So after a long hiatus, I am looking at starting on a project that has been on the list for a while, a wood private car for my railway. I am looking for a set of figures for the back, and though I have done a few on my own in the past, I know Im not up to the task as my skills are better at car and loco building lol. Is there anyone out there that does custom figures? I know Chris Walas used to, but cannot find his contact info anymore.
Well, depending on your ego, scale and finances you might consider something a bit more personal from a company like doob or pocketme. (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-smile.gif)(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-money-mouth.gif)
though I like the accuracy, and this private car is gonna be named after my girlfriend, I would probably suffer from premature death if I spent that much on a mini version of us for the observation deck lol
Go to Shapeways and type this in the search box: 1/20 Printle Shop Guy does a lot of figures and they are actually pretty cheap. Might have something you need.
Chris
Aaron,
You could always use a figure of the RR president like I did. I think it’s still available but I’m not sure where.
Doc Watson
[quote]Chris Kieffer said:
Go to Shapeways and type this in the search box: 1/20 Printle Shop Guy does a lot of figures and they are actually pretty cheap. Might have something you need.
Chris[/quote]
Wow…that is a lot of figures…and a lot of painting. ‘Cheap,’ not so much, most seem to run about double to triple for what I’d fork over.
Aaron, I’ve got the perfect pair of figures for your car:
Jim Agnew said:
Aaron, I’ve got the perfect pair of figures for your car:
Should have been a dark haired beauty with big dark eyes…(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-foot-in-mouth.gif)
But Bruce, she’s Russian.
Jim Agnew said:
But Bruce, she’s Russian.
And, here I thought she was just in a big hurry… (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
Nobody remembers Bob Seger?(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cry.gif)
got to be older like me NIGHT MOVES
Richard
Jim Agnew said:
Aaron, I’ve got the perfect pair of figures for your car:
Wait, theres figures in this picture? I just see log cars (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
What’s wrong with Sir Topham Hat, the Fat Controller?
Doc - isn’t that guy the owner of the Hawaii something or other, done by Mr Kapuaala ?
Yes it is Pete. Custom painted by the Big Dude.
Bruce: " and points of her own sitting way up high, way up firm and high" only my case was the back seat of a 1969 Dodge not a Chevy. Yep, Bob Segar and the Silver Bullet band, remember it well
And now back to our regularly scheduled thread…
I am going to do the people and Aaron will do the observation car. He can post his progress as he gets it done. So here we go with the peeps.
I like Pete Thornton’s idea of the fat controller except Aaron is 6’8" tall. I think that makes “Bad Bad Leroy Brown” a more appropriate theme song. I quote the late great Jim Croce:
All the downtown ladies call him “Treetop Lover”
All the men just call him “Sir”
Unquote.
For the purposes of this build I will call him Aaron (I am not afraid of him since big guys are easy to outrun) and his girlfriend sweetie-pie since that is how he refers to her in chat. For the record sweetie pie is only 4’ 10" tall.
A picture of the prototype.
The concept: Two peeps standing on what will be the observation deck of a Aristocraft Sierra coach.
I am using the same cheapie figures from this thread: " Low $$$ Figures: Scale and Painting" https://www.largescalecentral.com/forums/topic/27551/low-figures-scale-and-painting
To start with I selected a handful of figures to be body part donors so I could get the right pose. I then went to the band-saw and cut them up. When I cut his arms off Aaron screamed like a little school girl but it got down right embarrassing with all the begging and pleading and groveling for mercy. He did not stop until I cut off his head.
Here is a rough arrangement. I am using the torso from one figure with the legs of another to make sweetie-pie. Unfortunately they do not have the same size waist. I have had this problem before with figure bashes and found that by cutting straight through the crotch I can take 1/8 of an inch or more out without messing up the look of the legs. You can see the kerf from the blade in this pic. Several years ago I tried to sand the waist line down from the outside but it made the thighs look huge. This is a much faster and more effective method.
I also removed the feet from the standing woman. Her high-water pants will make the legs about the right length for the final figure.
Next up reassembly!
Boomer, you are always so creative!
The Reassembly.
Sweetie-pie should be a little shorter but the best fit of the two figures was right here. This is most evident looking at the arms from behind.
Here is a comparison with the original standing woman. You can see there is dramatic difference in the legs and waist.
Next I have cleaned up the figures mold lines and joint misalignment. I also sanded that “Johhny Bravo” hairdo off of Aaron’s head since he has short curly locks. The figures both have arms wearing a mix of short and long sleeves. In preparation for new duds I took off the rolled up sleeve portion of the shirts. Both figures got pins in their feet to hold them to the train platform. These will also give sweatie-pie’s new feet some strength and prevent them breaking off later. For the rest of the work on the legs I shaved the kneecaps off and moved her left hand down so it rests on her hip. I had hoped it could be on the handrail of the observation deck but it was to low.
A note on these figures for kit-bashing. They cut and sand very easily. I am also pleased with how well the plastic takes glue. I am using Testor’s model cement in the orange and white tube. You can get this at Hobby Lobby or on line from Omni Models for about $1 a tube. If you have been wanting to learn to do figure bashing and painting I recommend a bag of these for practice.
Off to work the filler. I am using Milliput for the large gaps and to make the clothing. Squadron Green Putty and White Putty are being used for small holes and joint filling.
Looking great boomer, excited to see the end results!