You know what? I wrote a whole article about this from the draft I did last week. But the weblog editor fucked up and didn’t save anything, so I’m going to leave it.
Over a pub lunch, I was trying to figure out how to make the legs. The difficulty came with the fact that the legs are slanted a little bit.
I came up with a couple of solutions:
- Obtain some polystyrene/wood tubes, cut them down to size and stick discs at the top to create the wide part of the legs. This would have the advantage of making sturdy legs, but the disadvantage of requiring yet more materials (and buying at least a hacksaw).
- Make a structure for one leg using some tough card, and strategically wrap funky foam around it to create the illusion of a partial cylinder. Two of these would be stuck back to back to create two "legs". The major advantage would be the use of existing materials; the disadvantages being time-consuming measuring and cutting, as well as the risk of uneven and wobbly legs.
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I gave the second method a try, as it was the least expensive and immediately executable. While it was very time-consuming and hard to cut the card to the right shape, the result was rather pleasing (photo above). One rather important matter became evident: the foam would have to be cut perfectly to make this method work.
The journey continues…!
I’ve been very eager to start painting the heads, but my set of acrylic paints has gone missing. I’ve had to order a new set over the Internet, and they would have arrived on the 31st, had it not been for a lazy postman/family member.
Instead, I turned my attention to the body parts I was working on. I’ve not received a quote or email from either of the places I made an enquiry to, so I decided to proceed using a frustrum made of corrugated cardboard. I’d already made one, so I made a second body out of the same card.
It was very hard to get the perfect round shape, and one thing that became apparent was the thickness of the card; it would invariably affect the dimensions of the model, though its thickness means it would be simpler to stick together.
It was time to introduce funky foam, or fun foam: a very interesting and versatile material I found on my travels. Funky foam is easy to cut, is nowhere near as messy as paint, and can be layered to create some stunning effects. Funky Foam comes in many different colours, and was a perfect choice for this project. Try not to get carried away, though, with buying several sheets (as I did).
I cut the same frustrum template out of a white sheet of funky foam, and glued it to the card frustrum to make a body. The foam added a little to the total thickness of the body, but it was no problem whatsoever; each of the chibiMon are of different sizes, and these differences can easily be factored in at a later time.
It will get a little more complicated over time, as elaborate clothing such as jackets and sweaters are made. I have also yet to decide on how to make the arms and hands (along with the legs and feet).
I should also mention that there are around 18 planned figures to make: the 12 existing chibiMon characters plus some other additions.
