DONE@p.5 +++ 1:6 Rei Ayanami in Plugsuit [Evangelion dojinshi/同人誌/what-if]

[Dizzyfugu]

After a long hiatus an anime character model again, as a kind of distraction therapy for current job troubles and future uncertainties. This Rei Ayanami what-if figure project was inspired by a photo-realistic illustration I found while browsing A.I.-generated artwork at playground.com, and the respective artwork was created by a prompt from someone called "YCTt", here's a "picture of the picture":


Neon Genesis Evangelion +++ 1:6 Rei Ayanami in Plugsuit [what-if/dojinshi/同人誌/based on A.I. generated artwork] by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

I liked the less anime-esque style of the character, and the red-and-white plugsuit design with many colorful contrasts, and saved the artwork as an inspiration – until I recently felt the urge to build "something different" from my usual what-if military vehicles and went through my stock of resin anime character kits ( ) to find a suitable "canvas".

[Dizzyfugu]

I eventually settled upon a 1:6 scale model of Rei Ayanami in her authentic white plugsuit, even though it's a more anime-ish rendition and not so "realistic" as the A.I. illustration. The kit is just a recast and I had preferred a smaller scale, but I found that the figure's upright standing pose and the plugsuit's rather simple style would be a good starting basis.
The parts were cast well, without bubbles and with almost no seams, but details and edges not particularly crisp. The white resin material was not very dense either, everything felt light and a bit delicate – but not brittle. However, the kit was quite cheap, and you get what you pay for – and that was/is not bad at all, esp. as a conversion basis.
After cleaning the fit of the major parts (torso and legs were a single piece, and both arms, together with an area of the flanks, cut out along natural seams of the plugsuit) turned out to be very good, so that the arms could be worked on and especially painted separately, to be assembled later without PSR!


Neon Genesis Evangelion +++ 1:6 Rei Ayanami in Plugsuit [what-if/dojinshi/同人誌/based on A.I. generated artwork] - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


For display I built a small neutral 4x4" base from a piece of laminated chipboard, pimped with edge band. A 2.5mm iron wire was mounted as a figure holder, and the same material was also used to strengthen the connections of the figure's major components. Once completed the base was painted with semi-matt acrylic black paint from a rattle can.

The figure was built mostly OOB, I just made some minor tweaks. One fundamental thing I changed was the head position. The original figure looks over the left shoulder, but I wanted to present her later in a frontal view, so that the eyes should rather look forward. This is what the figure is supposed to look like, originally:


Neon Genesis Evangelion +++ 1:6 Rei Ayanami in Plugsuit [what-if/dojinshi/同人誌/based on A.I. generated artwork] - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


A different head positiont was not so easy to realize, because the neck had to be modified, with a wedge-shaped plug under the chin to lift the face into a proper new position. This was sculpted with 2C putty around the head's iron wire connector and some fine acrylic putty for a smooth finish.


Neon Genesis Evangelion +++ 1:6 Rei Ayanami in Plugsuit [what-if/dojinshi/同人誌/based on A.I. generated artwork] - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Neon Genesis Evangelion +++ 1:6 Rei Ayanami in Plugsuit [what-if/dojinshi/同人誌/based on A.I. generated artwork] - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Neon Genesis Evangelion +++ 1:6 Rei Ayanami in Plugsuit [what-if/dojinshi/同人誌/based on A.I. generated artwork] - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Here's an early attempt to dry-fit the hair onto the head/face - additional hair pieces will create an additional layer between the face and the "hair helmet" later.


Neon Genesis Evangelion +++ 1:6 Rei Ayanami in Plugsuit [what-if/dojinshi/同人誌/based on A.I. generated artwork] - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Dry-fitting the OOB body on the display base:


Neon Genesis Evangelion +++ 1:6 Rei Ayanami in Plugsuit [what-if/dojinshi/同人誌/based on A.I. generated artwork] - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

More changes will be made to the torso, including some cleaning (the "twin stripes" on the hips and the boxy things under the breasts will go). The original suit does not 100% match the A.I. benchmark, but I still try to come close, despite some discrepancies.

[Dizzyfugu]

Not too much progress here, rather many small things. Head and hair parts were cleaned further and received an initial thin primer coat to check the surface quality and reveal seams. The neck has also been PSRed three times now, and looks good, too. "Interior hair" has also been painted pale blue, because I have to finish the face first, then the hair "helmet" must be mounted (which conceals a lot of the face) and a transverse seam on top of the head must be post-PSRed, which will be quite a stunt. Thankfully, head and body can be worked on separately... On the torso I sclupted a W-shaped edge under the breasts from 2C putty, trying to emulate the CG/AI-generated suit's style.

[zenrat]

1/6 scale?  So she's about 300mm tall.
I don't think i've got the chops to tackle a figure that tall.
Looking forward to seeing her with some paint on.

[Dizzyfugu]

Yup, she's tall/huge - almost exactly 1'!

Building such a character figure is really "something different". Special topic, but enjoyable. And it's whif! 

[Dizzyfugu]

Some visual evidence from the last two days, first the work on the body:


Neon Genesis Evangelion +++ 1:6 Rei Ayanami in Plugsuit [what-if/dojinshi/同人誌/based on A.I. generated artwork] - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Neon Genesis Evangelion +++ 1:6 Rei Ayanami in Plugsuit [what-if/dojinshi/同人誌/based on A.I. generated artwork] - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

... and all head parts, ready for a primer coat:


Neon Genesis Evangelion +++ 1:6 Rei Ayanami in Plugsuit [what-if/dojinshi/同人誌/based on A.I. generated artwork] - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

...and the face just received a shaded two-tone paintjob with Tamiya TS-77 ("Flat Flesh") and Vallejo 28024 ("Pale Flesh"), which is less intense and suits the character well, both applied from/with rattle cans.


Neon Genesis Evangelion +++ 1:6 Rei Ayanami in Plugsuit [what-if/dojinshi/同人誌/based on A.I. generated artwork] - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[Steel Penguin]

watching eagerly here 

[kerick]

That's quite a challenge! I like your modifications of the resin.

[Dizzyfugu]

Body was ready for primer this morning - I considered adding some 3D seams to the torso and the legs (where the red and white is separated), but eventually decided against this stuntz because I will use black decal stripes to add contrast lines between the colors. Note the dents on the hips where the left hand will later rest.


Neon Genesis Evangelion +++ 1:6 Rei Ayanami in Plugsuit [what-if/dojinshi/同人誌/based on A.I. generated artwork] - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Neon Genesis Evangelion +++ 1:6 Rei Ayanami in Plugsuit [what-if/dojinshi/同人誌/based on A.I. generated artwork] - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Additionally, the head can be dry-fitted; however, I want to try out decals for the eyes and ordered a respective sheet a while ago, but it's still in the pipeline, so that I will do some detail work on the face and then see if the decals are usable at all. If not I will (have to) paint the eyes by hand, but thanks to the size this should not be too complicated, yet challenging, because such a figure "lives" or falls with the expression, and the eyes have a major impact.


Neon Genesis Evangelion +++ 1:6 Rei Ayanami in Plugsuit [what-if/dojinshi/同人誌/based on A.I. generated artwork] - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[Dizzyfugu]

A not-so-good update. Tried to spray paint the first body parts in a very light grey, and the paint reacted fishy with the surface or the primer, creating an uneven finish. Now the arms and the hair clasps take a longer bath in foamed oven cleaner to get rid of the mess, and I have to procure a different acrylic grey spray paint... 


Neon Genesis Evangelion +++ 1:6 Rei Ayanami in Plugsuit [what-if/dojinshi/同人誌/based on A.I. generated artwork] - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[kerick]

A not-so-good update. Tried to spray paint the first body parts ina very light grey, and the paint reacted fishy with the surface or the primer, creating an uneven finish. Now the arms and the hair clasps take a longer bath in foamed oven cleaner to get rid of the mess, and I have to procure a different acrylic grey spray paint... 

Seems the organic chemistry gremlin is everywhere! You have my sympathies. This is looking great so far. Looking forward to seeing the rest.

[Dizzyfugu]

Thank you. "Good" thing about the mess is that it happened with relatively small parts and still early on, so that the paint should get off quite easily, too. Still unnerving, but that's model kit building... 

[Dizzyfugu]

Paint problems persist. The shoddy coat of paint is more persistent than expected, so that I pulled out the ultimate measure: brake fluid. I hope that this stuff does the job... 

Looks like a VERY strange Aperol cocktail... 


Neon Genesis Evangelion +++ 1:6 Rei Ayanami in Plugsuit [what-if/dojinshi/同人誌/based on A.I. generated artwork] - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[Steel Penguin]

ohh poot! 
hope that this works, and that there are no further unforeseen problems.   

now who to blame for this obvious sabotage,....  its too early in the scenario for SEELE,  and I douht that its Gendos doing,  and Rits is probably too busy on other stuff,  so some kind of Adamian influence ??  or is it  Japan Chemical heavy Industry's, in a first strike to push Jet Alone   

[zenrat]

This isn't resin is it?
Don't use brake fluid to strip resin parts.  It turns them into jelly.