davidd's A DOLL A DAY 2023

[davidd]

Sunsette says the guy with the cape needs some fashion advice  



Well, if the trap door doesn’t work, there’s always the ventilation shafts!  

Guy with Cape got some fashion advice -- stay tuned!

Ventilation shafts! Now there's an idea for a fun diorama project!

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14 August - An I'm not a Doll I'm an Action Figure A Day 2023:

Looks like Felix made it out of the catacombs!

Unfortunately, he promptly got mugged and somebody stole his clothes. He was able to procure another uniform, albeit of lower quality, from a nearby thrift store, before wandering off in to the forest in search of the jerks who nicked his knickers.

[dargosmydaddy]

Poor Felix. Looks like a scythe would be more helpful than a gun for getting through that tall grass.

[Alliecat]

He still doesn’t look especially perturbed. But I agree with dargos; he may be a while getting through that jungle.

[davidd]

15 August - An I'm Not a Doll I'm an Action Figure A Day 2023:

THIS IS NOT MY FINAL FORM!

But it's close!

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Louis J. Marques of The Royal Kadath Society

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For over three years now I have been working on creating my own emulation of one of MiskatonicNick's characters and figures he created a decade ago, Louis Marques of The Royal Kadath Society, based on a Triad Toys "Zorro" head sculpt. I have never been satisfied with my results, and I have ended up parting out each version for use with other figures and characters. Finally, with this latest iteration, I feel I am getting close to a version of the character that will be safe from becoming scavenger bait.

This version is not quite complete. I have a couple more minor accessories on the way, and there are two or three bits and pieces I know I have around here somewhere that I will try out on the figure once I find them. If this figure retains the sun helmet, the helmet will require some further detailing. Overall, however, the figure is now close to what I originally visualized when I started this project.

At present, the Triad Toys  "Zorro" head is paired with a TBLeague M32 (Bruce Lee) body and an assortment of 21st Century, Hasbro GI Joe, Ujindou, and other action figure accessories.

Here are some of my earlier attempts:

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Louis Marques and Ellie Fields (another MiskatonicNick character) - September 2020

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2.

Louis Marques - February 2021

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3.

Louis Marques - March 2021

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4.

Louis Marques - December 2022

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5.

Louis Marques - August 2023 - pending additional accessorization

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Following is a brief "history" of the Louis Marques character and figure as it originated with MiskatonicNick:

Louis Marques of the Royal Kadath Society

"Louis Marques" is based on a character originally created by 1/6-scale enthusiast MiskatonicNick and featured in his photos and photo-stories posted to Flickr and other websites, first appearing in April 2012.

In his earliest named incarnation, circa early-2012, "Louis" was known by the name "Jacques," before Nick eventually settled on the name "Louis Marques."

Link: April 2012 incarnation, under the name "Jacques":
https://flic.kr/p/bQnnwT

The name "Louis Marques" is a play on the Louis Marx company, a once-major toy manufacturer remembered today for the Johnny West line of 1/6-scale action figures... and as the original producer of the Big Wheel riding toy.

Link: August 2012 incarnation, now under the name "Louis Marques" and assigned to the Royal Kadath Society:
https://flic.kr/p/d26J3E

The Royal Kadath Society is a fictional society of ex-plorers and adventurers created by MiskatonicNick, and loosely based on the real life Ex-plorers Club and Disney's fictional Society of Elorers & Adventurers (S.E.A.). The term "Kadath" refers to a mythical location referenced in at least two stories by writer H.P. Lovecraft: The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath (published posthumously in 1943, likely written circa 1926) and At the Mountains of Madness (published in 1936, likely written circa 1931).

Link: April 2013: Louis Marques with Professor Victor Champion and Lady Pollyanna Parker of The Royal Kadath Society:
https://flic.kr/p/e8ibfN

Link: August 2013: Louis Marques with Professor Champion and Pollyanna Parker of the Royal Kadath Society:
https://flic.kr/p/fov6HN

Link: February 2016: Possibly the final photo of Louis Marques to appear in MiskatonicNick's Flickr photostream. Lady Pollyanna has been superseded by Miss Ellie Fields:
https://flic.kr/p/D1GtQC

To acknowledge the original, temporary name of the character, "Jacques," I have added the middle initial "J." to the name of my version.

A few current (as of 2023) members of popular online action figure forums, including the AMMO Forum, have been resurrecting some of the characters and concepts originally dreamed up by MiskatonicNick, who passed away uneectedly a few years ago (November 2018). These characters and concepts are being revisited and re-imagined as an homage to Nick's creativity, his crafting and photography skill, his sense of humor, and his willingness to answer questions from and offer encouragement to others in the toy photography hobby.

Characters being "re-visited" or "re-imagined" include:

Professor Victor Champion of The Royal Kadath Society
Louis Marques of The Royal Kadath Society
Kroger Terreblanche of The Royal Kadath Society
Ellie Fields of The Royal Kadath Society
Gavin of The Royal Kadath Society
Doctor Diablos, arch nemesis of the Royal Kadath Society

[Alliecat]

Bah, I'm on the older laptop whose browser Flickr doesn't like, so I'll have to look at the other photos later.
Quite a legacy for a 'toy photographer', to have fans seeking to recreate and keep alive their characters years later. We should all be so lucky...?

[davidd]

Quite a legacy for a 'toy photographer', to have fans seeking to recreate and keep alive their characters years later.  We should all be so lucky...?

I was quite delighted this week when my Flickr friend CooperSky aka Sindy Collection emulated one of my characters!

Remember this one?

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Well, Coop did this:

SkyNEWS meets Maxie by Sindy Collection, on Flickr

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And ya kinda need to see that (and read the caption and comments) for this to make sense:

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16 August - A Doll A Day 2023

[davidd]

17 August - A Doll A Day 2023:
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Professor Victor Champion of the Royal Kadath Society

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Head: CM Toys
Body: TBLeague M32
Helmet: Hasbro GI Joe
Uniform: various 1/6-scale military figures

[davidd]

18 August - A Doll A Day 2023:

Pink Power Punk Princess Rallee Radmore of the Wild Hearts Crew

[Alliecat]

It sounds like you guys have a lot of fun "trading" characters. I wish we had more such activity here.
"Stout/sturdy/chunky" made me chuckle. Reminded me of some woman at the merch table on the Bounty and instead of buying something and helping my sales goal she was nattering on about someone and I can't even remember any of the details except when she said, "She's not as chubby as you." I thought I'd misheard, managed not to say "you cow", and wanted to smack her with all my 110 lbs.
She has such a cute little camera.
Rallee's outfit matches the geraniums nicely.

[davidd]

Reminded me of some woman at the merch table on the Bounty and instead of buying something and helping my sales goal she was nattering on about someone and I can't even remember any of the details except when she said, "She's not as chubby as you."  I thought I'd misheard, managed not to say "you cow", and wanted to smack her with all my 110 lbs.  

  So your assigned task on board the ship was "ballast?"

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19 August - A Doll A Day 2023:

Sneaking Up On Bugs

A sure sign that summer is winding down: the grasshoppers are moving much more slowly

[Alliecat]

  So your assigned task on board the ship was "ballast?"

Felt like it some days

That's really cute and I'm surprised you got that close and stuck a doll under there without it taking off.

[davidd]

  So your assigned task on board the ship was "ballast?"

Felt like it some days  

That's really cute and I'm surprised you got that close and stuck a doll under there without it taking off.

Oh, you know that in addition to providing ballast, you were a vital member of the scraping and sanding contingent!

"Stuck a doll under there?" You're still not fully convinced that I just follow them around with a camera, are you?  

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20 August - A Doll A Day 2023:

Pink Power Punk Princess Part II

Gonna pick ya up at ten, gotta have ya home at two
Mama don't know what the heck's come over you
But that's all right 'cuz you're lookin' as cool as can be!

Head sculpt:  YMToys YMT032
Body: TBLeague S41
Dress & lace stockings: circa 1988 Hasbro Maxie doll
Jacket and pink belt with pack: circa 2019 Mattel Wild Hearts Crew doll
Boots:  1/6 Female Zipper Boots via eBay
Chains: fine link costume jewelry chains via eBay
Goggles: circa 2005 Pinky-Street Tenjo Tenge Aya

Admittedly, I don't think that this chick is really 'punk.' At least not hardcore punk. She's more like rockabilly with poseur-punk accents.

[dargosmydaddy]

I have been eyeing up those Wild Hearts Crew dolls on ebay lately. Must resist! They are super cute, though.

[davidd]

I have been eyeing up those Wild Hearts Crew dolls on ebay lately. Must resist! They are super cute, though.

Sometimes they show up for good prices, less than original retail, for mint-in-box examples on eBay. But then add in shipping and... yeah, prices aren't so great.

I have, or had (I don't remember which ones I still have) three of the five Wild Hearts Crew: Kenna Roswell, Charlie Lake, and Rallee Radmore.

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21 August - A Doll A Day 2023:

Action Figure Shoes

DID 80154 1/6 WWII German Flying Ace “Star of Africa” Marseille Boots

In short: doll shoes.

This is an illustration of the total random nature of my doll and figure "collection," and of the "because it looks cool" approach I take to action figure and doll purchases.

I was scrolling through eBay listings a few weeks ago (these boots arrived today from a seller in China) looking for something else and these military shoes for a male 1/6-scale action figure caught my eye. I mean... they looked cool. And the asking price seemed reasonable.

I compared prices to another site that carries such things -- MonkeyDepot.com -- and this pair was a better price (usually MD prices are hard to beat)... so I bought them.

I did not have a specific project in mind for these shoes. I was not looking for "male action figure military shoes" at the time. I rationalized the purchase by a) having money to spend, b) I liked the looks, and c) I never seem to have enough male action figure footwear.

Now that I have the shoes, I wonder what additional purchase they will lead to?

21 August - A Doll A Day 2023

[Alliecat]

They look quite well made. Groove could take a lesson.
How many random items and pairs of shoes = 1 Amelia??
I'm a bit like that on Aliex-press though... go to look up one item and find all kinds of neat shiny things. So far I've mostly just bookmarked them.

I have been eyeing up those Wild Hearts Crew dolls on ebay lately. Must resist! They are super cute, though.

I had to go look them up. Yes, they are cute. Maybe you will find one (or more!) at a good price