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Princess Luna Action figure (fully articulated)


SoaringSentinel

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While i'm waiting for the casting supplies I went ahead to start on the assembly instructions for the kit version of the figure.

 

I'm still going to add dotted lines page numbers etc. These instructions will be printed and send along with the kit version of the figure and will also be posted online on my deviantart account for those who get the completed figure and want customize it or something :P

 

GwkaglK.png

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(edited)

 

Did you do this in autocad, or solidworks?

 

I made it with Autodesk Maya. I don't like using CAD software. I prefer polygon modeling art programs.


 
This price hurts me. A lot.

 

I tried to get the price down as low as possible. but sometimes material costs for a figure this size just prevent me from going any lower

Edited by SoaringSentinel
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This price hurts me. A lot.

 

It's all custom-made and quite intricate. It's actually not too bad of a price, especially considering the amount of work it takes to design something like this, as well as the time and cost of the equipment to put it into production. Not to mention he's going to want to make a profit off of this as well.

 

And this does take a lot of time. 

 

I made a model to have printed that was nearly as complex as his (in details rather than in the number of moving parts.). It took over 80 hours of work over three months and six redesigns to make it printable and durable while still being accurate.

 

So if you want quality goods to be designed and fabricated by a single person, don't expect it to come cheap.

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It's all custom-made and quite intricate. It's actually not too bad of a price, especially considering the amount of work it takes to design something like this, as well as the time and cost of the equipment to put it into production. Not to mention he's going to want to make a profit off of this as well.

 

And this does take a lot of time. 

 

I made a model to have printed that was nearly as complex as his (in details rather than in the number of moving parts.). It took over 80 hours of work over three months and six redesigns to make it printable and durable while still being accurate.

 

So if you want quality goods to be designed and fabricated by a single person, don't expect it to come cheap.

 

All of this is true :) and to be honest it has been a lot more work and a lot more money than i wwas expecting. but my main goal is not to get rich off this just enoegh to cover the expenses for My next figure and get some better equipment.

 

This is amazing. I'd like to see her sister done. Maybe open a commission shop for people's characters.  

 

Once Luna is done, I'm going to do cadence, mostly because Cadence is just low hanging fruit since she has almost exactly the same bodyshape as Luna save for her head, mane, tail. regalia and hooves. so i would be able to make cadence fairly quickly. but after that i'm moving onto sun butt. Which will require a 100% new sculpt. And Celestia will be made too scale with Luna and Cadence so that means she will stand close to 13 inches tall to the top of the horn and i don't even wanna think about how long she'll be with that huge mane and tail. It's going to be fun though :) once sun butt is done I hope to do twilight and complete the princess set. I hope to have Celestia ready for print by the time season 5 starts though. but seeing the number of delays luna has seen so far i'm not getting my hopes up.

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All of this is true :) and to be honest it has been a lot more work and a lot more money than i wwas expecting. but my main goal is not to get rich off this just enoegh to cover the expenses for My next figure and get some better equipment.

 

 

Once Luna is done, I'm going to do cadence, mostly because Cadence is just low hanging fruit since she has almost exactly the same bodyshape as Luna save for her head, mane, tail. regalia and hooves. so i would be able to make cadence fairly quickly. but after that i'm moving onto sun butt. Which will require a 100% new sculpt. And Celestia will be made too scale with Luna and Cadence so that means she will stand close to 13 inches tall to the top of the horn and i don't even wanna think about how long she'll be with that huge mane and tail. It's going to be fun though :) once sun butt is done I hope to do twilight and complete the princess set. I hope to have Celestia ready for print by the time season 5 starts though. but seeing the number of delays luna has seen so far i'm not getting my hopes up.

 

I tried to make a little money by selling my models before I started working. I knew it would never be super lucrative, but I was disappointed that I put in a lot of effort for not much financial return (although I learned a good deal more about the software). You see these auctions and commissions for super expensive plushes and other things, and you think you can get a slice of that, and then end up getting lowballed on eBay for barely more than the cost of the material. I guess it didn't help that I didn't really know how to make my work known, outside of getting featured on EqD custom compilations.

 

Not that I'm saying your experience will be like that. I could only do objects/accessories like Pinkie's party cannon.  All of my drafting/modeling experience is in machines, so organic things are extremely difficult for me. You've got models of the actual characters, so you've got a much wider audience, and the Princesses are a great place to start. I may have to keep an eye on how Celestia progresses, myself.

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Sun butt? Which one? Celestia or Sunset? Sunset has a sun mark too. You make it sound like Sunset is after Celestia. Also isn't Cadence part of the princesses?

 

I still think you can make at least a nice income on making people's custom characters. I can say I'd order Lektra.

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Sun butt? Which one? Celestia or Sunset? Sunset has a sun mark too. You make it sound like Sunset is after Celestia. Also isn't Cadence part of the princesses?

 

I still think you can make at least a nice income on making people's custom characters. I can say I'd order Lektra.

 

By Sunbutt i mean Celestia. Sunset shimmer is not even on the radar for now. and yes cadence is a princess hence why i said i'm completing the princess set first. so first Luna then cadence then Celestia and lastly twilight.

 

The trouble with making custom characters is I don't think people would pay the rates i'd have to ask for custom ponies. And since i have no interest in owning a figure of someone else's OC there's no personal investment for me. You see the way these are made i'd have to make a new head and tail for each figure. The Luna heads are around 70 dollars a piece not counting the labor to prep them for casting. by making copies of them using resin i can split those costs but seeing as these are people's OC's i doubt there will be a demand for more than 1 of each. So I'd have to ask more for a custom figure than for luna. You're looking at like 300 to 400 dollars minimum per custom figure. even more if you'd want an alicorn sized figure. So at least for now i'm sticking with the show ponies and maybe if my figures are still populair enoegh after i've made the mane six i can start doing some custom work but that's a year away at minimum. if it does ever happan. 

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I know what you mean about not wanting to own a copy of someone else's character.

 

For a fully posable figure of my character I could probably pay that much. I did spend 368 on a Con ticket recently. 400 would be the max I'd ever pay for this, but it sounds within my price range. Almost over, but it's in there. I'd still prefer 300 plus shipping, but I understand why the price would be so high. I might want to buy a Twilight from you once you start doing those. Maybe Celestia too.

 

Maybe I'm being too ambitious, but I really think once you get the process down to where only the manes/tails/wings are custom, you should think about a commission shop here on the forums.

 

Making Lektra with her robot in backpack mode might be a bit of a challenge though, especially since I'd want it removable.

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I tried to make a little money by selling my models before I started working. I knew it would never be super lucrative, but I was disappointed that I put in a lot of effort for not much financial return (although I learned a good deal more about the software). You see these auctions and commissions for super expensive plushes and other things, and you think you can get a slice of that, and then end up getting lowballed on eBay for barely more than the cost of the material. I guess it didn't help that I didn't really know how to make my work known, outside of getting featured on EqD custom compilations.

 

Not that I'm saying your experience will be like that. I could only do objects/accessories like Pinkie's party cannon.  All of my drafting/modeling experience is in machines, so organic things are extremely difficult for me. You've got models of the actual characters, so you've got a much wider audience, and the Princesses are a great place to start. I may have to keep an eye on how Celestia progresses, myself.

 

I've tried my hand at making plushies but it wasn't as much fun for me as I had hoped. so it never went anywhere. You can check out my progress on that here if you want: http://mlpforums.com/topic/53047-my-first-plushie-princess-luna/

 

The thing I try to do when starting a new project is. Take a subject I'm passionate about. I look at what other artists are doing. and then make something that I think people would be interested in and something that I would want to own myself (even if you don't intend to sell it) and try to make it at least as good as what some the best fan artists out there are doing. Then if you can, try to surpass those. Even if you project falls short of your goal or expectations you'll at least have learned some new skills. 

 

For my Luna figure i'm doing something that at least to my knowledge no one else has done or at least has done to this level of detail and mechanics. It helps keep me motivated knowing that i'm doing something unique.

 

As for selling, If you want to make something that people will take notice of and would want to buy. Make something you want to own yourself first. then figure out how to make copies or how to best sell it later. If you don't want to own what you're making then why would someone else (I know this isn't always true but that's how i think about it)

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Well after much delay i finally have the shipping confirmation that I'll have all of the supplies i need tomorrow... 

I apologize to everyone eagerly awaiting the final result and your pre-ordered figure. Looks like i'm going to be making the molds this weekend (the clay I got for the two part molds didn't work so I had to get different clay which is coming along with the rest of the supplies) 

and then hopefully i'll have something cool to show you by the end of next week. I'm going to try and finish the instruction booklet for the Kit version of Luna tonight so expect an update on that tomorrow.

 

Fast approaching the finish line now :)

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(edited)
All of the Casting supplies are in and i'm going to start with the molds tomorrow :)
 
Also yesterday I promised an update on the Instruction booklet. Sadly i only managed to finish the first page. in anycase here it is.
I'll try to finish the rest when the molds are curing.
 
cUzw9IJ.png

getting ready to pour the first test mold :)

 

uT6ZFXG.jpg


And now we wait and see if i mucked anything up :P

 

fUJjPM0.jpg

Edited by SoaringSentinel
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My first ever silicone mold is done :) and so far it looks like a success!

 

Next mold will be poured tomorrow. nearly have the clay bed ready for that. if all goes according to plan i'll be ready to start casting next weekend

 

Df80GBA.jpg

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
Well sadly things are not going well. with this being my first attempt at casting anything there were bound to be problems. 

And there have been. I've made some mistakes I didn't buy enough silicone to account for those mistakes. Air bubbles in the casts out the wazoo, if it could be a problem for an inexperienced caster then it happened to this project :P live and learn I suppose.

 

I had hopes to have a completed figure by now but both the mistakes in the molds and some personal stuff have prevented that from happening.

 

This is also exactly why I didn't want to take anyone's money for a figure upfront. delays are bound to happen and so they have. don't worry the list still stands and once I finally get this casting business down I'll be contacting you all in order.

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  • 1 month later...
I'm not dead! 

 

I've finally managed to get good casts! the trick? Rotate the molds constantly while the resin is curing. (so borderline rotocast)

I'm getting a near 100% success rate with negligible air bubbles, even on the molds with tiny parts.

 

That said i am still missing 4 molds and i have to remake the molds for the feet. since that mold was just not salvageable.

I've got more silicone on the way (my third 10 lbs bucket) so the rest should be ready next week! Motivation is back with a vengeance

 

Here's a set of completed sprue's 

 

59M79na.jpg

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