Zica Conan

[LonnieFisher]

Oh, yeah. I finished my Tarzan, but used the Conan head because it has long black hair. So he looks too much like Conan. He has a little monkey (not a chimp) and leopard loin cloth and knife. He looks totally cool, but a little mean! I'm moving so I can't take any pictures right now to post. Maybe in a few days when the dust settles I'll be able to find him and snap some shots.

[LonnieFisher]

I hope my comments didn't come off as criticism of your version in particular or as stand alone criticism in general. It's more a case of what would make it better, not what's wrong with it. If that makes sense.

I haven't done any customizing or designing of my own but thinking about certain issues and observing what others have come up with, the shoulder(s) is a recurring issue for me.

To me, it seems like the way to do it would be to extend the socket on the torso side outward so the torso would be more of a "T" shape. Most of the torsos that I've seen are more rectangular in shape so the "ball" of the shoulder/arm has to provide the mass of the shoulder.

I think if the stationary part on the socket side provided at least 1/3 of the appearance of the shoulder mass and the ball side provided the other 2/3 that it would give the proper appearance as well as allowing range and movement.

Here is kind of what I'm talking about. I exaggerated it for effect but if the chest is expanded outward and the shoulder socket is cut at more of a slant, wouldn't that allow for a larger shoulder ball without sacrificing range/movement?
https://<a href="http://img607.image...geShack.us</a>

The shoulder piece doesn't fit into the hole because it's a little too small(the shoulder not the hole). With a larger shoulder joint the figure would look so much better.(not that it looks bad now) All they have to do is make the negative (in the mold) a little bigger. The other super small thing is the wrist and the ankle are too flat on the ends They need to be a little more concave so the hands and feet blend into the wrist and ankle.

[moklerman]

And you did all that with Photoshop?

DUDE! I have GOT to get that app for my computer!

BTW, the pic is pretty cool!

Actually, I did it with JASC Paint Shop Pro 7. Very similar to photoshop but not nearly as popular. It's what I started with though so I'm used to it. I think I began with version 4 and gradually updated to version 7. I have a copy of 10, which by then was taken over by Corel but I stay with 7 because of the limitations I have with memory and disk space right now.

My point is, if you wanted to play around with some graphics software, go look for an older version to learn with and you will save some money and not really be limited considering your relative lack of knowledge.

For what I did, the select tool with a little bit of "feather" to move stuff around.

The push tool with a very light opacity to, well...push the colors.

And the soften tool with a light opacity to smooth out all the stuff mentioned above.

It does take some mental adjusting to acclimate to the program(switching back and forth between the various tools and switching between your selections, remembering which is active and which is in the background seems simple enough but I've found that it is frustrating for new users and I remember the same feeling myself.).

This isn't to say I'm any kind of expert. I've just stumbled my way along, figuring things out as I go. A dummy book or some kind of instruction would probably get a person a lot further along than I am in much short amount of time. There's all kinds of stuff like layering, separating colors, etc. that I just don't fool around with but would probably do me some real good.

[JediJaida]

And you did all that with Photoshop?

DUDE! I have GOT to get that app for my computer!

BTW, the pic is pretty cool!

[moklerman]

Thanks Jessica but I can actually see what they're talking about in regards to the small shoulders. Once I finally get the female body finished I'd like to go back and make revisions to the male body.

I hope my comments didn't come off as criticism of your version in particular or as stand alone criticism in general. It's more a case of what would make it better, not what's wrong with it. If that makes sense.

I haven't done any customizing or designing of my own but thinking about certain issues and observing what others have come up with, the shoulder(s) is a recurring issue for me.

To me, it seems like the way to do it would be to extend the socket on the torso side outward so the torso would be more of a "T" shape. Most of the torsos that I've seen are more rectangular in shape so the "ball" of the shoulder/arm has to provide the mass of the shoulder.

I think if the stationary part on the socket side provided at least 1/3 of the appearance of the shoulder mass and the ball side provided the other 2/3 that it would give the proper appearance as well as allowing range and movement.

Here is kind of what I'm talking about. I exaggerated it for effect but if the chest is expanded outward and the shoulder socket is cut at more of a slant, wouldn't that allow for a larger shoulder ball without sacrificing range/movement?
[IMG] Uploaded with ImageShack.us[/IMG]

[Cmonster]

ZZZZEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKAAAA!!!!!!!

Sorry guys. Had to do it... Carry on.

SC

[ZICA]

I am very impressed with that Zica body. There's nothing to complain about. Thanks Craig for making it happen!

Thanks Jessica but I can actually see what they're talking about in regards to the small shoulders. Once I finally get the female body finished I'd like to go back and make revisions to the male body.

[torgospizza]

There's a new movie being made? Since when and who's starring in it?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816462/

[jessica]

I am very impressed with that Zica body. There's nothing to complain about. Thanks Craig for making it happen!

[JediJaida]

There's a new movie being made? Since when and who's starring in it?

[LonnieFisher]

I like the bigger shoulder. That's the only issue I see with the Zica body.

[moklerman]

The Zica body does look better than the Mego for nude figures but I wonder if someone can tell me if the shoulders could be made "bigger"? I assume the shoulder has to fit in the socket of the body but if the hole in the body was also made bigger, couldn't the shoulders also?

The shoulders on so many toys seem to be made smaller than they should but I don't know if there's any kind of limit when considering size and range of motion. Or maybe how their clothes will fit?

I certainly think that there should be a different body for characters that aren't going to be wearing as many clothes. Conan, Namor, etc.

Anyway, I did a little photo-shopping and increased the size of Conan's left shoulder and I think it looks a lot better. I also played around with the head/face once I started playing. Reduced it by 15% in size, gave him a haircut, moved his eyes down as well as reshaping them. I know, it's a tangent but I sometimes can't help myself.

[IMG] Uploaded with ImageShack.us[/IMG]

[Chris]

The Conan head seems more in scale with the Zica body. BTW, thank God for that slightly larger Zica body. It has bailed me out on a couple of occasions when buying Mego type heads only to find them out of scale with the Dr Mego/Castaway body.

[Vivisect]

That is awesome!

I saw a thread about modding more muscular arms from wrestling figure on to the Zica body a while back, that might be worth trying out for a Conan.


I have been wanting someone to release a good Conan figure in 1/6 for a long time, but I would think that would be a hard license to get now considering theirs a new movie being made.

[actjac01]

NOW THAT'S WHAT I'm TALKING ABOUT!
CONAN...as he was meant to be.

Speaking of Tarzan...
I'd be tempted to use the orig. Mego head on a Zica body.
Maybe make a lepard loincloth from the 'jumpersuit'...or even some brown pleather.
I'd bet that would work...