This Weekend's Project: Cleanup

 Never officially finished the Demoman and posted any of the results on this blog. Been overdue for two years. Wasn't entirely happy with how it came out, but I had a chance to redo some of the problems I really didn't like about the first attempt. It's a good opportunity to share what I've learned during the process.

 

First, I didn't like how I did the head. Plain generic expression. I carved a slight grin to his face. Can't say it's my best work, but it helps a lot. Not bothering to completely redo the head this time. It wasn't as bad as the first Medic's head. That was horrible. This was one of the later sculpts that wasn't entirely made of suck.

 When I started out, I was still using some lackluster materials to accomplish the job. Notably belts made of black construction paper fastened together with a wire hook that was neither strong or pleasant to look at. Had a chance to correct that by making some fake leather belts. Picked up an imitation leather wallet and stripped it apart for materials. They're just long enough to make a belt, with some extra length to it. In this case, they were enough to go from the Y shape fork in the back to the front belt. It being vinyl, it was easier to assemble than regular cloth. I had the lovely option of either sewing the belt straps together, or just using hot glue to get them into place. Either method provided a satisfactory result. If you're trying to avoid seamwork, a thin application of hot glue will work. Just don't expect stellar results in extreme heat. Or leave him out in the sun.

 

  The grenades on his vest were made of Sculpey. Bad idea. They were heavy, and not to mention, didn't glue well to anything. I had made sleeves around the thick middle section, and glued those to the straps. Now with better tech, I made the grenades out of 110lb cardstock rolls that are much lighter and more willing to be hot glued into place. I did experiment with fabric glue, but that wasn't strong enough to hold that into place. It may have been if I had let the fabric glue cure for more than an hour. I wasn't taking any chances.

The smiley face was originally paper taped to his crotch. I guess that's how it's supposed to be. It doesn't provide a good result though in 1:6 scale as the tape degrades. For a permanent solution, I glued the paper drawing to a small piece of white cloth, left 2-3mm of cloth over the top, and sewed it to the pants. Fabric glue in this case worked wonders. Don't even bother trying using regular glue with fabric.

The pants themselves, I altered so they weren't as loose at the waist. Not sure what I was thinking at the time, but they were obscenely baggy. As a result, he had loose rapper pants that constantly needed pulling up. Unfortunately, unlike rappers, he didn't have underwear. That was a dead giveaway that his body wasn't actually black either... I added velcro to his fly and narrowed the waist to allow for less mishaps involving pants. Because a drunken man and pants never tend to be good friends.

I learned long ago that you cannot paint directly on rubber. Well, you can, but it doesn't stick. It rubs off easily and does nothing useful for something that will receive heavy play. However, I did learn that if you put kneadatite over rubber, you can cheat and make it paintable. It does add a ridiculous amount of thickness to the medium, which in the case of a flexible rubber hand, any thickness is ridiculous. The hands were immobile and not even worth trying to use to hold anything. Method #2 to the rescue! With the power of enamel paint, you can paint rubber, just not well. If you cover it with a layer of Loc-tite or super glue of any sort, it'll form a nice solid layer that's thin but still somewhat ok. I haven't fully tested the durability of it, but it's an improvement. You may ask "why not just buy a body of the correct skin color?" I'll reply with "This body cost $5 and the correct one costs $30." That body also requires a totally different head. I'm not making another head. Inverse Michael Jackson it is!
 

Now that the Demoman's officially done, I'm liking him a little better than how it was originally. I didn't make many photos with him in it due to his hands being a liability in holding props. And that he looked mediocre. Now, I can close the project also officially get rid of it for extra shelf space. It's finally in a state that I'd consider "presentable" and safe for someone to handle.

Desk Vignettes #3: "Can I play TF2 with you guys?"

Story time, featuring Shia LaBeouf! I'll add my own story this time, using mostly dialogue from TF2 whenever possible. For those who like to make up their own, feel free to ignore the scrbbles that make your head hurt and look at the pictures.

SOLDIER: That was an amazing killing spree! By ME!
SHIA: Hey guys! I'm Shia LaBeouf. I'm new here. Why are all of you standing around a cup full of heads?
ENGINEER: Were you that guy who was in Transformers?
SHIA: Yeah. I was also in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull!
ENGINEER: Durned robots. I could've handled them better than you did, ma'am.
MEDIC: I zid not like ze crystal skull. But I do like watching ze hurting in zat film.
SOLDIER: You didn't take your lumps like a man, private Twinkletoes, hiding behind CG!

SOLDIER: Alright, give him hell, boys!
SHIA: Uh oh.
SOLDIER: If god had wanted you to live, he would not have created ME!
DEMOMAN: Don't worry! I'LL be gentle!
ENGINEER: I'm going to beat you like a rented mule, boy.
MEDIC: Come over here, I promise to heal you!

Celebrating August 24, "Build A Grenade Launcher Day"

Took about a few weeks to get around to it, but I've finally built the Demoman's grenade launcher. Not as involved as the flamethrower, but it was a lot of revolved objects. The center six grenade tubes are solid 110 lb cardstock rolls around 0.125mm dia bamboo skewers. That gives it a bit of heft to the overall weapon. Unfortunately, I opted not to allow the break open action of the grenade launcher for structural reasons. It would have made for a good, fun miniature accessory.

Anyways, to celebrate the near completion of six of the nine figures, time for a group shot. Here's the original group shot that I'm constantly using to get me motivated to complete the rest of the nine.

Now for the two-thirds compromise.

Given, I'll concede a few issues with my group. Still need to finish the Pyro boots, the Engineer's glove, some minor details on the Demoman pouch, and the really unfinished toolbox. I'm debating sewing a few more details for the Engineer's overalls as well. Not that anyone's going to really notice. No one notices that the Engineer's electrical cord on his belt loops twice and only has one end plug, or that the fact that the Pyro's tank doesn't do anything (it's not an oxygen tank, as it has a flammable sticker on the second smaller tank), or how any of the grenades attach to the belts.

Hopefully I'll get some nice, opaque yellow paint, electrical tape and finally finish the Engineer's glove and Pyro's boots.

KA-BOOM!

Time to work on the demoman figure, simply because I found the perfect shade of grey for his vest. On a silly note, the demoman looks like a prison convict with his red pants and shirt, without his equipment. First, to make the vest, I layered strips of paper over his chest to make a rough outline. Enough masking tape ensured pieces stay together during the cutting process.


I cut the paper along proposed seam lines, traced them on paper and made tracing patterns for the vest's main and side parts. The demoman's blast jacket is thicker than usual clothing, so I opted for layering a third, thicker fabric to add thickness than use cardstock inserts. I laid out in order, one red thicker cloth, then two grey cloths for the outer side. Why the red on the bottom? When you sew the edges together, you can pull it inside out to hide the seams. This puts the bottom layer in the middle. Think of a pillowcase.

Unfortunately, I miscalculated the collar length. I'll sort it out somehow. The demoman lacks his grenade launcher, so a Thompson will suffice. I'll add his ammo pouches and grenades after I bust out some clay for the next set of head sculpts. There's a few other issues I need to complete as well, including his boot detail and to color his hands.

Of course, I didn't forget the smiley face taped to his crotch. KA-Booom!