More Work on the Unseen University Model

Still working on the Unseen University model. Today I made one of the two copper spheres that go on top of the High Energy Magic Building. The designer had an absurd number of support pieces that were supposed to go inside; I completely ignored all of that nonsense. I also cut off all the tabs, because the edges butting together will hold with a tiny bit of glue. At this scale, a hollow dome or sphere will hold its own shape pretty well.

Now that I've finished with the Library, and moved on to some of the other buildings, I realized that first building printed far too green for my liking. I'd assumed it was supposed to look mossy, but no. I've been modifying the colors of the other buildings in The Gimp by adjusting the green down about 20%. The walls look more like a brown stone now, but the next buildings won't match the Library at all. Now I'm trying to decide if I should reprint and rebuild the Library to match the other buildings.

Built this while sitting in a coffee house, sipping iced coffee and listening to Radio Periko on the headphones.

I feel this little guy is finished. He turned out to be a bit of a roughneck. The paint job is a bit crude, but I'm using whatever I have at hand -- the drybrushed highlights are actually from a sample jar of indoor/outdoor latex paint, and the grey isn't an ideal color.

At the wife's suggestion, the next two I'm going to attempt are Harvey Pekar and Mr. Boats. I made the armature for Mr. Boats a little too large, so I'll have to re-do him. I'm also experimenting with making the first layer out of liquid Sculpey instead of Primo.

The bus bench is scrap wood and plastic.

The wife made another excellent suggestion: I should sculpt Edith Head. I'll need a good mix of men and women if I'm going to do the citizens of a town.

I'm thinking of how to make figures that will sell to the steampunk crowd -- without resorting to the cliches of that genre. I don't want to have goggles on a top hat, or to sculpt a woman with her corset on the outside of her outfit. On the other hand, I do quite like pith helmets.

Joan's Workshop finally in her layout.

Well, there it is!

My First Garden Railway Figurine

Yesterday, I dove into making garden railway figures. My first effort is, I think, OKAY! Not good, but okay. I'm following the excellent tutorial found on Chris Walas's page.

In progress:

Nearly complete:

His arms are a little skinny and they're not bent properly at the joints, but overall, not bad for my first effort. I completed the sculpting and painted him last night, but I'm really unhappy with my paint job; I rushed it, used a bad color for a wash, and overdid the dry-brushing. I won't post a picture of him until he's repainted.

Unseen University Boat House

Still plugging away at the Unseen University model. Built this today.