SuckerPunch! Giant Robot Samurai p4

[jimmiroquai]

It's been 3 years since my last custom figure. I had run out of ideas and inspiration and so i've lain dormant in the action figure custom world since 2009...(part of the reason i got back into airsoft)...until I saw Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch! Despite the bad reviews from critics, i absolutely LOVED this movie on several different levels. Visuals, Symbolism, Story etc....and I haven't been this inspired to do a custom figure since the first time I saw the Lord of the Rings! I know Hot Toys has the license for this line, but i really can't wait for them and i needed to channel this new obsession somewhere....

So, after dusting off my customizing tools, softening up my stored Sculpey, and replacing all my dried paint, and with the Sucker Punch OST blasting full volume i started working on....Baby Doll.

The first thing i did was dig up a DML Abbey Chase body from the parts bin. This body is more petite than the usual Cygirl-type body and would be perfect for Baby Doll's figure. I shortened the torso, thighs, calves, and arms. She's now a whole head shorter than the DML male body.



Next, i made some shoes/feet. I didn't have any spare boot feet so i thought i'd make my own. I cut a few pieces of sintra board, glued them together and after a couple of minutes with the dremel and some files:




Now came the most daunting task...the head sculpt. I didn't have a head that i could repaint or modify to look like Emily Browing..so I thought i'd try my hand at sculpting again. Take note i haven't done this in 3 years and i was never any good at likenesses, especially with female faces. Surprisingly, taking into consideration my fairly weak sculpting skills, this turned out better than i expected. I know it's far from perfect, but this was a personal best compared to the stuff i used to churn out, so please bear with me


Thanks for looking, and please be gentle.

I have asked Junray to make the tiny school girl uniform and the figure is currently with him...i hope he gets it right.

Will update...

[DAN SAN]

jimm, how about the storm troopers in this movie?

[jimmiroquai]

Apr 5, 2011 15:03:04 GMT 8 DAN SAN said:

jimm, how about the storm troopers in this movie?

Got one in the works. It'll be a WW2 version though, as i can't find any cheap 1/6 WW1 uniforms and helmets..

[labrador]

i want a full size one...shhhh.

[dogmeat16]

You have all the weapons you need....Now fight!!!

[jimmiroquai]

@albert - While junray is making the 1/6th scale outfit, I wonder if i can convince the wife to have a 1:1 scale outfit made for her....probably not.

dogmeat16 - Yeah! "Don't ever write a check with your mouth that you can't cash with your @ss.."



I couldn't find a cheap M18 helmet so i'm converting a M35 instead.

[jimmiroquai]

While waiting for some parts for Babydoll, i've been working on her opponent...

[jimmiroquai]

Warning: OT Sucker Punch Semi-Rant

Sorry about posting this here but i wanted to get this out of my chest since i first saw the reviews of Sucker Punch after opening day. So while waiting for Junray to finish Babydoll's outfit, I thought i'd post this mini review/rant.

I really, really loved this movie, despite what majority of critics think. And not just for the visuals. I liked the story and the fact that what happens in the 'real' world is really left up to the viewer. There is no "lack of story" or "thin plot" as most reviews say. It's up to your imagination to fill in the blanks. Also, other critics said that they could connect or bond with the characters enough to care what happens to them. But i felt the opposite. I wanted babydoll to succeed because of all the horrible things that happened to her. I was rooting for them the whole time, not because they were hot (OK maybe that did help), but because they were the underdog. I love the fact that this movie can just be plain old eye candy and at the same time, if you reflect on it, a really deep trip into the human condition. After seeing this 4 times already in the cinema, i realize its a plethora of deep symbolism. All this, the great visuals, and the amazing soundtract, and how it was all put together..makes this my #1 All time favorite movie. (former #1s were The Usual Suspects and Leon)

Finally, after weeks of reading disheartening reviews, i found this: My favorite interpretation of Sucker punch on the net: www.movieinterpretations.com/Sucker-Punch

WARNING SPOILERS!
"Sucker Punch was set in a time where mental hospitals were alleged to be prostituting their patients. This was seen in Jessica Lang's "Francis" where Francis Farmer (a real hollywood actress) was incarcerated at Western State hospital in Fort Steilacoom Washington (where I used to work).

The entire plot is encapsulated in the opening dialogue when money exchanges hands, and Baby Doll's step father pays to have her lobotomized. Don't forget that in its historical setting these things are alleged to have really happened. In Sucker Punch's historical setting, it was nearly that easy to bring a person to a hospital and have them committed against their will. This was a main point of the movie "Francis"-the biography of Hollywood actress Francis Farmer.

Immediately the scene changes into a brothel. This is not the character escaping into a fantasy world. It is a cinematic allegory to communicate to the audience a truth/plot line that could not be otherwise accurately depicted-namely that Baby Doll and all the patients in the hospital are being exploited. It is an in-your-face cinematic device to alert the viewer that the exploitation of helpless females through forced prostitution and incarceration against their own will in mental institutions was real, and historically we know that-at least in some cases-it happened in mental institutions in the United States of America.

So what's going on with Baby Doll's dance? This is once again not a retreat of the character into a protective fantasy. It is a cinematic allegory of her using her own exploitation as a device to work her plan of escape. An action packed diversionary sequences are preferable to watching several scenes where Baby Doll allows herself to be raped whilst her cohorts utilize the distraction to steal the implements that will secure their freedom. Period.

The "Sucker Punch" was the punch in the audience's face that used allegory to confront them with a philosophic theodicy.

Female leads were intentional for the reason that they are the most vivid depiction of human vulnerability and powerlessness. The battle sequences were intended to communicate to the audience that the deeds of this "frail " and "powerless" human are no less heroic than those of any other "hero" from any other action movie. In fact the sequences were intentionally "over the top" to communicate that her actions were more heroic than anything you (the audience member) have seen in any adrenaline driven action flick.

The conclusion of the movie is this: You (the audience member) are daily faced with evils in this world. This frail and powerless girl faced her evils and did not overcome them for the sake of being a hero, but she sacrificed her very being to secure the safety of a single person, and potentially end the exploitation of an entire institution. She did not "live" to see her success. Are you courageous enough to stand up for the things in this life that are worth defending? Are you willing to stand up-in the face of evil-for the things that are good? A helpless female was used in this film to confront you with the truth that courage is not a matter of ability, it is a mater of will-of determination. Are you complacent in the face of evil?When you are willing to shed your complacency you will be more courageous than any hollywood action hero. "

End of rant

Will post updates soon!

[labrador]

bravo!

[jimmiroquai]

Here are the initial pics...

[toyman]

You are my idol Jim!!! only you can pull off something like this...very well done!!!

[jimmiroquai]

Haha! Thanks, Toyman! Actually, before i started sculpting the head, i seriously considered commissioning you to sculpt me some 1:6 heads.

Here are some pics. I wish i had some green screen handy...









Well, until Hot Toys comes out with their Sucker Punch line, i'm pretty happy with mine...so i'll continue with some of the other girls while waiting.

[gman88]

The good news is, despite the bad reviews (apparently this is the 3rd "flop" of the director), the same director is set to direct the latest Superman movie. I really hope it pushes through.

[Waffen Ryan]

Jimm, can you make me a real one?

[jimmiroquai]

gman - The same critics who bashed Sucker Punch are now fearful of what Snyder will do with Superman. Well, Christopher Nolan will still be in charge of the story so I don't think they should worry. But none of it changes the fact that i still love Sucker Punch.

Waffen Ryan - Well, junray did the figure's schoolgirl uniform. Maybe he could make one in 1:1?

Rocket WIP:



Sweet pea WIP:



Man, i really wish i were better at likenesses. The camera and macro focus really brings out all the flaws. These sculpts seem to look much better in person. But i had fun doing it anyway. Although it looks nothing like Abbey Cornish in these pics, in person, there is a little bit of her in there somewhere. I wish someone would produce headsculpts already. But in the meantime, i hope you guys don't mind if I post my "comicbook" headsculpts as they are currently the best i can do. Strangely enough, i still seem to be very proud of them....haha.