Dead Master in 1:6- Ideas for a custom (by a total newbie)

[Squigsquasher]

So disclaimer: Despite being fairly experienced at modelling and quite knowledgable on model kits and prebuilt figures, I know very little about dolls, hence why I'm coming to you fine folk. Thus be prepared for questions that might seem really, really daft.

Anyway, being the over ambitious muppet I am, I had an idea for a 1:6 figure/doll- Dead Master from Huke's Black Rock Shooter series. I absolutely adore her design, enough that I own the Figma (one of my favourites incidentally) and I reckoned that a 1:6 figure would be a wonderful centrepiece to my figure collection.

For reference, the lady herself:

In the absence of an actual 1:6 Dead Master figure on the market, I figured I should make one myself. Most of the process SHOULD be fairly easy, or at least no more difficult than any other doll/1:6 project (and I need to look into the actual process of doll customizing so I don't completely screw up). However, being the character she is, she poses a few unique issues.

The first problem is the horns. Sculpting/kitbashing the horns themselves should be easy enough, but presumably getting them to go through a wig would be rather difficult. Now granted I'm operating under the assumption that doll wigs work much like people wigs (that is, an elasticated net with the hair attached on top) so maybe it's easier than I think? I have to source a wig that can be made to look like her hair too but that's relatively simple (I assume I just need to find a similar looking wig and restyle it to look like her hair).

The second problem is the skeletal wings. Again, making them should be relatively straightforward, but modifying the body to accept them might not be, especially as the modding process would most likely necessitate the parts being repainted to disguise the mess (and then the rest repainted to avoid colour mismatches).

Which leads me onto the final problem- the body itself. Given that this would be my first ever doll project I was thinking a more affordable (not dirt cheap, just not LODS OF EMONE) body would make sense as a base. I assume a doll body "kit" that comes unassembled or can be very easily disassembled for modification/painting would be easiest, but I don't know if they actually exist. I know Obitsu do semi-affordable 1:6 bodies but I have no idea how good they are or if they're suitable for customizing. There's also heads, but that should be fairly simple- she's not based on a real actress so likeness isn't a problem and I'm not planning on perfect accuracy so much as a nice looking doll that homages Huke's art.

Anyway, any assistance would be greatly appreciated, and my apologies for any stupid questions/blatant idiocy caused by my rampant newness.

[Kattriella]

Hi, and welcome to the wonderfully irritating but loveable world of doll customizing!

A few tips from a fellow customizer: Choosing a body is going to depend entirely on how much poseability you want and the aesthetic you're looking for. I'm assuming you want a decent range of motion with a body that has the same basic proportions as the character. For that, I do recommend Obitsu. They have proportions more similar to an anime/manga character than most dolls, and the range of motion is amazing.

As for heads, Obitsu might also be your best bet. They aren't super expensive, and they offer a range from extremely cartoonish/manga-esce to semi realistic.

As for the horns and wings, I'd recommend checking out Dollightful on YouTube. She has don't just about everything you can think of to dolls, including adding wings and horns. (The wings usually involve sculpting the wings onto armature wire then drilling a hole in the doll's back to mount the wing, though she's also done poseable wings more recently. The same with the horns, sculpt them on a wire, then jab through the wig and the doll's head, then using pliers to twist the wire inside the doll's head to keep them from falling out.)

Don't feel bad about asking questions here, most of us love dumping our knowledge on other people. (We doll people do love to talk about our hobby, after . . .)

[DollyKim]

I umpteen recommending an Obitsu. They were designed to be customized. Being the clothing is black I'd say get a regular hard bust and a rooted head with black hair. All you'll have to do is put her head on and give her a face, there are decals if you don't want to use acrylic paint, and you'll have a full doll. Shoes should be fairly easy to come by.

A lot of us get our Obitsu stuff from The Junky Spot.

[Squigsquasher]

Thanks for the advice! Obitsu it is then. Interesting about the eyes too, I know some dolls use glass eyes but I assume they're the more expensive/larger ones, and to be honest I'd rather paint eyes on by hand anyway (my miniature painting skills should come in handy there). I'll check out Dollightful too, tutorials are always helpful after all.

[Kattriella]

You can get Obitsu heads that can take glass or acrylic eyes too, and the eyes aren't too crazy expensive, usually. It really depends on the look you're going for.

[Koder03]

I recommend Phicen S24A body as well. I think it should have the proportions for that body as well as being seamless. It should also take an Obitsu anime style head as well. They are about 27cm so are shorter than your average 1/6 doll if the character you are creating is particularly short. I get them from kghobby for $45USD + Shipping. To address the horns issue, you could use a headband and attach them with glue or wire(or a combination of the two). I have been able to find metal headbands in many sizes at the isewfordoll website(you may be able to find other things there as well like the bow).

[maywong]

Another idea is a MTM Barbie doll. They are very posable and you can get them at any store that sells Barbies. (Walmart, Target,Kmart, Amazon, etc.)