castings knocked out as soon as I can.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Thanks guys!

Yeah, the **** tube gives him that... sexy look for the dwarf ladies.

Here's with the head sitting on top.

I wanted to at least get him ready for dressing this year. I just made it.

Next year -- Gimli gets clothes!

 

[paulcarson]

Nice work Greg ! I'll be looking in to see how you progress.

 

[King Darkness]

Lookin good WG

 

[Wor-Gar]

Thanks Paul!

And thanks King -- your lead about the swivel thing is why I removed the feet and boots the way I did. A little drilling in the boot to widen the hole and it should work perfect.

 

[thenammagazine]

Thanks guys!

Yeah, the **** tube gives him that... sexy look for the dwarf ladies.

Here's with the head sitting on top.

I wanted to at least get him ready for dressing this year. I just made it.

Next year -- Gimli gets clothes!

Looks good. I'd give it a go holding the battle axe to make sure you have the hands positioned where you want them. I'd put the axe in his hands then heat them and put them on over the DiD stumps while he's holding it. That way you're absolutely sure they're where you want them positioned. The downside to using the TB soft is no wrist articulation, so once they're on, they're on.