Project : Magic Tome

A couple of months back I attended a mini overseas doll event at a neighboring country, there I collected a number of books (or you can call them "Magic Tomes") that a local crafter made and it really opened my mind to doing other props besides the weaponry related stuff.

After returning from the event, I went on to do some research online on actual bookmaking methods and came up with the following project.

Here we have from left to right, the original commissioned work, the first prototype followed by an improved version. Somehow I am still unable to recreate the feel that the original carry.

This is how the book look on the inside. Right now it is still full of blank pages as I have not thought out what "content" I want the book to have. Mind you, the original has pages of occult-ish drawings and I hope to achieve that level in my next few tries.

The book is thread-bounded and can withstand a good amount of handling without breaking apart. I must say thread binding a book by hand has a certain charm to it.

Last but not least, the sizing. Here we have my girl Shia, a MSD, holding it.

Overall it has been a really enjoyable project and it has been a while that I managed to finish a prop in a few days and with minimum material.

Thank you for reading !

Commission : Straight-bladed katana (Dolfie Dream)

My first commission for a Volks Dolfie Dream (DD), this project had been a series of new discoveries for me. I need to thank my client who had been really patient with me and allowing me to work my magic with the prop.

The usual work methods aside, the paint job for this project is possibly the hardest I have encountered to date. Many a times I need to seek guidance with my mentors in order to complete it. As I have mentioned in my previous post, my airbrush had been damaged and sent in for repairs. The damage was worse after assessment, a bent pin and a cracked nozzle with overall blockage in the airbrush due to my bad maintenance. It is a miracle it managed to work thru all these and get the job done.

Let us get on with the gallery before I move on to explaining the method involved in doing this project.

The katana in its entirety, it stands at roughly 47cm. Yes, the blade is taller than Shia and still holds enough strength and weight balance for posing.

Here is another shot of it from a different angle.

The clear red blade which I am particularly proud of and the biggest challenge to this project. In order to achieve this degree of finish, the surface underwent sanding up to grade 2000 sandpaper before finishing off with polishing compound. Due to my workmanship, the surface is still not up to mark and flaws can still be seen. This is the main problem I faced when applying chrome as it is very unforgiving to mistakes. The entire paint process consists of applying chrome, clear red, UV gloss and wax in that order. The surface is then polished again to give it a shine.
 

The grip and binding, customized with color requirement and bind with a traditional pattern, is done with a new method that will be stronger and better in form for SD/DD sized dolls to hold.

Thank you for viewing !
Comments and feedback are welcome !

Paintjob : Horns / Random shots : Devilish sisters

Just some time back, I bought some resin unicorn horns off a local seller in my area. When they arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to find them smaller than imagined. Breaking out my airbrush, I coloured them and "converted" them into a pair of horns for my smallest girl, Shika.

This is how the horns looked like before they were painted.

 

Above are 2 pictures of the painted horns. I painted the pair of smaller ones completely black and did some light reddish shading on the longer one. Turned out it's not that obvious in photos.

Sadly by the time the painting was complete, my airbrush needle was discovered to be damaged when I was cleaning it and now need repairs. A most unfortunate turn of events.

Meanwhile, enjoy this series of random shots which I named "The devilish sisters".

On an unrelated note, this is how Shia's wig looks like now from the back.

I tied up her wig into a ponytail which technically damaged the wig as the fiber is now fixed into a permanent styling.

I welcome feedback and comments and thank you once again for viewing !

Random shots : A different kind of feel

Here I am back again with another random shots post for Shia, my MSD girl, with her starter weapon the buster sword. The prop is almost 3 years old but it never fails to amaze me with the effects it can still continue to project.

I have to apologise for the lack of updates over the past few months. The Japanese N3 exam that happened last year end and renovations for my new home has taken up a big chunk of my attention and time.

Please enjoy the following 2 shots !

I particularly like how the way the light bounces off the blade edge giving it a soft glowing effect.

A usual close-up shot, trying out for a different angle but doesn't seem to be able to capture what I had in mind...

Thank you for viewing !

Commission work : BRS katana (Kaito ver)

A commission work for a Singapore doll owner, this prop is modeled after the popular Black Rock Shooter series. However it is not for the usual female character but for the male Kaito variant instead.

Possibly the 1st SD-sized prop I have ever created and having no SD of my own to gauge and measure, a lot of it is done purely on numbers alone. Now... would this give me a perfect excuse to get a SD doll ? Haha.

As this is a commission work, I will not touch much on the WIP process.

Please enjoy the following gallery !

A little WIP section here

The katana (in pieces)

The katana and scabbard before painting

Thank you for viewing !
Feedback and comments welcomed.

Project : Original Variant - Raising Heart Force Halberd form (Further WIP+Mistake)

Everybody has their fair share of hit or miss, in this post I will be showing a mistake I made and how I improvise the prop on the mistake. I will also be touching a bit on how I glue the base shape together.

Here we go !

A simple enough process, I personally find sticking pieces of gunpla strips together is one of the harder things to do. While other mistakes could be easily rectify via sanding or using compound putty to cover over, the mistake of sticking gunpla strips pressured unevenly together and causing it to wrap sideways is almost impossible to recover from. After experimenting with various ways to maintain constant pressure during the process, the above picture is my way of doing it. I'm not sure if it is documented anywhere but hey, if it works I'm going to keep using it till I come across a better way.

The result of oversanding, I had to cut off the entire section and redo the tip. Mistake made but recoverable. One needs to be flexible and creative in recovering from mistakes rather than redoing the entire project and usually there are ways to do so.

A close up shot of the repaired blade tip compared against a traditional shaped katana tip. My tips are usually shaped in the temper patterns of yakitsume or o-maru as they are the easiest ones to reproduce.

A shot of Shia holding the WIP halberd. Not a great shot but demonstrates the prop potential in poses. 

Thank you for viewing !

Photoshoot : View from the other side (Follow-up post)

A follow up post to the weapons shoot, this set of photos is taken by my wife using her Lumix LX3. While I was preparing for the shoot, she went around taking various snapshots.

Thank you for viewing !

Photoshoot : A showcase of weapons (and much more)

I have long wanted to do a photoshoot to showcase all my props but have put it off due to various reasons. After the creation of my latest prop and requests from fellow owners, I have decided to get off my butt and do this series of shots.

The weather didn't favor me and I am unable to take all of what I had planned in mind before the skies pours down.

Without much ado, please enjoy the following series of pictures !

The only all prop shot I managed to get

The following pictures are for the Force Series weapons.

Close-ups of Shia and her awfully hard to take metallic eyes

Lastly, an omake.

This is what happened when you dropped your DSLR to catch your doll

Thank you for viewing and feel free to leave any comments and feedback.

Project : Original Variant - Raising Heart Force Halberd form (Completed)

The follow-up to the WIP post, this is the gallery post that I showcase the completed prop. In addition, I also did a few shots with the Raising Heart Force Blade form that I have previously posted before. Please enjoy the following series of photos.

Thank you for viewing !