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Author Topic: Custom Hera Syndulla  (Read 9085 times)

Offline Finley002

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Custom Hera Syndulla
« on: December 24, 2016, 08:07:10 AM »
   Hey Guys. New to Forum and this is my first post. But wanted to contribute with my new custom. Not elaborate by any means, but a much needed improvement to a MUCH loved figure. Hera is one of my daughters favorite figures. But over the last year Hera has taken a few bumps and bruises. So I took the opportunity to touch up some paint on the intrepid pilot... I pretty much just painted over the original eyes, which I always thought were NOTHING like how they appear on the show. Unfortunately my paint job does not necessarily rectify that :( While I do see it as an improvement over the original, it still looks more like a Bratz doll more than Hera from the show. I also took the time to give her a narrower neck (I always thought that Hasbro gave her a very thick neck for some reason...).
    But I wanted to ask you guys a question, getting back to the subject of painted eyes; Has anyone attempted to use printed images on decal paper to create more detailed and accurate eyes for their figures? I mean, I can only do so much with a magnifying glass and a tiny paintbrush... So I was curious if decals would be a more viable option. Might spend some money on some decal paper and a laser printer at Kinkos unless someone here on the forums has already tried it and wants to talk me out of a bad decision. 
   Thanks in advance for any advice :)
« Last Edit: December 24, 2016, 09:35:12 AM by Finley002 »
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Offline FialaFernbrugg

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Re: Custom Hera Syndulla
« Reply #1 on: December 25, 2016, 02:51:03 AM »
Welcome aboard.
I hope someone can help you with your question. I have no experience with selfmade decals but it sounds very interesting to use decals for action figure eyes.
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Offline Tamer

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Re: Custom Hera Syndulla
« Reply #2 on: December 26, 2016, 07:57:39 AM »
Very nice eye work if you ask me. Off to share.

And welcome to ISY.
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Offline mr.Jedi1977

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Re: Custom Hera Syndulla
« Reply #3 on: December 26, 2016, 02:42:49 PM »
Great start and welcome to the yards !
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Offline JDeck

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Re: Custom Hera Syndulla
« Reply #4 on: December 28, 2016, 10:23:37 AM »
Welcome!  The eyes look great! Eyes are probably the hardest thing to paint. I know some military modelers use decals for eyes, mostly for 1/6, meybe as small as 1/35.  http://www.archertransfers.com/AR99001.html I believe 1/18 would be in the 54mm-150 mm scale range. Really I wouldn't worry about it because, the eyes you've painted look great.
« Last Edit: December 28, 2016, 11:36:46 AM by JDeck »
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Offline Finley002

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Re: Custom Hera Syndulla
« Reply #5 on: December 28, 2016, 03:14:51 PM »
Quote from: JDeck on December 28, 2016, 10:23:37 AM
Welcome!  The eyes look great! Eyes are probably the hardest thing to paint. I know some military modelers use decals for eyes, mostly for 1/6, meybe as small as 1/35.  http://www.archertransfers.com/AR99001.html I believe 1/18 would be in the 54mm-150 mm scale range. Really I wouldn't worry about it because, the eyes you've painted look great.

Thanks for the warm welcome you guys! And thanks for the tips JDeck. I'll definitely look into it :)
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Offline Finley002

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Re: Custom Hera Syndulla
« Reply #6 on: December 29, 2016, 05:08:12 PM »
Okay guys, progress update:

  Didn't want to waste 65 cents on just one set of experimental eyes, so I whipped up some other eyes for a handful of other figures. I seems that the laser printer at Kinkos did a pretty decent job of it. Can't really tell (until I get it home and under a florecent light) but it looks like it actually printed in white for the inside and "shine" of the eyes. I just assumed that it would leave those spaces "clear" and that I would have to pre-paint the eye-whites in place before placing the decals. We'll see, I might still have to...
   I eyeballed the scale (see what I did there?) so these might still be a tad too large (fingers crossed). And because this was such a quick project with no real planning, I didn't really consider plastic skin tone vs. decal skintone. So some of these might very well make some 4" raccoons. I'm sure some thin layers of well placed paint could remedy the issue (hope). I'll be sure to follow up with the failures, and possible successes when I have results.
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Offline Tamer

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Re: Custom Hera Syndulla
« Reply #7 on: December 30, 2016, 10:37:32 AM »
They look like they printed great. I am anxious to see how they look once on the figures.

Off to share the latest.
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Offline Finley002

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Re: Custom Hera Syndulla
« Reply #8 on: December 30, 2016, 02:36:52 PM »
   Ok, so the results are in... first the bad: putting skin tone around the eyes was definitely a bad idea. ESPECIALLY for the male figures. The shadows and wrinkles that were supposed to be "subtle" touches  ended up coming out too dark and orange. So it looks like Hans Solo broke into mommy's make up cabinet :-(  The "subtle" lip detail also ended up coming in way too dark ...
    On the plus side: dark lips worked out just fine for the Princess. Again, skintone around the eyes is way too orange. But the eyeshadow effect worked out rather well I think. Unfortunately the decal paper used here is either too old or of low-quality. It doesn't seem to be adhering to the plastic very well.  It looks like I'll have to purchase some Micro-sol that will help soften the decals and let them "set" into all the nooks and crannies of the small eyesockets.
   So back to the drawing board (i.e. Photoshop) and have another go at it.  Be back with more results.
« Last Edit: December 30, 2016, 04:12:40 PM by Finley002 »
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Offline Finley002

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Re: Custom Hera Syndulla
« Reply #9 on: December 30, 2016, 02:41:34 PM »
The Princess...
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Offline hemble

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Re: Custom Hera Syndulla
« Reply #10 on: December 30, 2016, 04:33:38 PM »
The eyes themselves look amazing 10/10.

Ron
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Offline Finley002

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Re: Custom Hera Syndulla
« Reply #11 on: December 30, 2016, 04:38:09 PM »
Thanks Ron 😄
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Offline Tamer

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Re: Custom Hera Syndulla
« Reply #12 on: December 31, 2016, 09:05:02 AM »
You can read my comments on the front pages. I would say you are definitely figuring this out.
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Offline Finley002

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Re: Custom Hera Syndulla
« Reply #13 on: December 31, 2016, 11:02:43 AM »
Thank you, Tamer 😄
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Offline Finley002

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Re: Custom Hera Syndulla
« Reply #14 on: January 01, 2017, 01:20:25 AM »
Welp... the experiment continues. So I removed skintone from around the eyes and it seemed to improve the look a great deal. As you can see with Han, I did have to pre-paint the whites of the eyes in order to make the decals "pop." And while I do think that this method has the potential of making figures more accurate, it does have some severe drawbacks.  Figures like Ahsoka could benefit greatly from these decals (especially since that initial figure was woefully lacking), and my whole purpose for this endeavor was to see if this method would help me find an EASIER way to create good looking eyes for figures. But it seems as though it's just a DIFFERENT kind or difficult... the images printed on the decal paper can be easily scratched if you're not carful. So that makes placing the decal into position even MORE stressful as you maneuver them around the face with whatever tool you use (xacto knife). And as I stated before, Micro-sol has to be used in order to get the decal to soften and set into the nooks of the figure. Use too much and the decal will start to float off and move away from the spot you took so much time putting into place... more stress. All that being said, I will continue to use this method because I just don't have the steady hands needed to paint such details. But this is by no means an EASIER alternative :(
« Last Edit: January 01, 2017, 11:11:22 PM by Finley002 »
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