Man you guys are doing some really great stuff, I am so enjoying this new thread. I love the tips, that is such a great help. I knew about 5 people that did custom Star War figures and we would get together to help each other out, it was really nice, this thread is so much like that.

Anthony: What pieces do the Xaviers represent?

The King.

Glad you guys liked it.

QUOTE: Steve, how did you make that Christopher Reeve Superman? It looks great!

The head is a highly modified resin copy of a Mego Superman from the Comic Action Heroes line.  The arms are from a Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter figure.  The chest is a custom sculpt, cast in resin.  The hips are a modified resin copy from a G.I. Joe.  The thighs are modifed resin Mortal Kombat and the lower legs are modified resin Mego Buck Rogers.

The cape is vacuumformed and is actually quite flexible.  The chest and cape emblems are decals.  The cape emblem actually was a screen grab from the movie, scaled to the proper size and printed out.

I'm a little disappointed in the likeness, though.  It looked much better before I painted it.

Steve you made the plaster iceberg first, did you use it to make a mold or just as a test shape? Was the vacuumed cape hard to do?

Love your work.

Thanks, Jodi.  I'm really impressed by your figures, too.

The plaster iceberg was a negative mold in the cup.  It turned a conical section into a rougher, more natural shape.  It had the added benefit of making "snow" on the cast iceberg.

Vacuumforming is really quite simple.  It's just a matter of finding the proper thickness and rigidity of material for the application.  Kinda fun, too.  It has the benefit of giving you the ability to make additional, identical parts should something go horribly wrong.

I'm still experimenting with different materials and techniques to reproduce fabrics of various densities and textures.  Must be the mad scientist in me.  I'll let you know if I have any breakthroughs.

No reason to be disappointed with the Superman figure, Steve -- it's a REMARKABLE likeness, IMO!

Quick question, though -- what type/brand of clear polyester resin did you use for the iceberg, and where did you find it (online source, Michael's, Hobby Lobby, etc.)?

Thanks, John.  It's really hard to capture a likeness in a head that small!

I'm not sure exactly what resin I used.  It's available in about every hobby store I've ever seen.  Cast-n-craft, maybe?  I made this so long ago the store I bought it from is no longer in business.

Steve thanks for the kind words and tips. I think we should do challenges, no winners or losers, just something to motivate,  what does everyone else think?

Hah!  I was just thinking about how little time I have to work on my current projects, as well as working, home maintenance, etc.  I don't know how I could fit time in for a challenge.

I'm a member of another board where there's a monthly challenge.  Turns out there's been shenanigans in the voting (even though there's really nothing to win but bragging rights), and it really soured the whole thing.  If we do the challenge thing, I recommend keeping it light and fun.  Probably ought to run it by JB and the mods for their input, too.