Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley 'Dojinshi Whif'

[Dizzyfugu]

I am not certain if you are familiar with Japanese pop culture, but I give it a try since I have actually done some figure "whifs" with large scale character figures. To some these figures are fishy, and there's also lots of "adult" stuff around which is NOT my intention.

You'll probably know Neon Genesis Evangelion (TV series, with movie spin-offs and tons of merchandising since the 90ies), and fan fiction - so-called 'dojinshi' art - is a big part of Japanese fandom. When I did some research for details for a character figure of one of NGE's main characters, Asuka Soryu Langley, I found two pieces of artwork which became the basis for my conversion project - potentially made or at least published by Ikuto Yamashita, but you cannot be certain:


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

By the way, the "real" Asuka wears a red so-called plugsuit (A kind of diving/pilot suit) and looks like this as a benchmark:


Linked from http://www.starfirephoenix.net/Images/nge/asuka/asuka8.jpg

When you look closely, the pink dojinshi version differs in many details, and it took a while until I found a suitable basic kit for the conversion: I chose a figure with an Asuka sitting on a fence with a nice pose. This is what you get with such a resin/garage kit:


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

What I like about this figure is its sitting pose on the barrier, just with one shoe tip on the ground. The kit comes complete with figure and the barrier, but I want to present the figure on a small base, what will also make the final installation easier and improve overall stability.

Here, the barrier has been fitted without glue and the figure's legs have been attached to the torso with a rubber band, in order to check out the basic space the complete arrangement would need on a base.

As base options, I had two MDF shields (from a hobby store - these are actually door signs, for individual painting and decoration), a round an oval one, and the oval one shown here has won the race since it is the smaller one of both and allows a neat and asymmetrcial arrangement of barrier and figure.

The floor/surface will probably be decorated with simple concrete and maybe a grate as an extra, nothing flashy or distracting, since the pink figure will (hopefully) become the central eye catcher.


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) - Work in progress by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

"She's got legs...", to quote ZZ Top. Progress is slow, I am cleaning parts and started with customizing work, according to the reference illustration. On the legs try to incorporate the original details as far as possible - here I started filling the room between the black stripes on Asuka's legs and butt with Tamiya 2C putty, and I elongate this "material cushion" towards the knees where I take up another material edge. From there, I will add a similar "cushion" on the legs' insides, step by step.

I want to finish these detaisl before I fix the legs to the torso, which will also get a lot of modifications in the chest and hip area. I suppose that this will also be scuplted with 2C putty or small polystyrene plates and pieces. Will be a tough job, because everything is curved... but noone said that such a figure conversion was an easy task.


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) - Work in progress by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Next trouble area: the soles. Well, O.K., that's a place NOONE will look later, but despite having a nice profile etched into the shoes the pouring finish and the resulting unevenness was rather disappointing.

Therefore I decided to even out the soles and add some profile by hand - not through engraving, but a polystyrene mesh which I glued under the shoes, let it dry and finally cut it to size with scissors. Pretty effective, and dry painting will reveal the neat pattern later.

I did not follow the  questionable "high heel" option in the dojinshi illustration here, because it would IMHO not make sense for an EVAL pilot, and this juvenile, blatant sexiness(?) is not what I have in mind with the kit.


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) - Work in progress by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

View from the back side, the figure resting nicely on the barrier. A groove has been sculpted under the figure's butt, so it hangs on there perfectly without extra modifications or holders.


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) - Work in progress by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

All major parts put in place - provisionally, without glue or putty.

The whole thing becomes bigger and bigger, and proportions start to "fall into place". At first I was afraid that this Asuka figure was too thin and slender, but with all parts hung together it dies not look as "bulimic" as I originally feared.


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) - Work in progress by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Ah, I should have become a hairdresser! Even though using saws, diamond cutter, steel and brass brushes or sanding discs would not be first choice tools in real life...

Here you can see the inside of the figure's original main hair part - I marked with a pencil the line which I want to finally achieve when I an ready with cutting and modelling the shorter hair of this dojinshi Asuka.


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) - Work in progress by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) - Work in progress by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Front view of the modified torso and esp. the enhanced arms and shoulder parts, put in place. The additional "armor parts" were cut from 0.3mm polystyrene sheet and "welded" in shape and place individually by hand, before they were fixed in place with super glue.

The fit is surprisingly good. Actually, I still can take off the arms without trouble and I do not need any putty anmore to mount and fix the arms to the body. The new parts also cover a small damage on the brittle resin on the right shoulder, where a part of the torso chipped away. Thankfully I do not have to re-sculpt a very thin area now...


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) - Work in progress by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

A look from above onto the modified shoulder/breast area. You can see the layered, thin polystyrene sheets (0.3mm) in front of the throat and also the newly scuplted collar.

The wire boom around the neck was made from 1mm iron wire, and as intended there is enough space for the hair around and above it, once the head is mounted (still missing, additional scuplting of the hairdo with 2C putty is necessary...).


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) - Work in progress by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Meanwhile.... on the other side of the working table: the head makes progress. Fortunately it is possible to glue the four hair parts together without having to "enclose" the central facial part - this would have meant that I have to paint the face including the eyes first, and add the hair later, with lots of dangerous process steps for the face. But here, I can slip the face "into" the resin wig, so that both parts can be built and painted separately until the final kit completion.

Anyway, here's a look at the new hairdo, including some added hair strands sculpted with 2C putty. Asuka looks very boy-like here, because the rear hair part in the nape is hardly recognizable at all - but overall, proportions are O.K. and the complete head matches the rest of the body.

Even the hair is in the correct length for the head which is held to one side. But I think that this Asuka will later have a slight "emo" or even punk touch - the shorter hair looks rather unfamiliar (but not bad at all!)?


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) - Work in progress by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

"Taking a bath!"  But not in the onsen, raher in the shallow tub for wet sanding. Work in the hip area is going on, the NC putty at the leg/torso joints has just been sanded away. Pretty uneven, as you can see through the mottled putty stains on the lower body.


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) - Work in progress by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

A glance at the figure after two initial coats of grey primer. The surface is pretty good, here and there are some flaws and edges which will need some attention, but for a major conversion the current status is much better than expected.

Next step will see reemedy for the final flaws, then a coat of white primer, and then we will start painting with pink!


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) - Work in progress by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

After the grey primer dried up it is time again to check the figure for final flaws, whcih become visible now. Surprisingly little had to be done, even though I wet sanded the whole thing again in order to even out spray traces and final edges etc. - you can tell this by the white areas on the parts, where the resin shines through.


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) - Work in progress by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Let me introduce you to the colors which will be used on the plugsuit - from dark to light: "Flamingo", "Frozen Raspberry" and "Mortadella"!

As weird as it seems, I found these acryllic paint cans by accident in a hip hop boutique, where also grafitti supplies are provided. A nice source for non-standard tones like these.

This Asuka figure even has a musical touch to it!


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) - Work in progress by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Finishing just started -  after a second primer coat in white, the face has been painted with the basic color ("Skin Tone Light" from Testors, my favorite for anime characters).
The "wig" has been painted in a wild mix of Humbrol's 100 and 61 (Red Brown and Flesh - the latter has a rather pink and yellow hue!), and the lighter shades were added in a wet-in-wet technique, including pure 61, some 7 (Light Buff) and 63 (Matt Sand).

Later, some highlights were set with Skin Tone Light - this sounds weird, but I found that these colors are a very good match to the hair colors used in the benchmark illustration

The orange-ish blonde hair of this Asuke version should be a nice contrast to the light skin and the bright pink and deep red of the suit.


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) - Work in progress by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The pictures seems to have a yellow-ish hue, but anyway: close-up of the current status of the face. Most of it will disappear behind lots of hair, though...


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) - Work in progress by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The main body after having been sprayed with "Flamingo" first and with "Frozen Raspberry" from "above" and the sides, in order to create a subtle shading. "Mortadella" has also been applied as a quick breeze from above, so that only certain exposed areas get even more highlight effect.


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) - Work in progress by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

"Body painting", step one: on the basic pink in three shades (which can be differentiated here, I think?), dark red contrast trim is added. This will be done in two tones, which are basically Humbrol 107 (WWI Purple, out of production) and the slightly lighter 73 (Wine Red). Additionally, some parts will be painted in an orange-tinted yellow, mixed by hand.


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) - Work in progress by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Second step: after dark red and orange contrast markings have been painted, the kit receives a wash with black artist ink in order to emphasize ridges and add contrast to edges. Looks wild, but most of the residue will be wiped away with a soft, wet piece of cloth.


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) - Work in progress by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Things are falling into place - again a provisional fitting of the arms and the head/face on the torso, while detail painting progresses step by step. The whole thing starts looking like a "person".

The face has now seen some final fine tuning - it is more or less ready for clear varnish, the "wig" (lying behind the figure) is also done.


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) - Work in progress by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Meanwhile... the base. It is actually a piece of hardboard, a base for self-made room signs. I just cut two square holes into it, with grills set in, and the surface was sculpted with carpenter's putty and white glue - simple but effective.


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) - The base (2/6) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) - The base (4/6) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr




The final result of my conversion project - all in all the kit took three weeks.


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) - Close-up by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) - On black/portrait by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) - On black/close-up by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) - On black by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) - On black by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) - On black by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) - On black by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) - On black by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:8 - Neon Genesis Evangelion [3 Years After]: Asuka Soryu Langley in pink plugsuit (kit conversion) - On black by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[Logan Hartke]

I'd actually never heard of this show until a webcomic I read did a strip a about it.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comics/critical-miss/9846-Neon-Genesis-Evangelion



Cheers,

Logan

[NARSES2]

Amazing work there Dizzy fugu 

[Dizzyfugu]

I'd actually never heard of this show until a webcomic I read did a strip a about it.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comics/critical-miss/9846-Neon-Genesis-Evangelion



Cheers,

Logan

LOL - but there's something to it. As the director of the series, Anno Hideaki, put it:

"It's strange that 'Evangelion' has become such a hit—all the characters are so sick!"

Still I think there's much room for identification to it, BECAUSE the figures are all deranged and broken in many ways... Anyway, highly recommended to watch, even though it might be disturbing, not only to western audiences. But it has been one of the ground-breaking animes of the past 20 years, so if you are into SF and apocalyptic things, it's a must-see.

Anyway, thanks for having alook, I hope this does not confuse the locals too much... 

[pyro-manic]

More great work, Dizzyfugu! Very nice bit of modding there.

Big NGE fan here, by the way. I have an EVA-01 resin kit in the stash, and I'm very much enjoying the current "rebuild" movies.

[Dizzyfugu]

Thank you - with anime stuff, you never know how people react... Good to see that this here is not too alien for (mainly) aircraft whiffers

I still have some 1st generation Bandai EVAs in store, as well some resin character figures, both for authentic and modified builds - similarly based on visuals. Beyond the pink Asuka I also did a 1:6 Rei in a modified, dark blue plugsuit (might be posted soon, too), and the next project which I currently prepare will be a Rei in a test plugsuit, like the one Asuka wears in the 2.0 rebuild, just in cold blue hues. Will be a 1:8 figure again.

[Weaver]

Great conversion and painting there!   No clue about the series, mind: 99% of Anime never sees the light of day on UK TV, at least the bits that I can get....

Bet she'll never be the poster girl for the Anorexia Trust, mind you...