Rydgen's customs 3-11-10: Hal, Yellow Lantern, The Ray, and props.

[Rydgen]

Thanks for the compliments, StJ!

Well, the only finished customs I have are for a character I created many years ago, which is my online namesake. I have a dozen half-started projects, many of which were DBZ or Lobo related. The Lobos were never finished because DCD made him finally. I think it's fun to see how a figure is made, which is why I'm posting as I finish certain steps. I would love to watch a video of a figure being made in a factory from start to finish, particularly how the paint is applied so cleanly.

I have had some traditional art training while earning my Graphic Design and Computer Animation degrees, and that has helped immensely. We had to sculpt a character of our creation in one class for the CA degree, which is where I learned many tips and tricks on sculpting. That's why I'm more confident in this area, and thus started customizing again. The cardback I've been using was from the Eclipso 6pk.

Rydgen's customs 3-11-10: Hal, Yellow Lantern, The Ray, and props.

Your kind words have urged me to just dive into this hair problem and just sculpt it out. I've made a start on the first hair "spine", and it turned out well. I'll get the main spines sculpted out using that cardboard hair as a reference, then fill it out from there. I may end up using a little foil for filling in, but if I have to go all sculpey, that's what I'll do!

[jonartdesigns]

looking good so far 

[OneYoself]

that is an excellent job sculptin Ry...can't wait to see the finish product!

[Quatermain]

How's Lobo coming along?

[Rydgen]

Thanks, all! It's coming along. There's a bit of a delay however, because I broke one of the teeth off of the skull on the belt while handling it yesterday. Sculpey is such an easy material to work with, but it's so brittle when it's cured. You all know that frustration I'm sure. I just finished sculpting a new tooth onto it, I just hope it stays when I cure it. As for the hair, I've only done another pass so far. I usually have to be in the right mood to do this, or else it turns out crap. Patience will be rewarded to all of us though.

[Rydgen]

All right, I finished my spine passes for the hair. I put together a comparison from each stage, as I said I would:

Rydgen's customs 3-11-10: Hal, Yellow Lantern, The Ray, and props.

Now all I need to do is fill the hair out and really define the shape of the hair. Then cure. Then... start... painting! I'm kinda nervous about the painting part, but I have plans that involve masking tape and switching to acrylic paint, since I've read that's highly recommended for custom figures. I used to use basic Testors model paint, non-acrylic, because that's what I had handy years ago. I know better now, and I want these suckers to come out looking awesome. I'll keep you guys posted!

[Enzo]

That is looking awesome man! but it looks that it will be a nightmare to sand hehehe

[graphix1971]

that looks great ... can't wait to see it done

[MLK78]

I'm loving how your Lobo is coming out 

Just wanted to throw out there that if you're worried about having to cure Sculpey by boiling it and you have access to a Hobby Lobby or any kind of hobby shop, you can get some Milliput.  It's a 2-part epoxy that air dries in a few hours and I highly recommend it for doing detailed sculpting and smoothing out rough sculpting

[Rydgen]

Thanks guys! Yeah, I plan on switching to a 2 part epoxy after these current projects, since I've been reading how everyone loves it. If sculpey weren't so blasted brittle after curing it'd be perfect. I have no qualms about the actual boiling part, I've gotten the hang of that. I'm leaning to Kneadatite, since Quartermain turned me on to it and I've read many others love it. I've always hated the fact that once you mix it, it has to be used quickly. I managed to fix the skull's tooth, as you can see in the photos. What's funny is I think it's more symmetrical now than it was before.

Sanding will be a painstaking effort, but I have to fill it out first. I don't foresee any troubles, aside from possible hair spikes snapping from pressure of the job. I appreciate all of your support! I'm very glad to have found this community. You're all awesome!

[Quatermain]

Once you switch, you'll never go back. Just remember to keep your fingers moist when using Kneadatite. 

[stjuggernaut]

dude, this Lobo is shaping up to be epic! could potentially be one of the best Lobo customs ever produced! im really liking what im seeing! cant wait to see the next shot! 

[Bear]

The sculpt is looking great. the wip pic's are cool to see the transformation.

[Rydgen]

Thanks, St J and Bear!

No updates on Lobo yet, since work's been giving me more hours finally and odd shifts that keep me from really getting back into this piece. I did figure out a super-easy custom today though. I found DCUC Commander Steele at retail recently for the Giganta torso. Unfortunaly Steele doesn't really sell well on eBay, if at all, so I figured I was stuck with him (like Shark for the Kilowog piece). Today I took a good look at him and realized that the finned mask and body-molded tights made him a perfect base for the Golden Age Ray! Yellow paint, starburst collar, and he'll be the easiest custom ever! So that's what I'll do with him.

[Rydgen]

Right, I have the day off today so I went into filling out Lobo's hair. The sculpting itself was going very well, but I kept breaking tips off everywhere. Fix one, break another... fix that one, break a third... fix the third, break the first again... So I did what any civilized adult would do. I snapped off all the spikes and chipped the base of the hair off of Lobo's scalp. He's bald. Again.

This time I'm waiting. I ordered some Kneadatite and I'll just wait until that arrives before doing any more sculpting. I did learn a better way to sculpt the hair this next time around though, so it should go by pretty quickly when I get that 36" roll of putty. Until then I suppose I could get other figures ready for work, like boil and popping the 6" figures, spraying on primer for JLU Hal and Rydgen, things like that. Frustrating day indeed...

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