Well, I finally got a full figure made! It's nearly finished, just needs a few more details completed. I finally decided that the only way to make them properly is to do the entire body as one piece, and then paint and add hair and clothes. So, all the heads I've made will just be models to go from when I re-make the figures. So, anyway, the figure I made is Ford Prefect from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, as played by David Dixon in the TV series!
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
His expression kind of looks funny in the pictures in a different way than it does in real life... I'll take more once I've completed his shoes (which are just painted on for now) and his bag. My favorite part (aside from the head) is the sweater; you can't tell from these pictures, but the texture is very realistic. I made it from a scrap of fuchsia knit fabric and purple corduroy for the ribbing, and painted it black with the red white and blue argyle pattern on top. The rest of the clothes were made similarly, but from an off-white silk shirt I had lying around for scrap fabric, sewn and glued together. The blazer was quite challenging. So was his hair... crepe wool does start off curly, which is fortunate, but it took a little mixing of colors and careful layering and trimming to get it to behave in the style I was after. A little hairspray helped hold it all in place and make it more realistic and shiny. He even has a bit of tinfoil I crimped and tucked under the edge of the cuff of his left wrist, to suggest his watch. When I get around to making Arthur I'll have to do a more detailed version since his sleeves are looser and the full watch will be visible. I might replace the hanky in his pocket if I can find a little scrap of yellow duster.
Stanley H. Tweedle, Kai, and Xev. I plan on re-doing Kai's bun, because I made it a bit too big, and Stan needs his hat to cover up the whacked up hair job I did with the hot glue. Then they need bodies! Still haven't decided exactly how I'm going to make them, except that Xev's will be super-sculpy and glued together. The clothes will be mixed media and cover any joints. I'm also going to make 790, possibly with interchangeable face pieces... but probably not, since the idea is to pose the whole group as one scene, not for them to be action figures.
Another head! I'm actually not 100% satisfied with this one; he's supposed to have a higher forehead, and my experiments with hair reduced the size of his forehead because I didn't compensate for it in the original sculpt. I also got a lot of hair in the paint, and I decided I want him to be smiling, so I'll probably re-do this one eventually. His hair looks great, though. Much better to use Tacky Glue than hot glue, and putting it on before painting the face is definitely a no-no.