The Tonnika Sisters - I'm not sure what kind of licensing red tape is keeping these figures from being immortalized in plastic and at this point, I am tired of waiting so I decided several months ago to take on the task at creating these lovely ladies myself...lovely ladies or simply bar trash - who knows - I don't care - Have the Cantina band strike up a tune and lets get into some of these images I took of the sisters completed sculpts...
Similar to Darth Malgus - A transition from simple frames to finished sculpts - many adjustments had to be made with the frames as progression advanced - again, similar to Malgus, your original frame will rarely remain the same as it was when you first created it..sometimes articulation becomes an issue, or proportion - no matter, the initial frame is your starting block. May not look like much but I like to photograph it because it reminds me how far I have taken the sculpt from a blank slate to a finished form...
And here we are - the completed sculpts of the Tonnika Sisters. They retain much of the original ariculation as the frames they now encase, with a few exceptions...the hair restricts much of the head movement - which isn't much of a bother - I'll go back and sculpt some "Action" versions with their hair whiping around if need be. You know how much I love to sculpt alternate heads LOL! Also, the legs don't move as far back like I would have wanted them to - but that's a judgement call I made - sacrifice the articulation for the sculpt? In this case - yes. It's one of those decisions I'm sure is made by any figure sculptor when working with mass articulation...
I'm happy I was able to retain the feminine appearance and not bulk up the frame - this can be very tricky when sculpting females - especially in the shoulders, chest and thighs. This is the reason i sculpted the figures in the nude first, then added the textured clothing - may have taken longer but it helps me at this scale at times - sometimes it's not needed and I'll sculpt the form directly. It's just one of my "things" LOL!
The reference photos I used for the sisters were from the costume images during production and Chronicles. One of the things I did not emphasize with the sculpts was, and excuse my french, the "camel toe granny panties" both wore outside of their jumpsuit...just look at the image below...no way!
Another thing I decided to do was to make the height difference less evident than what you see with the original actresses. This idea came from the various illustrations and interpretations I found from books and online - So I'm injecting a little EU into these figures as well as the original trilogy.
The clothes were sculpted over the nude forms I created, using a light coating of FIXIT sculpt. I covered a little area at a time, allowing in to cure for three hours, then taking some fabric material and pressing it into the FIXIT, creating texture. Once painted, you will see the texture of the outfit prominently as it fits to the form like a tight jumpsuit worn by a couple of promiscuous barhoppers LOL! Just kidding - these ladies are not what they seem...if you read you EU!
Some action poses of the sisters - I have yet to choose what weapons they may possess - I'd say silent weapons (daggar, knife) since what they wear leaves little room to hide a gun. Not sure yet - just image they are holding some kind of weapon...I'm leaning toward some kind of gun...you never walk around a wretched hive of scum and villainy and not have the ablility to lay out someone if need be.
One thing to remember - these sisters are dangerous!! If they set their sights upon you - look out! Might be a good thing, though most of the time it's bad. I'm very pleased with how these sculpts turned out - not 100% Trilogy and at the same time not to far off with EU influence - a nice in-between which was my goal. Looking forward to painting these two ladies up! I already have two head sculpts painted (you've seen them in prior updates) but I also plan to paint a couple more...with a slightly different color scheme. Till then, hope you enjoy the finished sculpts!
Finally I have completed my first Yuuzhan Vong Warrior! Heavily influenced by Colin Wilson's illustrations from the Dark Horse comic series Star Wars: Invasion...
As well as the bio-mechanical art of H.R. Giger...
I give you the first of my Yuuzhan Vong Warriors!
The figure is a complete sculpt using a frame built from the Spawn Nitro Riders series. The warrior stands at 4.75" tall and was sculpted using Aves FIXIT sculpt.
Much of the hard detail had to be realized myself since the illustrations in the comics, although fantastic, were mostly generalized. I took ideas from the art of H.R. Giger, which works perfectly for a creature like the Yuuzhan Vong, and instilled some of the bio-mechanical/organic traits of the Giger Alien into the Vong Sculpt - Looking at the detailed images below, you may see some similarities...
Yes, I was listening to the Alien soundtrack when sculpting this creature! :)
Here's a concept image by H.R. Giger of the Derelict Ship from Alien...See anything familiar?...
Jedi Master Luke Skywalker vs. The Vong! Someday there will be more than one Vong facing him down - unfortunately for this warrior, the contest will be short lived...or will it?...
The Vong's amphistaff is a borrowed piece from the Jacen Solo action figure.
Very pleased with how this figure looks and feels - I think the essence of the Vong has been captured, as well as some of the unique illustrative mastery of Colin Wilson. The figure has a massive amount of articulation - the joints are solid and the figure heavy and stable. I hope my future Vong figures turn out just as good (knocks on wood)!
Speaking of future Vong, here's a few new work in progress images of Commander Tsalok, also from the pages of the Dark Horse comic series Star Wars: Invasion...
If you thought the previous Vong was big...this guy is HUGE! Measures 6" tall - and for it being a 1:18 scale figure - that's BIG and HEAVY! The sculpt is almost complete! With only the alternate head to finish and some additional details to be added to the body. This Vong has been infulenced more heavily from the comic series since the character is more unique to the story arc with many of it's features taken directly from Colin Wilson's illustrative work.
Another future Vong in the works is actually from the distant future! From the pages of the Dark Horse comics series Star Wars: Legacy is Choka Skell. Completed the upper body sculpt and is currently working on finishing the lower abdomen and legs. Hope to begin the sculpt of his fellow warrior Liaan Lah soon after this sculpt is complete.
Finally for this update is a figure I did several years ago and just recently realized that I never gave the figure a proper reveal...I present the torture droid AX/RX from the pages of the Dark Horse comic series Star Wars: Republic!
Like the character itself, this sculpt is a heavily modified 2-1B action figure using existing parts and some of my early FIXIT sculpt work. The figure contains some articulation - as mch as the original 2-1B figure had. Some of the images show another sculpted creation of mine, AX/RX's creator - Kh'aris Fenn!
Again, a figure I should have shown a loooonnngg time ago! I think this is the only droid I have created...WOW! I need to make some more!
And that's it for now! I'm spent! Part one of this massive update, which includes finished scupts of Darth Malgus and works in progress of the Imperial Trooper, Twi'lek Mandalorian Neo-Crusader, Dark Lord Starkiller, Wolf Sazen and Boba Fett can be found here in case you missed it! - PART I UPDATE. Such a massive update, it had to be broken down into two parts.
As always, If you want to keep up with daily updates and progress of my work, as well as news about other artists and collectibles, then you need to become a fan of my facebook page - Sith_fire30 Creations - Thanks to all the fans of my page - we're closing in on 800 Sith Maniacs! Thanks again!
Also be sure to stop by my Flickr photostream for all these images I've posted here for BOTH updates - plus many more not included.
You can now find me on Tumblr! Sith_fire30 Works will be a daily visual of my work in progress or anything I may find interesting or usefull - just more of a pictorial diary of my progress from day to day. If you have a Tumblr account - you can follow me here - Sith_fire30 Works
Sithfire30 Creations can now be found on twitter!!! @sith_fire30
be sure to follow!
If any of you have questions, suggestions or comments, please feel free to contact me here, my facebook or my e-mail - sith_fire30@yahoo.com.
Again, be sure to check out my podcast interview with Lucasclones and Tamer (Chad and Shawn) from Inperialshipyards.net and become a fan of their facebook page - Custom Action Figure News. They are great guys and need your support - Thanks in advance.
Alright people - go back and see part I again LOL!! Thanks for your continued interest in my work!! More to come...By the way, been tossing up some ideas of a possible series staring this heroine.
Oh, I'm sure you can guess...take care!
Sith_fire30
2 comments:
"Yes please" to any and all Alien/Aliens work... heck, even the crappy sequels and spinoffs!
The Tonnika sisters are two of the most mysterious characters in the GFFA. These two look beautiful, can't wait to see them in full colour! Love the hair, I believe you said that was a walk in the park to sculpt, no? ;)
Sensible to stay away from the superhero "undies-over-suit" look!
That Vong.... Oh. My. God. I've actually quite reading the NJO series (way too many books) and haven't checked out a single Invasion issue, but these Vong are very much like I envisioned them in my mind. The first one just blows everything awat. What a great piece of art, with excellent paint apps. You really nailed that. Muted colours, but enough contrast to make him stand out.
Great to see a blast from the past with AX/RX. And Kh'aris Fenn's welcome sight again too! Always loved that figure. Wasn't AX/RX Demagol's torture droid too? Or did he have a different one?
Sigourney Weaver, huh? I'm guessing.... Ghostbusters? Wow. that'd be awesome. Can't wait to see your take on Marshmallow Man.... Oh, wait a minute, that's her as Ripley! Just kidding man, heard your hint on the podcast and getting to grips with the Alien universe is right up your alley, buddy!
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