Baked Goods

Depression stronger today.  Since I began posting here again, I have had no dreams at all of any kind of reaction from Dana to anything I've said, barring the one of she and I at her work together and her telling someone that, yes, I'm a friend.  That feeling is gone.  No reaction to anything?   Can anything reach her?

1/12th figure.  Well, the disc of 1mm sheet is imperfect but I can use that to cut the paving stones and place them on a 2mm disc of the same size.  Thicker plastic should be easier to sand into a more perfect shape, and it won't be wasting the first disc.
 
The staff's headpiece is drying now.  The original is a bit of sheet metal crudely cut and welded, so I cut the same shape in .020" styrene and bent it with tweezers.  Using the wire from the Chinese food carton, I added a short lenght of styrene tube at the top of a measured length.  The wire was too thick for the tubing, which is perfect: split the tube and squeeze it wider, then it grips the wire and stays in place on its own.  I glued the base of the headpiece to the tubing using Plastruct Bondene.  To add texture to the flat plastic sheet, I used a toothpick to glop a little Testors tube glue.  When it dried, I melded the tube and the sheet headpiece together with Squadron Green putty then smoothed it out by brushing on the Bondene.  That's curing now.  In a few hours I can build up the base of the staff with Milliput.  After that it's a matter of painting it. 

The staff still needs a hand to grip it.  I've never attempted a hand before.  I'm preparing one now, not sure if I'll do the left or right first...the left will be easier, as it's in an open gesture and not having to grip anything.  I only want to do one for now, to make sure this approach will work.  I've assembled a crude skeletal hand using floral wire coated with Mod Podge in hopes Sculpey will stick to it.   This would be so much easier in a larger scale, but then smaller scales are more  forgiving of crude detailing.

The head on the armature is ready for Milliput, the smoother variety I haven't bought yet.  I think I'll try a separate head in Sculpey.  If it looks good, I'll swap heads.



Not terrible for a first attempt. I hope I will be able to trim or file the clunkiness out of the fingers, and it will have to be smoothed out with putty in spots.  I won't know how much more is needed until I hit it with gray primer.  Best I do that before attaching it to the arm.  The hardest part is the positioning of the fingers, once the clay is on you can't bend the fingers without flattening out the tube of the finger.  Not looking forward to doing the right hand with fingers curled around a walking stick.

I baked the seated figure for Jesseca without finishing the arms, but building up shoulders and indicating the collar.  Once it cools I'll try to figure out repositioning the upper torso.  Having been baked, the collar and jewelry will almost have to be Milliput.  Ehm...same with the arms, I suppose.  Maybe the next question is whether or not I'm satisfied with the details scribed into the gown or whether to do them over in Milliput as well.