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Given the current quarantine we're all in, I felt it best to spend my time on a brand new custom figure--like many of us have taken to in this time.
Even more so, I thought it would be fun to tackle a figure (or figures) that was the complete opposite in tone and style from the extensive and on-going Lord of the Rings series I've also been working on.
This takes me to one of my all-time favorite PC games: Half Life!
For those who don't know, Half Life is a first-person shooter PC game released by Valve Software in 1998. It was highly acclaimed upon release and received numerous awards,
including the "Game of the Year" (as advertised on the box pictured above). It later spawned a number of expansion packs/spin-offs, an equally-acclaimed sequel from 2004 (which had its own expansions),
and even the recently released, Half Life: Alyx.
In short, Half Life changed the way video games were made--so, naturally, it deserves to be Mego-ized, right?!
Therefore, the only choice for the first figure to be made is that of protagonist Dr. Gordon Freeman!
Preparation
Before starting the process, it is worth noting that there already exist figures of Gordon Freeman in the wild--though, none in Mego-scale, to my knowledge.
The most mainstream figure of Gordon Freeman was made by the company NECA, back in 2013:
Honestly, this is a terrific figure and is expertly sculpted and painted--and with accessories such as his trusty crowbar, the Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator (or Gravity Gun),
and even a headcrab, there is very little to complain about here.
However, I've always enjoyed displaying figures in the 8-inch scale; there's something about the consistency and the look--and ease of customizing in this scale--that makes me long to feature a
multitude of figures in the same scale, from different movies and games that I am very attached to.
NECA Gordon, being 7 inches tall, did not fit in with that scale. Additionally, NECA's figure was based on Gordon's appearance in the sequel, Half Life 2 (as evidenced by both the appearance of
the Gravity Gun and the design of Gordon's HEV suit). Since I am quite partial to the look and designs of the original Half Life, and less so the sequel (thought still definitely a solid release), this would
not have worked for the collection I wish to display.
Another great example of a Gordon Freeman figure--this time, a custom--comes from Deviantart user botmaster2005:
Again, another wonderfully made figure of Gordon! This particular figured has served as a great inspiration to me as I've started this process. Despite being made in the 1/6 scale, it would be very
simple to, effectively, shrink this overall design down to the 1/9 scale and be set!
However, this figure was also designed with the look of Half Life 2, so I could not follow the process exactly; despite that, copying exactly what botmaster2005 did, but smaller, would be dishonest
and completely defeat the purpose of being creative and customizing something new in the first place.
With these previous examples in mind, I was on my way to start working on the first step toward an 8-inch custom Gordon Freeman...
Head Sculpt
As many of you know, my custom figures feature 3D-printed heads, rather than the traditional sculpting/molding/casting method.
Well, simply put: my sculpting skills are hot garbage. It's just something I've never been able to get the hang of, and creating heads in 3D has always come much more naturally to me.
With that in mind, it is worth noting that a variety of 3D sculpts of Gordon Freeman have already been made.
Some official...
Some fan-made...
All are good options!
...well, save for the crusty-looking official models from the 1998 original
At any rate, I personally prefer to make my heads my own way; adapting an existing sculpt would be too easy, and I'm always up for a challenge.
The first step toward any head sculpt is to collect reference photos--so I did!
I mainly chose photos of Gordon Freeman based on his appearance in the original Half Life from 1998:
And with the use of my incredibly expensive and high-tech digital sculpting tools... i.e. The Sims 3...
I created the following head for Gordon:
P.S: For those aware of it and concerned, I unfortunately chose to forgo the ponytail featured on Gordon's model from HL1.
From here, I was able to begin the process of turning it into a Mego-sized head. I started by extracting my Sim of Gordon from The Sims 3 with a program called 3D Ripper DX.
It was then imported in Blender for cleaning and adjusting the model...
Then in Microsoft 3D Builder for adding a neckplug...
And finally, slicing it in Ultimaker Cura 4.4...
To be printed on my Monoprice MP Select Mini 3D Printer.
...which is where we're at now!
Hopefully, I can get another post out later this week, showing the process of prepping the print and going through the process of painting.
As always, critiques and feedback is welcome, and I hope you all enjoy the journey as much as I will!
Even more so, I thought it would be fun to tackle a figure (or figures) that was the complete opposite in tone and style from the extensive and on-going Lord of the Rings series I've also been working on.
This takes me to one of my all-time favorite PC games: Half Life!
For those who don't know, Half Life is a first-person shooter PC game released by Valve Software in 1998. It was highly acclaimed upon release and received numerous awards,
including the "Game of the Year" (as advertised on the box pictured above). It later spawned a number of expansion packs/spin-offs, an equally-acclaimed sequel from 2004 (which had its own expansions),
and even the recently released, Half Life: Alyx.
In short, Half Life changed the way video games were made--so, naturally, it deserves to be Mego-ized, right?!
Therefore, the only choice for the first figure to be made is that of protagonist Dr. Gordon Freeman!
Preparation
Before starting the process, it is worth noting that there already exist figures of Gordon Freeman in the wild--though, none in Mego-scale, to my knowledge.
The most mainstream figure of Gordon Freeman was made by the company NECA, back in 2013:
Honestly, this is a terrific figure and is expertly sculpted and painted--and with accessories such as his trusty crowbar, the Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator (or Gravity Gun),
and even a headcrab, there is very little to complain about here.
However, I've always enjoyed displaying figures in the 8-inch scale; there's something about the consistency and the look--and ease of customizing in this scale--that makes me long to feature a
multitude of figures in the same scale, from different movies and games that I am very attached to.
NECA Gordon, being 7 inches tall, did not fit in with that scale. Additionally, NECA's figure was based on Gordon's appearance in the sequel, Half Life 2 (as evidenced by both the appearance of
the Gravity Gun and the design of Gordon's HEV suit). Since I am quite partial to the look and designs of the original Half Life, and less so the sequel (thought still definitely a solid release), this would
not have worked for the collection I wish to display.
Another great example of a Gordon Freeman figure--this time, a custom--comes from Deviantart user botmaster2005:
Again, another wonderfully made figure of Gordon! This particular figured has served as a great inspiration to me as I've started this process. Despite being made in the 1/6 scale, it would be very
simple to, effectively, shrink this overall design down to the 1/9 scale and be set!
However, this figure was also designed with the look of Half Life 2, so I could not follow the process exactly; despite that, copying exactly what botmaster2005 did, but smaller, would be dishonest
and completely defeat the purpose of being creative and customizing something new in the first place.
With these previous examples in mind, I was on my way to start working on the first step toward an 8-inch custom Gordon Freeman...
Head Sculpt
As many of you know, my custom figures feature 3D-printed heads, rather than the traditional sculpting/molding/casting method.
Well, simply put: my sculpting skills are hot garbage. It's just something I've never been able to get the hang of, and creating heads in 3D has always come much more naturally to me.
With that in mind, it is worth noting that a variety of 3D sculpts of Gordon Freeman have already been made.
Some official...
Some fan-made...
All are good options!
...well, save for the crusty-looking official models from the 1998 original
At any rate, I personally prefer to make my heads my own way; adapting an existing sculpt would be too easy, and I'm always up for a challenge.
The first step toward any head sculpt is to collect reference photos--so I did!
I mainly chose photos of Gordon Freeman based on his appearance in the original Half Life from 1998:
And with the use of my incredibly expensive and high-tech digital sculpting tools... i.e. The Sims 3...
I created the following head for Gordon:
P.S: For those aware of it and concerned, I unfortunately chose to forgo the ponytail featured on Gordon's model from HL1.
From here, I was able to begin the process of turning it into a Mego-sized head. I started by extracting my Sim of Gordon from The Sims 3 with a program called 3D Ripper DX.
It was then imported in Blender for cleaning and adjusting the model...
Then in Microsoft 3D Builder for adding a neckplug...
And finally, slicing it in Ultimaker Cura 4.4...
To be printed on my Monoprice MP Select Mini 3D Printer.
...which is where we're at now!
Hopefully, I can get another post out later this week, showing the process of prepping the print and going through the process of painting.
As always, critiques and feedback is welcome, and I hope you all enjoy the journey as much as I will!
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