Wednesday, February 28, 2018

You Light Up My Life, Balrog Funko Pop

I don't want to jinx it, gang, but this week's been kind of awesome so far. I went into last weekend full-throttle pre-menstrual, John and I buckling up for another ride on the Jen-Coaster-Of-Perpetual-Self-Examination-That-Never-Ends-Well, but instead I stumbled across that Geode cake thread and laughed my fool head off.

It was such a relief, you know? I mean, I'm not out of the woods yet, hormonally speaking, but when you're waiting to feel sad and instead get a jolt of unexpected glee, and then you get to share it and see OTHER people lifted up and making new friends, sharing their own jokes and silliness until the whole thing mushrooms (heyoooo) into this big happy THING... well heck, that's why I love writing this blog. You guys get a 5 or 10 minute read, but I get to obsess for hours and hours over all the silly, pretty, and just-plain-awesome things I post here. Best home-therapy a PMS-riddled agoraphobe could ask for.
 

Which is all a long-winded intro to one of our latest projects. It's not done yet, but I've been thinking I need to loosen my death grip on project posts, learn to show you guys the half-way points and mistakes and do-overs, not just the finished pieces. John and are constantly experimenting with new craft stuff, and most only see the inside of our trash can. Maybe that should change. (Remind me to show you our tests with silicone and resin next time - the silicone in particular has some fun possibilities.)

Plus, I don't know about you, but I freaking LOVE progress photos from the cosplayers & builders I follow. I get so much inspiration from those midway points, thinking what *I* would do next to finish things off. Here's hoping you guys are the same.

So let's get on to this $16 Balrog Pop we found at the mall:

...which you can get on Amazon for $13. (Dangit. lol)

I should point out the Pop isn't nearly as cool as the box art:

 I mean, it's OK, but it's hard to make paint look like flames.
So obviously we need to make it light up, right? 

RIGHT.

Getting the head off was hard: eventually it came down to John's brute strength:

Our back-up plan was to cut that neck peg with a dremel, since you can always glue the head back on with epoxy putty.

Popping the flames off the head took more finesse: I recommend patience and a small screwdriver for prying:


There's also a small panel under the head you'll need to pop off to get inside. (The head is hollow.) A craft blade helps to cut through the glue.

Next John cut out the eye sockets using a Dremel, while I cast new eyes out of resin and alcohol ink. Here's John holding one of the new eyes in place for a test run:

The resin eyes DO look pretty sweet, but they block too much light. So we ditched them.

Next John dremeled out the top of the head under the flame, nostrils, and mouth:


Which made the bottom jaw fall off, whoops:
 No biggie. We can fix that.

For the interior lighting we cracked open some flickering LED tealights (left over from my floating candles) and harvested the bulbs. John soldered on longer wires, stuck one inside the head with a little cotton batting, and...

 YASSSSSS.

That's an unedited shot off my phone; it looks just like that IRL, except it flickers like a flame. SO COOL. (And you can bet I'll have to do this with the new Te Ka Pop coming out, too.)

Ok, but it's not enough that just his head lights up, right?

I know what you're thinking - because we thought it, too - but unfortunately the Balrog Pop body is solid plastic. No getting lights in that way.

So instead, I dug out this beveled wood plaque I've had in a drawer for nearly a decade:

 And whaddaya know, it fits!

 John drilled three holes and routed channels underneath for the wires:

Then he glued three more tealight LEDs in the holes and wired them all together. He soldered everything into a wall plug from our local electronics junk shop, Sky Craft. I think the plug was $3, and so far we've had everything else we needed, so happily this is a pretty cheap craft.

Here's a look at the lighted base with and without the kitchen lights on:


I like how the lights catch under his torso and wings, but of course the LED bulbs themselves are too bright and distracting; we need to either diffuse them or put some ground cover in front of them. Fortunately we'll be displaying this on a high shelf, so the lights won't need too much shielding.

Our options are:

A) Make clear silicone "flames" to fit over the exposed LED bulbs, which should dim/diffuse the light
B) Make fake rocks and grit to pile up in front of the bulbs to act as a shield
C) Both of those things


Also in process: figuring out what, if anything, I should do with the Balrog's paint job. I used acetone to remove the orange flames painted on his forehead and the super-shiny brown paint on his teeth, so he already looks better: 

It turns out the teeth are molded from the same transparent plastic as the head flames, so I'm surprised Funko painted over them. The translucency makes the teeth look way more realistic. Me likey.

I'm planning to remove the yellow on the bottom teeth and paint them to match:


We're also experimenting with cotton batting and cotton balls to add a smoke effect coming out of the eyes. We've been testing dying the cotton vs painting it, so we can make it more gray/black. It's tricky coming up with something that looks good both lit AND unlit, though.

And finally, since the current paint job is a little shiny, I'm debating painting the whole body a solid, dead-flat black. That would lose a lot of the sculpting detail, though, so then I'd be faced with painting in some of the cracks again with red and/or orange. Or dry-brushing on a dark gray for a little contrast. Or I could try aging the whole thing with solid red... ?

Or I could leave the paint job as-is.

Arrrrrg.

Any thoughts?


So that's our in-process, plussed-up Pop Balrog (which is fun to say). I hope this inspires you guys to try lighting up some of your own figures! Stay tuned for finished shots once I figure out the paint situation.

Oh! I'll leave you with something silly: we'd been working on this for a few hours yesterday before I looked down and asked John, "Wait, did you wear that shirt on purpose?!" He looked down, too, surprised. "No, which one am I wearing?"

It was this one:

(The design is "No One Left To Play With" from Woot.)

Ha! I guess John already had Balrogs on the brain that morning.

***

Speaking of Funko Pop crafts, you might like the custom Pops we made of Crowley from Supernatural, Dr. Rodney McKay from Stargate:Atlantis, me, and then our DIY Death Star display  for a friend's Pop collection. Plus I made a Pop Valentine wreath once. But I'm not addicted, you guys, I'm not. I CAN STOP ANYTIME.

35 comments:

  1. Looking great so far, love seeing half finished projects, I like seeing the decision making process. Also would love to see your silicon and resin projects. I have been using them both for a year, I make silicon molds of everything!

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  2. Leaving the paint job shiny keeps the awesome uplighting effect, which is very cool. What about red/orange for the smoke effect? Gray seems like it would dull the overall effect.

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    1. We did initially try tinting the cotton orange, but it diluted down and just looked salmon pink, ha. Still experimenting, so we'll keep at it!

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    2. What about using needlefelting wool? It's already pre-dyed in just about every colour, and it's less dense of a mass than the cotton, while the individual fibers are stiffer, so they'll stand out more on their own without getting droopy

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  3. I like option B for the footlights. If you could make the rocks look like castle-y ruins (square or rectangular blocks that are broken/overgrown/mislaid/haphazard) that would look really cool. But that's just what popped into MY head when you said rocks. I'm sure whatever you come up with will look amazing too!

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  4. I have to say, I love my Balrog pop (the flames look better than the flames Weta tried to sculpt on their expensive statue), but I've been thinking of ways to spruce it up. I may have to play with it some using some of these tips. The Nazgul and the Sauron Pops also need some relief work since they are solid black and disappear into everything.

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  5. This post made me squeee! I've been reading your blog for YEARS and I love it (obviously, I'm still here), but this is the first time you've done something in MY fandom. I'm so excited to see how the belrog turns out!

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    1. Oh wow, this IS the first LOtR thing I've done, isn't it? Time to start brainstorming more Middle Earth goodies.

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    2. Seconding the excitement for LOTR projects!

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  6. Love the process post. It's so interesting to watch your decision-making processes in real time.
    -Zippy

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  7. That looks awesome so far!
    Personally, I really like the shiny/reflectiveness of the Balrog's paint job, so I think maybe just aging it a little would work. That way you can be satisfied that it's not a boring paint job, but you also keep that nice shine from where those base lights hit the wings. :D

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  8. Love this!

    I wonder if adding grey or black eyeshadow to the cotton balls would give the desired effect without clumping it up with paint?

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  9. I just want you to know that you are the sole reason I've been considering buying a Pop to customize as Derek Hale from Teen Wolf (because they made Stiles and Scott, but not Derek, WHY?????). I would NEVER have considered it, if not for the Pops you've altered!

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    1. Yesss! Do eeeet! And then show me pictures!

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  10. Where's John's Pop? You did promise...

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    1. Oooh, calling me out!! Yes! :D I'll be honest: to make John's Pop I need the head from an expensive rare figure (like $40), so I keep putting it off because I'm cheap. John does love making the custom boxes, though, so maybe I'll bump his up the list again, take the plunge.

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  11. (Nobody ever said a shiny Balrog was a bad thing. I woue stress about the paint.)
    Yay for in-progress post!
    Pinkie Welborne, 17
    Indiana

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    1. *wouldn't stress. (Typographical errors are embarrassing.)
      Pinkie Welborne, 17
      Indiana

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  12. Ooh love it! I'd keep the shiny paint for the lighting effect. Hot glue makes some interesting flames and I'd totally do that to cover the LEDs. I love the idea of treating the base like one would for a miniature and creating a scene. On the eye front, have you looked at tulle yet? It's pre-colored, you could do a few colors in a small ring (think tiny tutu) and twist them together when pulled through. Pre-dyed felting wool would likely work as well though would be less transparent.

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  13. I have that shirt and love it!! Great taste and great job on the balrog!

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  14. Love this balrog, and this sentence caught my eye: "So instead, I dug out this beveled wood plaque I've had in a drawer for nearly a decade" - you probably have way too many ideas for posts to need another one, but I would LOVE to see you do a post on how the heck you keep all of your crafting and finishing supplies organized - and *where* you keep them, since your home looks so gorgeous. I snag things like that plaque on spec, too, when I see them, but mine are always spilling out of storage and trying to overwhelm the house. (And every time I assert that I will just give up some endeavor and let go of its voluminous supplies, I fail.)

    I realize that the answer is probably "magic!" but just in case...

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    1. I second this. I do jewelry work and occasionally a little sewing (plush toys!) and paint work (dragon eggs!) and I feel like I'm drowning in craft supplies with just those relatively simple things. Other people's craft stashes and organization systems are inherently interesting, for some reason.

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  15. "Whoops. No biggie. We can fix that." This is my current favorite Jen quote.
    LOL!! That is classic!
    I love the progress shots - so thank you for sharing that.
    Maureen S

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  16. I don't know what it says about me that I think you should cover the tea lights with tiny skulls...

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  17. I want to be as crafty as you guys! You’re amazing!

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  18. For replacing the cotton try Tinsel Sparkle Eyelash Chunky Wool. it comes in every color of the rainbow is flame resistant.http://www.knittingkorner.co.uk/king-cole-tinsel-chunky/

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  19. You can paint your LED bulbs with glass paint to tone down the brightness and the color. Miniaturists do this often: http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/?app=forums&module=forums&controller=topic&id=41094#comment-658917

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  20. This is amazing and inspirational, but what is a Balrog?

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    1. In JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Balrog is the monster from the deeps of the Mines of Moria. When it rises to attack the company of the Ring, Gandalf faces it singlehandedly to give the others time to flee. (And if you like high fantasy I cannot recommend LOTR enough; it's a seminal trilogy for the genre.)

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  21. Natural wool comes in grey and black and brown. Says the spinner. Who has plenty to share. *shy cough*

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  22. Experimenting with smoke colors, use intense yellow/orange deep in the 'smoke', then small, very black areas on the exterior. A lot of what you see in movies is effect fire, which isn't real but what we expect to see in 'fire'. Even practical fire in a movie is done with chemicals, they want the bright orange/red/yellow but with very black smoke. We get wild fire a lot here in Southern California and even very heavy smoke isn't black unless it's a car fire - lots of petroleum and rubber. It looks a bit like some forms of active lava, actually - black crusty bits over brilliant pillows of yellow/orange. Cotton balls may not work by themselves but... you know the lichen they sell at hobby stores for making shrubberies in miniature train dioramas? Those might work, with wisps of cotton in them - cotton bright, lichen blacks and greys... maybe.

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  23. From what I've read about painting miniatures (something I've dabbled in), sometimes a clear coat of rattle can spray paint in matte will knock down the glossy effect.

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  24. Is it possible to paint on a mattifying clear coat? It would be cool to leave some parts shiny, like the claws/horns/teeth.

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