Kostisfire Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 I've always liked roget rabbit.It's easily in my top 10 enjoyable movies.I can't wait to see what you have made! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted December 12, 2012 Author Share Posted December 12, 2012 I think my Jessica Rabbit will be amazing. Some out of the box thinking went into creating the custom. Running some tests now to make sure it'll work the way I want it too. Also making some variant pieces to the figures to reflect pivotal scenes in the movie and possibly some packaging as well. My top 3 80's influences as a kid were: 1. Real Ghostbusters (had all the toys including the firehouse) 2. Roger Rabbit (had all the pvc figures and flexies line from LJN) 3. Back to the Future (watched the VHS tapes until they were destroyed from multiple viewings) DST had GB and BTTF covered- but not Roger Rabbit. Thanks to the Captain America movie along with the release of the universal monsters minimates, I was able to find 1940's era parts and pieces that worked perfectly. Van Helsing makes the perfect Judge Doom with a little tweaks and hat. MAN, I can't wait to work on these.....that apoxie can't get here fast enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted December 13, 2012 Author Share Posted December 13, 2012 Just received my apoxie from Luke along with a couple other mates. Roger Rabbit is being worked on today and tomorrow. Should have them ready to go by middle of next week. In the meantime, I'm looking to complete the holes in my Fantastic Four collection. Since no one has a trenchcoat thing to spare and Kingpin is choking the pegs at both my TRU's I decided to make my own version. I still have to add his rock hands and fedora- along with his classic battle scar helmet to complete the look. Possibly paint the shirt white as well. I've also been gathering several pieces to complete Lyja. She's half finished... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted December 17, 2012 Author Share Posted December 17, 2012 (edited) After 25 years, (1987) I FINALLY found the long lost Benny the Cab action figure and here it is, next to the Delorean to give you an idea of the scale: Apparently, the company LJN stopped producing the toy and only a few were made. I never saw this as a kid until now. I also didn't know that there were two scales in the line- one was flexies (5 inch) and animates (2 inch). Both figures were poor quality- rubber with a thin bendable wire inside used to pose them. I destroyed my roger rabbit not too long after I received it for my 7th birthday- but happily continued playing with it as there were no other figure lines at the time....hence, the want to recreate the line in minimate form. Benny is the perfect fit for minimates and can seat one figure inside (two can fit, but it's an tight squeeze). My plan was to make him entirely out of Apoxie but this saves me the time and effort. I love this toy. More pics to come along with the characters....stay tooned! Edited December 17, 2012 by Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Harris Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Great find! Very cool. Looking forward to see what you're 'mates look like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted December 17, 2012 Author Share Posted December 17, 2012 Getting so close- here's the Jessica and Roger Rabbit decals I created. I had to rescale both twice. Jessica's eyes were too small, Roger's were too tall. Did a test print and it really makes the figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted December 19, 2012 Author Share Posted December 19, 2012 (edited) Finished up my Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey customs this morning: "We're dead, dude!!" Edited December 19, 2012 by Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted December 19, 2012 Author Share Posted December 19, 2012 (edited) Finished two of my Who Framed Roger Rabbit customs: Judge Doom and Jessica Rabbit. Judge Doom was the easiest custom of the set. Van Helsing topped off with Mad Dog Tannen's hat painted black. A brown wash over the glasses. Jessica on the other hand was a challenge. I started with The Spirit's Formal Wear Sand Seref and cut a slit in the dress to match the movie look. Can't believe I'm typing this BUT...I knew I had to sculpt the breasts. What would Jessica be without her trademark chest? I decided too that her hair also needed to be sculpted out of apoxie. Using the new technique of mod podge, I applied a inkjet printed decal of the face- but first had to cut it to fit the curl of the hair. That's something I'm going to do differently in the future- it was a mess trying to sculpt the hair, applying water to smooth it out and then have the water ruin the decal. I should have applied with mod podge first, then sculpt the hair...now I know better. Oh well. Jessica's dress was originally just maroon- until a friend of mine mentioned glittery nail polish. Luckily, my wife had just the right color: Disco Lights. I kid you not. So I applied the nail polish on top of the dress and WOW, does it ever make the figure pop. So happy with how these turned out. Roger, Eddie and Benny the Cab are up next. Thanks for looking! Here's more pics of Jessica: Edited December 19, 2012 by Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aapje Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 And the second on to sculpt breasts Is this becoming a trend? Awesome job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kostisfire Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 Awesome! I just might have to do some toon (roger rabbit,looney toons,disney,etc...) customs myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punisher Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 The dress with the glitter nail-polish turned out great! That's all I have to say Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted December 20, 2012 Author Share Posted December 20, 2012 (edited) Although I didn't sculpt him out of apoxie, I was able to track down a minimate scale Benny the Cab.......from the original toy line back in 1987. He needed the same treatment: Here's the original packaging: Edited December 20, 2012 by Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellpop Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 That Benny the Cab is a great find. Lucky you! Your first round of customs look really nice. Did you consider using the hair from the first Dawn figure? That's what I would have done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted December 20, 2012 Author Share Posted December 20, 2012 Funny you should mention that. I was thinking about it at first but then I didn't want to have the added whisps of hair and have to sand them off. i dont actually own the figure either (thanks to ivan's database for ref) so I decided to sculpt it instead. I used her face as a template for her eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted December 20, 2012 Author Share Posted December 20, 2012 (edited) Finish Eddie & Roger late this morning as well. Still may paint Eddie's tie and make a non-trench coat version. Edited December 20, 2012 by Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcastick Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 Those look great Jeff!! superb job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclipse Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 love the Roger Rabbit customs.i have been looking foreword to your updates the last few days.excellent work!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirymate Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 While overall it's brilliant work far beyond my current abilities, not liking the boobs. It's just... it looks wrong somehow. Which is odd because normally I'm a big fan of FLBP. (Future Lower Back Problems, a common problem with comic book females, hollywood celebutants, and young women just trying to earn enough money to finish school and not intending to do that long term) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emperorshotz Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 I don't mind the boobs, really-- they're kitschy, they're funny, they're character appropriate. I'm actually questioning Roger's ears/headpiece more. It feels like there's too much excess plastic around the head creating a white "hair" effect that I don't really see on the character. Was there a reason for the headpiece coming out the way it did? Maybe I'm missing a physical character trait it represents. Otherwise, STELLAR work, Jeff. An awesome homage to a childhood favorite Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Harris Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 Great work, Jeff! As Punisher already pointed out, that glitter nail-polish dress is just fantastic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted December 21, 2012 Author Share Posted December 21, 2012 Thanks for kinds words everyone! This has been a line I wanted to tackle for a long time- something to fill the void where great Roger Rabbit action figures need to be. I'd still love to get some 5" figures similar to the Playmates TMNT Classic figs. I'd buy the whole set. Mirymate & emperorshotz- The boobs/chest decision was a difficult one. I knew if I did a regular decal it wouldn't be as impressive and I really want to get better at sculpting apoxie- I thought it was a great challenge and happy with the results. I think part of the reason it seems 'off' is that we're all used to flat chest minimate women and the animated style of Roger Rabbit with various curves just doesn't translate all that well into a blocky figure. I had the same issue with Roger- as mentioned earlier, I had to redo the decal to get it to fit the head right along with the headpiece. Roger's head in the movies is tall and thin- the minimates head is short and squat. So I had to ask myself if I wanted to remain as true as I could to the minimate base figure or just completely sculpt a new head on top of the existing one. I've tried the 'new head' technique with other figures (my yet to be revealed nick TMNT) and ran into another issue: the sculpted heads were just too big (even after scaling them down and starting fresh). So you really have to pick your poison when it comes to sculpting cartoon characters- I think that's why so little customs from that genre featured on this site- as simple as they are, they are probably the most difficult to capture. (Side note- I think that'd make for a great custom contest, and limit it to non-superhero minimates, Sam & Max was a great example- so envious of that one) For me, I can do a minimate custom one of three ways: 1. a straight up decal with little to no paint or accesories (again it depends on how complex the costume is) 2. parts heavy with little to no decals (a lot of my AOA customs were this) 3. apoxie sculpt heavy (Jessica Rabbit) I'm happy with how Jessica turned out. I suppose I could give Roger another stab. I made sure his head was still removable and not connected to the bow tie in case of an oops. But right now I want to finish up my TMNT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kostisfire Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 I'm working on my tmnt too.Green stuff has made a huge difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyd Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 Great looking Roger Rabbit customs. The decals are great, and the fingernail polish is perfect for Jessica's dress. And I agree with your decision - Jessica is one of the few female characters that need a sculpted chest to look right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanester Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 Nice job Jeff. Very creative work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phiz Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Bravo. The sparkling nail polish was genius (will keep that in the back of my mind) and I agree with the sculpted boobs. Roger's head looks great but has me wondering what a fully sculpted one would look like. Do you think when you have more projects under your belt you will try to sculpt one? How's the size of the cab compared to the figures? Can we see a pic of Roger "driving". Along with my bill and Ted I have also had turtles on the back burner for a couple years, I really need to buckle down and finish everything. Great results and can't wait to see what customs you finish in 2013. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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