I wanted to get pictures up of what I've been working on lately, before I lose interest in them. The one has already sat idle for quite some time, before I started working on it, again. Having spun Angel V1 off into a different character, I thought I should make some other members of the noble house she's now a member of. My previous customs Killroy and Ixa are in the house's employ, but these two are family.

First Adjudicator Lady Victoria, and Head Enforcer Lord Alek'sander:





As with Angel, I'm scratch building the feet. I have to do some reworking on the left one, to make it better match the left. Victoria is wearing sandals, and there will eventually be straps sculpted on.


Part of the gender dimorphism in my Pantherine humans is that the men have more feline looking faces, with a slight muzzle. However, their noses still aren't as flat as Vincent's on the old Beauty and the Beast TV show.

Speaking of Angel, after I made her new legs, there were other things that started bothering me, on her figure. One of those, was the lack of any visible borders on her eyes. I was able to add a thin black line to the tops of her eyes, and extended it down into the dark feline tear duct makings the Pantherines have. Ignore the rough bits on her jawline. I kept forgetting that her bangs needed to be glued back down. I did that, right after I uploaded these pictures.


Something else that was bothering me, was the way the Scarlett upper torso is rather bulky compared to the lower torso. I carved down her upper torso to blend better the lower, and even managed to add some lateral movement to the mid torso joint, in the process. I'll eventually get pictures of that, after I resculpt her hair. It's some of my crudest hair sculpting, and it's really starting to bother me, especially when I start comparing it to I what I have down for Vic, so far. I'll probably do that, just before I'm ready to paint Vic and Alek. I have to custom mix the paint I use for the wash on their fur and Angel's hair, so I'd like to mess with fewer batches of that, if possible.

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very promising WIPs GR. Like hearing about the retro revamps too. I can't stop from going back and doing the same to my old faves either.

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Thanks!

Angel was my first, so she's got the most issues. Still, I learned a lot doing her.

Those two sentences sound horrible out of context, don't they?

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those look cool so far, I know they'll be great when finished as well

So, Minecraft got the better of me again, and I didn't work on any customs for a couple of weeks. When I did get back to them, I finished Victoria's hair and ears. Finally sculpted Alek'sander's other foot, and his knee caps. I got started on the rest of his hair, and just got started on his ears.







I also decided to restart work on a figure that has been sitting idle for over two years. This is Greyryder V2. This is his werewolf "battle" form. I did have most of the sculpting on the lower section of the torso finished. But, I wasn't happy with his height, or his proportions. So, I cut a slice out of his midsection, and grafted in the abdominal joint from a Han Solo figure. (the same on that donated its head for my Dr. Venom) I added more width to the shoulders than I already had, before. Now, I'm working on blending the upper part of the torso into the chest.



Here's a shot with werewolf Scarlett, to get an idea of where this is going.


The reason Greyryder stalled out, was because I couldn't get the visor shaped to suit to me. I often have trouble getting its proportions to look right, when I'm drawing it. Translating it to three dimensions fought me all the way. What you see in the pictures is my last attempt at it, before I gave up. I'm probably going to keep the upper brim (though it'll need some modifications) but the rest of it is getting scrapped. I'm going to make the visor, without worrying about making it fit the current shape of the head. Then, I'll adjust the head to fit the visor. That should also solve the pinheaded look it has, now that the shoulders are broader. Other tweaks I have planned, include sectioning and lengthening the upper arms, and revamping the feet, around the toe joint.

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I nearly have Greyryder's armor finished. There's a few spots that still need smoothed out. I'll clean up all the gaps at the seams after the chest is glued together. That's also when I'll add the loops, from my line art, on the chest and shoulders. His eventual shoulder cannon and powered scabbard will be attached to a removable back pack. Also started the work on revamping his legs and feet. I have a new visor built, and ready for a new head. I'm scrapping the current one, so I can use a larger ball joint. Planning the cut the neck off, and make a new one that can pivot up and down at the base, much like my Krieg custom. New, broader neck should help with the overly broad shoulder look, too.





Lord Alek'sander has his bangs, and I widened his nose. Gonna tweak that nose, a bit. Thinking I want something between this, and it's old look.

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Got Greyryder's new neck built. I was worried I was making it to long, until I went back and looked my artwork of him. I tend to draw him with his neck arched forward. That makes the length I built perfect. The new ball and socket are both made from Green Stuff. It's about all I use that for, anymore. Apoxie Sculpt just doesn't have the necessary flexibility. The ball was simply rolled by hand, and allowed to cure, then drilled for the brass tube. The socket was shaped over the cured ball, with some light oil smeared on the ball, to keep them from sticking together. The plastic tube that functions as the neck's axle is the same diameter as the brass tube. It's not visible in the pictures, but I made a small brass pin to reinforce the junction at the bottom of the neck. I used CA glue to tighten up the fit of the axle in the bushings, and I was worried I'd made things stiff enough to overstress the glued joint. The pictures show how everything goes together. the bushings on either side of the neck are glued to the inside of the back piece. It's currently got about a 90º range of motion. I expect some of that will get lost, as sculpting progresses.

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Wow, looking good you've inspired me to sculpt more, the hair and feet look really good!

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Thanks! I usually feel pretty overwhelmed at the prospect of sculpting, but I've been reading Sith_fire 30's blog, and he's inspired me.

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Greyryder's head is finished. Still don't know if the articulated neck is going to survive into the finished piece. The problem isn't making it work mechanically, it's making it work aesthetically.

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Oh, man - these are shaping up to be WAY too cool. So many good ideas to borrow -- definitely going to be using some elements of Alek'sander & Victoria in my fantasy customs.

Can't wait to see the finished Greyryder custom

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Thanks! I have to admit, I've been neglecting Vic and Alek, lately. Been focusing on my alter ego.

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Greyryder's neck is finished. Lost a lot of range of motion in it, but he can still look up. That alone has him doing better than a lot of recent GI Joe figures. I'd say there's about 15º of total movement. Combined with the range of motion the head still has at the top of the neck, I'm quite happy with the whole assembly. He can still turn his head, and even tip it side to side. The lower neck joint doesn't look too bad from the front, unless you look at it from a really low angle, with the neck all the way back.







I noticed some asymmetry on the top of his head, when I was getting the pictures ready for the web. I'll probably correct that, before he's ready for paint. Still have sculpting to do elsewhere, before then.

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Man, rough room.

Decided he needs bigger hands. Got a Marvel Universe hand that will work fine for the right, but I'll have to make the left from scratch. Anyway, I've got the shoulder sockets hollowed out enough to prevent paint rub, and thought I'd take a picture of all the parts put together. Not permanently assembled yet, though.

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rough room. lol

I've been limited in my time on-site and thus also my comments, of late. Don't read much into that. as for the work you've been showing, I love the stage-by-stage updates. Your sculpting is top notch, and the mechanical aspect of your customizing has always been a really unique part of what you do.

Really can't wait to get a bigger and better understanding of the verse your are creating here.

What you've done with Greyryder's head is remarkable.

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