The lack of eye detail in 1/6 scale

Sounds like a very well-thought out plan, and I'll be very keen to see the results.

I was briefly into 1/4 scale Tonner dolls (I like custom repaints), but then ended up getting into 1/6 figures as well. There were just so many more possibilities for customising all my fave characters in this scale, it was impossible to resist. :')

GubernatorFan wrote:I find myself agreeing with Sky in terms of what is practical and expectable. The examples from wrensfairyrealm are absolutely stunning and beautiful, although, understandable for the subject matter, they are not exactly what I would call realistic. But I get the point: a layered, shaped, translucent eye will look more alive, no doubt, especially in a close up. Still, a good gloss job over the eye goes a long way to approximate this. I like Sky's suggestion for just a drop of glossy transparent varnish over the iris. But one should make sure the varnish in question is not very runny, as it would then spread right over the whole eye (the XTC-3D which I use to gloss Star Wars helmets will do exactly that).

Thanks... glad it's not just me. I will fully admit that I don't actually find glass inset eyes to be any more realistic than painted ones. To me, it's just a different type of aesthetic and approach. And it really depends on how good of a paint job and finish painted eyes have, and I have seen some very convincing ones. Likewise, there are plenty of unrealistic-looking glass or resin doll eyes out there. When super up close, neither one will ever look 100% realistic ...because they simply aren't the real thing. But of course, I nonethless think it's very admirable to try to blend the two styles. Blending the best of doll and action figure aesthetics has been my own personal goal from the start, as well.

And yeah... when I say a 'drop', I mean a tiny pinprick on the edge of a small brush or even toothpick or something...not a big runny drop straight from the bottle. ;p

skywalkersaga wrote:And yeah... when I say a 'drop', I mean a tiny pinprick on the edge of a small brush or even toothpick or something...not a big runny drop straight from the bottle. ;p

Agreed. Maybe I should experiment with just that using the XTC-3D on a "spare" head.

Aside from the hand-painted versions you presented, it would be virtually impossible for a company to mass-produce realistic eyes. As far as I know, Hot Toys uses proprietary eye-decals to make their eyes, and not hand-painted. Adding a raised area to the eye just to accomplish a more realistic eye surface would be, for the most part, also highly impractical -- since the average viewer isn't looking at these things under a microscope (or necessarily a macro camera lens) so would it be entirely necessary. The biggest problem I see with the way eyes are done on these figures has more to do with the size of the iris and the blank/zombie expressions of 98% of the sculpts -- by pretty much everyone. I think having the eyes look off to one side or the other, or up or down, adds more character than the dead-eye straight ahead look provided by the majority.

Stryker2011 wrote:Aside from the hand-painted versions you presented, it would be virtually impossible for a company to mass-produce realistic eyes. As far as I know, Hot Toys uses proprietary eye-decals to make their eyes, and not hand-painted. Adding a raised area to the eye just to accomplish a more realistic eye surface would be, for the most part, also highly impractical -- since the average viewer isn't looking at these things under a microscope (or necessarily a macro camera lens) so would it be entirely necessary. The biggest problem I see with the way eyes are done on these figures has more to do with the size of the iris and the blank/zombie expressions of 98% of the sculpts -- by pretty much everyone. I think having the eyes look off to one side or the other, or up or down, adds more character than the dead-eye straight ahead look provided by the majority.

That's pretty much my issue, as well. It's not so much the detail that is lacking (it may be on some eyes, but not across the board), but rather the expression of the eyes themselves. This is where I find talented painters can improve sculpts greatly, especially if they are able to give the eyes a bit more expression. And that involves more than just changing the realism of the eyeball -- it also means knowing how to widen or narrow the eyes, how to shape the eyelids, how to make the mouth match the eye expression, etc.

And Hot Toys uses eye decals? Guess that makes me feel better about considering using those at some point, lol.

Stryker2011 wrote:Aside from the hand-painted versions you presented, it would be virtually impossible for a company to mass-produce realistic eyes. As far as I know, Hot Toys uses proprietary eye-decals to make their eyes, and not hand-painted. Adding a raised area to the eye just to accomplish a more realistic eye surface would be, for the most part, also highly impractical -- since the average viewer isn't looking at these things under a microscope (or necessarily a macro camera lens) so would it be entirely necessary. The biggest problem I see with the way eyes are done on these figures has more to do with the size of the iris and the blank/zombie expressions of 98% of the sculpts -- by pretty much everyone. I think having the eyes look off to one side or the other, or up or down, adds more character than the dead-eye straight ahead look provided by the majority.

I agree with all your points. Holding one of my spare heads in hand made me realize just how small we're really talking about. It's definitely a custom artsy thing and not a commercial possibility at the moment. However when it comes to that zombie look most figures have Facepool is definitely ahead of the curve imo. Hottoys, Sideshow, and some TBLeague sculpts are up there as well. It's mostly the standalone sculpts that seem to have this blank emotional stare that I find unsettling, and not even 3D eyes could fix that.

Personally the eyes are not something I look into too much, I pay more attention to the overall shape of the head rather than the eyes which I can easily cover with either a helmet or goggles. Obviously higher detail makes stuff look prettier and more awesome but in most cases and at least for the sort of stuff I do I think it would be overkill.

As for your project I'm quite interested in seeing how you work it out, the sketch you have showed on how to possibly add that effect is very interesting and I think not too hard to accomplish. I would personally stay away from glues and if it where up to me I would use UV resin since you can apply it easily and cure it fast with an UV lamp.

Thank you so much for sharing this artist's incredible custom work. Spent over an hour just scrolling through and in awe. It is so colorful yet gritty, I especially love the post-apocalyptic customs - they are mind-blowingly awesome!!!

Also very interesting concepts for making the eyes 'next level' realism, but one would have to be so skilled and steady-handed to pull off modifying a headsculpt that way. Much respect to those who experiment with this approach, I am intrigued to see some of the results.

AlKelAstra91 wrote:Thank you so much for sharing this artist's incredible custom work. Spent over an hour just scrolling through and in awe. It is so colorful yet gritty, I especially love the post-apocalyptic customs - they are mind-blowingly awesome!!!

That was the perfect way to describe it. I completely agree.

Here's some examples of how a skilled repaint can give a 1/6 scale head sculpt a little more 'life':


Repainted generic 1/6 head by Mark Simpson:



Repainted CooModel 'Pantheon Athena' headsculpt by SuSu:




Repainted (and re-haired) Scarlett Johansson head by IMDolls:

Yeah, some super talented painters out there. Love your examples, especially that Athena

Also stumbled on this one yesterday:



Sculpted by Chris Caraveo
Paint by Shane/OneSixthSalon

Or many works by TeTsu Customs: https://www.instagram.com/tetsu_custom_studio/?hl=de

What a wonderful thread! Very inspiring! I have bought way more heads than I will ever use, and I seem to not enjoy dealing with Ebay sales, I've got the paints, so... I'm just waiting for my other priorities to go away.

Valiarde -- holy crap, that is one stunning Viggo head. I'm guessing Shane will also be hairing it..?

And if you like that Athena head, it's actually currently for sale on Etsy:

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/757337235/custom-repaint-16-action-figure-head?ref=shop_home_active_32


Diana -- that sounds like a plan! Though if you ever have any excess 1/6 heads you want rid of and don't want to deal with ebay, let me know... ;D

Diana wrote:What a wonderful thread! Very inspiring! I have bought way more heads than I will ever use, and I seem to not enjoy dealing with Ebay sales, I've got the paints, so... I'm just waiting for my other priorities to go away.

Yeah, I'm on the same trip - planning to try some modifications on my heads/eyes. (I feel this will lead to a new Zombie army in the end, but we will see)  

skywalkersaga wrote:Valiarde -- holy crap, that is one stunning Viggo head. I'm guessing Shane will also be hairing it..?

And if you like that Athena head, it's actually currently for sale on Etsy:

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/757337235/custom-repaint-16-action-figure-head?ref=shop_home_active_32

Yeah hairing is the next step, but looks super good already. Stunning work.
As for the Athena head - finally an item on etsy where the shipping cost is not half the price of the whole item  But yeah, I think I will pass nevertheless.

Lol, Valiarde, don't worry, I figured it was probably a little pricey for most people, but wanted to share in case.

skywalkersaga wrote:Here's some examples of how a skilled repaint can give a 1/6 scale head sculpt a little more 'life'

Amazing repaints. What it is to have talent and skill...

Valiarde wrote:Yeah, some super talented painters out there. Also stumbled on this one yesterday:



Sculpted by Chris Caraveo; Paint by Shane/OneSixthSalon. Or many works by TeTsu Customs

Ditto. TeTsu's work is stunning. And Aragorn is looking excellent. I am currently painting a recast of the ACI Aragorn head, and it will never look half as good.

I don't know if it's the exact same sculpt or if it's a previous one of the same mold that he already finished, but here's a rooted hair version:

https://scontent.flhr4-3.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/p843x403/161290979_376033253723372_8907164860189346753_o.jpg?_nc_cat=105&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=0debeb&_nc_ohc=ZZJWgIUXb6AAX9tLLOR&_nc_oc=AQmAjS1968gTGTy_y9-c-y5ig2sM7JvJP-thFZWfTi8VBJnUuwlaQ5zMiiOYuWjuOfAMuu1owmugIaXS4e8FWxrw&_nc_ht=scontent.flhr4-3.fna&tp=6&oh=98d694bde1dc0d42cb5d5bb02b062300&oe=607DDC72

Looks pretty amazing!


Speaking of Shane Poole... I just saw that as of a few weeks ago, he has stopped accepting commissions... permanently. Really sad to hear as he is one of the best in the hobby, but at the same time, I can only imagine how incredibly time consuming it must be, and everyone has their limit.

Oh wow, it is amazing, although actually somehow not the most iconic (or flattering) Aragorn now that I think of it. Looks like TeTsu has also stopped taking commissions.

LOL, I don't really see what is unflattering about it?? The hairstyle might be intended for Helm's Deep figure, maybe?

But oh.... how sad. I guess RL is rough for everyone, even the most high-end customizers...

skywalkersaga wrote:Here's some examples of how a skilled repaint can give a 1/6 scale head sculpt a little more 'life':


Repainted generic 1/6 head by Mark Simpson:

Here’s an example of what I was talking about as far as the size of the iris (notice the slight enlargement — there is less white below the iris), getting rid of the zombie stare.

Valiarde, that is hands down the best Viggo sculpt (even without the hair) — so apparently with the right talent, it isn’t impossible to get his likeness right.

Stryker2011 wrote:

Valiarde, that is hands down the best Viggo sculpt (even without the hair) — so apparently with the right talent, it isn’t impossible to get his likeness right.

So there is still hope for a Crown Aragorn
I sold my other Aragorn not so long ago.

If that Viggo sculpt had been more widely available, I'd have dropped everything and tried to save up to buy it, lol. But it seems like it was a very limited custom/commission, and I think Shane Poole mentioned that he'd only painted and haired seven of them all together.

Yeah I know some people who went full on "Quality" over "Quantity" and rather have 5 super expensive figures than 30 normal ones. But this is a personal thing, how much you are willing to pay for those last 5-10% on figures. And you can even get very high quality figures from some companies in mass production too. Like some Poptoys Samurais or Gandalf Crown etc.

I like both ways and if I have some favourite characters, I could also see me spent more on customizations for ithem.

Valiarde wrote:Yeah I know some people who went full on "Quality" over "Quantity" and rather have 5 super expensive figures than 30 normal ones. But this is a personal thing, how much you are willing to pay for those last 5-10% on figures. And you can even get very high quality figures from some companies in mass production too. Like some Poptoys Samurais or Gandalf Crown etc.

I like both ways and if I have some favourite characters, I could also see me spent more on customizations for ithem.

Yes, everyone has different collecting goals and preferences. Some people are content to collect everything 'as is'. Some people only want 'the best of the best' and pride themselves that theirs is the most unique, most realistic, most accurate, and most expensive custom ever made.

I guess I fall somewhere in-between... I like some official figures as they are, while also wanting to create various customs (both on my own and occassionally commissioning others for specific parts and pieces). The thing with me though is that I'm actually not interested in 100% accuracy or 100% realism on a surface level. I'd rather make a figure that has slightly inaccurate costume and accessories, or that maybe has some minor stylisation or artistic license, but which has captured the spirit of the character.

But yeah... everyone is in this hobby for different reasons. Some are in it specifically *because* they are obsessed with realism and thus want to push the hobby as far as it can go on that score. Which is admirable. But I have a limit... ultimately to me these are still collectible 'toys' and I'm ok with the idea that there's only so realistic they can actually look. ;p

Your preferences sound pretty much like my own. I like many figures "as is" but also like to do custom stuff to create my own figures (like Pizarro or pure fantasy chars) and I also paid money for custom parts/heads. Since I have so many interests, I ccouldn't even tell which 5 super mega expensive ultra figures I would choose, if you force me to decide on some.  

I'm also okay when my Knight figure doesn't have a sword made of iron from the 12th century or doesn't use a real wooden yew longbow.
But I have to admit, I do like realistic HS or some materials besides plastic/resin for equipment.   I think HS are the part that makes the most sense to spent money on, because it makes figures so much more realistic/likeable compare to basic heads.

Valiarde wrote:Your preferences sound pretty much like my own. I like many figures "as is" but also like to do custom stuff to create my own figures (like Pizarro or pure fantasy chars) and I also paid money for custom parts/heads. Since I have so many interests, I ccouldn't even tell which 5 super mega expensive ultra figures I would choose, if you force me to decide on some.  

I'm also okay when my Knight figure doesn't have a sword made of iron from the 12th century or doesn't use a real wooden yew longbow.
But I have to admit, I do like realistic HS or some materials besides plastic/resin for equipment.   I think HS are the part that makes the most sense to spent money on, because it makes figures so much more realistic/likeable compare to basic heads.

Aw, yeah, of course, attention to certain details and materials can definitely add a lot of life to a figure in its own right. But as you say, it's moreso that if I am making something myself and I can't make everything perfectly because it's beyond my skill (I'm not Hot Toys, I don't have certain tech at my disposal), then at least I'd want the head/face to be a certain way that conveys a strong sense of character. Ideally would be great to 'have it all', but I'm already struggling to afford this hobby now as it is, so sometimes one has to pick and choose their battles so to speak. ;p

Valiarde wrote:I'm also okay when my Knight figure doesn't have a sword made of iron from the 12th century or doesn't use a real wooden yew longbow.
But I have to admit, I do like realistic HS or some materials besides plastic/resin for equipment.   I think HS are the part that makes the most sense to spent money on, because it makes figures so much more realistic/likeable compare to basic heads.

My thoughts exactly.

Just looking on instagram when I found this from 357partment:




REally liking how the eyes look vibrant here. A good light source also can make a difference, but this one looks great and since we have many star wars fans on here, I thought i add it to the good examples thread here.

That's a great example, Valiarde!