Customizing a Vampire/Phil Noto Jubilee Funko Pop Figure - WIP

[UnicornPegasus]

I just tried my hand at my first sculpt of any kind. It's a blank Funko Pop modded into the Phil Noto designed/Vampire Jubilee!

Phase 1 is in Milliput, and I have to say I hate working with it so far. It was hard and started crumbling about an hour into working with it. It made smoothing it out very difficult, and fine detail was impossible as it was sticking to my skin and the metal carving tools more than the figure itself. Trying water or 91% alcohol (I have 99% ordered and will be here next week) just made it even more of a sticky mess.

Tomorrow will be Phase 2: hair, beefing up the trench coat in a few of the thinner areas, and trying to smooth out/refind a few of the areas I'm unhappy with before sanding time. I'll be testing out the Aves Sculpt I got for all of that, so I can compare their performances.

This project is leading into a bigger Jubilee kit I'll be modding, but this Funko is a chance to try out all my new toys (epoxies, carving tools, dremel bits, paints, etc.)

Blank DIY Funko Pop Female Figure:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31W-hydY9XL._SY355_.jpg

Crude photoshopped concept (I'm terrible using a track pad for PS stuff):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/unicornpegasus/Screen%20Shot%202015-09-22%20at%205.14.14%20PM_zpsfbfsuwta.png

Phase 1:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/unicornpegasus/IMG_6321_zps3xht8pao.jpeg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/unicornpegasus/IMG_6434_zpsiuiuzjlz.jpeg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/unicornpegasus/IMG_9299_zpsqh1qg9rq.jpeg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/unicornpegasus/IMG_5782_zps6oamgbex.jpeg

If I don't hate how this one turns out, I want to do these too!

Classic-ish Jubilee:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/unicornpegasus/Screen%20Shot%202015-09-22%20at%205.14.38%20PM_zpsi1wowngd.png

Generation X Jubilee:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/unicornpegasus/Screen%20Shot%202015-09-22%20at%205.14.46%20PM_zpszm9yknxk.png


I'm sure you can see a theme.

Any tips or constructive criticisms are welcome! I'm new at this and can use all the help I can get. :)

[SONICobra]

awesome stuff, im looking forward to seeing more :thumbs2:

couple suggestions as youre just starting out:

im not familiar with the material youre using but I prefer to work with aves and use safety solvent to smooth it out. I don't stress over getting it to look exactly how I want it before it sets. I get the general shape I want and fine tune it / add details when im sanding

my main tools are xacto knife, needle file set and sand paper. I use q-tips dipped in safety solvent to help me sculpt when the aves is still workable

don't try to add too many details at once, build in layers. get one thing the way you want it, finish sand it then add additional details on top of that

anyway those are just some things ive picked up, good luck and have fun. these seem like a great project :buttrock:

[UnicornPegasus]

awesome stuff, im looking forward to seeing more :thumbs2:

couple suggestions as youre just starting out:

im not familiar with the material youre using but I prefer to work with aves and use safety solvent to smooth it out. I don't stress over getting it to look exactly how I want it before it sets. I get the general shape I want and fine tune it / add details when im sanding

my main tools are xacto knife, needle file set and sand paper. I use q-tips dipped in safety solvent to help me sculpt when the aves is still workable

don't try to add too many details at once, build in layers. get one thing the way you want it, finish sand it then add additional details on top of that

anyway those are just some things ive picked up, good luck and have fun. these seem like a great project :buttrock:

I need to try the safety solvent. I had read that it's just 99% alcohol but I've see videos of how it interacted with the aves and I don't think it's exactly the same. Live and learn!

I figured I'd end up with lots of sanding in the end to get the product I want, so I'm fully prepared for that. And I tried to plan stuff out, but I failed miserably. I'd end up having to hold her by the sections that I had just added and it was a pain. I re-did her earrings three times because I kept taking them out with my less than deft hands.

I need to learn patience and work in layers. I struggle with that most of all.

Thanks so much for the tips! :D

EDIT - Phase 2!

Here's the hair and some refinements, I just sanded her too but don't have pics of that, since it's not too different than these. Primer will come later today or tomorrow. Then on to my first time painting anything 3D. Whee!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/unicornpegasus/IMG_1244_zps8m4yxy3f.jpeg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/unicornpegasus/IMG_5265_zpsul3ukryq.jpeg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/unicornpegasus/IMG_5453_zpseawn81ez.jpeg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/unicornpegasus/IMG_4518_zpsqz6ofqvv.jpeg

I don't hate it, yay!

[SONICobra]

outstanding! shes really starting to take shape and looks exactly like your photoshop. are you going to paint it yourself as well?

[UnicornPegasus]

outstanding! shes really starting to take shape and looks exactly like your photoshop. are you going to paint it yourself as well?

Thanks, and yes. As soon as the aves is fully cured I'll prime her up and try my hand at painting. If that goes well, I may make the other two versions as well. We'll see. This is also practice for a custom Jubilee kit I'm working on too.

[UnicornPegasus]

The first stage of painting is done. I was impatient, as always with the sanding stage, so I could have smoothed it out a lot better. I'll try and be better about that in future. I also learned no career in surgery lies in my future. My hands are NOT steady for fine detail in painting.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/unicornpegasus/Jubilee-Funko-Paint-Phase-1_zpsbu4fmlxq.jpg

[UnicornPegasus]

And she is done. The gloss topcoat started peeling off the black paint from her hair and it's as glossy as the paint was plain, so I'm not thrilled about that. I had to patch up the black before putting her on display. But here she is:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/unicornpegasus/Funko-Jubes-on-Shelf_zpsd5mh5sv1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/unicornpegasus/Jubilee-Funko-Final_zps5hxwm675.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/unicornpegasus/Jubilee-Shrine-with-Funko_zpsbs12lcme.jpg

[dechirico7]

awesome.great job!

[SONICobra]

and so it begins... hopefully this will be the first of many customs to come for you, she turned out great!

[UnicornPegasus]

and so it begins... hopefully this will be the first of many customs to come for you, she turned out great!

Thanks. :)

Oh, don't I know it! I already ordered two more Female DIY Funkos and one Male for my husband (to make him a Metal Gear Solid Snake) from Amazon. They'll be here Thursday. As if I needed another addiction.

[Griffon]

Great custom work U.P.

[UnicornPegasus]

Thanks! I have two more blanks in hand, and I'm going to work on them as soon as I finish the bigger kit I'm working on. Woot!