DAVE SIM:
I've added some comments on the statue to the COMMENTS section of George and Dan's post for September 12 now that I've actually handled the prototype and had it around for a few days.
And now! GUSTAVE DORE IN HELL & SEAN ROBINSON UNDER THE GUN!
9 comments:
ADDING DAVE's and my last notes to continue here...
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Blogger Dave Sim said...
Problems (in my opinion) with George and Dan's statue SEEN LIVE:
1) the spike on top of the helmet is too small and too thin. It actually broke most of the way through in transit.
2) I think we're just lucky that the horns on the helmet made it (same reason). All three need to be thicker and more rounded so they don't suffer stress fractures in the mail. And to make it less likely to break if it's dropped or falls off of a shelf (I speak as the custodian of an Off-White House full of little aardvark ears and tails that have lost their owners).
3) Something needs to be done with the ears which, right now, look like articulated action figure ears. They're obviously inserted into their holes and look as if they should move up and down or rotate. Since they don't -- and since this is, theoretically, a statue -- I think they need to be molded as part of the head -- laid back along the scalp like those of an attacking dog.
4) Cerebus is too "svelte". He needs to be pear-shaped. I think the best way to fix this is for me to get some plasticine (or whatever they call plasticine these days) and add it to the figure and shape it. This won't be a priority for me, but the next time I'm near a toy store I will attempt to explain "plasticine" and "modelling clay" to whomever is behind the counter and buy some and pack on some pounds where I think Cerebus needs it.
4) It's extremely light, thinner than the plastic on the old models we used to assemble and paint. If I buy something labeled a statue, I'm picturing something with genuine heft to it. I think you would have to call this a "plastic figure" and show people a cutaway view of how thick the plastic is. I'm not a statue person but if I was buying this for a statue person, the way it looks would persuade me to think about buying it but as soon as I picked it up, I'd go, "Uh, no. It's an action figure that has no points of articulation".
5) There's a weird ripple to the texture of the piece that I don't find appealing. Another one of those "If I picked it up in a store that would be a minus for me".
21 September 2016 at 18:45
DAVE
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great!
I can work with these notes...
except the part of adding fat on Cerebus...
You could take a photo of the statue...
print it out and draw the outside lines on the body to indicate increase in weight...
a lot simpler this way... I think.
and...
the weight of the statue goes directly to the shipping cost... the lighter the statue, the cheaper the shipping cost in the mail.
so far...
GPG
Personally, I'd rather see the "statue" sans helmet. Lose the shield too.
Medallions, sword, and vest. That's all he needs.
I'm not interested in low cost shipping if I'm buying a statue. Heft, I say. HEFT! I shout.
Least that's my preference - good weighty meaty hefty statue.
sorry...
I failed to provide appropiate detail in the first post in this thread...
the heavier the figure...
the more the plastic to make it heavier...
the more the cost of the figure...
the more the cost of shipping...
and we can re-title the "STATUE" to "PLASTIC FIGURINE," or "FIGURINE," if it helps re-orientate people's minds.
GEORGE
Yeah, you can't really call it a statue unless you can bludgeon a guy's head in with it.
It does look cool, at least, even if it isn't the sturdiest.
Hi George - Trust me. If I could draw I would be drawing. :)
It's exactly the problem with the right wrist: placement of line. Also, I think once we're at the three dimensional stage we need to stay at the three dimensional stage. Going back to two-dimensional images to tweak a three-dimensional figure is just going to create more two-dimensional anomalies, I think.
Maybe I need a hobby shop instead of a toy store.
Actually, thinking it over, what I think I need is a "plastic figurine" enthusiast to locate "Cerebus grey" modelling clay of some kind -- online or in person -- and send it to me. Something that can be manipulated and shaped but then hardens solid so I can genuinely sculpt some Cerebus muscles.
Volunteer(s)?
No rush.
al roney - I have to say that I agree with you. The shield seems to me to be "in the way" of viewing the figure. That "Hey! It's REALLY Cerebus!" quality you want from something three dimensional. If I can get grey modelling clay that dries solid (and sticks to plastic) the arm muscles are going to be a major selling point for uncertain buyers. Likewise facial expression, hair, etc.
George - Can you do another figure WITHOUT the sword and the helmet while we're waiting to see if grey modelling clay turns up?
Another note:
1) the teeth need to be inset into the mouth, they're too close to "flush" with the lips.
Bill Ritter - George is right about the fact that the more it weighs the more expensive it's going to be.
George, maybe what you can do is calculate how much more plastic you can add before you push the figure into the next shipping class and then distribute that through the bottom of the feet/lower legs. You're already going to have a "shield's worth" of plastic you can add to the "non-shield" figure.
Another note:
2) the nostrils aren't big enough
Bill Ritter II - We can -- gradually -- move up in weight class IF we can sell enough of the light plastic one to offer a multi-hundred dollar version to people willing to -- literally! -- "pay the freight". We should also be able to auction the "Dave Sim hand-edited" prototype(s) on eBay.
By "gradually" I mean, Phase Two or Three or Four isn't going to be in BRONZE, I don't think.
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