Custom Dick Grayson / Robin the Boy Wonder has a strong new body!

[mikeoz]

Awesome! You've been very busy!

[darklord1967]

ROBIN: The Boy Wonder 9Art Elite Edition Custom Action Figure (1:9 scale / 6.5" height)

[mishu2nite]

Fantastic details

[TrekStar]

That's coming along nicely, can't wait to see it all finished up, nice work.

[darklord1967]

^^ LOL LOL LOL!!!

I've got to remember that one!!

[boss]

Winner, winner... Chicken dinner!

[darklord1967]

Thanks mego! Greatly appreciated.

[mego]

you are doing such an amazing job. Nice finesse!

[darklord1967]

^^ Thanks for the compliment pal. Greatly appreciated! ^^








Getting closer. Almost complete now.

I've finished all green garments of Robin's costume, (ensuring that they all perfectly match the same shade of green).

The finish trim on the edge of the t-shirt sleeves has been installed.

The gauntlets have been finished (with a rough velvety /suede texture that I had hoped for). In the 1966 Batman TV series, I always preferred the very first pair of gauntlets worn by Robin in the first two episodes (and NEVER worn again for the whole rest of the series). Those first gauntlets were a bright shade of kelly green (matching the rest of his uniform), and they had a suede-like texture. After that first (2-part) storyline, the gloves were switched to a much darker green leather pair (which i did not like as much). The original gauntlets DO appear in every episode, though, in the stock footage of our heroes taking off from the Batcave in the Batmobile.

Anyhow, (although this custom figure represents Robin as the character of the classic Bronze Age comic books) I paid homage to my preferred Robin gauntlets of the '66 TV series, by creating these gauntlets with a suede texture as well.


I've placed ALL of these finished garments on a freshly assembled 9ART "Athletic Boy" body with nice, tight, firm limbs (since I wore out the limbs on the body I was using when I built this figure by manhandling it so much).


Next up: Final black leathery face mask... flowing golden yellow satin cape... yellow lace closures for the vest tunic... And then... final air brush and hand paint detail work, then it's off to MEGO MEET!!


PS: Plans for sheer leggings for this custom figure have been scrapped. I was disappointed to learn that the 3 pairs of tight leggings that I had stitched together thus far compromised the sleek contour of the boy's athletic legs. Also, the fit of both the green shorts and the pixie boots were compromised by the added bulk of the sheer leggings. The sheer fabric was also far too fragile for use on an action figure that will be even occasionally hand held! With even the slightest skin nick, flaky dried skin, dried glue residue, or dried paint residue on the fingers or fingernails when holding the figure, the fabric on the tights instantly becomes hook/ snagged like velcro and permanently bruised! Very frustrating!! Moving on now. No more leggings! I'm done with that!

For the sake of aesthetics of this figure, I am perfectly fine with The Boy Wonder having bare legs LOL!

[The Bat]

DUDE!! That is some AMAZING detailed work! Well done!!

[darklord1967]

I can think of no other term than "exquisite." These are the Faberge eggs of custoMego.

Wow! Thanks so much for that wonderful compliment!

You know, sometimes I wonder if one of my custom figures will one day ever be worth as much as a Faberge Egg! That would really be something!

"An original Darklord". Kinda has a nice ring to it, I think.

Bwaaaah, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,!!!!!!!!!!

As if!

God I'm corny!

[darklord1967]

Wow. That hexagon fabric looks perfect. How easy was that to work with? I can think of some other figures that may be good for...

Also, I love those boots. So intricate. At that scale, I am guessing the fabric is completely glued with no sewing?

The imitation leather hexagon pattern fabric is very easy to work with. Unlike most 4-way stretch Spandex nylons, this fabric is only a 2-way stretch. However, in the case of Robin's trunks, the 2-way stretch limitation is not an issue since it is only a horizontal (2-way) stretch that is required when they are slipped onto the figure. Just be careful to make note of which direction you will require for your final garment to stretch prior to cutting your pattern.

Also, try as I might, I could NOT locate this fabric from a retailer here in the States. Perhaps you will have better luck than I did, but I was forced to purchase from a dealer in China.

As for the pixie boots: They are actually fabricated with a COMBINATION of (hand) sewing, and gluing: Under normal curcumstances , the pattern that I created for this boot would have resulted in a major construction seam right up the middle of the underside sole. This is something I really wanted to AVOID since such a bulk seam would certainly compromise the figure's standing integrity. So the fabric join along the boots' underside is accomplished by gluing, (resulting in a completely FLAT underside). The sole itself bonds the two halves of the boots' fabric underside.

However some traditional stitching (by hand) was employed in the making of these boots as well. I actually found it useful to have a little bit of bulk of a stitch seam along the rear heel, inside the boot. The bulk of this seam would allow the boot to hug the action figure's heels snugly. Viewed from outside the boots, the heel seams were admittedly quite unattractive. However, the concealment panel that i glued in place promptly took care of that!

[PNGwynne]

I can think of no other term than "exquisite." These are the Faberge eggs of custoMego.

[sprytel]

Wow. That hexagon fabric looks perfect. How easy was that to work with? I can think of some other figures that may be good for...

Also, I love those boots. So intricate. At that scale, I am guessing the fabric is completely glued with no sewing?

[darklord1967]

So. aside from compliments how well this custom is turning out and the meticulous documentation about it's construction, let me say how cool it is that you're telling everyone how you're making the figure. I have no intention of making one myself, but often customizers for any scale are very secretive about what they did, and it's great to see someone share the "secret sauce."

Kudos to you on the work you've done and your contribution to the custom building knowledge base.

Thanks so much for that nod, rykerw1701.

I know there IS a lot of secrecy, especially among customizers who plan to sell their work as commissioned pieces in the future.

However, in the spirit of sharing and artistic inspiration, I've always believed in documenting my thought and creative process. If any of my techniques can help someone else successfully create a custom figure they want, then I am delighted. When I started in this hobby back in the mid 1990's, pioneers like Charlee Flatt and Scott Arendsen showed me the same kind of inspirational generosity. So I believe it is only right for me to reciprocate now.


Also, I have found that sharing my techniques in open forum gives even me interesting insights into my own growth as an artist. It's kinda like a journal that I get to revisit when I go back to examine my own thought process, years from now.

Sometimes, for example, I will have invented a technique for the fabrication of a part on a custom figure that I only needed to do ONCE, and only for a particular character. Then years later, I might find myself needing to employ that same technique on a new work, and I don't remember quite how I accomplished it the first time! So I find these (rambling) documents quite useful... Even for myself.