For my figure, I tried to choose the tallest JvC parts I could find, to represent my 6'6" frame, and that would not require too much work to achieve my "beach bum" look of t-shirt and jean shorts. I did finally give up on trying to create sandals, though, and put on sneaks for my reference photo. :)

For the shirt, the arms and torso were sanded heavily to smooth out the quilting / turtleneck sleeves. I also carved the BTR pegs off the ankles, trimming them down to bare legs and socks above the sneakers. I left the sanding rough on the ankles to represent hairy legs.

This custom came with two landmarks for me, both in dealing with the head. First, this was my first attempt at sculpting hair: I used the yellow/blue stuff that Citadel puts out to mold hair onto the head. Also, this was the first time for me to create eyeglasses. I'm not sure if the reference photo shows it, but my glasses /do/ arc outward to fit my head, and I tried to replicate that with the wire.

For paint, I also mixed the skin tone for myself, another first. The denim was pretty easy, thanks to the how-to post on the reserve forces board (where I also got the instructions for glasses. I've since picked up plumber's tape, that I now realize I could have wrapped around the smooth thigh pieces to have a fabric hem and not just a paint line to separate jeans from legs, but I'm happy with how I turned out. You'll see this technique with my Tripwire, which I'm working on this weekend (10/22).

On to accessories. On this I had to think long and hard. "What am I always carrying around?" I asked myself. It took about a month before I realized what (or, I should say, who) I'm never without when I'm out of the house. So, I'd like to present my two "accessories": Robby and Amy (Amalia), my two kids. ;)

This was something of a new challenge, to find appropriate-scale figures. Robby (7) was the easier of the two, as I went to the Chap Mei rescue set to snag the kid with a skateboard. Robby's since outgrown the sneakers I painted, but he still has his White Sox cap from a family vacation to Chicago. He chose blue as the color for his gfigure's clothes, so I had him wear some for his reference photo.

Amy was the real challenge, to find a figure for a not-quite-2-year-old. For weeks I would travel from the girls' doll aisle to the action figures aisle, either to cart a GI Joe box to a kid figure for comparison or vice versa. I finally settled on these new Strawberry Shortcake mini-figs, that double as charms for the kid jewelry they're packaged with. I repainted her hair, and then her hat to match a floppy hat that Amy likes. She's wearing it (and her Converse all-stars) in her reference photo.

That's it for my submission, but I realize that my work isn't complete. My wife Sara doesn't know it yet (well, she does now, I'm sending a copy of this to her :) ), but I'll put together a figure of her to complete the figure family. She can get 'normal' accessories, since she's the family breadwinner. :)