Chez Lestat pour Thanksgiving (updated with Addendum December 22 2021)

For related items, see the following:
Chez Louis pour la Toussaint
Makeshift Vampire Lestat

For Addendum, see here.

I've been meaning to make a presentation of this for a while, around Thanksgiving, but between other things and waiting for some bits and pieces here and there, it was long delayed. So here it, is, late as it may be. I suppose people -- and vampires -- can overeat at Christmas dinner much like they do at Thanksgiving dinner (which is what this is supposed to be)...













Lestat upgraded

Since he was last shown, Lestate has had a few minor upgrades. I repainted the eyes blue and reglossed them, and did a bit of repainting on the face. He now wears the same cravat, pants, and stockings as Lou. I repainted the Sideshow Angelus vest to have a blue background, to approximate some of Lestat's vests from the film. I found and repainted a couple of appropriately shaped rings for his hands. And he now has a real bow for his hair (not shown, as I'm waiting on better materials to make a better one). And he now has his own personal goblin assistant (who seems to hang out with Louis), more on whom later on.







The Snacks

Apart from Bella, already familiar from Chez Louis, I added a custom Angel/Angelus. Since I was already using the Sideshow set for some of Lestat's clothing, I ended up getting more and customizing the figure. It kept all of its clothes, but transferred to an M33 body. I modified the head (de-necking, drilling, fixing the damage from a Dremel accident, etc) and repainted it to match the body and to look a little bit more realistic (removing the dreaded doll dots, etc). I think it worked out decently enough.







For Addendum, see here.

For related items, see the following:
Chez Louis pour la Toussaint
Makeshift Vampire Lestat

#lestat #vampire #louis #interview #satire #parody #custom #angel #angelus #bella #goblin

Omg, haha, this is too great. I absolutely love how you have them all posed, especially the 'snacks' -- had me laughing out loud. The goblin assistant popping up from behind the settee really adds to the comedic value.

The upgrades are all nicely done. Lestat does look more the part and the Angel figure is greatly improved by the new paintjob.

Thanks for the amusement, it works just fine for any time of year, lol.

Great photos and really great looking figures Ian!

That first pic is my favorite. And I agree with sky, the new paint on Angelus is a vast improvement. Nice job all around.

Great photos, Angel head looks way better! What are doll dots btw?

skywalkersaga wrote:Omg, haha, this is too great. I absolutely love how you have them all posed, especially the 'snacks' -- had me laughing out loud. The goblin assistant popping up from behind the settee really adds to the comedic value.

The upgrades are all nicely done. Lestat does look more the part and the Angel figure is greatly improved by the new paintjob.

Thanks for the amusement, it works just fine for any time of year, lol.

Thank you very much, Sky, I'm glad you liked them. I must confess that the blood effect on the "snacks" did not turn out nearly as well as I had hoped (in part due to the brightness of the red being surprisingly enhanced by the temperature/brightness/contrast manipulation), but I'm absolutely delighted you and other friends like them anyway.

BAMComix wrote:Great photos and really great looking figures Ian!

Thank you very much, Dal, I'm very glad you liked them.

Stryker2011 wrote:That first pic is my favorite. And I agree with sky, the new paint on Angelus is a vast improvement. Nice job all around.

Thank you very much, Mark, glad you liked them. The ultimate difference to Angelus does not seem too huge, which I took as a good sign that I have at least not botched it completely. But like you and Sky, I think there is an improvement there. Is Sideshow's head sculpt perfect? Probably not, but I think it did have greater potential, and I hope I have fulfilled some of that.

csyeung wrote:Great photos, Angel head looks way better! What are doll dots btw?

Thank you very much, Craig, I'm glad you liked them. "Doll dots" are a somewhat divisive thing in our hobby, but for the most part I think made obsolete by higher-end paint jobs or more sophisticated eyes. It is the practice of painting in the highlight spot (or spots) on the eyes (examples below). This was -- and is -- done with lower-end toys all the time, to give them more pop or life. But in terms of realism it lags far behind allowing the glossy surface of the eye to make its own reflection, which would vary depending on light source, angle, etc. And if you had both a painted doll dot and a glossy eye, you will end up with more reflections than you should... Sideshow's Angelus was old enough that it had a painted doll dot. I repainted the eyes to remove it, and then gave them more gloss so they can make their own more or less realistic reflection. In the close up photos the reflection ended up in the same spot as the old painted doll dot, which says something good about either their choice or mine; or both. Some customizers still like and paint on the doll dot, but I consider it anathema personally, as something that detracts from potential realism.



Here are a couple of photos of an older sixth-scale head listed on Monkey Depot, which appears to have the painted doll dot -- notice how it does not change with the angle.

Super pictures, great arrangement of the scenes!

But I must be blind... I do not see any dot... Where is it?

one/sixth-uals wrote:Super pictures, great arrangement of the scenes!

But I must be blind... I do not see any dot... Where is it?

Thank you very much, I'm glad you liked them.

Look at the eyes. The white dot is on the camera right side of the iris, just outside the black pupil, on the Dragon heads (last two photos). It is on the upper camera left side of the iris, again outside the black pupil, on the Sideshow Angelus head -- where the real reflection on the repainted and glossed eyes happened to occur on the modified head.

Ah, ok, now I see it!

Actually, it does not bother me very much: it could be easily interpreted as a reflection in the iris from a light source. I think this happens also in real eyes when a light shines towards the eyes.

one/sixth-uals wrote:Ah, ok, now I see it! Actually, it does not bother me very much: it could be easily interpreted as a reflection in the iris from a light source. I think this happens also in real eyes when a light shines towards the eyes.

Well, yes, that's the idea. Except that in real life the location and appearance of the reflection shifts, depending on the light source. So having a painted-on doll dot might look wrong, either being located at an impossible spot, or, if the eye is properly glossy, you will end up with this and the correct natural reflection somewhere else. So best to have glossy eyes and no painted doll dot, if you are going for realism. Of course, better yet to have real glass eyes, which look better than painted on ones, but that is a complication and luxury that are usually beyond casual collecting and customizing.

Excellent, your attention to these details!

I am not yet as advanced in my simple doll photos, and there are currently many more things that are unrealistic in them. But it is great for me to learn from your attention to detail - because this really makes a difference.

Now I had a more careful look at the three ladies heads in my collection: I cannot see there any painted dot. But the iris is slightly glossy - and it actually reflects the real light source dot! And this dot moves with the observation angle, just like in real life. These are the Super Duck SDH-018, the Kimi KT012, and the default head of the TBLeague S09.

one/sixth-uals wrote:Excellent, your attention to these details!

I am not yet as advanced in my simple doll photos, and there are currently many more things that are unrealistic in them. But it is great for me to learn from your attention to detail - because this really makes a difference.

Now I had a more careful look at the three ladies heads in my collection: I cannot see there any painted dot. But the iris is slightly glossy - and it actually reflects the real light source dot! And this dot moves with the observation angle, just like in real life. These are the Super Duck SDH-018, the Kimi KT012, and the default head of the TBLeague S09.

Thank you. Believe it or not, there are others with better eye for detail than me.

The companies you mention produce higher-end sixth-head head sculpts (etc.) -- even SuperDuck, which (usually) goes for a slightly stylized cutsie nearly-anime style that doesn't appeal to me one bit (to put it mildly), but to each his own. So there is no surprise these heads come without doll dots. Typically sixth-scale figures only have these if they are pretty old products -- unless we are talking dolls like Barbie and Ken, which (I presume) still have them, in keeping with their traditional design and paint practices.

Addendum

The material for the last thing I had planned for these figures arrived ahead of schedule yesterday, and I finally put the finishing touches (for now). Here I get to express my gratitude to Gary (ThePhotogsBlog) for posting a how to tie tiny bows video link in the Tutorials. It is a minor detail, but it was bugging me. So, here are a few more photos, theoretically a prequel to the ones above.

Phantastic scenery and clothing - well done also with the lighting!

Well they are smiling, even in death, so it must have been a great experience? Maybe they wake up as vampires, depending on the mechanics of the world they live in.

Again the lighting/filter, dear Gubernator (Newbernator) is so very beautiful and atmospheric, complementing the overall brocatiness and silkiness of the high society beings presented here.

one/sixth-uals wrote:Phantastic scenery and clothing - well done also with the lighting!

Thank you very much, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I confess the lighting is manipulated in post-production (see the other related sets).

Ovy wrote:Well they are smiling, even in death, so it must have been a great experience? Maybe they wake up as vampires, depending on the mechanics of the world they live in.

Again the lighting/filter, dear Gubernator (Newbernator) is so very beautiful and atmospheric, complementing the overall brocatiness and silkiness of the high society beings presented here.

Thank you very much, Ovy, I'm very happy you liked them. Yes, I thought it was creepy they were smiling, but I'm not installing Russian spies on this machine (if I can help it), to mess with the expressions. But isn't there supposedly a creepy notion that the whole vampire thing is sensual etc? -- maybe that's why they are smiling (well, mostly Bella, I guess). I am woefully short on materials for their ornate 18th-century environment (got lucky with the sofa), so keeping this simple and dimly lit -- perfect for vampires.

The bows turned out great, GF. They look very in-scale. I'm likewise hoping to use that same bow tutorial for a couple kitbashes once I get 'round to them.

Agree with Ovy on the lighting, you've absolutely nailed the right vibe for this sumputous scene.

And lol, yes, there's a sensuality to vampires, even the more outwardly creepy ones, imo. But that could be just my predilection for monsters coming through....

skywalkersaga wrote:The bows turned out great, GF. They look very in-scale. I'm likewise hoping to use that same bow tutorial for a couple kitbashes once I get 'round to them.

Agree with Ovy on the lighting, you've absolutely nailed the right vibe for this sumputous scene.

And lol, yes, there's a sensuality to vampires, even the more outwardly creepy ones, imo. But that could be just my predilection for monsters coming through....

Thank you very much, Sky, I'm very glad you liked them. If you plan on using this tutorial, a couple of words of advice based on my recent experience. Do try to get proper cloth ribbon material, it works and holds better. If your bows would be of similar size (and especially width of the ribbon) as mine, you should probably be searching for the 1/8 inch ribbon (= c. 0.3 cm). The bows look ok, but it seems difficult to achieve a super tight knot that would guarantee they would stay in shape. So maybe dab a little drop of superglue on the underside and try to get it to join the different parts of the knot, to keep it from coming loose. I also ran a little piece of plastic-covered wire (from twisties) through the knot first, so that I can use it to attach the bow as needed.

The lighting (thank you) serves two purposes -- create an appropriate ambiance for candle- and torch-lit vampire interior, and hide the absence of busy interior furnishings. I shoot it in relatively dim lighting, then play with the temperature, brightness, and contrast before finalizing the images.

Really great mods on Angelus, and its always thanksgiving somewhere, right?

Theboo-bomb wrote:Really great mods on Angelus, and its always thanksgiving somewhere, right?  

Thank you very much, I'm glad you liked it. Hmmm, I suppose the vampires are grateful for all that warm blood... if it is in their nature to be grateful, but I think they were shown as very self-absorbed in the film...

GubernatorFan wrote:

Thank you very much, Craig, I'm glad you liked them. "Doll dots" are a somewhat divisive thing in our hobby, but for the most part I think made obsolete by higher-end paint jobs or more sophisticated eyes. It is the practice of painting in the highlight spot (or spots) on the eyes (examples below). This was -- and is -- done with lower-end toys all the time, to give them more pop or life. But in terms of realism it lags far behind allowing the glossy surface of the eye to make its own reflection, which would vary depending on light source, angle, etc. And if you had both a painted doll dot and a glossy eye, you will end up with more reflections than you should... Sideshow's Angelus was old enough that it had a painted doll dot. I repainted the eyes to remove it, and then gave them more gloss so they can make their own more or less realistic reflection. In the close up photos the reflection ended up in the same spot as the old painted doll dot, which says something good about either their choice or mine; or both. Some customizers still like and paint on the doll dot, but I consider it anathema personally, as something that detracts from potential realism.

Forgot to respond to this. Thanks ! I didn't realize that. On my first repaint I added a doll dot <hangs head in shame> Although being new to action figures, I took what I knew from painting and drawing where I usually add that in. It does make sense that now with gloss over the eyes that it's not needed and can come off looking too artificial.

csyeung wrote:Forgot to respond to this. Thanks ! I didn't realize that. On my first repaint I added a doll dot <hangs head in shame> Although being new to action figures, I took what I knew from painting and drawing where I usually add that in. It does make sense that now with gloss over the eyes that it's not needed and can come off looking too artificial.

No trouble. And it is natural -- many eye painting tutorials actually provide instructions for painting the doll dot (perhaps only to be comprehensive), that is how ingrained it is in head sculpt painting. Actually I just realized another reason why it is best to avoid, apart from the aforementioned added realism and the fact it is one more step in the agonizing process of painting eyes this small. This is that the natural reflection is not necessarily identical (in size or shape) in both eyes at the same time -- looking at the photos I took for my newest review.

that is true. I recently saw a sculpting video, it was 1:1 scale, and the sculptor actually dug out the iris area so it's hollow and then filled it with clear resin after, so it's even more like the real eye where some light goes inside the eyeball. he then painted and then painted the eye and put the gloss over. Looked super realistic. I know some doll makers use glass balls for the iris as well (embedded into the eye). Always awesome to learn new techniques!

csyeung wrote:that is true. I recently saw a sculpting video, it was 1:1 scale, and the sculptor actually dug out the iris area so it's hollow and then filled it with clear resin after, so it's even more like the real eye where some light goes inside the eyeball. he then painted and then painted the eye and put the gloss over. Looked super realistic. I know some doll makers use glass balls for the iris as well (embedded into the eye). Always awesome to learn new techniques!

You're absolutely right, glass eyes would be best. I don't know how practical that is with most human 1/6 eyes -- the ones I dealt with in these vampire-related customs were tiny. Ephiane changed the eyes on her knockoff Groot with glass eyes, to great effect. There was a bit of discussion, probably in that thread. Poke around (google search is better than our own search feature) if you're interested.

GubernatorFan wrote:

csyeung wrote:Forgot to respond to this. Thanks ! I didn't realize that. On my first repaint I added a doll dot <hangs head in shame> Although being new to action figures, I took what I knew from painting and drawing where I usually add that in. It does make sense that now with gloss over the eyes that it's not needed and can come off looking too artificial.

No trouble. And it is natural -- many eye painting tutorials actually provide instructions for painting the doll dot (perhaps only to be comprehensive), that is how ingrained it is in head sculpt painting. Actually I just realized another reason why it is best to avoid, apart from the aforementioned added realism and the fact it is one more step in the agonizing process of painting eyes this small. This is that the natural reflection is not necessarily identical (in size or shape) in both eyes at the same time -- looking at the photos I took for my newest review.

Not only is it standard to include this in 2D painting, but it also is still fairly standard in some doll painting. Certain types of dolls as well as styles of doll repainting don't gloss the eyes. For instance, I have a Tonner doll that was professionally repainted via the watercolour pencils + pastels method, and the eyes are not glossy. It therefore has an eye-dot to mimic the shine.  Though, I've also seen some doll artists do the eye-dot *and* put gloss in the eye, which doesn't necessarily look terrible in carefully-posed and well-lit photos, but it can make the eyes look overly-glassy from certain angles in person.

I think the eye-dot becomes such an issue with the 1/6 action figures because the eyes on those are already so tiny, whereas doll eyes can be a lot larger and therefore there is more 'room' for the eye dot to be there without being so conspicuous. Also, action figure eyes (at least modern ones) tend to be a lot more three-dimensionally sculpted compared to the types of doll eyes that get painted (like Tonner, barbie, other fashion dolls, etc). So when they catch the light, they need to do so as realistically as possible.

ETA: Of course, there are some types of dolls that don't require eye-painting at all, and use inset glass or resin eyes instead, but that's not really comparable to painted eyes.