Custom Pop Figure Tutorial, pt. 3

How I turned the Chosen One into the Multiverse Saving Bad Wolf

The first part of my Pop mod tutorial was about picking a Pop to mod and getting her prepped. The second part was about getting the basic painting done.

Step 3: Details . . .

Remember, I said I had a plan for the bits of Emma that didn’t match Rose. This is where they come in. Emma has a sheriff badge that is molded into her hip and a necklace around her neck (and I had no desire to try to carve either out, or try to paint over and ignore the weird 3D lines), so I had to find a way to work them into the character for Rose.

Now the necklace was easy. I just painted it silver to match the TARDIS key she wore around her neck (it was originally on a keychain, but was worn as a necklace during her season with the Tenth Doctor). Then clean up the edges with the same paint I used on the hand (under the chin, the color contrast is even less visible).

The badge became one of the Dimension Cannon jump disks (how she and a couple of other characters made it to the Doctor from the parallel dimension). 

Still, relatively easy: metallic silver base, dark yellow center, silver v-shaped arm and a gold button in the very middle. And yet, this step was an almost catastrophic failure.

I went against the advice of other modders and used a tiny drop of gold enamel paint for the center button. I thought that because it was on a layer of acrylic paint, I wouldn’t have the same problems (the paint refusing to dry, issues with it running with the top coat).

I was so wrong.

That tiny little dot of gold only partially dried, and when the top coat hit it, not only did it run . . . it spattered.

I caught it quick, and was able to limit the damage, but still ended up repainting a portion of the jacket, pants and the entirety of the dimension cannon.

This time, I sealed it and then added the button in metallic copper sharpie.

Not too bad, if I say so myself . . .

Final step: glue the head back on. I used E600 (because it was handy, and I can’t find my superglue). It worked ok, but I think I’d prefer less work time for the body to shift. So, next time . . . superglue.

I still need to make her gun (I will likely have to sculpt it out of clay, I may cobble one together and then mold it and cast it in resin, it will really depend on what I find), and the strap for over her shoulder, but for now Dimension Hopping Rose is finished. 

And here she is with my Mini Tenth Doctor (he was a keychain, I just unscrewed the eyehook from the top of his head).

I do have plans to make a Meta-Crisis Tenth Doctor to go with her, but finding a Pop who wears a suit with a t-shirt underneath (without ammo pouches or weird straps) has been difficult. 

As of right now, the closest I’ve seen is Bill from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, but the hair is all wrong. I’d prefer not have to buy another head, but I’m also not thrilled with having to sculpt his hair, so . . .

Until then, this will have to do.

I promise that the next things won’t be Doctor Who related (probably). I have two steampunk nerf gun mods that I’ve been waiting to share, as well as some cosplay stuff coming up (including a possible trip to WonderCon). So, unless I have a fanfic bite me and not let go, I should be on to other topics.

Custom Pop Figure Tutorial, pt. 2

How I turned the Chosen One into the Multiverse Saving Bad Wolf

Alright, so my last post  was about picking a Pop to mod and getting her prepped.  This is what I started with:

Step 2: Paint!

So, following the advice from Funkmeister I purchased inexpensive acrylic paints at one of my local craft stores. 

I’m pretty sure any of the brands would have worked just fine, but I ended up with a variety of colors in the Folkart Multi-Surface line. I also had a few colors of acrylic paint from my Testor hobby paints, and a sharpie for one tiny detail after it was sealed.

I started with the head. I decided to get a yellow-er blonde for Rose, as the Pop version tends to be a very pale, almost white blonde). The hair was actually the bare vinyl, so it ended up needing at least 4 coats to cover completely. With acrylics, it’s really easy to brush it onto thick and obscure small details, so build up thin layers instead of glopping it on thick. (Pro Tip: acrylic paint can be thinned with water, but add it drop at a time to get the best results.) 

This is where good brushes will save your sanity. Expect the coats to go on with some brush strokes. You can come back and smooth them to a point, but if you’re having too much trouble, brush them in the direction of the strands of hair. I only had visible brushstrokes on the bare vinyl.

Here’s the color difference with just half of my initial coat put on:

After I got the hair finished, I used a detail brush (size 000, I think) to paint the eyebrows darker (Miss Tyler has never been shy about being a bottle blonde), filling in the lighter ones already there (dry cotton swabs or brushes with a little water make for much easier mistake fixes). 

I then watered down a small amount of the brown paint to make a wash and dripped a small line of it along the middle part and hairline, to give Rose some exposed roots. After that dried, I came back with more of the yellow and cleaned up the edges, so only a hint of roots were showing.

Here’s the head (I sealed it with a clear Matte finish top coat):

Now, onto the body. I painted her boots and pants black (which I thinned, it was ridiculously thick to start with) and they ended up only needing one coat. Her jacket is a specific shade of dark blue with plum undertones, and I was able to mix deep maroon and midnight blue to get the right shade.

Remember, paint tends to dry darker, so if you aren’t sure about your color match, let a tiny dot air dry before committing to the whole area. This is also the time to be thrifty when mixing paint. Acrylic paint goes a lot farther than it looks like it will and a small change in color between batches can be really visible once it’s dry.

I also mixed the dark maroon with an off white/ cream to make Rose’s fuchsia shirt. I also repainted the areas of the hand where I had removed the sword (the paint I had was not quite a match for the original skin tone, but this hand is going to hold Rose’s BFG so it won’t be very visible.

Next time . . . Details and Finishing Touches

Custom Pop Figure Tutorial, pt. 1

 How I turned the Chosen One into the Multiverse Saving Bad Wolf

Ok, so I have so many craft tutorials waiting for you guys (I’ve had two waiting for me to write them up for over a year), but this project has been in the works for even longer and I finally got it to the point I can share it.

You’ve probably seen the Funko Pop Vinyl figures at stores that sell character merchandise (Target, Wal-Mart, Hot Topic, Box Lunch, Think Geek, etc).

I love them. Hunny and I have been collecting them separately for the last few years (hers live safely at her office at work, mine have only recently been put out for display) and Funko doesn’t make every character I’d like them to. 

Which character, you ask? This one:

That, for those of you who are not Whovians (fans of Doctor Who) is Rose Tyler, specifically the Rose Tyler who found a way back to the Tenth Doctor after being stranded in a parallel dimension. She saves the multi-verse and deserves an updated Pop (the Funko version of her is from the first season of the re-boot, with the Ninth Doctor).

So, since her outfit is entirely different from the outfit on her Pop, I had to find a Pop that would be similar enough to be the base without needing too much more than repainting. And luckily I was able to find an Emma Swan (from Once Upon A Time) the very next time I went to Target.

Leather jacket over exposed long t-shirt with pants and boots? Check.

Hair that is close enough to the source image? Check.

Molded on sheriff badge and necklaces? I have a plan to work those in.

Sword? I can remove that. Big, ginormous gun? Nope. 

I’m gonna have to make that one . . .

She’ll do.

I’m home with a respiratory infection, so  . . . Craft Time!

I had already taken my source images (screenshots found on google) to get paints.

I stumbled upon Funkmiester’s Q&A page  which gave great advice for how to mod (modify) Pops, what kinds of paints/ brushes to use, how to disassemble them safely (good if you need to use a different head, or for ease in painting) and other tips and tricks to make customizing easier and more successful.

Step 1: Prepping Emma

I started by trying to remove the existing paint with nail polish remover. It didn’t remove anything. It may have re-toothed the surface (made it less even so paint sticks better), but you can probably skip this step.

I then put her in hot water (not boiling, but close) in a pot on the stove. The hot water helps release the adhesive and makes it easier to remove the head without tearing the vinyl. I kept her in for a few minutes (at a medium heat setting) and was able to get her head off pretty cleanly. I was hoping to remove her arms too (for ease in painting) but it was taking longer than I wanted (I wanted to be done painting before the kids got home from school) so I left them on.

I dried off both pieces, cut off the sword with my jewelry snips (if you have one available, an exacto blade cuts cleaner), and got ready to paint.    

Next time . . . Paint!