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Custom Mira 12" Action Figure

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Post by Olivus Prime Thu Sep 27, 2012 1:47 pm

Before anyone gets too excited, this is an entirely customised figure that I am going to make, and, saying that, I haven't made it yet.

Anyway, when it was announced that Zurg would finally be getting a full-size figure to scale with the 12" Buzz figure this year (if you haven't seen it, type 2012 Zurg figure into Google, it's the one in the convention display cabinet and it looks amazing), I thought about the Buzz Lightyear figures that fitted into this scale - obviously Buzz and Zurg, and the 7" XR Model Kit. Then I thought about the other members of Team Lightyear - while Booster would probably need to be a scratch-build (considering his size in relation to the regular Buzz), Mira was entirely possible, as a Barbie doll, which is coincidentally quite similar to her in proportions, is the perfect match for her height in comparison to Buzz. I looked about on the net and while people had mentioned starting their own projects, none seemed to have been finished. Therefore, I decided to start my own...

The first step - choosing a base Barbie figure. I had two options - to use a blue-skinned barbie doll and simply dye and/or style the hair, though a blue doll with the right hair colour would be much harder to find, or to use a regular Barbie doll, which would involve "derooting" the hair to paint the scalp blue, and then "rerooting" hair of the correct style and colour in its place. Since the latter sounded impossibly complicated for someone who never has, and likely never will again, customise a doll, I went with the former and searched for a blue doll. Would you believe it? There only seems to have been ONE blue Barbie that has ever been in production, this "Fairytopia Sparkle Fairy". Obviously the hair is blue and curly so I'll have to deal with it later. Unfortunately when it arrived I discovered that the sparkly top that the doll has on is actually glued on, so I'll need to scrape that off too...

So, the doll is here, the paints are ready and everything is set. My first task is to sculpt Mira's face and armour with clay, with the intention of using waterslides to make her eyes and insignia (the rest will be painted). I'm not exactly great with keeping up with projects (as those who have been watching my LEGO BLoSC topic will know...), and my first week at university is next week, but I reckon the unusual/awesome nature of this custom will be enough to keep me on board, and enough to have a 12" Mira sitting on my shelf soon enough!
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Post by Ranger-Nova Thu Sep 27, 2012 2:22 pm

That sounds incredibly awesome - if you manage to complete it, do post pictures! Very Happy
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Post by Olivus Prime Fri Nov 23, 2012 2:47 pm

So, an update after all this time... though there's some good news and bad news.

Let's start with the bad news. Upon moving to University recently, I couldn't for the life of me find where my model paints and clay had gone. Since I'm pretty much stone broke at the moment, I won't be able to get more until the Christmas holidays, so Mira has been delayed until then Sad Hopefully, since I'm doing pretty well for coursework at the moment, I'll be able to complete her in a jiffy within the holidays.

The good news... well, I've decided to do not one, but two customs following Mira. One will be relatively minor, the other will be very intense indeed.

Custom #2 - Evil Buzz Lightyear. I saw this Buzz Lightyear figure online whilst I was browsing one day, and I thought the facial expression would be perfect for Evil Buzz! All he'll need is some minor clay adjustments and a repaint.

Custom #3 - ...Booster. That's right, I'm not talking about a redeco or even a heavy retooling of an existing Buzz figure, I'm talking a brand new figure. The computer lab at my university has a 3D printer which we can use for free, and when they revealed it, my mind was buzzing. Of course, creating Booster will be a hefty task - not only will I have to design the figure from scratch on a CAD program (possibly using a Buzz model as a base), I'll need to print out the individual parts, assemble it, and fully paint it. This will be a big project and I'm not planning on working on it until at least Mira is out of the way, so don't expect much until at least 2013.

To feed your imaginations, I've produced a (bad quality) Evil Buzz digital mockup, and I'll try and make a decent one for Mira soon as well. My plan was to create a banner featuring all of the BLoSC figures (mockups of my customs, Buzz, XR and Zurg) as if it was a real toyline. As you can see, I have a very busy brain! The layout of the toyline would be as follows:

Wave 1
  • Buzz Lightyear (Toy Story Collection)
  • XR (Model Kit)


Wave 2 - Christmas 2012


Wave 3 - 2013
  • Booster Munchapper
  • Evil Buzz Lightyear


See you at Christmas!
Custom Mira 12" Action Figure Evil_b10
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Post by Olivus Prime Fri Dec 28, 2012 10:47 am

Day 1 of the Custom Mira project (which I have dubbed 'Project Blueblood') has ended! Thus far, I've scraped off all of the glitter on the doll that I could (a lot still remains - I thought glitter was meant to fall off and get everywhere?) and sculpted the feet, kneepads and the tops of her gauntlets. Tomorrow I'll try and finish off the sculpting by doing her face and body armour. Pics will follow after that...

Also, a quick design question. My aim has been to merge elements of Mira's animation model with the 3D model of her that Rock Farm created (discussed in this topic), with the latter of which presumably representing how Mira would appear as a toy in the Toy Story films. Does anyone else think that the laser, communicator and grips on her hands in this design are better off absent on my custom, seeing as, like the animation model, it shouldn't go into too much detail?
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Post by Olivus Prime Sat Dec 29, 2012 11:11 am

Here's the work so far, however scary it looks:
Custom Mira 12" Action Figure Img_1212

After letting the initial clay parts (the feet, gauntlet tops and kneepads) dry for about a day, I was fretful when I discovered that they were all becoming a bit crumbly for comfort, especially the feet, which had cracks around the ankles. Worse, whenever I tried to add clay to the cracked parts, it wouldn't hold at all. Hopefully a few more days and some paint apps should strengthen them a bit.

As you can see, I worked on the torso and face today, the former of which looks great, though the latter currently looks less than stellar. Again, bearing in mind that paint, decals, and perhaps some additional clay need to still be applied, it may not be as bad as it appears. However, should the face continue to cause concern, or if it fails structurally as the feet seem to have done, I may scrap the idea of dying and styling the hair and simply sculpt an entirely new head around the existing one, along with static hair (which may look more cartoon-accurate as well).
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Post by Mod Sat Dec 29, 2012 6:48 pm

Wow... Mira is coming along quite nicely, Olivus! I love the way the torso is coming together. *smiles*

But the clay troubles....*shudders* I feel your pain, my friend. Clay can be a real pain to use...*flashes back to clay class*

ANYWAY...I can't wait to see more of your progress! *smiles*
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Post by Olivus Prime Mon Dec 31, 2012 3:06 am

Fox Storm wrote:Wow... Mira is coming along quite nicely, Olivus! I love the way the torso is coming together. *smiles*

Thanks! The torso was definitely the part that I was most proud of, though I'm still debating whether or not to keep the waist piping, as it hinders the figure's accuracy to the animation model, aesthetically.

Fox Storm wrote:But the clay troubles....*shudders* I feel your pain, my friend. Clay can be a real pain to use...*flashes back to clay class*

Indeed... part of the reason why my above comment is in the past tense!

I spoke to some people on a Transformers customs forum about my project, and they've suggested using something other than clay (Aves Apoxy Sculpt), since it bonds better with the figure than clay and doesn't have as rough/cracked a texture when hardened. The good news is that with this, my sculpting should become easier and the project should speed along nicely. The bad news is... I need to get the Apoxy Sculpt first, and it's only sold in America... so don't expect much progress until next week. D'oh!
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Post by Mod Fri Jan 04, 2013 3:37 pm

Olivus Prime wrote:

Thanks! The torso was definitely the part that I was most proud of, though I'm still debating whether or not to keep the waist piping, as it hinders the figure's accuracy to the animation model, aesthetically.

Hmm...I can see what you mean by hindering. It does seem to hinder the figure's accuracy a bit. I say whatever you feel is going to make the figure better, go for it, dude! *smiles*

Olivus Prime wrote:
I spoke to some people on a Transformers customs forum about my project, and they've suggested using something other than clay (Aves Apoxy Sculpt), since it bonds better with the figure than clay and doesn't have as rough/cracked a texture when hardened. The good news is that with this, my sculpting should become easier and the project should speed along nicely. The bad news is... I need to get the Apoxy Sculpt first, and it's only sold in America... so don't expect much progress until next week. D'oh!

Oh, really? I didn't know that. Well, take your time, my friend. I'm sure the wait will be worth it. I'm just enjoying seeing the progress you made so far, and I can't wait for the final product. Smile
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Post by Mira Nova Sat Jan 19, 2013 6:12 pm

Wow I am always amazed at everything you make Olivius :3 and I can't wait to see the action figure Very Happy Good luck Smile
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Post by Steel Sun May 05, 2013 11:33 am

Ahhhh, how did I never comment on this? I think your customisation projects sounds superb! I'd love to see an Evilyear and Booster, and Mira looks really good so far!
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Post by Olivus Prime Fri Aug 08, 2014 6:08 am

As I said on the topic regarding my finished Evil Buzz custom, I am aiming to have Mira finished by mid-to-late September. I think I've put it off long enough, considering I first started two years ago!

At some point between now and my last post, I sprayed the body white and sculpted the chest armour and feet out of Apoxie sculpt. Today I dug the body out again to assess what was next.

Since starting the project I've wanted to make it more of an action figure rather than a doll, and hence considered implementing joints into the doll somehow. I went onto the internet to find out if anyone had any tutorials for adding joints to a doll, and it turns out that Mattel released a jointed Barbie doll back in 2009. Meanwhile, the blue skin of my current doll hasn't proven to be of any use in the end, and the glitter glued to the doll is preventing it from looking as clean as it could. As a result, I will be ordering a new doll very soon and starting over from scratch.

As a side note, I now have a spare half-finished Mira figure! If anyone is interested in purchasing it from me for a low price please ask, since I don't really want it to go to waste.
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Post by Mod Fri Aug 08, 2014 11:52 am

Ah, man, that stinks you have to start over from scratch. But on the bright side, at least the other figure is halfway finished. (:
What would you be selling it for?
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Post by Olivus Prime Wed Sep 24, 2014 6:00 am

Another update to prove this is far from dead - over the past few weeks I've gotten the new articulated body, sculpted the armour and feet, sprayed it white twice and today started on painting the details! Once that's done, I'll be prototyping the head in blu-tack and then sculpting the real thing. The only set backs left are to do with waterslide decals (which I was going to use for the eyes and chest emblem) since I don't have a printer and would need to check the quality of any public ones I use.

Fox Storm wrote:What would you be selling it for?

No price for the figure, only postage from the UK. The spray layers are quite uneven on the first version (since it was my first time spraying) and it's been in my customs box for some time, thus it's quite bashed and scruffy. Mainly I just want to get it off of my hands, thus why I'll give it away more or less for free.
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