Thom Tazzo (Thomas Tazzo)
Gil Young  (Gilbert Young)

Which does he look more like?

If he’s Thom, he works at the University as part of the admissions
team. And also as part of their security team.

If he’s Gil, he’d either work as an editor at Bishop Publications (the
same company that Vanessa Lennox & Cass Okuda work at) or as a lawyer.

There’s also the chance that he is Viv’s ex-husband.

Since she’s divorced, and I dunno who her ex is. Except I want him to
pop-up periodically…They split amicably, but she’s somewhat bitter
about the whole institution of marriage.

Any ideas? (and if you don’t think he looks like he fits either of the
above, what do you suggest?)

He’s a lucky guy no matter what his name is: He’s the Hot Toys True
Type Asian figure from their most recent release. The skin tone is
slightly grey so I think once I have a little spare time I’ll sand him
and give him a bit of tweaking. I’m really liking HT bodies, since Ken
clothes fit them well, and Saturday Toys and ACE make some really nice
clothes for them as well. (and yesssss…I’d rather save my money and
spend 24 bucks on a 1:6 suit that if I tried to sew would take me
months! *and still not look as good!*)

Giving further thought to the cast of The Quinlan Chronicles.
I have students, professors and general dwellers of the city.

Sometimes it seems like I have far too many cast members, sometimes too few.

Why is that?
Does it have anything to do with managing to score a new figure or
two? Or perhaps, because I have a new volks head or something else I’m
jones’in to use? Who knows?

I do know this much: My cast is growing and changing as I go along.

When I stop to make a list of the names & professions (or roles) of
the characters it seems rather more than I might need…except that my
stories & characters tend to do better when I don’t feel hemmed in.

It is easier for me to feel spontaneous–crack open a notebook and write
if I know I can just create someone if they’re needed for a role or a
cameo…And it’s nice to know that I can kill or exile a character too. I’m not limited to a set number of bodies (or actors). It is flexible and that’s great. For me. I know some people need very set characters in order to be able to do anything.

Since I began the re-vamp of The Chronicles, I’ve developed a number
of new characters. It sounds kind of bad, that I’ve been creating more
people.

To date recent or fairly recent character additions include:

Students: new

Seth Melborne
Terry Parker
Madison “Maddy”
Ushma Patel
Rupert Kane
Claudia Kartsen-Kane

Adults: 12 new

Paloma Tarranti
Tori Tarranti
Cass Okuda
Vivienne “Viv” Marcell
Thom Tazzoh
Vanessa Lennox
Gil Young
Gwen Jones
Imogen Stafford
Isha Patel
Liz Parry
Lucien

In my defense, some of these are for tiny bit parts.
The nice thing about making even bit-players is the fact that at some
point, in one of the stories they may become a full-role…so maybe its not all bad. And I guess…since I have fun making them, it’s ok?

• Merrit & Mallory: nope. they don’t have the funding.
• Eff & Karly could go, since they come from families with money to spare, although I’m not sure that either would do the “tourist” thing.
• Cass: Maybe.  While I can’t really see her tooling around the streets for the hell of it– she’d do it as part of an attempt to build up her portfolio. Since she’s trying (half-heartedly at the moment) to segue from being a commercial photographer to a fine arts photographer. Hmm ok, she remains a possibility. Plus she’s fun and one of my fave figures. And she has boots!
• Tori- doubt it. She’s a party girl, and while she could party here I don’t really want to hit clubs just for a photoshoot.
• Paloma-nope. She’s definitely stuck in Quinlan for a while.
• Alex could go. She’s got the funding. She’s spoiled, and it might be her kind of thing…
• Nik, Seth, Jeremy: nope.
• Raven, Shay & felicity: nope. Funding issues for Shay & Raven, and Felicity isn’t really developed enough.
• Viv: another Maybe. I can see her travelling around York. Maybe she’s keeping Cass company. She definitely has the funding to spare for an off-season trip. The more I think about it, the more I’m thinking that maybe I’ll do it with Cass & Viv. They’re good friends, and it might be the kind of thing they’d do. If that’s the case, I need to dig up some casual style clothing for Viv, since when she’s in Quinlan she’s more professional in her dress. (I think I can have Cass make a few comments on that) Ok, then I guess it’ll be Cass & Viv.

I really started with this hobby in 2000. I got into it primarily for
stress relief and a way to channel some of my energy in a constructive
manner. Sometimes it feels like I’ve only just started since there’s
always something more for me to learn or figure out. I keep at it
because I constantly feel challenged by it–whether it’s trying to
paint a face better, or figuring out how to build a prop–it keeps me
entertained.

People:

Something I want to comment on is the people associated with the 1:6
hobby. Since 2000 I’ve encountered a lot of different people &
mindsets with regard to the hobby. Some people seem very narrow minded
with regard to what they consider worthwhile in collecting or
customizing. Some are more open minded and those are the ones I really
value.

I have to give thanks that I have been lucky enough to find some good
friends through this hobby. I’ve always been pretty much a loner, and
this hobby has put me in touch with a handful of really great people
who I admire and enjoy chatting with.

Thank you—you folks make me work harder and inspire me to improve my
work. You’re priceless because you give me a sounding board to
bounce ideas off of, and through you I continue to enjoy my hobby and
feel engaged by it.

Figures:
It first began for me when I stumbled onto OOAK barbies.
The idea of wiping off the insipid grin and making something more expressive was
very appealing. So, I started by learning to repaint their faces and from there I began to teach myself to sew. It became a point of pride for me to create an outfit that was completely removable.

From creating OOAK barbies I moved onto volks dollfies. When I first
saw them I thought the bodies looked weird. All the visible joints and
articulation to my eyes–which were used to barbies–found them
somewhat alien. However, it was their articulation that really hooked
me on them.

Painting volks & obitsu heads took a different kind of finesse with
regard to painting. They were challenging and still are for me.

From my interest in Volks dollfies I’ve expanded my interest to include Takara’s Cy Girls & Hot
Toys action figures. I like both brands for their articulation and a
relatively good aesthetic. I don’t think that I’ll be giving up the
volks though–they make for a nice bit of body diversity.

Supplies & Equipment:

Honestly speaking, not much has changed with regard to the tools &
supplies I use.

I started out by using Golden Acrylics (in the tube) and now I use
golden fluid acrylics. They definitely make a difference. I also use
flow aid. I’ve hoarded my brushes as much as possible as I haven’t
been able to find them here.
On the rare occasions when I use pastels, I use Sennalier chalk pastels.

Ok, wow, guess that’s my wrap up for the year? I do tend to wonder though, how other people got involved in the hobby? Will I ever know? ;P

Yes, yes, I know…you’re wondering what the hell NANOWRIMO has to do with one sixthscale goodies!

Well, I decided to take up the challenge. Yes, among other things I am an aspiring novelist. But, no, I was not aiming to write a novel about 1:6 dolls taking over the world!

Instead I decided to use it as an exercise to help motivate me with regard to getting the scripts and plots for my photostories done.
It’s been a bit iffy (and I’m certain I’m no where near the 50K goal for the month’s end) but I’ve been writing on my lunch hour and making pretty good progress!

Later this week we are leaving for York and our one vacation of the year…which means no internet access (eeeeek!). So I figure I can write now and maybe take one of the evenings there to type it up. (yay for my laptop!)

So far I have the whole first episode written, with introductions to some of the main characters. It may not be the most interesting of the photostories to come, but sometimes you need some exposition and introductions to lay a good foundation for things to come!

I promise all sorts of pictures & emails over the weekend!

Sooooo until I snap some new pics of the clothes *that I have been trying unsuccessfully to sew today* these will have to do for entertainment! They aren’t good pics, but they’re better than nothing

PB Kat repainted… She needs a name since I think I am keeping her…

Blonde PB head (same face mold as PB Kat)

Triad Blonde
I have one of these left that I am contemplating actually doing some modification work on. I hate the fact that the eyebrow scowl is molded into the plastic. I may try sanding it down on the “spare”.

So look for an update a bit later!

Its one of my goals before the year end to see that
Raven actually gets a wardrobe that reflects her personality a bit more. Mind you, I’m not complaining–I’m glad that some of the fashion fever barbie clothes will fit her…but she’s just not the sort of girl to run around in much pink. I need to get a working printer so I can make her some skull decorated t-shirts and stuff. *sigh*

So far this week I’ve made:

• a black & white lace & sheer dress top for one of the cy girls (I’m not entirely sure I have anyone who would wear it…but I’ll worry about that either. I made it without a clear idea in mind or a pattern. LOL) ,
• a black & white geometric patterned long sleeve top for Raven (lost her glasses in the process, dammit!)
• a white lace merry-widow type lingerie piece for Alison.

I managed to get 1 Otaku  and 1PB head repainted.

Despite Max’s attempts to move into the 1:6 living room… I still managed a few pics!

I’m not super thrilled with either repaint, obviously my lack of practice is showing.

However, if I am being fair, the photos of the otaku re-paint don’t really do it justice.And ok, another thing…I will admit to finding the Otaku an easier head to paint than the nasty PB head! *kicks pb head*

I definitely need to get back to practicing. I think I’ll go back to working on obitsu for a while since I have a bunch of blank heads handy.

I’ve got the following heads slated for a re-paint:

• 2 otaku heads
• 1 PB/Cy Kat head
• 1 electra head that I got in trade. The repaint someone else did on it bled horribly around the mouth. Looks like she ate spaghetti sauce and smeared it around. It’s bled deeply into the vinyl & even the twin pines of maine hasn’t helped.  So, she’s going to be an old school white face goth when I finish with her)
• 1 “new” pb head (auburn)
• 1: FF Gillian that needs a partial repaint for FT6

Sooooo… it’s about 11:30 now….let’s see where I end up at the end of the day? (PS I spent the morning out walking, making frosting from scratch, frosting cupcakes and delivering to neighbors (to ensure I don’t eat all that chocolately goodness myself!)

Things I got done:

• Figured out the layout for Cass & Tori’s apt.(this was harder than I’d planned due to some communication difficulties w/ Mark.) Decided which walls will need windows & doors and where they need to connect. Now need to purchase (haha, I quit my job so when this next part happens I don’t know) the MDF to make the walls.

• managed to update some of the graphics on the website. This has me thinking about how I need to update the cast profiles. Not a biggie, just a bit time consuming. I’ve thought about if I want to use frames on the profile pages–but I think for now I’ll just keep sticking with tables. for the sake of ease.

• got the lay out for the corner-store figured out. The mini fridges I bought last month on feebay finally arrived! Yay! I’m searching online for advertisements like they’d have on the shop walls & windows. I’m basing this shop almost 90% on the corner store that I used to live down the block from on Lark St. Ah, nostalgia!!

• finished airing out stinky-demon guy from the collectors fair. He’s now been rained on and ignored in general and thankfully no longer reeks of cigarette smoke (or other nastiness). *need to shoot a couple of pics of him this week* discovered today that his bone weapon thing is BENDABLE!!! Awesome! (it looks like it could end up in a photostory with Cass)

• Packed up the cy girls in the LR scene. Tried the reload action feet on them. The feet are much more slender than the usual PB feet and while not un attractive they’re definitely at odds with the body. ..

Hopefully tomorrow, if work isn’t totally craptakular, I’ll set up a backdrop for shooting a couple pics of Mallory in her clothes. And maybe Cass. I’d like to feel less stressed than I am at the moment. I’ll try to catch up with stuff during the week. Maybe once I have some lead on another job, and I’m out of this one (weds @ 5pm sharp!) I will feel more like taking pictures and have fewer migraines & headaches. let’s hope, ya?

also, I’m sorti8ng through my mics furniture pieces to try to see what I have that I can use for my quikie-mart / corner store. So far its a positive.

I’m off to dinner but will update again later!

*later has come* 11:05pm
no, haven’t started the photostory yet.
I got bogged down in the process of trying to update/ refresh my website. I’ve got some content to add, and some pics to add so hopefully, I’ll get that done tomorrow am and that will leave me the remainder of tomorrow for photostories. *fingers still crossed for luck*

Cool thing is that Nosferatu comes w/ his very own rats!!!! I’m thinking of seeing if I can make one of them have a jointed neck for use in the photostories.

I also managed to pick up a pair of jackboots, and a pair of “bike” boots for Cass to use while riding the honda. As of yet, no helmet, so she’s either breakin the law….or hangin out in one of the no-helmet states…

ok pics!

I am trying not to get too excited–the one last year wasn’t all that great, but even so, I managed to come away with somethings I couldn’t get locally otherwise!

Today on the doll front:
Managed at last to pick up Top Model Summer from the Entertainer. I’d seen them a few weeks back but I couldn’t bring myself to lay out the money when essentially all I wanted was the clothing from these figures…..however….The lime-green outfit was just saying “Mallory! Mallory needs meeee!” but I resisted until today. They were marked down to 7£ each (the one with the bizarre hair was 10£). It totally suits her and I’ll snap pics tomorrow no matter what!

The one head (I think it is funky green-hair summer) is a fair match for the volks dollfie bodies so there is a possibility I may customize it to use in an upcoming photostory. the other head, which came with the bathing suit & gear– I really like and am bummed to find it is not a good match for the volks default skin tones. I’ll check it tomorrow against the volks tan although I don’t really have much hope on that.

As for today NDR– I picked up 2 new pairs of boots and a pair of shoes from TK Maxx for work. They’re nice if a bit longer and pointier toed than I’d have preferred. However, considering that the boots I’ve had for the last 2.5 years are starting to breathe their last I figured I’d best move on it. I was also lucky enough to find a really nice black wool coat today! (I shouldn’t be so excited about this, except that I rarely find coats I like and never any that are truly girly!) I love it!

Anyway, off to bed. Must sleep. Must hope for good hunting tomorrow! (hey, it’s almost my birthday, so why not????)

The weekend was good in that I managed to find 2 action figures at the super market that will (with a bit of work) make into half decent demons or monsters for use in the chronicles.

Originally I was going to post about my coca cola find (and what that means in terms of the planned corner store). Let’’s just say that the pics didn’t come out well, and after an exercise in futility I switched to doing something else. I shot a few pictures today (not soda related) & here are the better ones of the lot…mind you, that’s not saying much. I’m not really pleased with any of them.

I’ll post the coca cola info and demon thingy pictures later.

Over the last week, aside from having 2 migraines (oh joy), I have managed to get the majority of Cass’s profile completed and have a start on Paloma & Viv’s. I’m still sitting on the fence somewhat about what Vivienne’s (Viv) profession should be…

Take a look at her: (realize she’s in her evening out clothing ) and tell me (if anyone reads this blog, that is…) which of the following professions might seem to fit her best?

Should Viv be a:

• Chemist (as in working in the lab)
• Forensics specialist–possibly in Forensic Toxicology?  (probably not criminalistics)
• something else? (suggestions)

Anyway, here’s to hoping that over the weekend I can get the completed profiles up on the web, and maybe do a spot of work on the website for the Chronicles!

Doing that would allow me to introduce them all gradually and as the stories moved along and I would have to feel so constrained that half of them are sophomores or juniors which realisitcally gives me little time to play with them before they shove off to the next stage of their lives.