BtVS & Angel *Invisible/Incorporeal* Line (July 2007)

These customs are all on a theme. The characters are either invisible or incorporeal, or both.

Project Details

	Part I - Invisible Marcie & Ghost Willow Disappearing Marcie. Waking-Ghost Willow. Bookcase-Phasing-Ghost Willow. Click for detailed information about how these customs were made.
	Part II - Invisible Buffy New-Hair-Cut Buffy. Invisibility-Ray-Blasted Buffy. Invisible-Puppeteer Buffy. Invisible-Fashion-Police Buffy. Invisible-Tormentor Buffy. Invisible-Seductress Buffy. Click for detailed information about how these customs were made.
	Part III - Ghost Spike Desk-Phasing-Ghost Spike. Lukewarm-Ghost Spike. Fading-Ghost Spike. Faded-Ghost Spike. Hainsley-Possessing-Ghost Spike. Reassured-Ghost Spike. Click for detailed information about how these customs were made.

Inspiration & Evolution of the *Invisible/Incorporeal* Line

The Seed of an Idea

I was commissioned to make a figure of Spike in his self-hugging position. The actor often stood like that to portray his anxiety about being a ghost. It made me think what a shame it was that there wasn't a translucent version of this figure. I knew that it could be done by mould-making and casting but I was terrified to do it. After a few days, I realised that that was why I *had* to try it. You can't develop if you don't throw yourself off a cliff occasionally!

The Lovely Glassman

I read Glassman's Thread at Fwooshnet on how to make moulds and cast figures. I contacted him and he agreed to mentor me through the process. He helped me to find suitable materials in the UK.

Materials in the UK

I found materials at TOMPS in the UK. For the mould, I used Viscolo Addition Cure Range RTV Silicone Rubber and Glassman's 2-part mould method. For the casting, I used Polyurethane Water Clear Fast Cast Resin DR009.

Inspiration Strikes

While I was waiting for the materials to arrive, I re-watched the "Just Rewards" episode and was inspired to make a few quick alternates, like Spike poking out of the desk and possessing Hainsley.

The ghost theme was playing in my head and I thought of Willow from "Halloween". I had a library set, so I sculpted parts of her emerging though a book-case. It worked really well. I also had a Halloween porch set, so I planned to make her rising from the Boo corpse, although I actually made that figure last of all.

The Serendipitous Test

When the mould-making and casting materials arrived, I tested them out by pushing a Buffy mini-bust into a mould. The resin mini-bust (by Moore Action Collectibles) made a really clean mould and the cast worked well, with minimal bubbling in the clear plastic.

The experiment was serendipitous when I realised that I could actually use this pull for a custom. I sculpted her into Spike's bed.

More Buffies?

I had already sculpted hugging Spike and knew how I would use the pulls from the mould to show him in various stages of fading. The successful Buffy mini-bust casting inspired me to try to make other versions of invisible Buffy.

I re-watched the "Gone" episode and decided to make one of her moving the "eyeballs" around in the Magic Box. Glassman had warned me that fingers can be a problem, so I knew that they might not cast successfully, but I needed her to be able to hold the eyeballs. I chose to pose her with her arms up and fingers out. I deliberately had the backs of her hands resting against her head to make the pose more solid. I thought that the pose could work both as a defensive stance and a puppeteering posture.

Making a Mould for Spike & Buffy

I made a single mould for Spike and Buffy, so as not to waste the materials.

Casting Spike & Buffy

At Glassman's suggestion, I made a hole in the back of each mould. The clear plastic might have dripped out if I tried to slap the 2 parts together.

The first casts of each weren't entirely successful. They were both quite bubbly and shallow at the back, where the plastic hadn't been filled up enough. I also realised that I had to cut the mould to get Buffy's forearms out. Doh!

I made more holes in the back of the moulds and cast 3 more sets. For the last, I tried using some red dye on Buffy to use for a ray-blasted version. I quite liked the effect.

Imperfections

The later versions of the pulls were less bubbly, but ears, noses and fingers were still imperfect. I had to throw away one Spike but decided the others were all useable.

Some of Spike's ears were ragged, so I glued a bit of plastic to fill them in. I trimmed and sanded the figures where possible.

With both the Spike and Buffy pulls, they had some damage to the backs of the heels and couldn't stand up on their own. I glued the Spikes to a wall in each case. For the Buffies, I gave them each something to lean against.

Spike Variants

I painted the original Spike and moved his head into a different position than the pulls. I gave him a lab background. For the 2 fading versions, I wanted the same background. I found that it was effective to have something like the W&H stand, with a pastel colour interrupted by a dark colour for the sign. This served to highlight the translucency of the figure.

I had one useable Spike pull left. I was trying to dig some rogue mould material out of his neck with a scalpel and accidentally cut off his head! I decided to give him a nice clean DST head instead, facing forward for variety. I made him faded at the feet and coming into focus by his face. I also liked the idea of a dark background, rather than the usual pastels.

Buffy Variants

I needed to make the same background for two Buffies before and after the ray-blast. I painted the original sculpt successfully. I had the idea to put a pink light in her eyes, from the on-coming blast. When I photographed her, my arm reflected in the Hair Salon sign behind her and looked like a blast reflection as well. That was a bonus!

The puppeteering Buffy was the best pull and worked beautifully. I wasn't sure what to do with the others. Then I remembered that there were several moments in the "Gone" episode when she was puppeteering items. I used the other good pull with a hat and tree background.

The original pull was quite bubbly and had a shallow back. Maybe I should have thrown it out. It did look quite pretty, though, with a good base and accessories: the office and mug. I glued her to the cupboards to protect her back.

Nearly Forgot!

I had used all my materials and thrown away the moulds and containers, when I realised I had forgotten the most important invisible character of all, Marcie. Her Season 1 story "Out of Sight, Out of Mind" was the first idea Joss Whedon wrote and pitched to get the BtVS series made!

Luckily, I had a Sue Storm figure and was able to use her disappearing hand. I didn't have much time to think of what face to use to get a likeness for Marcie. The Cordy face worked really well, with alterations to the chin, nose, ears, hair, and a good paint job.

Worth the Effort?

Yes! I started out planning 3 custom hugging Spikes for the Summer CustomCon and ended up with 15 figures. They're by no means perfect, but they look great on my shelves all together, like little sorbets. This was the most fun I've had with CustomCon yet. And, Hey, no static shocks this time! Although I did get a bit of a chemical-induced headache on casting day.

My mould-making and casting skills leave a lot to be desired (I was plagued with bubbling and missing extremities) but I really enjoyed making these customs. It was scary because it was outside of my known skill set. It is a long time since I've felt like a newbie and produced some questionable pieces.

However, I managed to get 5 "variants" out of the same basic Buffy shape, and 4 out of Spike. With the right paint job, stand and accessories, each one looked different from the others. As I never make copies, this was the first time I had to think about variants in the way that professional toy-manufacturers do. I found that refreshingly different from my normal working practice.

Do it Again?

I don't intend to use moulds/casting to make my normal custom figures in the future. I can get a much smoother custom using pristine figure parts and my own sculpting. It is a useful skill to have in certain circumstances, though, so I'm sure I will use it again for special projects.