Princess Luna 10 Inch Action Figure (fully articulated)

[Galactica]

I'm not dead!

I've finally managed to get good casts! the trick? Rotate the molds constantly while the resin is curing. (so borderline rotocast)
I'm getting a near 100% success rate with negligible air bubbles, even on the molds with tiny parts.

That said i am still missing 4 molds and i have to remake the molds for the feet. since that mold was just not salvageable.
I've got more silicone on the way (my third 10 lbs bucket) so the rest should be ready next week! Motivation is back with a vengeance

Here's a set of completed sprue's

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

WOW Congratulations your first casts look awesome!!!!

[SoaringSentinel]

I've done some more work on the instructions. i'm also painting one of the new heads just to get an impression of what the final thing will look like

here are page 1 through 4 which will come with the kit version of the figure.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


visitors can't see pics , please register or login

[archidraca]

All of this is so cool!!

Glad to hear things are going better.

[Ionn]

So wonderful to hear you're finally having success!   

The instruction pages look very clean & understandable, even to my cold medicine-addled brain. Grand job all around!

[WhiteHeather]

Hooray! I'm so glad to hear that things are working now

[shintoji]

ive been stalking this thread just because i didnt know what to say, but this is AMAZING!! absolutely amazing work all around, i cant wait to see it all finished!!!

[SoaringSentinel]

All of your encouragement and support is really touching. thank you, I needed it

During my downtime when i can't work on casting or making more molds I've started on cadence.

As I've mentioned earlier in the thread my Cadence figure will basically be the same figure as Luna but with a different paint job and new feet, new regalia, new head, new thighs (the cutie mark is molded into the thigh) and a new tail. Progress on cadence will be slow since i only work on her when i can't cast Luna parts and When Luna is done and ready to ship (a moment which is fortunately fast approaching) I'll make a new thread specifically for cadence. But until that time I'll be posting some previews in this thread. So I won't be managing two threads for incomplete projects.

In other news I've found out that Paint brushes and me don't mix very well. I managed to mutilate one of my successful Luna heads with paint. so i'm investing in an airbrush. My objective with this project is two fold. I want to learn new skills (in this case Silicone molding and resin casting) and i want to deliver a professional quality project. That I myself would be proud of. While i am already incredibly proud of what i've made so far, a lick of poorly applied paint can really destroy a project like this. so instead i'm going to do it properly.

Also one final thing. On the order page on my deviantart I said that the Figure would be cast in blue dyed resin. now the dye I'm using is reacting badly with my casts so instead I have to cast the figure in white. This will mostly affect the people who ordered the kit version, but I figured I'd let you guys know.

[WhiteHeather]

I can't wait to see work on Cadance! Assuming I can afford her when you start sales, I'll definitely buy one from you Still crossing my fingers that you'll want to do a Rarity at some point though 

[Galactica]

All of your encouragement and support is really touching. thank you, I needed it

During my downtime when i can't work on casting or making more molds I've started on cadence.

As I've mentioned earlier in the thread my Cadence figure will basically be the same figure as Luna but with a different paint job and new feet, new regalia, new head, new thighs (the cutie mark is molded into the thigh) and a new tail. Progress on cadence will be slow since i only work on her when i can't cast Luna parts and When Luna is done and ready to ship (a moment which is fortunately fast approaching) I'll make a new thread specifically for cadence. But until that time I'll be posting some previews in this thread. So I won't be managing two threads for incomplete projects.

In other news I've found out that Paint brushes and me don't mix very well. I managed to mutilate one of my successful Luna heads with paint. so i'm investing in an airbrush. My objective with this project is two fold. I want to learn new skills (in this case Silicone molding and resin casting) and i want to deliver a professional quality project. That I myself would be proud of. While i am already incredibly proud of what i've made so far, a lick of poorly applied paint can really destroy a project like this. so instead i'm going to do it properly.

Also one final thing. On the order page on my deviantart I said that the Figure would be cast in blue dyed resin. now the dye I'm using is reacting badly with my casts so instead I have to cast the figure in white. This will mostly affect the people who ordered the kit version, but I figured I'd let you guys know.

Oh that makes sense somehow.

And yeah, having an airbrush is awesome, and painting goes SO FAST and looks really great- but the set-up is a real pain, the parts (especially compressor) is rather expensive, and clean-up is a pain too (one false move or lazy failure to clean out something- and you can ruin very expensive parts)

[SoaringSentinel]

I'm getting a fairly modest compressor that was recommended to me by a friend and an Iwata Eclipse HP-CS airbrush. Since I'm investing I might as well get a good one. in this case the airbrush is more expensive than the compressor. But he's has his eclipse for nearly 10 years and still uses it so I figure it'll be a safe purchase

But it's really necessary I tried painting with a brush and there were ugly brush strokes everywhere. even after multiple coats. in many places the paint was on too thick, it just wasn't very pretty and I'd be embarrassed to put so much effort into making the figure itself only to have it ruined by my inability to use brushes.

[Galactica]

I'm getting a fairly modest compressor that was recommended to me by a friend and an Iwata Eclipse HP-CS airbrush. Since I'm investing I might as well get a good one. in this case the airbrush is more expensive than the compressor. But he's has his eclipse for nearly 10 years and still uses it so I figure it'll be a safe purchase

But it's really necessary I tried painting with a brush and there were ugly brush strokes everywhere. even after multiple coats. in many places the paint was on too thick, it just wasn't very pretty and I'd be embarrassed to put so much effort into making the figure itself only to have it ruined by my inability to use brushes.

Yeah- I do know what you mean. Plust it takes SOOOO long and many coats to make a painted figure look nice-  with an airbrush, just a few careful sweeps, and maybe an extra layer or two.

[CoonhoundBetty]

I love the change in the tone of your writing  You can really hear the optimism come back, see that you're not quite as frustrated! You are very inspiring.

[True]

o___o if ponies looked like this id have to collect them again! This looks amazing so far! Cant wait to see her all put together!

eta: When I posted, I didnt realize this topic was 9 pages long, went back and looked through it all. SO COOL! Seeing the process for all this! This is beyond awesome xD

[Ionn]

New skills FTW! Getting smooth, even coats with brushes takes a lot of patience, practice, & experimentation. Making white behave still stymies me most of the time!

On the blue dye: I wondered about that when I saw your pics of the cast blanks. Guess I better get my grumpy ol' airbrush fighting fit again...they can be a persnickety pain during setup but once you've everything just so painting with an airbrush is fantastic!

I can't wait to see Lunas come together for you as you put all these new pieces together, so to speak.

[SoaringSentinel]

Phase one of my paint setup is complete

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


Also 3 molds are currently curing with the final 2 being poured hopefully tonight